# NYC Lange Boutique — Negative experience



## wintershade

I reached out to the NY Lange Boutique to inquire about availability of a recent “Boutique Exclusive” release. What a terrible experience. Despite having purchased five complicated Langes from my AD over the last 3 years (which I made clear) they treated me like I was some kind of pleb who walked in wearing a Fossil and flip flops. Another friend who I was hoping to convert from AP/Rolex to Lange had a similar experience. While he hadn’t yet ever purchased a Lange, he walked in fully intending to buy one and walked out saying “I’ll never buy a Lange after being treated that way. Never.” Very disappointing.

I understand why some brands with long wait lists and watches trading well above MSRP might give new prospects customers the occasional Heisman (Rolex, PP, etc). But give me a break Lange. My buying history from ADs should count toward something, especially given that I don’t live in a city with a Botique. I felt like I was being penalized for buying locally from a business with which I have a long-standing relationship. And worse, I felt like I was being extorted being asked to buy a “core” piece from the Botique to prove my loyalty to the brand before they would even be willing to provide details of availability for the LE piece.


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## WatchEater666

Wow that's disappointing. I visited the Lange boutique in NYC around December and it wasn't the best but it wasn't bad either. 

Can vouch for the Chicago one run by Burdeens though. Always had a good experience talking to them even when I had no spend at Lange on new watches.


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## greentimgreen

That’s very surprising and sad to hear. My experiences at the London boutiques, especially on Bond Street, have always been exemplary. 


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## Cincy2

Very disappointing. The perception of a brand is always correlated to the reputation of people who sell it. Ageless wisdom. I stay away from the boutique and always purchase through 3 or 4 people I trust and who trust me. I may not be able to get the latest models immediately but the experience is much more satisfying.


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## HoustonBob

That's unfortunate. I think sometimes that it's a technique. I had a fantastic client that had a horrible experience at the Ferrari dealership here in Houston, and a friend told me that it's part of their culture to treat people poorly until they actually buy a car and get into "the club". Which I think is stupid, but Ferrari has a lot more money than I do, so....


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## mlcor

WatchEater666 said:


> Wow that's disappointing. I visited the Lange boutique in NYC around December and it wasn't the best but it wasn't bad either.
> 
> Can vouch for the Chicago one run by Burdeens though. Always had a good experience talking to them even when I had no spend at Lange on new watches.


^^^this. The folks at Burdeens will treat you right.


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## HoustonBob

Which timepiece were you looking for anyway? Something cool?


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## stbob

Do you have what i'm looking for and if so how much. Not looking for a relationship...


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## yellowfury

wintershade said:


> Despite having purchased five complicated Langes from my AD over the last 3 years (which I made clear) they treated me like I was some kind of pleb who walked in wearing a Fossil and flip flops.


IMO in a perfect world you should be treated the same- with respect and courtesy. Someone's attire is not necessarily indicative of their wealth. 

Then again a 5 watch purchase history should really count for something...I'd be especially surprised if you were treated poorly while wearing a watch you had purchased there.

You don't owe any store or brand your loyalty. It's your money and you can always take it elsewhere.


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## kobub

I've been to the Lange NYC Boutique for the first time recently this past summer. Although my experience wasn't anything exceptional as I've heard is possible of other boutique experiences, Lange or otherwise, it was overall pleasant. 

No buttering me up in any way, but they were courteous enough, allowed me to try on pieces and answered my questions. To be fair though, I wasn't looking at anything LE, so I can't speak on that front.

Regardless, very sorry to hear about you and your friend's experience. Hope they are much more courteous to you two should you ever try again.


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## wintershade

Is Burdeens a full fledged Boutique? Like, do they have access to Boutique Only and Limited Edition pieces, or only the core pieces with occasional/erratic allocations to LE pieces that the stand alone boutiques don’t place in the first few months of release. I think I visited Burdeens when in Chicago on business with some time to kill and I couldn’t quite tell. It seemed more like a store-within-a-store that most ADs I’ve visited have.


