Seaforth Preorders Tomorrow

[JP Chestnut]

It's easy to assume one's cost of goods plus labor plus marketing costs plus, plus, plus etc. when assessing a Micro offering. But in reality, we really don't know a company's true cost to bring a watch to market. That being said, with some of the offerings out there I think it's safe to say the price to value ratio is a bit out of whack... no matter how many hours they've spent on the project.

Jason seems to be offering a solid product at a fair price. He's been able to back that up with good reliability and excellent customer support/service. Pretty simply recipe for success. But a helluva lot of work though to pull it off,

A monta could cost $10,000 to make. It doesn't make their price any more attractive. Internal cost structures are the manufacturers concern - not the buyer.

[gwells]

whether jason's price is good or not is decided by the market. which snapped them all up in minutes and who continues to keep the second hand market just below or at original pricing. even the tropiks, which were sold out almost two years ago, look like they're still going for about the original price in the $650-700 range.

those other micros selling in the $250-500 range generally don't sell out that quickly nor hold their prices on the secondary market the same way. i get that he's not using better movements than those other micros, but let's face it, his designs are either better, less derivative, less "homage" or straight up copy/replica, or some comination of those things, or else people wouldn't clamor for his products. the fact that he isn't a douchebag and treats his customers well and with respect probably doesn't hurt any, either (although that hasn't seemed to hurt yao or eddie's business too much).

maybe it's a bit of the "yao" factor in that he has a lot of fanboys (myself included), but the market says his prices aren't too high. even some of the people commenting or complaining about his price point still want to buy.

the question is, how high would he have to push the price before they wouldn't sell out quickly and wouldn't hold pricing on the secondary market?

[Bradystraps]

It's easy to assume one's cost of goods plus labor plus marketing costs plus, plus, plus etc. when assessing a Micro offering. But in reality, we really don't know a company's true cost to bring a watch to market. That being said, with some of the offerings out there I think it's safe to say the price to value ratio is a bit out of whack... no matter how many hours they've spent on the project.

Jason seems to be offering a solid product at a fair price. He's been able to back that up with good reliability and excellent customer support/service. Pretty simply recipe for success. But a helluva lot of work though to pull it off,

A monta could cost $10,000 to make. It doesn't make their price any more attractive. Internal cost structures are the manufacturers concern - not the buyer.

Of course they are. And anyone wanting to stay viable will figure that part out or be OOB pretty damn quickly.
I would have liked that Monta at $750 or so.

[JP Chestnut]

It's easy to assume one's cost of goods plus labor plus marketing costs plus, plus, plus etc. when assessing a Micro offering. But in reality, we really don't know a company's true cost to bring a watch to market. That being said, with some of the offerings out there I think it's safe to say the price to value ratio is a bit out of whack... no matter how many hours they've spent on the project.

Jason seems to be offering a solid product at a fair price. He's been able to back that up with good reliability and excellent customer support/service. Pretty simply recipe for success. But a helluva lot of work though to pull it off,

A monta could cost $10,000 to make. It doesn't make their price any more attractive. Internal cost structures are the manufacturers concern - not the buyer.

Of course they are. And anyone wanting to stay viable will figure that part out or be OOB pretty damn quickly.
I would have liked that Monta at $750 or so.

Oh, Monta will be out of business - there's no doubt.

[gwells]

it makes sense, andrea, and i'm sure there's truth in it. scarcity feeds supply and demand pricing.

and i think you're right about the non-catalog parts, they probably add to the cost (and value). it adds value for me.

none of us really know the financial side of what he's doing (or his level of risk-aversion). the way he's operating now seems very low risk, in that he knows he's going to sell out and that probably covers the cost of the next batch. and, from a marketing perspective, there's good hype for his releases. and he can manage it all himself w/o any employees (that we know of). i'm guessing that changing his quantities changes all of that. higher risk, more QC, which means either more employees or sitting on inventory longer while you check them all, or sending out piecemeal (which was kind of what he did, in two batches this time).

i'm sure after the popularity of the tropik, which seemed like it was his true breakout piece, he was at a crossroads and decided to stay small. maybe seaforth will push him to step up a level in production. or maybe this level is just where he wants to be, market be damned.

