CW January 21 sale reboot

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
User avatar
Bahnstormer_vRS
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 35165
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:06 pm
CW-watches: 34
LE-three: 1
LE-foura: 1
LE-fourb: 1
LE-six: 1
Location: Hertfordshire, UK

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

exHowfener wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:00 pm I've been having a think about the (contentious to some) 'issue' of people buying in the sale to put straight on eBay - and I'm sure other sales platforms. It's probably quite difficult to police, so my suggestion to deal with this would be:
Issue sales watches with a different (say red) warranty card marked clearly as "CW Sales item, warranty not transferable". If you've bought for own use - not a problem; if you've bought fora friend or relative - not a problem, unless you fall out. If you are a flipper, well - how serious were you about wanting it?
Just a thought ...
Good idea. :lol: :lol:

Notwithstanding, the code on the Warranty Card for all Sale or Nearly New watches is either S65- ..... or N65-...... etc. as opposed to the regular C65-......

That way CW know the status of the watch if it is returned and it is clear to see for any second or subsequent owner.


Guy
In small proportions, we just beautie see:
And in short measures, life may perfect bee. - Ben Jonson (1572 – 1637)

Inscription on the Longitude Dial
Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 5NB, England
Dickchins
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1356
Joined: Sun May 24, 2020 12:00 pm
CW-watches: 6

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Dickchins »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:33 pm
exHowfener wrote: Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:00 pm I've been having a think about the (contentious to some) 'issue' of people buying in the sale to put straight on eBay - and I'm sure other sales platforms. It's probably quite difficult to police, so my suggestion to deal with this would be:
Issue sales watches with a different (say red) warranty card marked clearly as "CW Sales item, warranty not transferable". If you've bought for own use - not a problem; if you've bought fora friend or relative - not a problem, unless you fall out. If you are a flipper, well - how serious were you about wanting it?
Just a thought ...
Good idea. :lol: :lol:

Notwithstanding, the code on the Warranty Card for all Sale or Nearly New watches is either S65- ..... or N65-...... etc. as opposed to the regular C65-......

That way CW know the status of the watch if it is returned and it is clear to see for any second or subsequent owner.


Guy


A great idea and I cant see it being that difficult, if at all, or costly to impliment.

Something so easy to introduce which should be very minimal cost (if any), but will benefit owners and enthusiasts by giving total transparency on the purchases can surely only be of benefit....?

Drop that rascal in to the good idea box :clap:
JAFO
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4491
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by JAFO »

@exHowFener

You should be getting a nice little earner for such a useful suggestion.
User avatar
Renton
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 554
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:07 am
CW-watches: 3

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Renton »

exHowfener wrote: Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:04 pm
StrappedUp wrote
On a seperate note and probably for a different thread, but some of the usual Ebay suspects have started buying sensibly priced, pre-owned watches, then re-listing them at far higher prices.
Nothing illegal with that, but what a bunch of *insert your favoured term here*.
Entrepreneurs?
:clap: :lol:

@StrappedUp. People complaining about sale watches being flipped for profit is one thing, but complaining about a used watch being bought on eBay, then re-listed at a higher price, that's next level!

How should we the people deal with the 'problem' of second hand car dealers buying a used car for stock and selling it for profit? How dare they. How very dare they! :lol:
User avatar
Lawrence
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:22 am
CW-watches: 20

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Lawrence »

There are about 35 CWL new watches on eBayUK at the moment, a few have pictures that are clearly from CWL as they don't have the watch in their possession yet which takes some brass.

The remainder seem to be older stock with 2018/2019/2020 registration cards.

We'll see in the coming week or so if the number of listings rises.

In total there are 166 CWL watches listed which is a pretty small number and the majority are listed as used.

So if CWL has been selling about 20K watches per anum for the last 3 years it's a miniscule amount of watches for sale via ebay currently.
Omega Speedmaster, Bulova Accutron Gemini, Tudor Black Bay Heritage Maroon & Black, C65 Trident Bronze SH21 LE, C65 Trident Black, C65 Trident Diver SH21, C65 Trident Ombre LE, Longines HydroConquest beautiful AF and better than C60 300
JAFO
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4491
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by JAFO »

^^^^
I posted this before, maybe on another thread, but there's no guarantee these watches will shift at these prices on eBay. I regularly see recent or new watches at very competitive prices, and even so, some don't attract bids, and some get relisted. Being Swiss made, CW watches can show at a higher price point than other brands.
MarkingTime
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:19 pm
CW-watches: 4

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by MarkingTime »

Guys, some of you are overthinking this. CW have stock to move and have done so very quickly. The only concern that I can see that CW might have, is the dumping of "cheap" watches on a marketplace and this perhaps devaluing the brand image.

And as for looking after their customers, who's more important to CW, the one watch a year enthusiast, or the reseller moving half a dozen watches (or more) every sale? If it were not for the resellers, CW would have ta much longer wait to clear stock.
User avatar
H0rati0
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2314
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:49 am
CW-watches: 4
Location: Alpenvorland

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by H0rati0 »

MarkingTime wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 10:10 am Guys, some of you are overthinking this. CW have stock to move and have done so very quickly. The only concern that I can see that CW might have, is the dumping of "cheap" watches on a marketplace and this perhaps devaluing the brand image.

And as for looking after their customers, who's more important to CW, the one watch a year enthusiast, or the reseller moving half a dozen watches (or more) every sale? If it were not for the resellers, CW would have ta much longer wait to clear stock.
Agreed and one could argue that the scalpers actually support prices since they are trying to turn a profit by marking up the CW Sale prices.

