Rep Pricing - too high, too low, what is it?

[LightGeek 25]

The title is just to get you in, I have no beef with any high or low pricing. What I want to bring up is what I've learned in the 3 months here so far.

 

The following appear to be the "general" price ranges for reps in US Dollars and the ranges are suggestive. As always, there ARE exceptions, but that's not the point of this thread. Also, the borders for the ranges are fuzzy and overlap in the real world but you'll generally hit what I'm talking about.

 

NOTE! This only represents TRUSTED DEALER pricing. If you go out of band and shop at other places, these guidelines usually don't apply (eg. crap at higher prices).

 

 

$35-90

Bottom of the barrel rep if it's an automatic movement. Automatics will always be A21J but usually are the worst of them with stuttering or other issues. Sometimes you may get lucky and have a good sweep in the low-beat movement. Expect many flaws or even fantasy style (eg. added dials, non-working chronos, etc). Quartz is also usually in this range which can be good (eg. working chrono) and bad (eg. low cost case and materials). Shop here if you just want to get a feel for the size or general style of the watch. If you've handled the watches at the next level up, you'll usually not keep these.

 

$90-150

"Pretty good" reps can be found here. This is the common price range and many a good Sub, PO and Rolex (common starters) can be had. Most movements are still A21J here but usually of better construction. A lot of higher beat movements near the top of this range are common such as Asian ETA 2836 (no, not Swiss). There may be some great quality quartz in this range as well.

 

$150-350

In the top of this range are either great reps which have minimal "flaws" with high beat movements, or chronos with 7750 movement. Whether the latter is a good investment is not the point of this thread. At the bottom of this range may be great A21J or starter high beat watches -- these tend to be gems for the money spent.

 

$350+

This enters into the "anal retentive" area where the tiniest details start to matter (incabloc anyone?). If you're looking for your grail watch and a keeper, you're usually looking into this price range. At the bottom there may be some overflow of chronos with 7750 movement. A little higher are your "near perfect" watches with various high beat movements. When you reach $400, it's in the realm of custom build or mod territory (not going into detail here). Even higher ($500+) you're looking into either ultimate custom builds or flying tourbillon movements (no, not open hearts).

 

 

Again, this is what I've gleaned from all the posts I've read and the dozen and half or so reps I've gone through so far. Speaking of which, I should be topping two dozen soon with four on the way and three more on order.

 

Discuss away!

[chimpinchamp 0]

I think there are places for all these price ranges, but I still can't wrap my head around rep watches with solid gold pieces on them, or people who spend vast amounts of money modding with expensive gen parts.

 

Each to their own, I guess

[LightGeek 25]

I think there are places for all these price ranges, but I still can't wrap my head around rep watches with solid gold pieces on them, or people who spend vast amounts of money modding with expensive gen parts.

 

Each to their own, I guess

 

There are reps with solid gold, and not wrapped or plated?

[deju 1,878]

 

Good guide! I must admit I'm on the fence with wanting the incabloc mod haha...

 

But what we all really want to know is who makes the best sub and what price range it is in! Lol

 

[houndoggie 58]

you can pretty much get anything you want that will be awesome in the $200-$400 range.

[goodgood 0]

Great post.

How about what you'd expect on the M2M corner?

Like when I see "modded", I expect almost double the price of the original, and heavily modded, then I skipped totally...or C and R,and "never worn" but it shows the watch on the guy's wrist and no plastic on the helium valve? This would help newbies tremendously.

[LightGeek 25]

Great post.

How about what you'd expect on the M2M corner?

Like when I see "modded", I expect almost double the price of the original, and heavily modded, then I skipped totally...or C and R,and "never worn" but it shows the watch on the guy's wrist and no plastic on the helium valve? This would help newbies tremendously.

 

M2M is whatever the market will bear. There are no pricing rules other than "don't sell for more than you bought it for".

[Cynikal.Mindset 1]

you can for sure sell for more than you paid in m2m sales...say you were to buy a "tony's special" for $99 and then the model regularly costs $180 selling for $150 shipped is more than fair for a new/gently used item as its below market value. Like you said its what the market will bear and if the market bears $150 as a fair price then its legit, same goes for rare/discontinued items

[LightGeek 25]

you can for sure sell for more than you paid in m2m sales...say you were to buy a "tony's special" for $99 and then the model regularly costs $180 selling for $150 shipped is more than fair for a new/gently used item as its below market value. Like you said its what the market will bear and if the market bears $150 as a fair price then its legit, same goes for rare/discontinued items

 

Mmmmm seems frowned upon. I hope nobody goes hoarding "specials" now

[grb 1]

In my opinion and in mine alone, if you buy a cheap or expensive replica and it comes with a cheap strap it remains in the replica domain, and I'm sure all of my peers would agree. If you spend $150-$300 on a nice strap on first inspection it moves it out of that bracket even if it's a $90 watch, but not everyone wants to spend that amount.

