SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 18, 2008 — A San Francisco used Rolex watches authority says Neiman’s and Nordstrom are nice but he’ll stand by the results of a recent national study that shows even buyers of high-end items like Rolex watches are looking for the same thing in a shopping experience as plain ‘ole Joe Six-Pack.
And what is that? “The best price possible,” answers Avi Dayan who owns 18-year-old A&E Watches.
Dayan cites a recent poll conducted on behalf of luxury fashion trade magazine, “Women’s Wear Daily,” by Manhattan-based Global Strategy Group. In the survey, poll-takers interviewed women shoppers, “but those of us in the luxury jewelry business know that when it comes to shopping – men feel as strongly about obtaining the best price as women do, maybe even more so.”
When most people think of buying Rolex watches, says Dayan, “they see themselves shopping at Tiffany’s or some other high-end store. Yet, the reality is, savvy shoppers in the market for expensive items like Rolex watches are just as likely to be hanging out at the website of a reputable used Rolex watches dealer – or in the secure, simple brick-and-mortar showroom where that jeweler conducts business. That’s what makes these rich people smart – not just rich.”
The Women’s Wear Daily survey queried 2,500 women around the country about their shopping behaviors when they buy fashion goods. Almost 500 of those polled were considered luxury shoppers – people whose household incomes exceeded $250,000.
“As a jeweler who specializes in selling used Rolex watches, the most interesting thing about this poll rests with the following findings,” says Dayan.
• Luxury shoppers see themselves as style gurus and demand high quality
• YET . . . 95% of those luxury shoppers surveyed said high quality does not necessarily mean high prices.
Dayan says findings in the Women’s Wear Daily survey “are on-target with what we know about buyers of used Rolex watches. Many people think the only kind of person interested in buying a used Rolex watch is someone who can’t afford a new one, but as this study so aptly points out, that just isn’t so.”
Dayan says the wealthy used Rolex shoppers who frequent his online store (www.aandewatches.com) and his brick and mortar store in the San Francisco Jewelry Mart “believe it’s crazy to go to a fancy store and buy a brand-new Rolex. They realize how much a new Rolex watch depreciates almost immediately.
“In this respect,” he says, “buying a new Rolex watch is much like buying a new car. The minute you drive it off the lot there goes 25 to 30 percent of its value. Likewise, the minute you write the check and slip a new Rolex watch on your wrist, the value nosedives.”
The San Francisco jeweler said another discovery in the Women’s Wear Daily poll “is the fact that luxury shoppers know it is brand that counts – not price.
“If they can buy the brand they want; they will look around until they can find it at the great price. This poll is one more reminder that celebrity lines do not sell to wealthy shoppers,” says Dayan. “Savvy, wealthy shoppers turn their noses up at trendy, pop-idol brands.”
“Neiman’s and Nordstrom are nice – for some purchases” says Dayan, “but one of the biggest secrets rich people keep is that they purchase used Rolex watches – not new ones. No one can spot a used Rolex watch on your wrist,” says Dayan, “if it’s purchased from a reputable dealer.”
For more information about value shopping and used Rolex watches contact Avi Dayan at A&E Watches. The company website is www.aandewatches.com or call (415) 437-3263.
ABOUT AVI DAYAN
Avi Dayan is a graduate of the Israeli Gemological Institute. He is a member of the International Watch and Jewelry Guild and the American Estate Jewelry Association. His company, A&E Watches (www.aandewatches.com) is located in the San Francisco Jewelry Mart, one of the Pacific coast’s most prominent fine jewelry buying centers. Dayan is a consultant and advisor to Butterfield and Butterfield, the famed international auction house.
For the full article click here >>
