Has anyone had direct contact with a manufacturer? Do we know who they are?

[Kleen™ 45]

TD is short for Trusted Dealer. Hence; If they were not 'Trusted', they would not be a 'TD'.

Such a simple concept, yet so many (mostly noobs) fail to comprehend the implications of that moniker. But the bloody BlueBoyz do, so whenever they start feeling...ehrm...uncomfortable... with anyone having a TD status, they'll kick their fucking butt out of here. Pronto!

 

All to protect the members of RWG. Unpaid. Respect that, if anything. And then please stop the bitching...;)

[narikaa 129]

 

No. You can't find discussions of buying direct because the makers do not deal direct with the public. If you're in China, speak Chinese and know the right people, then you may manage to make contact. Otherwise you have no chance. Even all but a few of the bigger dealers (including those you will find on Ali or DHGate) buy only from wholesalers rather than factory direct.

 

 

 

The concept of "I Ali Baba'd direct and PayPal'd X1 item direct from source" transposing itself onto a dealing with the factory producers of top echelon reps is not just far fetched ..it's frankly laughable

 

In these troubled times with crackdowns in force etc. When a 'factory' completes a run of an awaited watch and arranges a set time, dead of night meet in a lock up where the whole lot is cashed up 'in toto' in minutes to a few select major league wholesalers. There ain't no Buy Now button for a wide eyed gwai lo however hard he investigatively trawls the 'net in a frothed up fervour ;)

[Left Coast Guy 24]

The thing which amazes me is not the stupidity of RepGuy's posts...although they are stupendously stupid. (Why would a new member start out by pissing everyone off and asking noob questions if he wanted to organise a group buy? Wouldn't it make more sense to be polite and act as if he had some relevant experience?)

 

No, the thing which amazes me is the apparent lack of curiosity in the forum generally. Here you all are, enjoying the fruits of the collision between Western luxury branding and Chinese business ethics, but you act as if I'm strange because I wonder where these watches come from or how much the factory charges. Come on, some of you must be curious about this. To me these details are fascinating. And I reckon it would be an exciting gamble to send a few quid to someone on Alibaba and wait to see what arrives in the post. I really enjoyed the gamble of buying the camera I mentioned before. Why not plunge in and experience this phenomenon to the full, while it lasts? It can't go on forever. Eventually the Chinese factory workers will want a Western wage and their government will want to conform to business ethics. One day you'll be telling your grandkids how you bought a rep of a £30,000 Rolex for £300. Maybe it will still be working and looking good! And it would be an even better story if you could say that you dealt direct with some random guy at a factory and paid only £30 when all the people on the forum were paying ten times as much.

 

I think the disconnect here is that you're applying a western production framework to this industry, and making assumptions about how it works that don't really apply. There aren't necessarily dedicated Rep Watch Factories.....instead their are project managers/sponsors of sorts that operate like a movie producer -- they provide the capital, they organize the designers and cad drawings, source components from vendors, then hire a contract manufacturer to assemble the product (where that contract manufacturer probably assembles a whole host of gen products already). So in that regard, a "factory" is really a virtual factory.....and since there are real, serious legal implications for getting caught, those producers are keen to maintain anonymity. Even when the TDs buy, they don't buy in person, they order from a catalogue via whatsapp or the like....and they have to pay before they get the watch.....which is why they can't tell you if something is in stock or can't do multiple QC exchanges and other "features" of the hobby that folks don't love. Which is all to say, the factories are purposely secretive and guarded, even with their top distributors, and they sell enough volume with their existing distribution network that its not worth the risk to do group buys or other such things, for the risk those type of things represent.

[greg_r 81]

 

No. You can't find discussions of buying direct because the makers do not deal direct with the public. If you're in China, speak Chinese and know the right people, then you may manage to make contact. Otherwise you have no chance. Even all but a few of the bigger dealers (including those you will find on Ali or DHGate) buy only from wholesalers rather than factory direct.

 

 

 

The concept of "I Ali Baba'd direct and PayPal'd X1 item direct from source" transposing itself onto a dealing with the factory producers of top echelon reps is not just far fetched ..it's frankly laughable

 

In these troubled times with crackdowns in force etc. When a 'factory' completes a run of an awaited watch and arranges a set time, dead of night meet in a lock up where the whole lot is cashed up 'in toto' in minutes to a few select major league wholesalers. There ain't no Buy Now button for a wide eyed gwai lo however hard he investigatively trawls the 'net in a frothed up fervour ;)

 

Bizactly - well put as always, Reg.

