Price gouging?

[mb7000]

I was also shocked at his price today. I just sold my v2 with gen dial, crystal, crown and tube for a bit more than that to the OP! But then again if someone is willing to pay that price then it must be worth it to them. You got a steal

yours had a Gen Dial ????... you can't get a gen dial for less then 600.00..Ive been on the hunt for a year and finally found one..SL going on my wm9

I did not see that in your original FS post or I would have begged you for it.

[Doc-K]

Oops sorry not gen dial. I meant gen crystal, insert, crown and tube.

[Maximos]

I can't see the watch being referenced here. Anyone care to give details?

[ianagarrison]

Its a symptom of society in general. People are always out to profit from those who will pay.

I was speaking to a divorced woman yesterday. He Daughter wanted to go to a music festival, so asked if her ex-Husband could take her. As he's a cab driver, He wanted >£100 to drive his own Daughter to the festival and back.

The world is falling apart.

[jay66fr]

It's even worse when people sell very recent watches for profit. I can somewhat understand someone selling a very scarce, sold out watch for more than what he paid for but when it's Chronopassions or 177Ms sold with a hefty profit margin, come on...

[sixers_610]

I sold my like new WM9 LV for approx. $485 and now I feel like an idiot for it considering I see every one selling their WM9's for $800 and up. Oh well....

Same

[santi976]

That is not good at all, sad to see this things happens

[momo75]

SFA's response was dead on...in most instances asking for a premium over and above what the member paid could be considered gouging and is heavily discouraged. Some of the rules could be relaxed, however, for extremely rare parts/watches because FMV could understandably be higher. Again case by case.

I would say this, however, those who engage in gouging actually end up paying the highest price in the end - that practice will cost the seller much more in reputation and member confidence in future transactions. We all have a short list of members whose offerings we would eschew because of sins past.

The Admins/Mods are constantly patrolling posts for truth in advertising and to ensure that they conform to the rules. In my experience they are also supremely helpful in managing disagreements. I would encourage all new members to reach out to them with any questions regarding a trade.

Tony

[Poohmonster]

If you don't like the price ...don't buy the watch. simple really.

Me...I'm happy to pay more for a nice piece. I don't give a rats festering bung hole what owner paid...it's what I am prepared to pay and nothing more.

No member here has had a gun held to his head as he/she clicked the paypal button....

FFS.... Grow a set people .

[sixers_610]

If you don't like the price ...don't buy the watch. simple really.

Me...I'm happy to pay more for a nice piece. I don't give a rats festering bung hole what owner paid...it's what I am prepared to pay and nothing more.

No member here has had a gun held to his head as he/she clicked the pp button....

FFS.... Grow a set people .

What does this have to do with growing a set? It has to do with people taking advantage of others trying to get into the rep game.

[Poohmonster]

How much you want for your WM9 v2.....lol

[sixers_610]

Um, a billion dollars.

[bruisedknux]

Like anything else in life, if the price isn't for you, you are not obligated to buy it. I agree to a certain extent, this is supposed to be a hobby, but anytime money is involved, things change. Most of the things we purchase in society, ie., cars clothes etc, are overly inflated, but that's why we have the right to say yes or no and move on to a different purchase. Its called freedom of choice.

[andreww]

Problem is that these boards are not set up for the purpose of commercial trade. Unfortunately over the past few years the are many people who have decided that it is very easy to sell what they bought at a low value for a higher price. This not only applies to watches purchased from other boards either. There are guys out there with "ins" to other dealers who get watches at highly discounted prices, then turn around and sell them.

Another issue that is tied up in all of this is servicing. I've seen countless 7750 watches sold for more than retail with claims that they were serviced the second they arrived. But, as there is generally no evidence of a servicing, and one can never tell whether it was serviced properly, the door is wide open for fraud.

This is the internet people and there are unscrupulous people out there waiting at every corner. As making any kind of non-cheerleading type comment is perceived as thread crapping, you are basically on your own to do your research.

On any watch you are looking to buy I'd suggest;

1-Check dealer pricing on exact watch.
2-Look at the sellers post history
3-I servicing is indicated, request confirmation from the watchsmith.
4-Remember, its a used watch and you are taking a big risk with no warranty. Never pay more than 75% of the market value.

[Ghost]

But what if one had paid that price and hardly wore it at all?

I sold my BK-modded WM9s at the same price i bought them coz they never saw much wrist time at all. It was not sold for a profit nor did i make a loss. I even pm'ed BK for the price before listing it coz i know rep fora are different from gen fora. And i declared this beforehand.

I feel, if one is transparent with his listing, then it is up to the individuals to see if they wanna part with their cash for a "new-old stock" (so to speak)

However, it's an entirely different matter if one starts to masquerade and misrepresent his watch saying it has eg. "genuine solid gold mid-links" (when it turns out not to be), or "gen dial" etc which turns out to be a rep.....

[daytonadragon]

But what if one had paid that price and hardly wore it at all?

I sold my BK-modded WM9s at the same price i bought them coz they never saw much wrist time at all. It was not sold for a profit nor did i make a loss. I even pm'ed BK for the price before listing it coz i know rep fora are different from gen fora. And i declared this beforehand.

I feel, if one is transparent with his listing, then it is up to the individuals to see if they wanna part with their cash for a "new-old stock" (so to speak)

However, it's an entirely different matter if one starts to masquerade and misrepresent his watch saying it has eg. "genuine solid gold mid-links" (when it turns out not to be), or "gen dial" etc which turns out to be a rep.....

