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By-Tor

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Posts posted by By-Tor

  1. My first rep...

    in The Tag Heuer Area

    Posted

    And I've second one :D. Aquracer Calibre S. To be honest it is quiet far from gen but I like this watch and quality is very good.

    So it is time to arrange next.... Aquaracer chronograph ^_^ ???

    Great choice, if you have wrists big enough for that.

    Maybe my favorite rep.

    7a.jpg

  11. Sponsored Reviews, controversial?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    "Does RWG as a forum condone reviews of rep watches which are gifted to the reviewer for an IMPARTIAL review?" Yae or nay.

    I think this is a non-issue. I doubt we're going to see "organized reviews" like this a lot in the future.

    I think that people exaggerate the meaning of the reviews. Maybe they increase their sales a little, but I doubt the numbers are as significant as people think. And like I said previously, many of these articles increase the sales of all dealers simultaneously, when some popular watch model (such as the "UPO") gets reviewed. That watch, for example, was freely available through almost all our dealers.

    The UPO review watch came from Precious Time, simply because he's a trustworthy EU-based dealer, not because he's my "best buddy", or because I want to help him to sell more UPOs. All dealers are your "best buddies" if you send your money to them. If my review benefited the sales a little, it benefited the sales of ALL DEALERS WHO WERE SELLING THE "UPO", not just Precious Time. I was reviewing the WATCH, THE PARTICULAR REPLICA MODEL, not Precious Time.

    So why would a particular dealer "sponsor" a review alone? So the reviewer could write that "his service was excellent, he shipped the watch, which is working... and didn't take my money and run". All our veteran dealers are good and trustworthy. So where's the catch here (from their POV)? I could understand if the watch was EXCLUSIVELY provided by one single dealer (like the WM9 Sub for example).

    And about "us getting compensation for our hard work" doesn't fly, either. For me it's not "hard work" at all. It's all pure fun. If I didn't enjoy photographing and writing about the reps... or educating the membership about them, I simply wouldn't do it. Making some big reviews have taken DAYS... and if I considered it "hard work" I would never do it. Not for a stinkin' $250 anyway.

  17. Sponsored Reviews, controversial?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I would love to review many watches. Like a good DateJust ETA, Explorer I, Hublot Big Bang, a Breitling BCE, Breguet Aeronavale, or ANY dressy gold watch, etc, etc.

    I would never buy one of those models though (save the BCE)... but there's no doubt that I couldn't write an objective and passionate reviews of them. There are lots of watches that I like, but don't necessarily want to own.

    I think it's more like the opposite: Sometimes when you receive a new watch that you absolutely wanted to have you'll lose some of the objectivity. That's because you're hyped about your new purchase. I try to avoid that, but no doubt it has happened to me as well (occasionally).

  18. Sponsored Reviews, controversial?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    @Neil: I think it does matter whether all the dealers have access to the same watch or not. If it was available only from Angus, then the review would only serve his personal agenda. Most of the reps are available for all the dealers. If my review of say, the "UPO", affected positively in the sales of this watch, it has probably given business to all dealers (who were selling this particular model).

    When it's about freebies, and "free" something, very large percentage of people are willing to compromise something from their integrity and self-respect right away. I have seen this many times in real life. Just open the reality TV if you don't believe me. :lol: And I'm sure it would happen to some people who post to this thread as well... the same people who say that sponsored reviews are "bad". Many people claim that they never download porn or masturbate, either.

    I understand your point though... call me a cynic, but I also understand something about the human nature.

    Even if we agreed that Pugs lost his "cool" when he received a free watch, we have to agree that at least he was 100% honest about it. I think there IS a difference.

    You judge him for that, I don't. I'm not saying you're wrong though, but personally I don't think this particular case was such a big deal. But yeah, I agree that this shouldn't become a habit. And like I previously stated, I'm sure our membership would take care of the potential "paid" reviews in the future... and frankly, I don't think the dealers are willing to (regularly) give out $270 watches to anyone, either.

    And this place could never become another ReplicaScamCenter, because the administration of this board don't do this for financial reasons... and the forum isn't censored or manipulated by anyone.

  19. Sponsored Reviews, controversial?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm sure this isn't the first time that a member has received a watch in exchange for a review, and most such reviews have not been as clearly labelled as Pug's.

    Hmm, people are gossiping about this, but does anyone really have any evidence at all to back up this claim?

    Let's make a few things clear here:

    I have never, ever received a DIME, nor a free watch from ANY dealer. I've got a small discount from Precious Time, but I think it's the same discount all his regular customers get. I got the Noobmariner as a gift from another member, but that was clearly stated in my review. I also reviewed TW model of GMT Master from Precious Time, pointed out all the flaws as accurately as I could... and sent it forward to another EU-based member (PT's customer). I reviewed it because I wanted to see this rep. I even paid all the postage from my own pocket.

    Some members have offered to *borrow* their watches for a review, but that's a different thing. A good friend of mine at RepGeeks offered to send his Super SeaDweller for a review, but I refused. I don't want to review reps that I don't like. Also, being European there's always the customs risk when the watch is shipped from the US or Asia.

    Another good friend of mine, Stephane, once offered to send his "Perfect Sub" for a review (which was really nice gesture) but I told him that the watch is crap and reviewing such rep wouldn't serve the community in any shape or form. I don't want to write a negative review of a bad rep, because it wouldn't be any fun. I'm not doing this for a living, it's all fun, and just a hobby for me. But I reviewed his Daytona, which I think came out pretty well. It was good and useful article (I hope).

    There are lots of watches I'd love to review and photograph for the membership, but I wouldn't take a free watch from a dealer, personally. Not because I think it would affect my integrity... but I'd hate to read anyone questioning it. But I'm not saying Pugwash shouldn't take one. It's his own business, his own financial situation, his own values and his own moral ground, and who am I to judge him? I'm not jealous that he got a free watch... good for him.

    And he clearly stated in his article, that it's a "sponsored review". He's 100% honest about it, so I don't see any problem there. AND THE WATCH HE REVIEWED WASN'T SOMETHING THAT ONLY ANGUS CAN GET, EXCLUSIVELY. ALL DEALERS HAVE ACCESS TO THIS SAME WATCH. I think this is an important thing that people seem to forget here.

    And even if we start to get more of these "sponsored reviews" (which I doubt)... I'm sure our membership has enough expertise to call them out right away. You simply can't post an untruthful, fake review of a rep here... if you think someone could, you're under estimating the ability and expertise of our membership.

    PS: I'm not singing gospel here, these are just my own opinions. I can appreciate different views as well... and I think this is a good thread and discussion.

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