[Wriggles 12]

Here's the link for the Aliexpress/DHGate forum: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...showtopic=99049

 

It's VIP only.

 

Thank you! So the reason I can't find discussion of buying direct is that it's in a hidden forum, which isn't mentioned in the threads for noobs and doesn't appear in search results. A big pat on the back to the posters who told me that all my questions had been asked umpteen times and I should just do a search and get reading.

 

Using Ali or DHGate is "buying direct"

 

 

Oh the naivety

[TheTradingTeam 0]

Here's the link for the Aliexpress/DHGate forum: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...showtopic=99049

 

It's VIP only.

 

Thank you! So the reason I can't find discussion of buying direct is that it's in a hidden forum, which isn't mentioned in the threads for noobs and doesn't appear in search results. A big pat on the back to the posters who told me that all my questions had been asked umpteen times and I should just do a search and get reading.

 

 

Trial and error my friend...

 

You'll get a lot of stick for the first couple of months whilst finding out about the 'unwritten rules' on this forum. However, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and lay into the newbies so your best bet is to do as much research as you can and if you really are stuck, ask the question politely and hope you don't get fed to the sharks - telling someone to fuck off will NOT do you any favors haha!

 

In regards to your original post, it would be a conflict of interest for any of the Trusted Dealers, or VIP members for that matter to disclose the details of the manufacturers. The Trusted Dealers are about as close as you will get to the manufacturers and the prices they sell for are not too extortionate. Just be grateful that you have access to the TD list and haven't been given the boot yet..

 

That's my opinion.

 

Prices can vary with a TD, although most of them seem to be fairly close. Even with this seemingly even price across the board, there is definitely a healthy profit they make on most watches, which is to be expected for what they do/offer.

 

For example, I heard about a former TD who now offers the option to drop the normal services offered by a TD (repairs, custom seizure re-sends, refunds/exchanges) in order to get a lower price (it says you still get QC pics and QC process though). Out of curiosity, I emailed this dealer with a few watches simply to see what discount would be applied, and I was surprised to say the least.

 

A Noob Factory Day-Date 40mm /w A3255 movement was listed at $378. Without dealer service, the price was $265.

 

A Noob V7 Hulk date /w A2836 was listed at $368. Without dealer service, I was quoted $243.

 

I did this entirely out of curiosity to see what kind of premiums are paid for what these people do, but I never expected it to be this extreme. Even with this in mind, it is still in everyone's best interest to stick with the Trusted Dealers, but it's interesting to see how everyone pays the price for those bad eggs who go through the TD's.

 

Now that is interesting, I was never aware of that!

 

I knew they made some profit, but not that much! I thought the TD's made their money based purely on the volume they are shifting on a daily basis (considering they are being recommended on forums such as ours here).

 

I would definitely be interested in purchasing a watch without the typical 'Dealer service' but I would be very hesitant to do so unless the seller was active on our Trusted Dealer list and I had seen positive feedback from others taking the same route.

 

Just out of interest, have you made a purchase without the Dealer service or did you just make a few inquiries on the prices?

[joesetexas 0]

I can appreciate your desire to contact the factory that makes the watches.

I recently had a similar conversation with my drug dealer.

I simply wanted him to give me the name and address of the factory in Mexico where they make the crystal meth.

 

He wouldn't tell me!

 

I guess this could be an allegory to the counterfeit watch situation.

Making fake products and selling them is illegal, even in China.

The regime there also has a terrible record on human rights.

Because of international pressure China has the occasional crack down on the fake watch makers and dealers.

Naturally the factories do not want their identity known because they don't want the Chinese government to make an example of them.

 

No I don't use meth, but you can imagine the desire for secrecy in the counterfeit watch biziness is similar to that in any other illegal market.

[RUSH2112 11]

I want to meet Walter white

[RepGuy 108]

Here's the link for the Aliexpress/DHGate forum: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...showtopic=99049

 

It's VIP only.

 

Thank you! So the reason I can't find discussion of buying direct is that it's in a hidden forum, which isn't mentioned in the threads for noobs and doesn't appear in search results. A big pat on the back to the posters who told me that all my questions had been asked umpteen times and I should just do a search and get reading.

