Rolex Waitlists 2018, Hublot Public Opinion & My Biggest Watch Buying Mistake
Today I’m answering questions about the Rolex waiting list for the stainless steel Daytona, people’s opinion of Hublot (love/hate) and the biggest watch buying mistake I made in the past.
Why is Hublot disliked?
This week, an interesting question came through: why is Hublot so disliked in the watch world? That’s a very interesting question.
First and foremost, I don’t believe Hublot is universally disliked.
I do think Hublot is being made fun of a lot lately.
I happen to know of an Instagrammer @ShameOnWrist — and I’m sure you guys all know him. Check him out on Instagram — you can always see him making fun of Hublot, Breitling, Franck Muller and other brands he deems to not be as successful.
His stuff is absolutely hysterical. Some of the memes this guy makes are amazing. Of course, he keeps who he really is a big secret — nobody really knows (but I don’t think anybody cares).
To go back to the question, I can tell you why some people dislike Hublot or say that it’s not a good watch.
But I also want to tell you that Hublot is actually a great watch. And I can also tell you that we sell a ton of Hublot watches to customers — which tells me that it is more liked than disliked.
What’s being made fun of when it comes to Hublot?
The fact that they release a limited edition every 45 seconds. It’s the truth!
Hublot partners up with so many different sports figures, celebrities, pianists, actors, etc.
Hublot is big in soccer — they probably made a limited edition Hublot for every single team in every single league, as well as for every World Cup and individual stars.
Have you ever heard the expression “All publicity is good publicity”? The guys who are making fun of Hublot are actually helping them out. It puts Hublot right in your face.
If Hublot was doing so bad, why would they build a second factory right next door to the existing five-story factory? Probably not for looks — it’s probably because they need bigger manufacturing facilities because they are making more watches, and are very successful at it.
I always tell people to buy what you like first and foremost.
The fact of the matter is, Hublot makes gorgeous watches. It is in the top five most popular watches that we sell here at Luxury Bazaar.
Other people claim that Hublot doesn’t hold its value very well.
The idea is they come out with so many limited editions, that your watch will lose its value quickly. But some of the watches they’ve made are absolutely incredible — like the soccer limited editions or the diamond-encrusted Million Dollar Big Bang.
They are sure to hold their value at least as well as Hublot competitors.
To answer your question, Hublot is not disliked worldwide. When I see a meme making fun of Hublot, I’ll laugh my ass off — but deep down inside I know it’s just fun and games.
Why is there such a long waiting list for a stainless steel Rolex Daytona?
The answer is actually simple: supply and demand. If somebody asks me what the number one brand is, I always tell them: Rolex. It’s not even remotely close.
In terms of popularity, sales numbers and marketing — Rolex is #1. It makes hundreds of thousands of watches. They manage to distribute so effectively that nearly every watch sells at (or over!) retail.
The Daytona has historically always sold over retail price. It is the number one best selling watch of all time. There’s not a watch out there that sells more. It’s a watch that everybody absolutely wants. What happens? Supply and demand.
If you go to an authorized dealer and ask for a Rolex Daytona, you are sure to be put on the waiting list. This can be a year, two years and sometimes even three years depending on the model — and how nice the AD is to you!
Selling over retail becomes a loop. Those who are willing to pay a little over retail are able to get the watch faster, and prices rise across the board. Daytonas have always sold over list price as long as I have been in the business.
Authorized dealers are hiding them under the showcases and selling them to guys like me because they can get more money for them.
Or they’ll sell it to a VIP client as a ‘bonus’. Again, the answer to the question is simple: supply and demand, and the fact that the Daytona is the most popular watch of all time.
What was the biggest mistake you’ve made when purchasing watches?
The worst and most common mistake I made in the beginning stages of my career was not checking the functionality of the watch.
When I started, the market was so hot the watches came in and out in seconds. The minute they hit the sales floor, they’d be gone.
I didn’t really have the time or the staff. The watch would come in, I’d take a look at it, set the time and send it off to a client.
A few months later that would come back and bite me in the ass. I couldn’t afford to fix an expensive, perpetual calendar. Fixing watches can get extremely expensive.
Of course, now I’m a little bit bigger.
We now have an entire QA department that checks every single watch that comes in.
We check it for keeping good time, chronographs, annual calendar, minute repeaters, tourbillons, etc.
My advice to everyone, whether you’re in the business or a consumer when you purchase a watch make sure you check the functionality over a 48-hour period.
Read the manual, set everything — only then can you give a full commitment.
There’s a lot that can happen to a watch between the factory and when it hits the shelves.
I learned the hard way — always, always, always check the functionality of every single watch you buy.
Watch the entire episode here:
That’s it for now — leave a comment on the YouTube video to get your question answered next time!
Every week, Roman wears a unique watch on the Q&A video. This week it was a Rolex Daytona Yellow Gold Zenith Movement Watch. Check out the LuxuryBazaar website for more items like it!
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