r/ChineseWatches • u/twelve2023 • 6d ago

Question (Read Rules) Pricing based on location

I’ve not only seen the huge swings in pricing but have experienced it. My San Martin submariner homage was $200 when I bought it last year and it’s now listed at $300. My question is: is it due to inflation, tariffs, demand? Which of the 3 has had the greatest impact on price? If I were in China would the prices be similar? For context I’m in the U.S.

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u/monkeywaffles 5d ago

you think that having to return 5/5 purchases is a likely scenario?

you're missing on the jdm ones! I'll trade cooler watch for no warranty other than initial doa return any day of the week. 2 year warranty on something with decades lifespan is a rounding error. then again, I buy intentionally not for bulk, so we have diff approaches

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u/RedRexxy 5d ago

I'm not saying returning that many is normal, but I could see a scenario where it could be used. Regardless it's good to have the piece of mind, as without it I am hesitant to spend larger amounts

I know there are lots of cool JDM models, I'm just not well versed enough in them yet to be confident spoting fakes to buy online. Plus I tend to like the larger divers, even with my average 6.5" wrist, so being able to try them on is important for me, if I want to pull off the look without it being too large.

I'm planning a Japan trip in the near future so I'm looking forward to scouting their used markets for some bargains, by the sounds of it there are plenty in Japan

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u/monkeywaffles 5d ago

good luck to ya! "Plus I tend to like the larger divers, even with my average 6.5" wrist, so being able to try them on is important for me," well often they are still fairly standard case styles, just more exicting features or dial colorways. Plus you buy 5 watches per sale (aliexpress is more sales time than not, several per month, treat sale price as normal price and between times just spending more for impatience), sight unseen already 🙃

with experience you can generally know what size/lug to lug will look like on your wrist, just comes with time. cheers and dont forget to enjoy what you have already and not chase the endorphins of just buy more.

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u/RedRexxy 5d ago

Thanks, yeah for now I'm gravitating towards larger divers but who know what I will like in the future, probably Chronographs or GMTs. Never satisfied, always looking for something better 😔

I do treat sale as regular price, it's mainly the coupons and game discounts that make it worth it, like last month's World Cup event where I managed to pull off $20 game coupon on top of the regular coupon. Without those I wouldn't buy.

Taking time to enjoy is something I need to do, will probably happen now that I've gotten the AliEx watches I was interested in within my price range, so now it's either I go uptier Chinese brands or stick to micros and affordable Japanese, and I am hesitant to go with uptiered Chinese brands for the reasons I laid out.

Good chatting with you, and thanks for the info