 

 

Trial and error my friend...

 

You'll get a lot of stick for the first couple of months whilst finding out about the 'unwritten rules' on this forum. However, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and lay into the newbies so your best bet is to do as much research as you can and if you really are stuck, ask the question politely and hope you don't get fed to the sharks - telling someone to fuck off will NOT do you any favors haha!

 

In regards to your original post, it would be a conflict of interest for any of the Trusted Dealers, or VIP members for that matter to disclose the details of the manufacturers. The Trusted Dealers are about as close as you will get to the manufacturers and the prices they sell for are not too extortionate. Just be grateful that you have access to the TD list and haven't been given the boot yet..

 

That's my opinion.

 

Prices can vary with a TD, although most of them seem to be fairly close. Even with this seemingly even price across the board, there is definitely a healthy profit they make on most watches, which is to be expected for what they do/offer.

 

For example, I heard about a former TD who now offers the option to drop the normal services offered by a TD (repairs, custom seizure re-sends, refunds/exchanges) in order to get a lower price (it says you still get QC pics and QC process though). Out of curiosity, I emailed this dealer with a few watches simply to see what discount would be applied, and I was surprised to say the least.

 

A Noob Factory Day-Date 40mm /w A3255 movement was listed at $378. Without dealer service, the price was $265.

 

A Noob V7 Hulk date /w A2836 was listed at $368. Without dealer service, I was quoted $243.

 

I did this entirely out of curiosity to see what kind of premiums are paid for what these people do, but I never expected it to be this extreme. Even with this in mind, it is still in everyone's best interest to stick with the Trusted Dealers, but it's interesting to see how everyone pays the price for those bad eggs who go through the TD's.

 

Now that is interesting, I was never aware of that!

 

I knew they made some profit, but not that much! I thought the TD's made their money based purely on the volume they are shifting on a daily basis (considering they are being recommended on forums such as ours here).

 

I would definitely be interested in purchasing a watch without the typical 'Dealer service' but I would be very hesitant to do so unless the seller was active on our Trusted Dealer list and I had seen positive feedback from others taking the same route.

 

Just out of interest, have you made a purchase without the Dealer service or did you just make a few inquiries on the prices?

 

No, this was strictly to see what kind of discount would be offered. Based on this dealers past behavior, I would be weary to deal with them.

[mike_morgan 0]

There;s a "thing" that goes on in a lot of sub-reddits and facebook group, where they bypass dealer networks and go direct to manufacturers by doing "group buys"... everybody pools their money and they get the goods for the dealer quantity price... nobody makes a profit, unless the person coordinating the group buy skims a bit off the top, which they frequently do, and say they don't. Often the person setting it all up takes theirs for free, plus a few extras, plus a few dollars... you get the picture.

 

I'm seeing facebook replica watch groups popping up, and the discussions are pretty juvenile, and they barely acknowledge the illegality of this whole thing... in fact, when they do discuss the legality, the general sentiment is that it's not illegal to buy them, the only people that could ever get in trouble are the sellers, etc.

 

They also don't even consider that organizing a group buy is becoming an illegal seller. Never crosses their mind... in their eyes they are buying them.

 

So this OP, I believe, is the end result of somebody trying to do exactly that, and sadly, they'll eventually find somebody to take their money, and hopefully the folks that pool their funds don't get skinned alive as a result of the naive tenacity of the OP, that has long since moved on out of here because they didn't get what they were looking for.

[narikaa 129]

Here's the link for the Aliexpress/DHGate forum: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...showtopic=99049

 

It's VIP only.

 

Thank you! So the reason I can't find discussion of buying direct is that it's in a hidden forum, which isn't mentioned in the threads for noobs and doesn't appear in search results. A big pat on the back to the posters who told me that all my questions had been asked umpteen times and I should just do a search and get reading.

 

 

Trial and error my friend...

 

You'll get a lot of stick for the first couple of months whilst finding out about the 'unwritten rules' on this forum. However, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and lay into the newbies so your best bet is to do as much research as you can and if you really are stuck, ask the question politely and hope you don't get fed to the sharks - telling someone to fuck off will NOT do you any favors haha!

