RRP

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
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bobbubka
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Re: RRP

Post by bobbubka »

Burnrub wrote:
Food for thought: All the constant complaining on this site does more to cheapen the brand and aftermarket value than any of the "surprise" discounts do.
Perfectly put. This is a great place, but can be very negative at times and I've often wondered what CW now get out of the forum.


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MadJam250
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Re: RRP

Post by MadJam250 »

Burnrub wrote:Although I am new to this forum, I am not new to Christopher Ward - having bought my first Chr.Ward watch 8-10 years ago. I find much of the commentary on this site as both ironic and self-destructive. Many complain about the sales as cheapening the brand - yet I have seldom purchased ANY watch at full retail value in the +100 watches I have owned in over 20 years of collecting. Purchasing at retail is a personal problem. Everything is negotiable.

Everyone has choices. If you think the watches disappoint (quality or price-wise), why not move on to something else?

Food for thought: All the constant complaining on this site does more to cheapen the brand and aftermarket value than any of the "surprise" discounts do.
If the RRP was set at a more reasonable price in the first place (see Steinhart, etc) then no one would complain or comment to this effect, surely? No one complains: "That Steinhart company keep getting their prices spot on cause they offer amazing Swiss made watches at affordable prices". If CW set their prices lower then they'd not need these 'cheapening' sales .. and the staff would get more time off over Christmas! :-)

I think those on here who do whinge/complain care about the company and their interests, and their future.
MadJam

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Re: RRP

Post by downer »

The Steinhart business model is entirely different to the CW model, and the constant comparisons don't mean a lot IMO.

CW is in a different market and has grown at a dramatically different pace to Steinhart, and clearly has different long-term business objectives.

Given that we are not privy to the inner workings of either business, I personally find all this "care about the future of CW" a touch patronising. Who are we to question the strategy/tactics/objectives - of either business?

In the end, if we feel so strongly that CW (or Steinhart) are "wrong", we are all free to set up our own companies and give it a try.
Richard
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Re: RRP

Post by MadJam250 »

downer wrote:The Steinhart business model is entirely different to the CW model, and the constant comparisons don't mean a lot IMO.

CW is in a different market and has grown at a dramatically different pace to Steinhart, and clearly has different long-term business objectives.

Given that we are not privy to the inner workings of either business, I personally find all this "care about the future of CW" a touch patronising. Who are we to question the strategy/tactics/objectives - of either business?

In the end, if we feel so strongly that CW (or Steinhart) are "wrong", we are all free to set up our own companies and give it a try.
Patronising? In what way?
MadJam

* CWL, x2 (C2, C3)
* Steinhart Titanium O1Ti500P
* Tissot Visodate heritage incoming
* Certina DS Podium chrono
* Seiko SARB033
* Smiths vintage mechanical WC4204/s
* Brathwait Classic Slim Steel
* Invicta 8924, 9094
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Re: RRP

Post by downer »

MadJam250 wrote:
Patronising? In what way?
Do you think you (or other commentators) care more about the future of the CW company than the owners/investors/leadership of the CW company themselves?

.
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Re: RRP

Post by Peacefrog »

I agree with Burnrub's comments.
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Re: RRP

Post by smegwina »

MadJam250 wrote:
downer wrote:The Steinhart business model is entirely different to the CW model, and the constant comparisons don't mean a lot IMO.

CW is in a different market and has grown at a dramatically different pace to Steinhart, and clearly has different long-term business objectives.

Given that we are not privy to the inner workings of either business, I personally find all this "care about the future of CW" a touch patronising. Who are we to question the strategy/tactics/objectives - of either business?

In the end, if we feel so strongly that CW (or Steinhart) are "wrong", we are all free to set up our own companies and give it a try.
Patronising? In what way?
I do agree with Richard above.

I will be the first to criticise CW if they make an error, have quality issues, etc etc. Their website/exchange rates certainly need work and I am confident that it will be done.

I have also commented on the sales above in that only CW know the bottom line.