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## WatchEater666

wintershade said:


> Is Burdeens a full fledged Boutique? Like, do they have access to Boutique Only and Limited Edition pieces, or only the core pieces with occasional/erratic allocations to LE pieces that the stand alone boutiques don't place in the first few months of release. I think I visited Burdeens when in Chicago on business with some time to kill and I couldn't quite tell. It seemed more like a store-within-a-store that most ADs I've visited have.


They run the Lange boutique and I'm in the process of getting an Odysseus application with them.


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## mlcor

WatchEater666 said:


> They run the Lange boutique and I'm in the process of getting an Odysseus application with them.


To be clear, they have a store in the suburbs of Chicago where they are an authorized dealer, and also a Lange boutique located in downtown Chicago (separate location from their store in the suburbs).

I've been approved for an Odysseus by them but I don't think I'm going to get one...


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## Meehul

I move in NY and have been to the boutique a few times. I go to my favorite boutiques a few times a year. And so much depends on the staff. 

One associate at ALS, Ronaldo, was an absolute dream. I have not been dressed to the nines when walking in and he treated me with great respect, patience, and interest. Especially after he figured out I knew about the brand. 

He at ALS and all the people at the FP Journe boutique have been excellent. I wasn’t nuts about Journe until I met people at the boutique and saw their contagious enthusiasm for the brand. 

But that’s not universally the experience. I’ve experienced both great and poor service at several boutiques: JLC, VC, and Panerai. 

I do find it extremely annoying when sales associates lie to you about the availability of limited edition pieces, making it seem as if you have no chance to purchase it because of your purchase history or the likelihood of another customer bearing you to it that weekend. 


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## Cincy2

Meehul said:


> I wasn't nuts about Journe until I met people at the boutique and saw their contagious enthusiasm for the brand.


Every watch manufacturer should read this statement a few hundred times and make the appropriate changes to their distribution strategy. Enthusiasm is indeed contagious.

Cincy


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## Meehul

Cincy2 said:


> Every watch manufacturer should read this statement a few hundred times and make the appropriate changes to their distribution strategy. Enthusiasm is indeed contagious.
> 
> Cincy


It's absolutely true.

I was in NY with a ton of enthusiasm for JLC and Breguet, and skepticism about Journe. The boutiques made a big difference. One salesperson at JLC made me feel slightly unwelcome even though I had the scratch to buy a watch that very day if I wanted. Another, at Breguet, whom I told I couldn't buy that day, saw I was making a connection to one particular model and though she was leaving the job the next month, she really helped me go from very interested to determined to have that piece in my collection.

Both people at Journe were not only welcoming, but knowledgeable and passionate. They were enthusiastic about the Grand Seiko I was wearing. Whatever it is about Journe, I went from thinking "this is a nice watch that's been hyped by Hodinkee and the Watchbox," to really falling in love with one of their models.

For ALS, I don't think my enthusiasm for the watch can be diminished but ronaldo was so nice that I'm definitely going to check in with him before I buy my first Lange.

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## DoraTheExplorerII

Lol I had the opposite experiences with Lange and FPJ boutiques, enthusiasm at Lange including for my FF, more clinical and coldness at FPJ. 
I also think it makes a big difference.


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## WatchEater666

DoraTheExplorerII said:


> Lol I had the opposite experiences with Lange and FPJ boutiques, enthusiasm at Lange including for my FF, more clinical and coldness at FPJ.
> I also think it makes a big difference.


Weird. I had an awesome experience at FPJ in NYC. They were busy when I walked in but as soon as the rep freed up he was great to talk to and helpful. Wish I had pulled the trigger back then!


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## DoraTheExplorerII

WatchEater666 said:


> Weird. I had an awesome experience at FPJ in NYC. They were busy when I walked in but as soon as the rep freed up he was great to talk to and helpful. Wish I had pulled the trigger back then!


Haha, well people are people and they probably read me wrong that day. This was also not in NYC.


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## djgallo

Never could understand that kind of behavior....vote with your wallet....buy elswhere.


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## wintershade

My issue is not with the level of enthusiasm or personalities of the people I spoke to. They were polite enough.