 

In regards to your original post, it would be a conflict of interest for any of the Trusted Dealers, or VIP members for that matter to disclose the details of the manufacturers. The Trusted Dealers are about as close as you will get to the manufacturers and the prices they sell for are not too extortionate. Just be grateful that you have access to the TD list and haven't been given the boot yet..

 

That's my opinion.

 

Prices can vary with a TD, although most of them seem to be fairly close. Even with this seemingly even price across the board, there is definitely a healthy profit they make on most watches, which is to be expected for what they do/offer.

 

For example, I heard about a former TD who now offers the option to drop the normal services offered by a TD (repairs, custom seizure re-sends, refunds/exchanges) in order to get a lower price (it says you still get QC pics and QC process though). Out of curiosity, I emailed this dealer with a few watches simply to see what discount would be applied, and I was surprised to say the least.

 

A Noob Factory Day-Date 40mm /w A3255 movement was listed at $378. Without dealer service, the price was $265.

 

A Noob V7 Hulk date /w A2836 was listed at $368. Without dealer service, I was quoted $243.

 

I did this entirely out of curiosity to see what kind of premiums are paid for what these people do, but I never expected it to be this extreme. Even with this in mind, it is still in everyone's best interest to stick with the Trusted Dealers, but it's interesting to see how everyone pays the price for those bad eggs who go through the TD's.

 

Now that is interesting, I was never aware of that!

 

I knew they made some profit, but not that much! I thought the TD's made their money based purely on the volume they are shifting on a daily basis (considering they are being recommended on forums such as ours here).

 

I would definitely be interested in purchasing a watch without the typical 'Dealer service' but I would be very hesitant to do so unless the seller was active on our Trusted Dealer list and I had seen positive feedback from others taking the same route.

 

Just out of interest, have you made a purchase without the Dealer service or did you just make a few inquiries on the prices?

 

No, this was strictly to see what kind of discount would be offered. Based on this dealers past behavior, I would be weary to deal with them.

 

 

So in return for absolving ALL responsibility/comeback etc

You'll take a discount off the normal market price

Off a chinese seller who says he/she will comply

And pay them up front

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managed to recover from the convulsions of laughter

 

 

I think you'll find that there's a whole sub continent of smiling folks who'll accommodate you

prolly do it even cheaper at a push

[Undinist 20]

Well this has been a most educational thread. Thank you to everyone who contributed. I think I'll just buy everything from Mr Kuvarsit - he seems like a real enthusiast.

[RepGuy 108]

Here's the link for the Aliexpress/DHGate forum: http://www.rwg.bz/bo...showtopic=99049

 

It's VIP only.

 

Thank you! So the reason I can't find discussion of buying direct is that it's in a hidden forum, which isn't mentioned in the threads for noobs and doesn't appear in search results. A big pat on the back to the posters who told me that all my questions had been asked umpteen times and I should just do a search and get reading.

 

 

Trial and error my friend...

 

You'll get a lot of stick for the first couple of months whilst finding out about the 'unwritten rules' on this forum. However, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and lay into the newbies so your best bet is to do as much research as you can and if you really are stuck, ask the question politely and hope you don't get fed to the sharks - telling someone to fuck off will NOT do you any favors haha!

 

In regards to your original post, it would be a conflict of interest for any of the Trusted Dealers, or VIP members for that matter to disclose the details of the manufacturers. The Trusted Dealers are about as close as you will get to the manufacturers and the prices they sell for are not too extortionate. Just be grateful that you have access to the TD list and haven't been given the boot yet..

 

That's my opinion.

 

Prices can vary with a TD, although most of them seem to be fairly close. Even with this seemingly even price across the board, there is definitely a healthy profit they make on most watches, which is to be expected for what they do/offer.

 

For example, I heard about a former TD who now offers the option to drop the normal services offered by a TD (repairs, custom seizure re-sends, refunds/exchanges) in order to get a lower price (it says you still get QC pics and QC process though). Out of curiosity, I emailed this dealer with a few watches simply to see what discount would be applied, and I was surprised to say the least.

 

A Noob Factory Day-Date 40mm /w A3255 movement was listed at $378. Without dealer service, the price was $265.

 

A Noob V7 Hulk date /w A2836 was listed at $368. Without dealer service, I was quoted $243.

