I don't think much has changed though. The movements are getting better, and the quality of the watches is far better than when I first started collecting reps. I don't see that the watches these days are any less reliable, in fact I would say on the contrary.
I think it is our expectations that have increased. The dollar is weak, so prices seem to have gone up, the quality of the watches is improving almost to gen standard now, so we expect more.
When we start buying reps thinking we will get reliable genuine like watches, that is when this hobby becomes worthless. I truely believe we should only buy reps for fun, otherwise one will always be disappointed.