[dnslater]

Monta no doubt brought higher specs to the table, with nicer finishing, higher end parts, an Eterna caliber 39 movement, etc...... but introducing their first product at this place in the market was probably a huge mistake as they are competing with highly spec'd established brands with long histories. Objectively, their watch may have been valued at the asking price, but nothing about this hobby is objective. I suppose they thought that since it worked with their high end Rolex straps, they could translate this perceived value to watches.

[JP Chestnut]

If that's the case, it's extremely poor market recognition.

Their strap sales are driven by Rolex customers: a group that, as a whole, tends to consider as irrelevant the difference between a $50 expense (Hirsch Pure) and a $225 one (Everest), and easily go for the $225 strap in exchange for a bump in quality.

This is a really good point. Judging from TRF, most Rolex customers are (1) not price sensitive, and (2) totally incapable of judging quality absent price and brand signals.

Take a look at the Everest leather straps on their website. I'm not joking when I say this: their quality (leather and sewing) looks lower than a $50 Hirsch and worlds worse than my $90 RTW APB Paris. They look very very crappy, yet TRF acts like they're made out of gold

[Panerai7]

what do they look like?, Everest rubber straps you mean?

[JP Chestnut]

what do they look like?, Everest rubber straps you mean?

No, the leather ones:

shit.JPG

That's a cheap ass piece of leather. Look how loose the grain is. The sewing is utter shit too, but I'm sure that didn't escape you. If that's worth $250, your straps are worth $1000.

[streetracer101]

Is that a pic if a new strap?

If so, terrible.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[JP Chestnut]

New strap. On their website. Picked at random.

[Panerai7]

I guess they charge for that build-up at the lugs that fits the case perfectly?

[pbj204]

I'll likely sell my Gilt sapphire soon.

A sapphire bezel version was on watchrecon for $800 and sold in a flash. Someone should just list one for $1000. These are selling very fast.

I can try

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272791349259?_t ... 1758.m4703

This one on ebay for $890 (w/shipping) with a day to go. Probably breaks $1k.

[JP Chestnut]

I'm a cheap bastard when it comes to straps. I view them as disposable, so won't spend big money on them.

All my 20mm straps are Hirsch. They're cheap and pretty nice if you soak them in something like Venetian Shoe Cream:
https://www.amazon.com/Fore-Supply-Co-N ... B00A6GAT0Y

ABP Paris is a bespoke (and very expensive) artisan shop that sells mostly ugly straps and probably other weird things. They've recently started selling ready to wear (RTW, just order off the shelf) straps as well. They're a little overpriced for me due to shipping/customers/FX charges, but probably pretty reasonable for you.

They're the only non-NOMOS source of 19mm short straps that I've found. Here's a nice looking alligator for instance:
https://www.abpconcept.paris/collection ... lligator-2

I'm wearing this on my Mark XV:
https://www.abpconcept.paris/collection ... que-veau-2

It was a little "meh" when new but it's getting nicer with wear.

[JP Chestnut]

I guess they charge for that build-up at the lugs that fits the case perfectly?

Maybe, but I hate that "feature" so the shit quality + high price makes me

One thing they do that's good, and expensive - they offer those leather straps at a length I could wear. I've almost bought one a number of times but that leather quality would be bad on a pair of payless shoes.

[JP Chestnut]

ABP also sells stupid fitted rubber straps for Rolex:
https://www.abpconcept.paris/collection ... r-strap-20

[Jeep99dad]

I'll likely sell my Gilt sapphire soon.

A sapphire bezel version was on watchrecon for $800 and sold in a flash. Someone should just list one for $1000. These are selling very fast.

I can try

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272791349259?_t ... 1758.m4703

This one on ebay for $890 (w/shipping) with a day to go. Probably breaks $1k.

Wow. Crazy. Should move mine
How about dwc special at 850$

[pbj204]

Sold on eBay for $1525!

I like mine, but I may have to list it.

[CGSshorty]

That's insane.

[streetracer101]

Sold on eBay for $1525!

I like mine, but I may have to list it.

No way. That's nuts.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[nweash]

Sold on eBay for $1525!

I like mine, but I may have to list it.

Wow I should have sat on mine.

[r.palace]

Sold on eBay for $1525!

I like mine, but I may have to list it.

Sucker born every minute

[tmw]

I want to try one to see what all the fuss is about.

[Jeep99dad]

I guess I'll put one of mine up.
Was gonna keep it but heck I'll let it go and cry for over 1k

[tmw]

Hook me up Brice.