 

I did this entirely out of curiosity to see what kind of premiums are paid for what these people do, but I never expected it to be this extreme. Even with this in mind, it is still in everyone's best interest to stick with the Trusted Dealers, but it's interesting to see how everyone pays the price for those bad eggs who go through the TD's.

 

Now that is interesting, I was never aware of that!

 

I knew they made some profit, but not that much! I thought the TD's made their money based purely on the volume they are shifting on a daily basis (considering they are being recommended on forums such as ours here).

 

I would definitely be interested in purchasing a watch without the typical 'Dealer service' but I would be very hesitant to do so unless the seller was active on our Trusted Dealer list and I had seen positive feedback from others taking the same route.

 

Just out of interest, have you made a purchase without the Dealer service or did you just make a few inquiries on the prices?

 

No, this was strictly to see what kind of discount would be offered. Based on this dealers past behavior, I would be weary to deal with them.

 

 

So in return for absolving ALL responsibility/comeback etc

You'll take a discount off the normal market price

Off a chinese seller who says he/she will comply

And pay them up front

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managed to recover from the convulsions of laughter

 

 

I think you'll find that there's a whole sub continent of smiling folks who'll accommodate you

prolly do it even cheaper at a push

 

I think you're confused by the purpose of my post. I was more interested in seeing the discount applied for the lack of support as opposed to purchasing with this deal. It also isn't some unknown DHGate seller, but instead someone many forum members would know of And have probably dealt with in the past (although I won't name them at the risk of driving business away from our TD's). Many members probably already know who I'm talking about anyway.

[onzenuub 307]

RIP

[BadPickle 2,747]

RIP

 

meh...

 

 

@OP

every once in a while some new guy pops up thinking they can change things round here, maybe they've spotted a little glitch in the matrix, so they start a thread and do the do.... but then they come to realize, you know, things are just ok the way they are :)

 

 

Welcome to the forum pal :thumbsup:

[RUSH2112 11]

RIP

 

meh...

 

 

@OP

every once in a while some new guy pops up thinking they can change things round here, maybe they've spotted a little glitch in the matrix, so they start a thread and do the do.... but then they come to realize, you know, things are just ok the way they are :)

 

 

Welcome to the forum pal :thumbsup:

Such a polite way to call someone ignorant. They have .01% of the necessary information and start educating everyone on how things should be. Complete fools.

[narikaa 129]

Curious times

 

Phones are smart

 

&

 

People are stupid

 

 

 

;)

[Pamfan 0]

Hi Udinist,

if you will find any information about factory sale, I would also be interest.

I am really surprised about the answers you received and not understand the reaction of the members.

[Undinist 20]

Umm, can I repeat my post from half way up the page? I really do want to thank people:

 

Well this has been a most educational thread. Thank you to everyone who contributed. I think I'll just buy everything from Mr Kuvarsit - he seems like a real enthusiast.

[Left Coast Guy 24]

Hi Udinist,

if you will find any information about factory sale, I would also be interest.

I am really surprised about the answers you received and not understand the reaction of the members.

[RepGuy 108]

Hi Udinist,

if you will find any information about factory sale, I would also be interest.

I am really surprised about the answers you received and not understand the reaction of the members.

 

I hear the factories sell direct to consumer around Canal St. New York

[SuperbMonster 4]

Hi Udinist,

if you will find any information about factory sale, I would also be interest.

I am really surprised about the answers you received and not understand the reaction of the members.

 

I hear the factories sell direct to consumer around Canal St. New York

 

I hear noob are launching a factory tour with pickup and drop off from local hotels. The tour includes unlimited dim sum lunch and a 'I know who makes the best sub' t-shirt

[narikaa 129]

Those 'noob factory' PR guys !!!

 

If only they'd throw in a rub n tug at a GZ sauna they'd collar all these internet trolls

 

 

hook , line, & sinker

[RepGuy 108]

Those 'noob factory' PR guys !!!

 

If only they'd throw in a rub n tug at a GZ sauna they'd collar all these internet trolls

 

 

hook , line, & sinker

 

Lucky for you, my uncle works for Noob Factory... I can hook you up with those AAA++ 1:1 Roiex Subz. Meet me behind the old Dairy Queen at midnight for a good ol' rub n' tug and I'll give you the goods.

[narikaa 129]

Word is you're just a tease

 

 

 

 

 

;)