jot9011

Agreed

I rest my case

I have read the thread at RWI (all 17 pages of it) and while I feel that RWI did what they needed to do to protect their members, I do not feel that this will affect the way things work in the rep world. Price fixing is an agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at the same price. What is happening here is coercion and strong-arming. Something entirely different. While Josh and Andrew are responsible for bringing some of the new "super-reps", these have been coming with "super-prices" I do not think the recent drop in prices of some watches (ie Graham, ets) are due to competition. I think that's a market adjustment. Thats to say, that because watches are more expensive now and members are buying one instead of 2 or 3, this leads to supply outweiging demand on some watches. These tactics will always exist in this illegal market. Will the prices soar out of control because of it, I don't know? Bottom line is, that is not why they were banned at RWI. It was a matter of ethics and disrepect. But honestly, How ethical do you expect a person who sells illegal goods to be. I am happy with quality reps at decent prices. If we had more Josh's and Andrew's (ie Angus) not all tied to the same factory then it wouldn't be possible for one or two dealers to control the market. Out of this entire thread, the one thing that really bothered me, was this comment. If long-time members continue to lambast and deride new members for offering their opinion, then how do you expect to grow your membership. These are not the "hit and run" type of forum members. These are the one's that actually care enough to sit down and compose a response. Not everyone with a post count under 50 is a total imbecile with no insight. Just as it is, that a post count of 3000 doesn't make a you a genius. With all the problems we are having with paying the bills here, I think that this "Shut-up and sit in the corner. Adults are talking" attitude is not warranted.

???? Prices for the new Hublots look as outrageously high as ever? Where are you seeing a 50% price reduction?

The sensation you are feeling is due to inflammation in the bursa of the joints. Most likely due to normal aging that causes a changes in the forces on the spine. It feels good to "crack" these joints because the leads to release of gases from within the synovial membranes, and temporary relief of pressure or pain. In most cases though, the pressure or pain will return. There is some research suggesting that chronic cracking can lead to arthritis and lead to further problems. A worse case scenario would be a herniated or bulging disc that is causing pressure on the spinal nerves. Much more painful. I would not recommend "cracking" as you are never sure of the possible injury you can be doing. I agree with JJFlash, NSAIDs and healthy physical excercise are good adjuncts. Strengthening the abdominal muscles (ie crunches) will take the work load off of the spinal muscles and may make you less prone to injury.

waiting for mine from Joshua. I hope this current trend of high quality reps at reasonable prices continues.

....and once you have that problem fixed, ALL you have to worry about is the pearl.

That's V1 with the 1/2 dot @3

Still in for 1 Lani.

I have to believe that the rep forums represent a very significant portion of the dealers sales. Good customer service and willingness to make changes when suggested are signs that support this. It's pretty naive to think otherwise. If we only represented 1%, or even 5% of their sales, then why would they give two shits whether your watch was defective or not? You would simply get an "Oh well, better luck next time" response, if that. In the bigger picture, in total sales to all replica dealers, our portion may be very small, as there are MANY more dealers and factories than the one's that are supported here. I believe the collectors that we buy from have some influence with the factories that they deal with, due to their volume of rep board sales. Just makes sense to me that way.

Listening to Abba is like being trapped in a broom closet with a garlic-breathed, greasy-haired, sweaty-armpitted professor lecturing on post-structuralist analysis of John Laws's poetry. Throw in fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard , a couple of feral cats mating and a really loud diesel truck, coupled with a pack of rabid hyenas fighting over a fresh kill. That about sums it up for me. But to each his own.

While I would have to agree with you, The oil companies solution to the problem is not the right one. The oil comapnies basic approach is, to figure out how we can keep using more and more energy and increase supply of fossil fuels, so they can continue to sell them, and we continue to burn them. The long-term approach to addressing the issue IMO would require two things: Invest in alternative energy technologies Shift our consumer culture into one that values efficiency, conservation and forward-thinking. Quite difficult to implement, especially in a country where GM continues to make Hummers because Americans keep buying them. The task is to change thinking here in America

How much do you think it cost Rolex to produce a watch? Precious metals aside, the raw materials in a watch cost about $50. Then you have to factor in quality control, advertising and research and development. .....oh and the huge salaries the executives pull in every year. Garbage...maybe not. Over-priced: DEFINITELY!!! The fact remains that EXACT replicas, down to the micron, can be made if there was the need or desire to do so. EDIT: If you factor in the cost of gold, in say an 18K president, the total value of the gold in that watch at current price of gold/oz would be around $2,232. Rolex's price tag: $20K +. Now you tell me, over-priced or not?

Like shark bait.....

Thanks a ton for doing this Lan!! Totallly un-selfish act on your part! Props to you brother. I'm still in a for a mag, when you get it worked out.

If they are able to fabricate a reliable 7-day PR movement doesn't it follow that other watches,..... like the Big Ingenieur, would be forth-coming?

Wow!!! What a great thread. I agree with JZ completely. According to a major oil Co. CEO who said "$100 oil isn't justified by the physical demand in the market - it has to be speculation on the futures market that is fueling these high prices. Oil and gasoline markets contain loopholes for traders, and the markets are inadequately policed by regulators under current law. As a result, the current market prices are greatly influence by the speculators well beyond the simple laws of supply and demand. Of course the Oil companies would love to subvert the blame in this way. They still play a major part in this of course. Whats even crazier, despite their record profits, the government continues to provide to oil and gas companies with tax giveaways and subsidies of $7.5 billion

Hey Lani, I'm in for one.

Hey Freddy: I'm having a hard time interpreting these results. I think the percentages are off due to the null option. 30% of CHS watches that have no problem are part of the group that includes 40% of people who don't even have one (null option). If you negate this percentage (null option) then the percentages change, don't they? In other words: CHS(running fine) + CHC (minor problems) + CHS (dead) + CHS (being returned) should = 100% Or is that just crazy talk? EDIT: If you re-calculate the percentages of CHS and IHS watches with problems they are pretty similar: 48% vs 51% respectively

I'm starting to really like that watch.

Not so strange Mickey, They have to sell what's left of the original version. Who's going to buy that one when the new and improved version is out.

Must be a German thing. I don't get it.

Nice review. Very nice watch IMO! Never noticed the AR on the case back! I had a few QC issues with the watch I received. For one, the hands were not put on correctly and do not line up at the hour markers. The other issue I had was with the deployant always popping open. I had to dremel the inside edges to make it stay closed. Must have been a Monday or Friday watch. Other than that a very cool watch.

Excellent info...Thanks!