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Thought I'd share this....

Went to see my AD earlier in the week in the seemingly never ending quest to get my wife's Cockpit Lady (apparently now in Canada, waiting to clear customs) and they know that I am also looking at a TT Legende. They mentioned that Breitling was in the process of reducing prices in Canada to reflect the recent strength against the US dollar. They didn't have details, but are checking into it and will let me know when I pick up the Lady (hopefully) next week.

Not sure if this is a Canada only thing due to the recent surge in cross border shopping or whether other non US markets may be able to benefit. Original list of the TT Legende in Canada was $9,300 - I'll let you know what I hear

This sounds like a joke. They will never reduce prices officially. It is rather predictable, that prices in the US will rise very soon.

Breitling produces in switzerland, the canadian dollar is quite stable to the swiss franc, only the US dollar sucks.

I really doubt that. No swiss watchcompany has ever decreased prices for exchange rate reasons.

BG
Thomas

I can understand that it may happen here in Canada. The AD (La Swiss) is owned by the same company that is the distributor for Canada and there is significant pressure on all Canadian retailers to reduce prices due to huge price discrepancies with the US and the relative proximity of major Canadian markets (especially Vancouver / Toronto / Montreal) to the US.

It may be that the distributor is pressing Breitling for an adjustment rather than the other way round, but not surprised that the discussions are taking place - let's see what price I get from the AD.

I was once told that Grigoros (The Canadian Distributor) actually buys from Breitling USA, so Grigoros might be purchasing in USD which might make a discount possible.

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That would make sense - may also logically follow that the MSRP discussion would be with BUSA rather than Breitling directly.

The prices have made a pretty significant drop in Canada from 2005. Cosmonaute with SS navitimer bracelet was listed as $6,800 back then. As of 2007 it listed for $5,750. I haven't seen the Chronolog or price list for 08, but a further reduction would be most welcome!

in korea its a bit different and a bit odd. over the summer they offered a 15% discount, but only to non-korean citizens (i presume its because customers could buy one cheaper in the us due to the weak dollar and the stores wanted to maintain some level of competitiveness). after the korean won started to weaken again, they knocked the discount down to 10%. but with the latest round of dollar weakness, i'm hoping they will raise the size of the discount again. i talked to the saleslady and she said the sales people have no idea about it, corporate just tells them that day, no warnings. also there is only one ad here. there are several branches at different malls, but only one authorized dealer imports, so the sales people have no authority to reduce prices, which sucks. but they make it up by kicking in more swag and good service.

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bentley motors t black dial

The USD vs. CAD exchange has moved so rapidly they almost have to - the recent low was in early 2002 I believe when 1 canadian dollar would buy just under 0.62 US, this week it briefly hit $1.10 - so buying power has increased about 80% in less than 6 years, and that forces price adjustments simply because demand moves to another market otherwise.

Just heard back from the AD. Revised list for the TT is $8,600 (previously $9,300).

The SS watch is also available on a TT bracelet for $6,900 - a more appealing option as far as I'm concerned - $1,700 for a gold bezel is a lot of money and results in a less resilient watch.

I was sceptical that the reduced pricing would mean smaller discounts, but even over the phone I was offered the SS on TT bracelet for $6,290 taxes in - with Ontario and federal tax totalling 14% that amounts to a discount of 20%.

Just a further update - went in to see the AD - they got my custom order Cockpit Lady in (photos to follow - nice looking piece) and he had also received a TT Legende with a bronze dial - darn near bought it there and then - may well be going back next week.

Anyway, on topic for this discussion, I asked whether he would consider shipping overseas for peple who wanted to take advantage of the relatively low prices and he said that he regularly does that and has all the shipping and insurance stuff sorted out.

So if anyone wants a contact with an AD that I could not recommend more feel free to PM me and I'll pass on his details - may not be quite as cheap as a US dealer or grey market, but I personally would never dream of buying a new Ling anywhere else.