An interesting thing happened the other day when I went on Rolex’s website. They’d added the pricing for each watch. If it was there before, I’d never noticed it. But what does this say about the prices? About the people perusing the website? About Rolex themselves?
The Honest Watchmakers
I can only speculate, but I think it’s nothing more than increased honesty on the part of the brand. I was going to say transparency, but the conservative – and privately owned – nature of Rolex doesn’t quite lend itself to true transparency.
But so what if the great unwashed drop into Rolex.com and see Rolex prices? Ambitious individuals who haven’t quite made it will have a luxury watch to reward themselves as they climb their personal career ladder. Those who were never going to be Rolex customers in the first place will have that notion reaffirmed too. After all, Rolex watches are not for everybody. Nothing is.
Rolex Prices Are Now On Rolex.com
It turns out there is no business reason whatsoever not to have prices right out front for everybody to see. The so-called “Polar” Explorer II is $8100. At the other end of the scale, the platinum Cosmograph Daytona is – oops! OK… not every price is on the website. That one’s available upon request. But the good ol’ steel Daytona with ceramic bezel is $12,400.
I’m not sure, because I didn’t look up every single watch on the site, but it seems like the precious metal watches are priced on request while steel and two-tone pieces tend to have their prices displayed.
Now, of course, the Rolex website is not an e-commerce site. Thus, there is no absolute need for prices to be displayed. But I think showing prices is a good thing. How else – besides going to an Authorized Dealer – are you going to know what to budget for, for the next few years?
The Honest Watch Sellers
Of course, we here at Bob’s have had transparent pricing right on our website for quite a while. We tell you exactly what each watch in our inventory will cost. And better yet, we’ll show you an average price on any watch you’re looking to sell. What we’ll pay you for your watch, in the end, will, of course, depend on its condition.
So what do you think? Is it better for a watch brand like Rolex to display its prices on its website? Or should they play hard to get?