I personally am not a great fan of all the sales for a purely selfish reason - I hate it if I buy something at 25%off and it is then in a 50% sale later. :) But there was nothing stopping me waiting for a bigger bargain, other than my own impatience.

I do feel that many on here are just a touch annoyed and rather put out that whilst there are certainly bargains, you may actually have to work for them, or they may get a bargain and then find that they could have saved a few more quid if they had waited. That is not CWs issue, but a personal one.

At the end of the day you have three options.

Buy what you want when you want at full price.

Wait to get what you want for a few months until a voucher is available.

Wait even longer as there may be a larger saving on a voucher, or a NN sale, but your model may not be in it.

Actually there is a fourth option, don't buy anything and go elsewhere.

It ain't rocket science.

The speed that CW has grown is a sign that these sales are not doing the bottom line any harm at present. Whether that stays the case only they will know.

I feel that some on the forum feel that they are part of the CW family and deserve some sort of entitlement, inside data etc etc, and the fact that they have to face the same purchase risks as Joe public is rather grating to them.

CW provides the forum with a huge insight and many perks. FLEs, chats, Kip, the ability to ask them to knock a few quid more off if we purchase a watch just before a sales event etc.etc.

That is far more than many other forums get and we should actually be grateful.

At the end of the day, CW is a company with links to a fan forum and whilst we do indeed go some way to keeping them in check, we actually provide a rather small proportion if the sales that CW make.

The general public are the ones who decide the future of CW and they still continue to buy the watches in large numbers and seem to lap up the sales.

Feel free to criticise if they do something wrong, but the sales and their impact is something that is way above our pay grade!

And yes I am still bitter when I buy something and it is then reduced further!!!!! :)






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Re: RRP

Post by robinbarke »

downer wrote:
MadJam250 wrote:
Patronising? In what way?
Do you think you (or other commentators) care more about the future of the CW company than the owners/investors/leadership of the CW company themselves?

.
Good morning Richard. Of course no-one cares more about the future of CW than the stakeholders you mention. But as someone who appears to have six times(!) as many CW watches as you have, every time we have these frankly confusing sales my perception of the value of my collection is reduced, both in monetary terms and indeed collectability. The owners appear to be driven by sales volumes, witness the plethora of variants of each model, some of which judging from the 50% sale appear to have a shelf life of less than 6 months, and profitability. I really don't think this modus opperandi is compatible with enhancing brand reputation which we long term collectors wish to see.

Robin
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Re: RRP

Post by MadJam250 »

downer wrote:
MadJam250 wrote:
Patronising? In what way?
Do you think you (or other commentators) care more about the future of the CW company than the owners/investors/leadership of the CW company themselves?

.
Not sure that answered my question. I care about the company 'cause:

I invest in them
I like(d) their (original) ethos/mission statement
I like what they produce
MadJam

* CWL, x2 (C2, C3)
* Steinhart Titanium O1Ti500P
* Tissot Visodate heritage incoming
* Certina DS Podium chrono
* Seiko SARB033
* Smiths vintage mechanical WC4204/s
* Brathwait Classic Slim Steel
* Invicta 8924, 9094
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Re: RRP

Post by downer »

^^ I understand that point of view completely.

In your view, the brand strategy is not in line with your aspirations for the value of your own collection.

That doesn't necessarily make it wrong!
Richard
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Re: RRP

Post by MadJam250 »

smegwina wrote:
MadJam250 wrote:
downer wrote:The Steinhart business model is entirely different to the CW model, and the constant comparisons don't mean a lot IMO.

CW is in a different market and has grown at a dramatically different pace to Steinhart, and clearly has different long-term business objectives.

Given that we are not privy to the inner workings of either business, I personally find all this "care about the future of CW" a touch patronising. Who are we to question the strategy/tactics/objectives - of either business?

In the end, if we feel so strongly that CW (or Steinhart) are "wrong", we are all free to set up our own companies and give it a try.
Patronising? In what way?
I do agree with Richard above.

