The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Now I'm pretty sure that Thomas won't be jumping to reply to this one( !), but I'm kind of interested in figuring out what the AD mark-up is on brand-new Breitlings.

In the past I've only ever managed to get about a 10% reduction on list, but I know that some of you guys have managed 30% without too much bother. Now for a 30% reduction to be viable, it would lead me to think that maybe AD mark-up is around the 40 to 50%.

Obviously I realise it's a business and you pay for peace of mind regarding authenticity and quality of service, and if I thought the price of Breitlings was unreasonable I simply wouldn't buy them. BUT it'd be nice to know how much "bargaining margin" I actually have for next time!

Any ideas? (Or if no-one knows for certain, it might be useful to hear what kind of AD discounts you managed to achieve, as this will help give us all an idea of what is possible)

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Driver8

Site Moderator

When I went to my local AD roughly two months ago to begin shopping for my Breitling I was only offered a 5% discount. I thought this was pretty terrible so I kept shopping around. I later found another AD who intially offered a 15% discount. They claimed that 15% was the maximum discount allowed by Breitling. I knew this to be false and left that day. I later came back and continued to negotiate with them. I finally got them to come to 20% off. However, this took two separate visits.

Thus, I had to go to two different ADs and make multiple trips to negotiate the 20%. All of these dealers were located within the state of Maryland in the United States.

I would be interested to know if the discount is different in other countries or in other parts of the states.

In my recent visit to an AD Breitling event day they were running 25% off that day only. I don't know if Breitling may have given them a "hold back" or free product spiff to compensate for any loss on the day though? I received 15% off my SA and it was my first ever purchase at that particular dealer.

Are we talking off straight MRSP, or after provincial/ state sales tax has been added on those percentages? Or VAT in your case?

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Breitling Cosmonaute
Breitling Wings Automatic

My local AD in Illinois matched a price I was quoted from a Caribbean AD with no questions asked. I told him what I had been quoted by the AD in St. Thomas and he said 20% is their standard discount. They do have a disclaimer on their website though that they will match any price from an AD. I don't mind paying the sales tax to know that I have a local AD within a few miles of where I work. They did offer another 2% discount if it was a cash sale, so in total I could have gotten 22% off.

I am 99% certain that the mark up for the largest AD chain in Canada is 45% - have this number from two separate sources. Bear in mind that the distributor in Canada (Grigoros) owns that AD chain (La Swiss) so they may have some flexibility on pricing between their own companies - and I don't know if that markup is from Breitling to AD or from distributor to AD (i.e. if retail is $1,450, the cost is $1,000, but that may be the price that the distributor charges the AD, the actual price paid by the distributor to Breitling may be lower - I just don't know).

Also bear in mind that a 45% markup is not the same as a potential 45% discount - if the cost is $1,000 then retail becomes $1,450, but a 30% discount from $1,450 is $435 - leaving a sale price of $1,015 or $15 profit.

I had a similar experience from my local AD. They only offered a 10% discount, so I looked around and found an AD recommended by a another watch forum member. I called and talked to a rep. This AD was out of state and he offered 30% without much haggle. I decided the local dealer wouldn't be able to beat that price because I'd still have to pay state sales tax. I looked up the dealer list on Breitlings site and they seemed reputable, so I ordered my Steelfish. They didn't have the dial color I wanted in stock so he had to make a special order, but I still got the great price. He was willing to give the discount on any watch I wanted, but the SO Steelfish was what I want. I'm waiting for it to arrive and I feel confidant it will meet my expectations.

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Life is too short to have a crappy watch.



Navitimer o1 LE
SuperOcean Steelfish
Bathys 100Fathoms Aquaculture
RXW MM20
RXW MM25
Seiko Sumo
Seiko Orange Monster
Movado series 800 diver
Thanks
Terry

i have found that with my AD making yourself a familiar face is a good way to get yourself a nice discount. I know that's not really the point of this thread, but i'll continue.

