Change in view regarding rep markets/argument

[vulcangascompany]

I thought I would put some points down as a newbie to rep watches and thinking about the plus/cons of moral-ish decisions on buying a rep.

Before I bought a rep Omega PO 42mm I thought long and hard about buying it, I

[andreww]

I have no guilt or remorse. I will admit that buying a rep is a form of theft, but I will also say that charging $5-6K for an ETA 7750 based watch is a far bigger form of theft.

[Member X]

I think I'm in the same situation.

Morally, yes, you could argue that what the rep market does is wrong - people making a profit off the name and reputation of others.

But...

If even an amazing quality rep, such as the new Ebel pieces and bargain Omega POs, can come in for such a low price, there really must be an awful lot of money being taken out of the profits in the form of salaries etc, especially when the components for even a full franken gen-u-like watch come in so much under the price of a proper gen.

Edited May 1, 2009 by Member X

[TeeJay]

I thought I would put some points down as a newbie to rep watches and thinking about the plus/cons of moral-ish decisions on buying a rep.

Before I bought a rep Omega PO 42mm I thought long and hard about buying it, I

[ammandel]

Careful Teej, some of these guys will rip your head off for insinuating that Rolex are made in China

Btw, your Plati banner looks gooooood

[TeeJay]

Careful Teej, some of these guys will rip your head off for insinuating that Rolex are made in China

Btw, your Plati banner looks gooooood

Everyone knows that Rolex are made in Switzerland, but, I don't believe that that's where the parts are created

I thought you might like it Awesome work, my friend

[andreww]

Its not just watches. In 1976 I paid $6 to see Kiss from the front row. This summer when they come again it will cost $150 to sit in the last row. Thats a 2500% rise in price, and considering these guys were making millions back then, how much are they making now? Go in to Hollisters and see what they are charging for what should be a $5 t-shirt! My 13 year old daughter hinted that she would like a pair of T&A Jeans, so I stopped in there store and looked at a normal looking pair of faded jeans.... $230!!!!

Has this world gone absolutely mad? I see 12 year old kids with iPhones for christ sakes!! Who is paying the $60+ a month to keep them running. About a year and a half ago I signed up with an internet provider for about $12 a month based on a 3 year commitment. Recently I checked my overly confusing bill to find it was now about $25 per month. When I called to complain they told me they had the right to increase prices, I just didn't have the right to back out without paying extra!

Sorry for the rant, but I just feel that I am being [censored] left, right and center, and I will have no guilt whatsoever downloading as much music as I can find, torrenting whatever movie I feel like, and wearing whatever Replica that I want. These greedy companies can just kiss my ass if they don't like it

[Fidestro]

Its not just watches. In 1976 I paid $6 to see Kiss from the front row. This summer when they come again it will cost $150 to sit in the last row. Thats a 2500% rise in price, and considering these guys were making millions back then, how much are they making now? Go in to Hollisters and see what they are charging for what should be a $5 t-shirt! My 13 year old daughter hinted that she would like a pair of T&A Jeans, so I stopped in there store and looked at a normal looking pair of faded jeans.... $230!!!!

Has this world gone absolutely mad? I see 12 year old kids with iPhones for christ sakes!! Who is paying the $60+ a month to keep them running. About a year and a half ago I signed up with an internet provider for about $12 a month based on a 3 year commitment. Recently I checked my overly confusing bill to find it was now about $25 per month. When I called to complain they told me they had the right to increase prices, I just didn't have the right to back out without paying extra!

Sorry for the rant, but I just feel that I am being [censored] left, right and center, and I will have no guilt whatsoever downloading as much music as I can find, torrenting whatever movie I feel like, and wearing whatever Replica that I want. These greedy companies can just kiss my ass if they don't like it

That internet contact is [censored], in the states if you sign a three year agreement with the understanding that you will pay a fixed price and they decide to raise the prices and you do not agree then they must release you from the contract without penalty. I would continue to call and [censored] about that one.

[andreww]

That internet contact is [censored], in the states if you sign a three year agreement with the understanding that you will pay a fixed price and they decide to raise the prices and you do not agree then they must release you from the contract without penalty. I would continue to call and [censored] about that one.

The problem is that in Canada, all the internet/cable providers are in collusion. Their pricing is pretty much the same across the board, so there is no point in switching and having to re-setup my equipment, email addresses, etc.

When i got my HDTVs I signed up for their overpriced executive package simply so I would have access to every HD station. Now, as new stations are added they want me to buy each one separately. They just constantly nickel and dime you to death! $1000+ a year for TV and I still have to sit through seemingly endless commercials. Just never ends!

[RickHiC]

The KISS thing is an interesting case of supply and demand. That doesn't make the current prices in any way reasonable, but you know, there are a fixed amount of seats per show, and that's what people are willing to pay. Plus of course ticketmaster runs a nice monopoly ring, etc. etc.

Watches and other luxury goods are a goofy in-between however. They have turned supply and demand on it's head. The marketplace is so contorted that people believe what is essentially a commodity (ok, flame away) is something ultra-valuable. Of course that's the result of all the hard work they do creating brands and building up the "lifestyle" image. I imagine that is where most of the money goes, and maybe they even have to justify their crazy watch prices to keep the whole great circle of bullsh$t in the sky spinning. If I opened up a shop in switzerland, CNCed up a decent looking chrono watch, dropped a 7750 movement in it, gave every microscopic piece certified tender polishing and love, and decided to call it, say, "Hublow", how much could I charge? Certainly not $20k. I might have the same product but I gots no brand. I feel bad for Hamiliton. I love the look of some of those Khakis, and they're what, $1400? Some are cooler to me than a lot of other 7750-spawned watches costing crap-tons more.

Ok don't pick me apart too much. I don't mean to sound like a total asshat. I do go back and forth on this issue in my head a lot. I can say that I love this whole fake brand racket, and I love my "fake" brand "real" products, from clothes to glasses to watches. And as a devout lifehacker, it's my opinion that fake luxury is way cooler than real luxury.