I do sympathise when inmates miss out on something they wanted though.
"There is no beginning to enlightenment and no end to training" - Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)
MarkingTime
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:19 pm
CW-watches: 4

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by MarkingTime »

H0rati0 wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:01 pm

I do sympathise when inmates miss out on something they wanted though.
I agree, it's very frustrating and has happened to me at every sale, but that's life, we can't always have what we want and these are, after all, just luxury items and not at all important in the grand scheme of things.
User avatar
A1soknownas
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 632
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:40 pm

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by A1soknownas »

H0rati0 wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:01 pm Agreed and one could argue that the scalpers actually support prices since they are trying to turn a profit by marking up the CW Sale prices.

I do sympathise when inmates miss out on something they wanted though.
I agree in circumstances this could be true. Such as a discontinued model advertised above what CW sold at in the sale. The last selling price is an indication of what it is worth so it supports price and brand value beyond what CW dragged it down to!

I believe it is more of an issue when it is a current model that is been falsely sold on Ebay as new, with full warranty and is virtually fully boxed with stickers, although it was probably bought nearly new at 30% off - This doesn't support the current rrp value of the watch on the website or the ones that are pre-owned that are on our wrists.
JAFO
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4491
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by JAFO »

Well, come to that, absolutely anything bought from a private seller, (and sometimes from a trade seller as well) is clearly not "brand new". It may be pristine, and fully stickered, unused, and with tags, but it's not brand new. I think we all take that with a pinch of salt. With CW we are fortunate as they stand by their guarantee, and unused stickered stuff should not be a problem. Other manufacturers don't honour guarantees though, depending on where you bought something.

On a slightly different point, the watch industry seems to get away with resale price maintenance in a way that other industries just can't. There is never any variance from RRP on virtually any swiss watch. That just isn't the way a fair free market should operate - or more correctly should operate according to UK law, I believe.
J-Rock121
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:36 am

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by J-Rock121 »

MarkingTime wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:35 pm
H0rati0 wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:01 pm

I do sympathise when inmates miss out on something they wanted though.
I agree, it's very frustrating and has happened to me at every sale, but that's life, we can't always have what we want and these are, after all, just luxury items and not at all important in the grand scheme of things.
I call this: #1stWorldProbs!
Mikkei4
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 3587
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 7:20 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Mikkei4 »

MarkingTime wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 10:10 am .... If it were not for the resellers, CW would have ta much longer wait to clear stock.
Based solely on the number of people on the forum that state they've missed out on CW website sale purchases IMO CW wouldn't have to wait too much longer, if at all. Plus I wonder how many of the re-seller bulk sale purchases end up back with CW just before the 60 days return date if not sold on eBay, potentially causing double-work to CW.
MarkingTime
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:19 pm
CW-watches: 4

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by MarkingTime »

Mikkei4 wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 9:02 am
MarkingTime wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 10:10 am .... If it were not for the resellers, CW would have ta much longer wait to clear stock.
Based solely on the number of people on the forum that state they've missed out on CW website sale purchases IMO CW wouldn't have to wait too much longer, if at all. Plus I wonder how many of the re-seller bulk sale purchases end up back with CW just before the 60 days return date if not sold on eBay, potentially causing double-work to CW.
Yes, lots of people "talking" of missing out, but must, it seems, have all been looking for the same limited number of sales models. No-one was clamouring for the C65s for example. I just sold my extra C65 to a forum member and he was the only one asking for it up until that point, given the fuss made, I'd have expected a full inbox, but this was not the case and why would a reseller send a watch back to CW under any circumstances? Sure, it means sitting on a few hundred pounds/dollars, but fortune favours the brave and any experience seller knows that the watches must eventually sell, even at a slightly reduced mark up.

The fact is, the CW sale has grown in popularity along with its watches, the higher profile will attract more and more people and anyone who wants to make a quick buck will immediately see the easy opportunity to do so and they will tell their friends of the easy money and so on. The "usual suspects" as some refer them to, are no longer the only ones, as lots of sellers new to the game selling individual purchases are springing up and it will be worldwide too. Some people need to accept the fact that lots of these sales watches are resold by people not remotely interested in CW, or indeed watches at all, it's just about the money and it will always be the case.

It is also ironic, that a lot of people will have been given advanced notice of the sale by this (public) forum.
User avatar
Renton
Senior Guru
Senior Guru
Posts: 554
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:07 am
CW-watches: 3

Re: CW January 21 sale reboot

Post by Renton »

I was one of the 'evil 14' who fell foul of the new 5+ limit!

I'd ordered some for me and some to sell.

I'm both a long term fan/collector and a flipper.

Of the watches I had cancelled, I've since managed to buy three of them via eBay sellers.

One of those is the C60 Mk2 'parts bin' special with the black case and dark blue face. I'd bought it last week for £373. Now I've just paid £500 to buy it again from a flipper! There's one more from another seller at £595 in case anyone else wants one!

So what has Christopher Ward actually achieved with this new rule?

I'd say they've placated a few people who cried "I've missed out because of those f*****g flippers". But in reality, CW has sold over 3,000 watches in the last few days (based on order numbers) and only 14 people attempted to buy more than 5, so even with those cancelled watches added back into the pot, you're still just as likely to miss out to flippers who bought <5!

I'd say the three people who have just made a nice easy £100-£150 profit on a sale watch, will be even more keen to scoop up sale watches next time, making it even harder for others to get a look in!

So in the grand scheme, I'd say the 5-watch rule has achieved very little! Apart from some extra admin work at CW Towers!

Hopefully I've bought some pleasure to a few people with the knowledge that I've had to pay a bit more to get some of the watches I wanted and that someone else has made a profit instead of me! :lol:
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post