The Impact Of Reviews. How Much Do Reviews Or Pictorials By Members Such As Pugwash Or By-tor Impact The Sale Of The Watch That They Reviewed?

[Bigdoggy]

How much do Reviews or Pictorials by members such as Pugwash or By-Tor impact the sale of the watch that they reviewed?

An extensive pictorial by Pugwash of the 111h from Silix-Prime was directly responsible for my purchase of that watch.

I fell in love with the 111 & purchased the 113 from Andrew.

By-Tor’s extensive review of the Speedmaster Broad Arrow with the Lemiana movement

(Discontinued according to By-Tor), but sourced by Andrew through Josh after a lengthy

hunt put that watch on my wrist.

Pugwash’s pictorial and comments and By-Tor’s review and photos were both magazine quality. Thanks again to both of you. It amazes me that we have access to this level of expertise here – free for the taking – with just a click or two.

How many of you have purchased a watch as a direct result of a such a pictorial or review?

Edited October 18, 2006 by Bigdoggy

[kasigi]

I have. The Tag Link Chrono on the strength of By-Tor's review.

[speedy1]

I think many of us have purchased the inge because of reviews like this.

[lionsandtigers]

purchased a noobmariner from ttk cause of by-tors review, lucky for me, thats not the only new little treat i got.......... :)

pics coming soon

[vlaletom]

Purshased A 6263 because of ubi & nanuq review of a DW model...

Befor that i would have gone for a modern one.

As some recall i had a little acident in my road to the perfect daytona, but i am in good track now, and a V72 is on it's way !!!!

[insane]

Yup, reviews and pictorials certainly make the decision easier, but I've never bought a watch that I've not considered purely based on a review.

[pman]

What blows me away is the quality of the photography. I read the reviews to make sure what I'm buying is a good quality rep. They provide an invaluable service. Thanks guys!!

[Pugwash]

Pugwash’s pictorial and comments and By-Tor’s review and photos were both magazine quality. Thanks again to both of you. It amazes me that we have access to this level of expertise here – free for the taking – with just a click or two.

I can't speak for By-Tor, but I know I'm not going anywhere soon. Keep reading and commenting and we'll keep posting.

As for the influence they have, I've received many a PM about the IWC GST or the MoonWatch, for instance, with people telling me their purchase was directly attributed to my pictorials. It's very flattering, and stuff like that encourages me to do more (like my By-Tor-inspired IWC guide due soon).

Still, I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants. There are many whose reviews and pictorials encouraged me to buy watches, too.

[KB]

Undoubtably this is why we value members such as By-Tor and Puggy so much, if you don't use their reviews to access a watch before you buy then you must be an impulse buyer.

In fact dealers could do worse than to offer new watches to these guy's at steep discounts so they can review them before release.

Ken

[x86uops]

I read and re-read their reviews, especially those from By-tor, Ubi, Pug, and many others. I love my Tag Link chrono, and made a decision to purchase it based from these reviews.

So to those who provide this excellent service to the community .. I say thank you. Not only do you guys help us decide with the purchase, you also help us learn more about the watch, it history, rep vs. gen comparison, etc etc etc and just learning something about the watch itself, whether it's a gen or a rep. Please keep posting and we'll keep reading.

THANK YOU

[Pugwash]

In fact dealers could do worse than to offer new watches to these guy's at steep discounts so they can review them before release.

You'd think dealers would do this, but they don't.

[Richard Tracy]

Oh most definitely, quality reviews like the ones from Puggy and ByTor influence my

buying decisions.

We would be flying blind without them !

[pivaro]

Same here , by-tor's review made me buy the tag (yep..it was all HIS fault) . After reading and looking at the pictures it felt as if i didn't even have a say in this ......hope he keeps doing those reviews though .

P.

[jkerouac]

I would not purchase a watch just because a particular person or persons had reviewed it. But if a particular watch really appeals to me and I didn't jump right away, these reviews would seal my decision. Pugwash and ByTor are not the only high quality reviewers here, but they are probably the most consistent, and I think they have pretty darn good taste. I'd buy them a drink any time, should either of them pop up in my neighborhood.

[fotoman]

DEFINATLY a great topic

i think members, especially seasoned members shape opinion and sales. I think some has to do with the photos and drooling, and some has to deal with pointing out flaws.

[kkor]

The reviews definitely help for noobs like me. The first rep I bought was a tag link chrono. I never was that interested in the gen, but being new to reps I wanted a safe choice and that seemed like a good option to me. I think by-tors review along with additional comments led to me buying it.

My second watch was a Davidsen 005. I didn't buy it based on a review of the watch, but rather on what seemed like a good consensus opinion of davidsens watches. That was my favorite of the models he was selling. I also like it so much I haven't worn my tag since .

[Devedander]

I personally hope dealers don't start giving away/discounting watches for reviews... it would make it harder to believe the impariality unless they all give the same discount or something to keep the field even... and I would hate to see the bad blood when a review labled a watch as crapola...

But having read many of the reviews I do praise the photography skills and offer my greatest thanks to those who do these reviews... it certainly beats the "looks ok but could be better" or "hands not really right" comments that make up most of the info I can dig up on any particular watch...

