You snooze, you lose....

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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MiniMpi
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by MiniMpi »

MiniMpi wrote:On the other hand, I see the C5SKK has been Reduced from £265 down to £185.50 :)
So not all bad.
:shock: Well that didn't stay there long....no longer listed so all sold out I guess.
I was trying to decide between that C5 or a C3SKK so that's that decided so lol
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by androo »

Shame I was thinking about a C11, just because, thought I would wait till Monday pay day. But alas not now. Would rather get an Ocean 2 now.
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by Loddonite »

Watch price inflation seems to be at a higher rate that the RPI/shopping basket and the like. I guess because the rich are getting richer* then price rises of luxury goods outstrip those on basic goods. According to the posts I have read elsewhere over the past year CW are not the only watch company to have hiked prices. Normally I take no notice, but when it's something that I want it's a tad irritating.








* Politics? Moi? :evil:
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by JonD »

Looks like the C8 vintage has gone up £35 :(
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Price increase?

Post by rmauser »

Just noticed the not so subtle price increases on some (all?) of the items on the USA site. Perhaps the biggest draw to the brand was its reasonable pricing, but now with a bump in price I must say it has unsweetened their appeal by a notch in my book. I'm sure they have their reasonings but still feeling the need to vent a little!!
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by Viognier »

Just a few notes and comments:

1. Steinhart already rolled out their price increase, it hit on May 7th, 2012. Likely due to the cost of ETA movements and the Euro issues. CW likley held off as long as they could to pass on old pricing....as I believe many of the C60's as an example were recently out of stock and may have incuured the new costs. Here is a link re: Steinhart's increase http://forums.watchuseek.com/f275/price ... 88116.html

Note: Many CW's use an incabloc anti-shock mechanism while Steinhart does not on use this on their watches with ETA 2824 and 2893 movements (Source: Steinhart customer service). Perhaps another reason for a bit of the price premium.

2. I know that Rolex and Omega have also taken price increases in 2012. (Source: Authorized Dealers)

3. You are likley aware there are a few CW watches currently on sale 30% off and we just had a NN sale. Respectfully it may not be your first choice of sale watch, but thought I would note to help out with your budget.

4. I have grabbed two of my CW watches off watchuseek.com. With patience, you can find some in fantastic shape and well discounted (25% or better off new depending on the age and condition) and these often still have warranty remaining. Usually someone who bought, is outside the CW 60 day period and is selling to chase their grail watch. This is another way to achieve a great CW watch within your budget.

5. There are some non-price related reasons to support Christopher Ward. I don't know of many other brands where the founder makes a limited edition watch for his forum members only....and does it anually. I also have not heard another watch company founder spending Two Hours on a chat with his forum memebers sharing what is new for his watch lines and taking questions. This is simply unique, special and has won my loyalty.

6. I do not know Rick, however I have been in this forum for a few months now and have read many of Rick's constructive comments....also don't feel it was meant to be mean spirited. Just a reflection of the situation....sometimes we wait and catch a sale on items, other times we wish we would have purchased sooner.

Just my pespective.

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Re: Price increase?

Post by Viognier »

Duplicate of earlier post...so I deleted.

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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by Kip »

Better to vent in "Curmudgeons Corner". :)

In the case of CWL, price increases are done only out of necessity. The margins are very thin as it is, and CWL cannot continue to absorb cost increases anymore than any other business. July tends to be a traditional month to do so by most companies, though some tend to be earlier. Some even increase a couple times per year. It is a fact of life.

CWL has not increased prices for a year (lest we forget the 25% across the board price reduction of the Ladies collections), and although you may not like it if you are waiting to buy, The increases will raise the resale value for those that already have one (or more).

Buy now to take advantage of future price increases! :)
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Visit the CWArchives for everything CW. Historical, specs, manuals and resale. It is all there.
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by robert75 »

I think we had a discussion a while back regarding the ETA issue and them stopping selling outside the Swatch group ironically the point was brought up in the CW magazine. I cant help but think cost margins or not companies CW included are cutting their own throats by hiking up prices in the middle of a recession as a few new forum members have already said they will just go elsewhere.

On the bright side some of their stuff seems to be holding their prices.
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by bubalus »

Guess I'll have to start buying like people vote in Chicago--early and often.
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by Thedose »

Hopefully someone will post a used C9 in the for sale forum :D
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by nuttcrac69 »

IMHO the guys who are complaining probably wouldn't have bought anyway......
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by bootsy »

We have been systematically trashing the UK Pound and US Dollar for the past 30 years. The Bank Of England has just recently magicked up a load more money and Britain and the States continue to buy huge amounts of foreign goods they can ill afford and probably don't need which in turns weakens the currencies.

You will see a lot more of this in other areas although watches are particularly sensitive to this as so many of the parts are manufactured and assembled in Switzerland and so we have to buy Swiss Francs and sell pounds in order for CWL to obtain them. The CHF is one of the few currencies viewed as a safe haven right now.
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by nuttcrac69 »

Very insightful!
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Re: You snooze, you lose....

Post by CornishDave »

CW have moved away from my budget over the last couple of years so an increase is really irrelevant to me. Any future CW purchases will I suspect be in sales or on the second hand market. For those who are happy to spend a bit more, I suspect the increases will not deter them. I am going to raise a separate topic under "Other Brands" but I look at some of the Ingersoll watches now on the likes of Bid TV and wonder what is the matter with them? An automatic with 35 jewels moonphase etc at £179.99 looks awfully good value and it was made in Germany!