My issue was with the fact that they insisted I first purchase a “core” piece directly from the Botique before they would even enquire about the available about the LE piece I wanted. I needed to “demonstrate my loyalty to the brand.” Given I have purchased five complicated Langes from a respected AD, I found that request to be insulting. Had they said that all the watches have already been allocated, or they’re being allocated to even larger Lange collectors than me, fine. But to simply gouge me so they can move another 1815 U/D or basic Lange 1 movement isn’t an intelligent strategy if their goal is to entice me to move my business over to the Botique or increase my excitement about being a Lange collector.

By contrast, when I approached FPJ to request some of their most limited pieces, FPJ acknowledged my buying history and gave me a clear timeline for when I could expect the piece I wanted (and actually delivered it faster). Sure they made a pitch for why I should buy all my future FPJs from the Botique directly, but they still offered me the piece I wanted and have also offered me some other pieces which the general public has never even seen (which was super cool) and has increased my excitement about the brand.


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## WatchEater666

Yeah Lange is not in a position to be slapping around customers like you @wintershade

Even if you had bought the pieces used, they can really use all the support they can get to keep the 2nd hand value of their pieces solid.

For me, a big reason I liked Lange and ended up spending $$$ with them on a new watch after buying a Lange 1 used is because they didn't have the pretentious attitude of a brand like Patek or Rolex. Treating customers like they are stupid/easily sold/manipulated is not a great strategy if those people are HWNI and usually halfway intelligent.


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## Cincy2

Wintershade,

Are you absolutely committed to buying new? The market is awash with barely touched (some even New in the Box) examples of all the major watch brands. On line retailers like Watch Box, Prestige Time, Burdeens, Watchfinder in Europe all can find you any watch you want, guarantee the pedigree and make sure it looks brand new when you get it. Plus you save money in most cases. This is my philosophy and it has worked quite well.

Cincy


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## wintershade

Hi Cincy -- 

Yes, I agree with you. In the past, I've preferred to buy new, especially since the models I've wanted were often new releases with very limited pre-owned availability. Given the issues of Lange's value retention for nearly all models, I'm going to focus on pre-owned buying going forward. Especially since you can send the watch to Lange and it comes back literally looking as good as new. 

I'm told this 1815 Rattrapante has seen demand almost as strong as the Dato Lumen. It was essentially sold out globally and is only going to top buyers with extensive purchasing history from Boutiques who do not count AD purchase history into the equation. We'll see how it fares on the secondary market. I wouldn't be surprised to see it trade for a slight premium for a short time (like we saw recently with the Triple Split) and come down over time. But it's hard to say. Look at what a Double Split traded for even prior to the Triple Split release. I've seen one sit in the case of an AD local to me for nearly a year now at <65% of MSRP.

I'll own an 1815 Rattrapante eventually. I'm interested to see what I end up paying for it. Even if it's at a premium, will it be more than the price of the 1815 Rattrapante + some random Lange I don't want and have to sell for a loss.

Anyhow, I decided to pass on the 1815 Rattrapante for now. And given how burned I feel, it will likely be a while before I purchase another Lange. I've been working with FPJ to complete a set of the sportline watches with matching case numbers, and MB&F who has agreed to make a very special piece available to me. Both of these projects fill me with excitement and enthusiasm. They've made me feel closer to the brand and the watchmaker himself. With Lange I felt like I was dealing with a disembodied, soulless corporation.


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## sieglo

Had a great experience at Journe in NY. They were clearly passionate about the watches. 

Recently had my Lange serviced at the NY boutique. They were extremely professional, happily showed me other pieces I had interest in, but didn’t quite have that FP Journe enthusiasm.


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## Dunnej

WatchEater666 said:


> They run the Lange boutique and I'm in the process of getting an Odysseus application with them.


I bought my piece through Burdeen's and had a great experience. What's the Odysseus application/process like, if you don't mind me asking? Did they quote you on a time frame?


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## NYCJW

Sometimes it also matters which sales person you encounter. One may come across as a pretentious douche while another who is more easy going may be willing to help with the hopes of locking a future customer.


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## Pongster

What’s wrong with Fossil?


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