We're Moving!

Image
Click for more info.

I am so over Kickstarter and Preorder purchases

Discussion area for watches, clocks and all other timekeepers.
Post Reply
User avatar
tommy_boy
MoT Member
Posts: 1049
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 7:44 pm
Location: The Evergreen State
Has thanked: 3196 times
Been thanked: 4763 times

I am so over Kickstarter and Preorder purchases

Post by tommy_boy »

OK, this is a rant, pure and simple. No problem here if you keep scrolling to other threads.

I have over forty watches, and have flipped far more than forty as a collector.

In the past few years I have jumped on Kickstarter and other "preorder" offers from offshore and domestic micro brands.

Circula, Dailos, Maen and TC-9 are some of those that had issues out of the box and were costly to repair or return.

Not necessarily KS specials, such as Air/Deep Blue, Manchester Watch Works, G. Gerlach and Obris-Morgan could be flipped, but at a large discount.

I get that I may be in the minority among bargain hunters, but value is a personal thing, and it's my experience now that value's not as easily acquired in this hobby's fringes as I'd hoped. And I get that Swiss watches bought at an AD can have issues when new. But service is more accessible at the mall, than in Singapore, for example.

So, I am now limiting my searches to brand names that my watchmaker will repair, and that are easily flipped if they no longer "bring me joy" as my wife likes to say about stuff in general.

Rant over. No back to our regularly scheduled posts. :)
Just my $0.02 USD as always.
User avatar
TheJohnP
Global Moderator
Posts: 11020
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:29 pm
Location: Atlanta
Has thanked: 46882 times
Been thanked: 35282 times

Re: I am so over Kickstarter and Preorder purchases

Post by TheJohnP »

As I regularly post about Kickstarters and preorders in general, I feel semi-obligated to respond.

Yes, there are plenty of issues for any watch. In fact, one watch I had to send back in for service because of an object in the movement was with a Mido. A second hand sticking to minute hand issue, that was a Seiko Presage. Or how about schmutz on a dial? That one happened to be my Junghans.

Now from the ones you named with issues, the Circula, Dailos, and TC-9, I'm fairly sure those were all divers. And in my viewpoint, divers have more areas in which to fail or not live up to expectations compared to other styles (other than perhaps auto chronos...).

Now as far as retained value for flipping, there's little to be done there. A brand has to build value over time. The earlier you get in, the less you're going to get out. Why is the Halios Universa going for twice the MSRP? No...Seriously, why is the Halios Universa going for twice the MSRP? But guessing part of it is a steady stream of quality pieces released over the years by Jason. Same seems to be for a few others like MKII or Smiths. Will all microbrands get there? Probably not. Look at NTH. They used to command higher pricing in the secondary market, but no longer have the shine (or pricing) they used to command.

All that to say, if you're a regular flipper, Kickstarter and preorders probably isn't a pond you want to swim in.
But if you want to generally get more than what you're paying for, a chance to find something slightly different from the mainstream (not counting the countless homages), or you just like waiting with anticipation for months and hoping you made a right decision, than maybe it is for you.

And shame that you've been burned a number of times, but hopefully you will find joy and continue to find joy in the future in more established brands and ones with "heritage."
Click Icon To Contact Me



Far and wide I will find 'em and I ride 'em
Bricks and mortar get my licks just for kicks
AD or authorized I don't analyze
Retail, wholesale never fail
Online or offline, I find I don't redefine
Too big to fail or yard sale they all hale
Run or hide just for fun deals I find
Post Reply