Hodinkee buys Crown & Caliber

[Morethan1]

Interesting, not sure if changes anything for anyone here.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hodin ... an-for-you?

[JBZ]

I've purchased from/traded to C&C a couple of times and I like them. For a professional second-hand seller, their trade prices have been on the higher side of fair for me. They do a good job of describing their watches (though it's important to also look at their pics) and provide a warranty and a good (if not spectacular) return policy. They also run fairly frequent sales and giveaways. Shipping for me has been very quick.

I'm not actively looking to buy or trade anything right now, but I hope the Hodinkee acquisition doesn't result in any negative changes. I guess we shall see.

[matt.wu]

I just saw that and was coming here to post it. That's a major move for Hodinkee. C&C has massive volume.

I doubt anything will change significantly in the short term; C&C has a full-blown operation already humming along, and that's not the type of thing Ben Clymer wants to come in and disrupt.

I've heard of a few people with negative experiences with C&C, but I've had pretty decent (maybe even good) experience with them.

In fact, my most recent major watch purchase (the Duometre) came from them and arrived with a need for service. They were super professional through it all and covered the full-service by JLC in Switzerland (to the tune of nearly $2k).

[rockmastermike]

I may just be cynical but I wonder if there will be a premium involved meaning yesterday I could have bought X from C&C and tomorrow that same X from Hodinkee will be more expensive due to being bought from Hodinkee instead of C&C?

just to add another data point, I have purchased from C&C and it was a pleasant up front, no bs experience.

[TSD]

I've heard of a few people with negative experiences with C&C, but I've had pretty decent (maybe even good) experience with them.

I was underwhelmed with C&C, but in their defense, I made only one attempt at a trade/purchase (and probably over-lawyered it.) I wasn’t super impressed with the apparent inflexibility to negotiate a straight sale or accommodate my trade evaluation at arm’s length.

My recent experience buying with another platform validated that.

[Steve O.]

Crown & Caliber is located here in Atlanta (Sandy Springs). I've been meaning to get down there for some time, but haven't made it yet. They were doing quite a bit of hiring before Covid hit.

[toxicavenger]

I may just be cynical but I wonder if there will be a premium involved meaning yesterday I could have bought X from C&C and tomorrow that same X from Hodinkee will be more expensive due to being bought from Hodinkee instead of C&C?

just to add another data point, I have purchased from C&C and it was a pleasant up front, no bs experience.

i didn't think C&C was ever cheap. i have heard good things about their service though.

[TSD]

Crown & Caliber is located here in Atlanta (Sandy Springs). I've been meaning to get down there for some time, but haven't made it yet.

I asked them if I could stop to do my trade on the drive from Hartsfield. This was a couple years ago, but they pretty much said no, and that they didn’t have a retail area. The model is an online storefront, and they had no interest in doing a face to face transaction.

[toxicavenger]

i wonder if they are still gonna sponsor the watch and listen podcast

[SoCal C4S]

I may just be cynical but I wonder if there will be a premium involved meaning yesterday I could have bought X from C&C and tomorrow that same X from Hodinkee will be more expensive due to being bought from Hodinkee instead of C&C?

just to add another data point, I have purchased from C&C and it was a pleasant up front, no bs experience.

I live in the pricing world, and would expect to see a few % increase in C&C’s overall prices across the board. Obviously, prices ebb and flow with the market, but Hodinkee’s name brand and following will definitely bring increased traffic and a wider client base with wallets open and $$ ready to spend. I won’t waste my time trying to quantify the increase levels, but I would expect them, especially considering that Hodinkee’s name and reputation are now tied to that experience. NPS scores will also likely rise along with the prices, as I imagine the one thing they will make immediate efforts to improve is the overall purchasing experience, regardless of how good it is today.

Just my $0.02...

[goaliechris]

Won’t this help to drive down the prices for the DSWs of the world potentially?


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[SoCal C4S]

Hmmm- maybe. I think part of that depends on how much deeper C&C’s assortment gets, and if they follow the market trends or try to go their own way and offer better values than their competitors. Will be interesting to see, but having dedicated watchmakers, and a good reputation regarding their customer service is a big nod in their favor.

Was thinking about that earlier when I read the article about C&C coming under the Hodinkee umbrella.

[dnslater]

I had a great experience with C&C. Bought my Sea Dweller from them. Only did it because the $$ that they gave me on my 18 month old beat up BB58 was close to what I payed new from an AD, so I didn't mind paying a little more for the 16600. I also have confidence that their watchmakers really do take a close look at the watches that go through their shop. The SD was running out of spec and they took care of it quickly and easily.

When you are selling it probably just comes down to the popularity of the model and how easily they can turn around and sell it.

[JBZ]

Won’t this help to drive down the prices for the DSWs of the world potentially?


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Maybe. But C&C only deals in pre-owned stuff - they don't sell NIB (at least not from what I've seen). So in that sense they aren't really a gray dealer. But if they take up an even bigger market share following the Hodinkee merger and consciously try to drive prices down a bit, I think it's possible, at least for the pre-owned stuff the grays sell.

C&C can be weird sometimes - most of their stuff is priced in line with what I see other places, but every now and then they'll list something for what I think is quite a bit less than fmv or quite a bit more. I've also seen them list two of the same model of watch from roughly the same year, describe them as being in the same condition, but price them differently by a few hundred dollars. I chalk it up to the size of their inventory - it's hard to keep track of everything.

[jtbenson]

... I've also seen them list two of the same model of watch from roughly the same year, describe them as being in the same condition, but price them differently by a few hundred dollars. I chalk it up to the size of their inventory - it's hard to keep track of everything.

or, assuming they were listed at different times, daily market fluctuation---it's not just for commodities anymore, it's a thing in preowned watch values now too

[Steve O.]

Crown & Caliber is located here in Atlanta (Sandy Springs). I've been meaning to get down there for some time, but haven't made it yet.

I asked them if I could stop to do my trade on the drive from Hartsfield. This was a couple years ago, but they pretty much said no, and that they didn’t have a retail area. The model is an online storefront, and they had no interest in doing a face to face transaction.

You're right. I had assumed that they had a retail store, but appears not. Glad I never drove down there for nothing.