Group Buys .. Replications

[lanikai]

Over the last few years I have seen many group buys fall at the wayside .. I am referring to the group buys that pertain to watches, and I might add some of the deals that went South were from dealers doing very well here.

There (IMO) are too many variables that can cause problems and the end result is not pretty. And the odds are stacked against the buyer actually. the saying, " you can never please everyone",.. is true .. because to say that 100% of the reps will not have issues .. well, ... is being very idealistic .. again (IMO)..

Now what would of happened if a member or secondary dealer took on a group buy and then things all of a sudden fall apart.. as they have with the small vendors in GZ... or as some put it... "my contact"... "Chaos Theory" .. is very much in effect with this biz ..(IMO) .. rather than "Controlled Chaos" .. I just hope no one had money out for a group buy !

My WM9,.. I do not consider a "Group buy".. I would put that in the "pre ordered" list of buy ..

There have been successful group buy I'm sure... but the saying .."better lucky than good" also applies... and luck, sooner or latter is bound to run out.

And what are the real savings when you look at the problems you may have to deal with.. I could list them but we have all been there with normal buys.

We've been there with parts.. Date Wheels in particular, I was not believed when I told the vendor that they were defected.... I never had any problems with kruzers OEM crowns .. but then again .. no money was asked for up front, kruzer bought them and took all responsibility,.. and they were OEM .. not fabricated.. very little risk.. if any involved, but he put up the funds and made sure they delivered .. I may be wrong since I bought them once he had them.. if I am .. I stand corrected. but if was a very good and smooth transaction .. well, more than once actually.

this has been many a dealers downfall also, I need not name them or "him" .. and if solid dealers can fail... it may be the factory or the secondary dealer that cannot deliver.. what ever the case... IMO I would rather deal with my factory dealer.. pay a little more. I just call it "insurance"

Now I am not targeting anyone or any group .. but I thought I would post "my" thoughts as I always read post calling for group buys ... what may have worked 3 years ago.. may not be an alternative today.

All it will take is one time.. for example (without playing into the drama) if a large shipment of replications of the same brand and model were to be found entering the USA .. (signals .. 'counterfeit' import for resale)..and all it would take is a letter from the Attorney Generals Office to the Homeland security .. defining all replications as Counterfeit contraband ...

am I being overly dramatic.. well,.. it happened with cigars .. we used to enjoy carte blanche when it came to cigars coming in from Switzerland.. fully intact.. until the day the letters went out from the AD ... confinscate all contraband from Cuba.

Just Food for thought y'all ~

Cheers

Lani

[Watchmeister]

I have done a number of group buys (17j 7750 swiss movements, crowns, cyclops, etc.) and I am of the opinion as well that it requires someone to ultimately take full financial responsibility. In the case of the crowns I got them all and then found that a certain number were unusable and so I had to move the cost per unit up to ensure there were not unhappy customers and/or I didn't lose a lot of money. They can be a valuable resource to the community but you do have to tread carefully.

[HauteHippie]

Yea group buys and/or projects rarely go as planned but IME those involved always understand when delays, added cost, and other unexpected obstacles present themselves. As for the double AR 6mm chieftang cyclops project... At the current pricing I'm not going to break even once sold out. But what are you going to do.

[lanikai]

I have done a number of group buys (17j 7750 swiss movements, crowns, cyclops, etc.) and I am of the opinion as well that it requires someone to ultimately take full financial responsibility. In the case of the crowns I got them all and then found that a certain number were unusable and so I had to move the cost per unit up to ensure there were not unhappy customers and/or I didn't lose a lot of money. They can be a valuable resource to the community but you do have to tread carefully.

chieftang Posted Today, 09:53 AM

Yea group buys and/or projects rarely go as planned but IME those involved always understand when delays, added cost, and other unexpected obstacles present themselves. As for the double AR 6mm chieftang cyclops project... At the current pricing I'm not going to break even once sold out. But what are you going to do

Chief and Kruzer .. as Veterans on the forum realize what it takes.. I believe your services are proven !

My thoughts are more toward the replicated watches as group buys, although the member organizing the transactions may have the best plans and thoughts in mind.. anything can happen to the reps.. especially the movements during shipping .. so the product that is recieved is not always the product which is delivered.. I just think a real "bullet" was dodged with this GZ fiasco ..

Ultimately the member that is organizing the buy is responsible and .. to me,.. that is a scary libility to take on ... how many members have we seen fall out of grace because they thought that going into the rep biz was a piece of cake .. no margin for error in defects etc. .. and even if the source gaurantees the product.. how many times has that fallen through ?

Especially with members attemtpting this in the USA ..

again just food for thought to those seeing the gold at the end of the rainbow

[deltatahoe]

i agree with the sentiments above lani; in the end (as far as watches go), i personally don't think the savings outweigh the hassle and risks of a group buy....

for me the only real case where a group buy makes sense is for small dollar items when the shipping cost equals or exceeds the cost of the item (e.g. ETA day/date wheels from cousins UK)...

deltatahoe

[lanikai]

i agree with the sentiments above lani; in the end (as far as watches go), i personally don't think the savings outweigh the hassle and risks of a group buy....

for me the only real case where a group buy makes sense is for small dollar items when the shipping cost equals or exceeds the cost of the item (e.g. ETA day/date wheels from cousins UK)...

deltatahoe

+1

[Stephane]

i agree with the sentiments above lani; in the end (as far as watches go), i personally don't think the savings outweigh the hassle and risks of a group buy....

for me the only real case where a group buy makes sense is for small dollar items when the shipping cost equals or exceeds the cost of the item (e.g. ETA day/date wheels from cousins UK)...

deltatahoe

Same here Delta.

Thanks for posting your thoughts Lani.

I've been considering organising one myself a long time ago, when I was a super fresh member here.

I'm so happy I didn't.

You listed the reasons why a group buy shouldn't never be organised in the future Lani and Delta said why it might be a good idea to have one.

Kruzer has the conclusion: unless the group buy leader can, and want to, take full responsability, never enter a group buy.

So that's it !