I am in the process of buying the BK WM9 LV that you sold to 1234 for the same price you sold it to him. 1234 and I will close out the transaction once we sort out the insurance to ship the watch from Canada to the USA.

I frown upon watches being flipped for a profit and I commend RG members like you and 1234 who sell the watch for the same price they paid for the watch when it never saw much wrist time.

[andreww]

But what if one had paid that price and hardly wore it at all?

As a used watch buyer all the risk is on your end. The seller has his money in hand before he ships, so if anything goes wrong it is the buyer that pays the price. Any warranty that the dealer may have provided is gone as well. Just like at a retail store, I would never pay full price for an "open box" or returned item, no mater what the condition.

The problem is that there are enough impatient people around here that will pay full pop to save waiting a week or two. That opens the door to profiteers. If the going rate for a used rep was no more than 75% of retail, there would be no margin in there for the greedy ones to capitalize on.

Again, there is no real solution. People are just too naive and will believe whatever is posted simply because its coming from someone thats been here a while.

[Ghost]

I'm one of the naive few who always gives the benefit of the doubt i guess. I've been burnt a good few times by esteemed sellers who misrepresent and masquerade and then make like harry houdini when i try to hold them accountable.

It's even happened to me on a gen watch forum recently. Sigh. Guess there's a whole duplicitous bunch without so much as a conscience.

[daytonadragon]

It appears the escalation in prices for BK WM9 watches are do to limited supply and high demand with buyers willing to pay upwards on the "gray market" of $1,000 for an un modded BK WM9 Rolex.

I have no intention of selling my BK WM9 watches yet one week does not go by in which I receive a PM from a newbie who has 0 to 2 feedback's asking me to sell my BK WM9 watch to them for $1,000 for a BK WM9 V3 and BK WM9 YM which have no mods. I respond to them very nicely stating I have no intention of selling my BK WM9 watches.

I sense there a lot of BK WM9 watches are sold on the sold called "gray market" and some of these watches are sold at prices near what the seller paid for the watch from Bk and a lot of the BK watches are sold at a much higher price than they were bought for.

[Ghost]

wow. Didnt know all that was going on....haha this rep business could prove to be more lucrative than the gens! Paradoxically

[hdom]

The moment there is another better rep available, ie the sean case that is discussed in the rolex forums or George resurfaces to do other subs, then people wouldn't be able to sell their WM9 for what they got it for.

Just let the market adjusts itself.

[daytonadragon]

I took a quick look in the wanted section for BK WM9 for the past 3 to 4 months. There were 25 wanted posts for BK WM9 watches in which 20 of those wanted posts were from RG members who had 0 or 1 feed backs with a low number of posts.

I reckon the past 3 to 4 months there were only 5 to 7 BK WM9 watches for sale on RG.

Demand for BK WM9 watches exceeds supply by about 4 to 5 times.

I would not be surprised that more BK WM9 watches are sold via PM than via the sales forum and most are sold at a much higher price than what the seller paid for the watch.

With regard to the BK WM9 LV that I just purchased from RG member 1234; RG member purchased the BK WM9 LV from RG member Ghost who posted a few weeks ago that he was interested in selling his BK WM9 TT, LV, and V3 and wanted to know what was the selling price that BK sold them at when Ghost placed his order with BK.

BK confirmed that Ghost paid $685 for the BK WM9 LV. I contacted Ghost and asked him if he would sell me the BK WM9 LV for $685 plus shipping, he PM me advising that 1234 was first in line and if the deal with 1234 fell through that he would sell the watch to me at $685 plus shipping.

1234 bought the BK WM9 LV watch from Ghost and when he received it, 1234 had some issues with the quality of the watch band and decided to sell it. The issues with the watch band had nothing to do with the quality of BK's work and were more to do with 1234 wanting a watch band that was more like a gen watch band.


1234 contacted me via PM knowing that I was second in line to purchase the BK WM9 from Ghost asking me if I was interested in the watch and I told him that I would purchase it from him at the cost he paid Ghost plus shipping costs from Singapore to Canada, and shipping from Canada to me in USA.

Hats off to both Ghost and RG for not flipping the BK WM9 LV which they easily could have done. Ghost and 1234 are amongst the many RG members who do not flip watches for a profit. IMHO, this is how BK WM9 watches should be sold when the transaction does not occur in the sales forum and is done via PM's.

[TimemiT]

I'll take it!

though it better have a GEN crystal for 1 Billion?

Um, a billion dollars.

[Bmw760]

I have an idea. As a grown adult, if you don't like the price, don't buy it. I have sold many watches where I have lost money. But a watch like a WM9 isn't found on every corner. The market should dictate what the seller gets on that.

[prestigewatchco]

Who is to blame the seller or the silly buyers that pay the prices.
No one is forced to buy them.
If you are going to believe that moded watch is worth the substantial premiums they ask then the only person to blame is yourself.
I am of course talking about only the high priced grail watches people have created the myth about. This of course does not excuse members that basically tell lies as to the cost of the moding and servicing these are just scammers but there are not that many I don't think although there is a little group of so called experts that seem to perpetually be the ones doing it

For this new idea of catch and release this is in most cases greedy members who have had a deal for watches at discount.
These are just backdoor dealers nothing more and not to be confused with sellers of rare items.

As for it being new members that are buying these overpriced items I am not sure that is always the case although the practice of the pals of the seller bumping the post with the usual hype about what great value and what a wonderful opportunity this is knowing full well it's overpriced, must have a huge affect on the Noobs becoming a victim
and not really in the spirit of the forum.

In the end if you are daft enough to pay the prices then people selling them will charge them only human nature