Q.If I buy a Rolex, will the price go up in the future?
A.The answer is NO.
I get asked this question dozens of times a year, so I'll answer it.
I am not saying that this will never happen in the future.
However, most people who ask this question don't really understand the content.
I'll explain step by step, but it's long (lol)
But first I'll write the conclusion...
“If you think the price will go up, why not buy up?”
About 20 years ago, it was easier to buy a Rolex than it is today.
It would be tedious to write out each model and details, so let's give a rough explanation using the Submariner non-date.
Rolex has three main genres,
"Vintage, new, current used"
Starting from the left, the selling price is the highest,
If you want to buy a Rolex, it's vintage, but the price is high, so buy a new model from parallel import.
If I still didn't have the budget, I was thinking of buying a used, current model.
Applying this to Submariner
Ref.5513 (normal matte black borderless) is around 400,000 yen,
The current new product (lowest price for parallel imports) is about 400,000 yen or not (the list price at that time was probably less than 600,000 yen?)
If you're lucky, a used one will be around 300,000 yen or less, and if you're lucky, it'll be in the low 200,000 yen range.
Yes, to be honest, it was easy to reach.
At that time, the price was affordable if you worked hard at a part-time job.
Still, it's a Rolex, it's an imported watch, and it's hard to break...
Repairs can be done at local watch shops,
In any case, it was a good thing in many ways.
That's why Rolex was interesting.
People who like clothes always wanted vintage clothes,
At the time, even this price seemed high.
So I had no choice but to buy new or used items cheaply.
You can't believe it now, can you?
Even if you buy a regular 5513 at this price, serious watch lovers will make fun of it.
The reason is that 5513 is not particularly rare or anything.
If the now popular mirror dial is quite beautiful, it might cost 500,000 yen or not.
Maxi? what is that? That's what it felt like.
True vintage Rolex collectors are even older,
Bond, Explorer dial, W name, dead stock of each model before 5513, Rolex Panerai...
The positioning of 5513 is that if it gets bumpy, scratches, dives in, and if it breaks, you can fix it.
Is that how you treat it? (Maybe only around me?)
Time has passed, and with the Lehman Shock in 2007, watches that were considered to be phantoms began to appear in abundance.
There are interesting things like black poles and comex,
Now that I think about it, I think I should have bought it.
The global economic crisis is such that we cannot afford it.
But I feel like I started heading in the direction of thinking that ``clocks'' were weird.
Rolex has made major model changes to each model, revised list prices, etc.
Not only Rolex, but all brands are becoming more and more luxurious.
The current list price of the Submariner is about 770,000 yen? Is it a little expensive to buy through parallel import?
What has changed from a while ago is that ``parallel imported new products are now more expensive than the domestic list price.''
I heard this from a vendor around the time the model change started.
Parallel imports, which are unique to Japan, are a huge hindrance from the brand side.
Therefore, overseas list prices will be raised across the board to eliminate the difference between parallel import prices and domestic list prices.
The list price overseas will increase until eventually parallel imports become more expensive.
I heard that story and it actually happened.
Furthermore, for a certain brand, stores that sold wholesale to parallel importers began to suspend transactions.
In Germany, many stores that make bespoke models have become like this.
So, based on that story, "Will the price go up if I buy a Rolex?"
Honestly, it's hard to think of that.
The old model from about 20 years ago was cheap to buy.
The purchase price will fluctuate if there is a model change or a revision to the list price.
Of course, if the list price goes up, the purchase price will also go up.
In other words, if you bought something 20 years ago for around 300,000 yen, it wouldn't be strange if the purchase price was the same or higher than the purchase price.
After all, if the new model costs more than 700,000 yen, then you can sell the old model for 500,000 yen, right?
Both new and current used items are too expensive to buy,
Even if it's rotten, it's still a Rolex.
Furthermore, price fluctuations do not occur suddenly, but rather gradually over time.
Applying this to current products
If you buy a current used car for 600,000 yen, and the list price of a new one is around 1.5 million yen, the purchase price will be higher than the purchase price.
But how many people can buy a watch with a list price of 1.5 million yen?
At least not many around me.
I think this can happen because of the affordable price.
"That's not true. If you buy a Rolex, the price will go up in the future and it's easy to convert into cash...etc."
If you think so, I think it would be a good idea to buy it all, even if it means borrowing money.
However, I don't know what will happen if you include the interest rate, but it might be more profitable than bad gambling (lol)
However, what I think here is that there is nothing fun about buying a watch for cash or as an asset.
It just happened that the item I bought was more than the purchase price when I sold it.
You should definitely avoid buying things with that in mind.
What if prices don't go up? What if it plummeted?
It wouldn't be funny if that were actually the case.
It's definitely more fun to buy what you like and what you like.
You can become attached to it and want to use it for a long time.
So instead of blindly believing what you hear from others, choose what you need.
There is always a pitfall in an overly exaggerated story.
For a shop like ours, ``Rolex is redeemable and has status.''
Rather than such useless customer service and explanations,
I think it's important to be properly ``convinced''.
As we always say, "Shopping is fun."
It is essential to study every day so that the store can be enjoyed by customers.
"I spent as much money on watches as I could buy a house."
There are many things that I can tell you because I have had such an experience.
We'll talk about that some other day.
