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Unrest amongst dealers


andreww

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I like the idea of the dealers sweating it out amongst themselves for a while. I mean everything is a cycle they'll be doing shooters at the local bar with each other (on us!) soon enough again. So let's just enjoy it while we got it. ;)

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Well I don't quite see the issue here....

Trustytime lists it as "- Available with Leather Strap option ONLY" and perfect-clones "on Leather strap with Tang Buckle"

That's $268 NOT including a SS bracelet, whereas Puretime has it for sale with a SS bracelet for $298, although pictures are not ready yet.....

So there is really no mystery here, Josh and Andrew are $30 cheaper because it does not have a SS bracelet....

Cheers! B)

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i would guess that they get ALOT of business from us and our friends.

i've been a collector for quite awhile and like most of us, kinda ended up here by accident.

you are much more likely to end up at Ideal, BestSwiss, etc. when you search for reps.

i never saw one mention of Perfect Clones until i got here.

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Guest carlsbadrolex

Didnt you hear??? They are all the same person!

I mean really, buy the dealer not the watch! Maybe they should get together and have a last man standing cage match! The winner gets all the watches!

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Didnt you hear??? They are all the same person!

I mean really, buy the dealer not the watch! Maybe they should get together and have a last man standing cage match! The winner gets all the watches!

Are you taking bets? I might be game, but I'd like to see the fighters before the match. ;)

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Not true, Josh has the SS bracelet for $268

http://www.pc-80108.com/0000blsa10014-skyl...bph-p-4788.html

That's a good deal if it's confirmed not a typo, after all the listings are not complete and they do not have pictures etc.....

Remember King had the wrong price on the new secs@12 AP for a day or two, so it can happen.....

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It is nice to see that you all had fun participating in the RWG raffle ... I am glad that I could be of assistance .. a lot of my customers

are here and I appreciate you all !!

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.

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Ok, I've said this before but here is what I know...

I went to China on business and went to a trade association event. There I guess I must have left my contact info, or at least my e-mail, because I got all sorts of e-mails from manufacturers and some independent salesmen for all sorts of things. Weirdly, I got a lot regarding rep watches. I still get them today. I've even been sent price lists and such in excell, but for some reason, and now I think I know why, no catalogues. I've been able to put together over the years that the manufacturers have their own salesmen who market their goods and then there are indenpendent salesmen, some are bigger than others, that don't directly work for the manufacturers.

How do I know this you say??? Well, I've been able to figure it out due to a few reasons...

1. One person offers the watch at significantly lower prices, but usually they require a minimum number of pieces. These are mostly likely people working for the manufacturers.

2. I've seen price lists sent to me by people that look like it's just been edited with higher prices. Yes, they look exactly the same but with different, and higher, prices.

I've even had some offer to send me samples. One thing though, is that I'd still have to purchase, at discount, a certain number of samples. I figure these guys are the one's working for the large manufacturers, but can't be sure of anything.

I've even toying with the idea of ordering a sample to crack this mystery once and for all, but unfortunately, my busy schedule and the fact that I have no wish to start a dangerous business at press time prevents me. :)

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I love these phrases like "sabotage" this or "retaliate that". I prefer to think of it as commerce. :D It is a little tougher on the membership as you have to pay closer attention to different factories and versions and that is one of many reasons why an "honest" forum is all the more critical. It can save some expensive mistakes. But it has been this way ever since multiple factories made the same watch. I am just grateful that there is a new rep which appears to be a good one and it has not continued the $600 plus trend.

As for the eternal question as to what percentage of sales we are we will never have an answer. And it also depends what the question is and what watch it is. There is no question in my mind that the complexity of watches being replicated and the associated costs (including buying the gen, additional tooling, etc.) have raised the bar and as a result the manufacturers are requiring larger runs, setting up some of their own distribution, marketing directly to dealers and exerting some pricing power because reps are more differentiated. What is relevant is that it appears that all dealers are trying in their own way to respond to forum concerns. Although the prices are often higher than we would like watches we could never imagine being accurately repped are and the general market continues to grow - all good things for our sport. :)

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I dont care about who is suck1ng off who, and I dont care about who is trying to screw who..

Are you kidding???!!!

If the dealers are suck1ng each other off now, I would like to know about it! It gets pretty boring out here in rural Spain.

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In the past week we have seen some very interesting behavior amongst some of the bigger dealers. Josh and Andrew debuted the Ver.1 Skyland to mixed reviews, but were clearly making a killing on this long awaited rep. Then, unexpectedly, Angus posts a message that he has a different Skyland coming soon, and buyers should hold off. He posts no pictures until the following day, when we finally see Ver.2, coincidentally priced at about $10 cheaper than Ver.1. The watch is still incomplete, has a glaring error, and is minus the Pro II bracelet. Now J&A have posted the Ver.2 (oddly there are no pics on the site, just a photobucket link) at about $20 cheaper than Angus' price.

One does not have to be a fool to see that there is some unrest between our Asian dealers, and possibly between the rep makers as well. IMO this has resulted in some fair pricing for us, but what will this mean for the long term?

Your thoughts?

Proof that Angus is not part of the Cartel (now) triumvirate?

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As for the eternal question as to what percentage of sales we are we will never have an answer.

There is one way.. pick someone from the cartel, and everyone on all the forums boycotts them for a year or so, and we'll see what happens to them.... extreme way to find out?

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i hope we see some more price reductions in the near future. Just have a look at the new pricing at Puretime.. The new chronofighter diver went down $100 yesterday as well as a handfull of other watches and apparently more to come. I think we're going to see some interesting things happen in the next little while and its all going to add up to savings for us. i dont think any rep watch with an A7750 should be over $400-500 and this new price for the chronofighters is awesome! Hopefully we can see some of those $900 HBB's come down in price also one day then i might actually buy one.

As for the big dealers.. i would guess their sales on these forums make up for a small percentage of their business. The v1 skyland was apparently a sales disaster and thats why the cartel is now selling them with v2 dials and free bracelets. These reps coming out of the HBB factory are the ones to keep an eye on.. the HBB's.. new chronofighters.. ultimate BCE and v2 skyland.. the new superavenger and the new swordfish coming out later this month. This factory seems to have figured out how to do it right. This is a very exciting time for replica watches!

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To me this is obvious why the lower prices. Lower prices appear because 1) the competition or 2) the market prce has risen too high. Sometimes it is a combination or both. Do you think Coke likes Pepsi? that they all sit around in friendly meetings? Competition is good for the consumer at any level. Prices have been reduced to former levels and that brings a lot of people back into play for new watches and increased sales. They found the top of the market and now are moving back to more profitable pricing. Other human traits ascribed to the reasoning is missing the point even if it is true. It's about the money and keeping it rolling in a sustainable way.

Usil

Edited by Usil
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That's a good deal if it's confirmed not a typo, after all the listings are not complete and they do not have pictures etc.....

Remember King had the wrong price on the new secs@12 AP for a day or two, so it can happen.....

It's strange that happens alot with King, price is lower and matches another dealer... then Josh or Andrew come out with a higher price and king bumps up to right along side.

I think what should really be gleamed from this is that these "super reps" can be sold for under $300 and the dealers are still making a profit. Price fixing and colusion worked great for gas stations in the mid-80s/90s until stations decided they wanted a larger market share and tried pushing others out and then it was every man for themselves and markups returned to their pre- pricefixed point (obviously gas prices fluctuate daily, but the markup at the pump is typically pretty consistant).

Edited by supermanx
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