When I bought my first Breitling I was given the best price Breitling allowed at the time. Now we know the some AD's will give better than the allowed discount. I made friends with the people there and went in to say hello and talk watches with the guys there, and before I knew it they were calling me to come hang out and check out new stock (sales tactics as we all know). Well when it came time for my to buy my next watch I did some price comparing and haggling with them, ultimately getting a really good mark down because it's harder to say no on a price to someone you are familiar with.

We all love our watches, and the AD's love us because they know we will buy multiple watches, so make yourself a familiar face and get friendly with the staff (especially the attractive ones) and you'll find yourself with a nice discount.

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Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm
Breitling Chrono Avenger
Breitling Chronomat Evolution
Breitling Chrono SuperOcean
Breitling Avenger Seawolf
Omega Seamaster Pro James Bond LE Co-Axial Auto

Now, I cannot tell You, how the markup situation in the US is, I would say, its around 50%.

If I have a watch for €1200,- retail (for easier calculation), this is meaning € 1000,- + 20% tax, I pay € 624,- So my markup is 37,6%

Calculation exampel:
10% discount: € 1080,- retail brings it down to 900,- + tax, so markup is only 27,6%

20% discount: € 960,- retail brings it down to 800,- + tax, so markup is only 17,6%

When I only earn 17,6%, I cannot pay my staff anymore.

So I cannot really explain 30% discounts

BG
Thomas

I think the reason some dealers do it is to increase volume. If they didn't offer a good discount they probably wouldn't get the sale, so they make up for lost profit margin by moving more product. Plus, sales over the phone take less time. Larger stores can do this since they have greater selection. This may be wrong, but I'm sure there is some truth in it.

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Life is too short to have a crappy watch.



Navitimer o1 LE
SuperOcean Steelfish
Bathys 100Fathoms Aquaculture
RXW MM20
RXW MM25
Seiko Sumo
Seiko Orange Monster
Movado series 800 diver
Thanks
Terry

I'm sure it varies by piece.

A Bentley would have a larger margin than a Colt, etc.

It's safe to say it's at least 40-45% on more expensive models, and 10-15% on less expensive models.

~Brian

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Breitling Super Avenger
Fortis Flieger Chronograph
Rolex Submariner Date

Markup is the same percentage for all models.

Sometimes, if You buy an old model, You get an extra discount, but its the same percentage for a golden Bentley as for a steel Colt.

BG
Thomas

So the percentage margin is the same on all models, just the Absolute $ is higher on a $10,000 watch. Equivalent of selling two $5000 watches... that's interesting.

I respect everyone's need to make money.. I am not one of those guys that tries to squeeze and squeeze until the seller is making nothing because he should be honored to do that. I think that kind of attitude is ignorant and selfish. If you get paid for your hard work, so should the guy selling you the product.

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BreitlingSource Admin
http://www.breitlingsource.com - http://blog.breitlingsource.com

It should be noted that retail prices listed in the U.S. do not routinely include sales tax. This occurs because sales tax differs in each state. Thus, when the AD quoted me 20% off, that 20% was off the retail MSRP. I had to pay sales tax based on the final sales price. Thus, the sales tax does not cut into the profit for the AD because sales tax is calculated after the sale, and is paid by the buyer, not the AD.

This alters the calculation listed above, and might account for why dealers in the US are able to give larger discounts percentage wise.

I totally agree with your comments above, Admin. But I also think it's quite useful to know that you can maybe cut yourself a bit of deal and still have both parties walking away happy. And to be honest, no retailer on earth is going to be brow-beaten into selling you something so cheaply that they are making a loss. As Thomas said, at a 20% discount he couldn't pay his staff, so at that level he just wouldn't sell....

And I definitely agree with one of the earlier posts about becoming friends with your AD. The more you buy from one source, the more they know you will be likely to come back, so the more likely you are to get a deal. (And of course you get to chat with like-minded people about watches, which considering you are reading this must be a good thing! )At the end of the day, nice watches are luxury items, and the process of buying (and selling) and owning them should be an enjoyable one. So as I said above, if all parties can walk away happy from a transaction, then we're half way there.

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Driver8

Site Moderator