[Dani]

I like By-tor pics alot very natural settings often.

I do not like edited pics that much more nice to see watch whit a bottle of vin or in a car something normal.

And when it comes to buy i just buy what i like

[frankt]

I had been admiring the Omega broadarrow/ seagull chrono, and when one of the "original early models" came up for sale I jumped all over it base upon their recomendation...I have maybe 40-50 reps in my drawer, but this one gets more wrist time than all of them combined...Now I'm waiting for Neil's "noobmariner" Sub to arrive and knock it out of 1st place???...Who knows...But these 2 guys with their knowlege, photo skills, and ability to communicate have made collecting high quality reps a whole lot more pleasurable for me!!!...Thanks guys!!!

[Goochenbrau]

I love Pugwash's pictorials, and I admire his skills. The pictures of his IWC make me want to purchase a gen, not a rep though.

[By-Tor]

First: I want to thank you all. Very appreciated of the comments.

I seldom review bad watches because the watches I review are the ones that I decide to buy for myself... based on my own observations. However, I want to point out the shortcomings and flaws as accurately as possible.

I have reviewed extremely accurate reps (like TAG Link)... and very inaccurate ones (like the "Reduced" Speedmaster). Perhaps my problem is that I like all kinds of watches... and find good from almost every single one of them.

The only disappointing replica I ever had was a two-tone Rolex Submariner (my first rep). Actually my 2 first reps were TT Subs. I thought they were good and reasonable reps... but then I received the legendary Omega Seamaster "Bond". SMP set the standard to all reps, and started the "new era" of replica watches... and since then I have only bought all-stainless steel watches. The new Navitimer TT is very tempting, though.

I personally hope dealers don't start giving away/discounting watches for reviews... it would make it harder to believe the impariality unless they all give the same discount or something to keep the field even... and I would hate to see the bad blood when a review labled a watch as crapola...

Don't worry. I wouldn't do that under any circumstances. I wouldn't give bad watch a good review... or to boost anyone's sales, either. I only buy and wear watches that I like myself and consider good replicas.

However, although the "reduced" Speedmaster replica was very inaccurate, I still liked the watch a lot. It was a quality piece and great looker. I "flipped" it because it was a bit small for me, not because of the inaccuracies.

I have no idea how many watches I'm still going to buy. It's always the "2 more and my collection is complete" thing... But then something new comes up...something that you must have... like the new Seamaster Chronograph. I'm seriously considering the genuine TAG Aquaracer 2000 chronograph and Breitling Chronomat too. But I'm sure the reps come out as soon as I've bought them.

[tenacious_b]

All of the reviews and pictorals are what prompted me to buy the INGY from Eddie at a premium, knowing that I'd save money by waiting. Pictoral reviews not only prompt purchase decisions, but also accelerate their timeframe from my perspective. Reviews are also what have made me decide my next two watches are the newest Overseas and the 186 Arktos GMT Despit it's shovel sized GMT hand and incorrect northpole caseback

[watchlover321]

I want my replicas to be 'good quality', so I always wait for reviews to pop up before jumping in.

[kanerich]

I personally hope dealers don't start giving away/discounting watches for reviews... it would make it harder to believe the impariality unless they all give the same discount or something to keep the field even... and I would hate to see the bad blood when a review labled a watch as crapola...

But having read many of the reviews I do praise the photography skills and offer my greatest thanks to those who do these reviews... it certainly beats the "looks ok but could be better" or "hands not really right" comments that make up most of the info I can dig up on any particular watch...

This is an understandable concern. However, as far as I can tell By-Tor and Pugwash mostly concentrate on "good new stuff" that are of a certain production quality that pretty much all the dealers stock without much variance, so it seems unlikely this would be a major problem as a practical matter. And they know better than to declare a watch crapola because the one watch they get has problems. Any given rep can have QC issues and that's not necessarily a reason to [censored] a given watch or a dealer -- anyone who doesn't operate from that presumption shouldn't be dispensing advice on this board. That's not a problem for these guys.

I agree with other posters that I generally am not tempted to buy a rep that's not on my radar already based on one or two reviews, no matter the detail -- in all honesty if 20 members I know to be hardcore collectors post one sentence just saying "X is the best damn rep I've ever owned " I find that more compelling. Any time you can get it, there's something to be said about the collective wisdom of a knowledgeable crowd. Still, these guides are a helpful and interesting resource, and invaluable for people getting into the hobby.

[Pugwash]

However, although the "reduced" Speedmaster replica was very inaccurate, I still liked the watch a lot. It was a quality piece and great looker.

Same with me and the green-bezel GMT-Master II. It's a complete fantasy watch, but it's the one Rolex should have made.

As for free/discounted watches for review, I'd like the idea simply because I want more watches than I can afford. It's not like I'd lie for free stuff, but I suspect if it were to ever happen, dealers wouldn't offer the crap for review.

ps. Sorry for the lateness on my IWC article, the PortoChrono review and the Navitimer review I'm supposed to get done, but my holiday got in the way.