I will be the first to criticise CW if they make an error, have quality issues, etc etc. Their website/exchange rates certainly need work and I am confident that it will be done.

I have also commented on the sales above in that only CW know the bottom line.

I personally am not a great fan of all the sales for a purely selfish reason - I hate it if I buy something at 25%off and it is then in a 50% sale later. :) But there was nothing stopping me waiting for a bigger bargain, other than my own impatience.

I do feel that many on here are just a touch annoyed and rather put out that whilst there are certainly bargains, you may actually have to work for them, or they may get a bargain and then find that they could have saved a few more quid if they had waited. That is not CWs issue, but a personal one.

At the end of the day you have three options.

Buy what you want when you want at full price.

Wait to get what you want for a few months until a voucher is available.

Wait even longer as there may be a larger saving on a voucher, or a NN sale, but your model may not be in it.

Actually there is a fourth option, don't buy anything and go elsewhere.

It ain't rocket science.

The speed that CW has grown is a sign that these sales are not doing the bottom line any harm at present. Whether that stays the case only they will know.

I feel that some on the forum feel that they are part of the CW family and deserve some sort of entitlement, inside data etc etc, and the fact that they have to face the same purchase risks as Joe public is rather grating to them.

CW provides the forum with a huge insight and many perks. FLEs, chats, Kip, the ability to ask them to knock a few quid more off if we purchase a watch just before a sales event etc.etc.

That is far more than many other forums get and we should actually be grateful.

At the end of the day, CW is a company with links to a fan forum and whilst we do indeed go some way to keeping them in check, we actually provide a rather small proportion if the sales that CW make.

The general public are the ones who decide the future of CW and they still continue to buy the watches in large numbers and seem to lap up the sales.

Feel free to criticise if they do something wrong, but the sales and their impact is something that is way above our pay grade!

And yes I am still bitter when I buy something and it is then reduced further!!!!! :)






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That's actually pretty well summed up.
MadJam

* CWL, x2 (C2, C3)
* Steinhart Titanium O1Ti500P
* Tissot Visodate heritage incoming
* Certina DS Podium chrono
* Seiko SARB033
* Smiths vintage mechanical WC4204/s
* Brathwait Classic Slim Steel
* Invicta 8924, 9094
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Re: RRP

Post by MadJam250 »

downer wrote:^^ I understand that point of view completely.

In your view, the brand strategy is not in line with your aspirations for the value of your own collection.

That doesn't necessarily make it wrong!
Did I say it was wrong?
MadJam

* CWL, x2 (C2, C3)
* Steinhart Titanium O1Ti500P
* Tissot Visodate heritage incoming
* Certina DS Podium chrono
* Seiko SARB033
* Smiths vintage mechanical WC4204/s
* Brathwait Classic Slim Steel
* Invicta 8924, 9094
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Re: RRP

Post by downer »

MadJam250 wrote:
downer wrote:^^ I understand that point of view completely.

In your view, the brand strategy is not in line with your aspirations for the value of your own collection.

That doesn't necessarily make it wrong!
Did I say it was wrong?
My post was directed at Robin, buy since you ask, yes you are constantly saying the strategy is wrong - here's an example, from about 30 minutes ago...
MadJam250 wrote:CWL's mission is to make quality Swiss made watches available to many at affordable prices ... and to ultimately be the 'Rolex' of the internet'. I'd say they're currently way off the mark, on both, and need a new strategy to fulfill their mission statement.
Richard
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Re: RRP

Post by tempusmaximus »

MadJam250 wrote:That's actually pretty well summed up
I agree , Nick as put his view across very well .
Bernie
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Re: RRP

Post by nbg »

An interesting thread that reminded of the phrase:
- Turnover is vanity
- Profit is sanity but
- Cash is reality.

As we are not the CW company owners none of us really know (nor do we need to know to be able to enjoy owning CW watches) where CW are relative to the above.

Neil
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