From what I've seen with the modded vintage pieces, it may not be every one's cup of tea but done well, the modder is replicating a piece of history, and that may not be what you want.

I still maintain we play this game from afar and rely on pictures and hearsay to decide what our next purchase should be.

The GTG's are a fine way of advancing knowledge. From our GTG last week I thought I'd done with Breitling's and then Corv produced a modded gen some sort of Deep Sea Dog thing that I didn't catch the name of but was outstanding.

Also the unworn element surely cannot include trying on, from my own position I'm now down to 11 in my collection of which I've worn 5 but each one has gone through a minimum of 3 strap changes. There must be other inmates here that are of the same mental state as myself.

[houndoggie 58]

I am waiting for the resident expert on rep pricing to chime before I make any decisions

 

 

Haltec, the floor is yours.

[LightGeek 25]

I am waiting for the resident expert on rep pricing to chime before I make any decisions

 

 

Haltec, the floor is yours.

 

Hey man, don't bring that sh*t into my thread hahaha

[rory4881 0]

Whilst having scoured the boards for information over the last few weeks I certainly agree with that breakdown in terms of bang for buck.

I received QC pics today from Mary at WI of my incoming Pam11N and Uboat 1001.

[sms 0]

I've had pretty good luck in M2M sales. At that point you know it works, it's in country, and you can trust the members, here anyway, to make it right. I did break down and buy one modded VC overseas from a different forum. It was advertised as 42mm, but I measure 40. I still don't know for sure if all the 42mm VCs are small, but at any rate, the ziggified lume is amazing for a little while, upgraded cross, and clasp were as advertised. It was also supposedly serviced at the time of upgrade and it does seem to be a real ETA, runs great at ~5-10 sec, so at 400 I'm pretty happy. In fact it's my 2nd or 3rd favorite watch behind the Ball Engineer $$$ and maybe the Davosa Ternos diver I paid ~300 for. I bought both of these M2M at watchuseek. $400 is about the most I would pay for a rep, even one with mods, although after buying straps I have more than that in quite a few.

 

I also have a VC overseas 21j faux chrono I paid 40 bucks for on M2M here. It looks pretty good and is the reason i wanted the good version. It's not half the watch, but it cost 1/10th. The most noticeable difference is the quality of the bracelet, although I did get it barely wet one day while rinsing out a glass. The next morning I had moisture inside the crystal. I took the back off and blew it out with air and left it open for a few hours. No moisture since. I was afraid I would never get the movement back in to dry it out better. The 21j keeps really good time and both are hard to wind by design. The cheaper version starts up just as fast with a twirl as the ETA. Say what you might, a good 21j movement is pretty darn good, but I don't like the faux chronos.

[machiavegli 6]

An interesting thing about pricing for me is how the brand of the gen affects the rep pricing in unexpected ways. Take Graham for example. You can get a really solid rep (like an ingot of steel, actually) with an A7750 mvmt for under 2 bills, same for the UN Maxi Marine series with A23J mvmt and working power reserve. The price on a UN gen would get you a down payment on a house!

 

I would have predicted that economies of scale would make über popular reps Rolex Subs flawless & dirt cheap, but the biggest bang for the rep buck often is the lesser known boutique brands.

 

-Mach

[TyLoper 0]

+1

[BigBuys 0]

I am still gasping for air due to the upward swing of pricing over the last two years. There certainly have been hoards of improvements and SuperReps are plentiful but the prices are much higher compared to two or three years ago.

[strozzi 1]

And then there's BK's mod Subs: lovingly, skilled handiwork and makes the difference +500 US, But of course, it's all in the perception of the buyer.

[Olly 0]

Personally I think that they are priced well. Compare the best AP Diver rep to the gen and the movement alone does not warrant the extra £12k !!

[ryaku 3]

Many reps seem to be overpriced these days but it varies a lot.

 

If movements were reliable and accurate I would say well priced, but for my experience I can say they are not (regardless of the version, ETA or Asian Eta...maybe I am very unlucky, but I have no trust in rep movements). Many members disagree here, I am aware of that.

Of course there are excellent reps, true bargain, and for those the price is well justified regardless of the quality of the movement.

[narikaa 129]

 

 

There are reps with solid gold, and not wrapped or plated?

 

 

Yes

 

 

Always have been

 

 

Mostly Datejusts and DayDate Rollies

 

 

 

 

.

[Olly 0]

Hummmmmmm Sure............

[narikaa 129]

Are you on drugs?

 

Solid gold reps have been available many years

[nyckid 0]

Are you on drugs?

 

Solid gold reps have been available many years

Reg, CNY doesn't affect your business. Does it? I know I should've email you this question but I figured it'll be faster here.

 

 

Thx

 

The Kid

[narikaa 129]

Hardly a hiccough

 

What little there is in celebrations here in Thailand were over and done with on the 30th (no month long Chinese coma here )