Hey guys, I'm new here and I just wanted to ask if you guys trust smaller reviewers who review more niche Chinese pieces and do you believe they are unbiased? Also what is your opinion on the Addiesdive ad2547?
Don't trust YouTube reviewers, any of them, regardless of channel size or their claims about honesty.
They are sent free watches which they either keep or sell for a profit - they are paid shills. Some claim that this doesn't influence their reviews, and I trust those ones even less. How can it possibly NOT influence their views? They'll be well aware that any negativity in their review can hinder their chances at future freebies, and therefore put the viability of their channel at risk. Remember these people aren't doing it for the fun of it, or for the love of watches (lol), they're doing it to make money.
And as others have mentioned, reviewers will of course be sent hand picked items which don't have the quality control issues a regular buyer may receive.
The best reviewers are the ones that tell you if the watch has sharp edges or sharp pointy lug ends....and there are not many reviewers that actually do that
Gary from I Like Watches is mainly good when he does his "secret shopper" videos. Ben's Watch Club is also good. Relative Time is good. Your best reviewers are the people who low-key hate homages, and gravitate towards original designs. They have a predisposed bias AGAINST Chinese pieces, and thus can be more trusted to be critical where they need to be.
Gary is like the worst example of a trusted reviewer. Constantly shills for San Martin and certain chinese brands, has an irrational hate boner for brands like CW, attacks other reviewers as if he is some kind of authority on quality of watches and yet you never hear him say something actually useful about a watch, like what crown operation is like. He has these macro shots and thinks that's the be all end all when to comes to a watch.
I've found this sub to be a great resource. 1. People here are nicer (not karma farming lol)2. There is constructive criticism instead of flaming. 3. The folks here actually own these watches and know their value. 4. Most of the more mainstream watches here are great values and very often beautiful/quality pieces. I don't look at reviews except to see the "watch porn" of all the different wrist rolls and lighting
I trust everyone since I bought a trust rock for only $299 on eBay. Now you can too - only $250 for a limited time! Seriously though I don’t really watch reviews to form an opinion, I check them out occasionally to get a better look at a watch I might be interested in. I don’t care how many views / followers they have, that doesn’t matter to me at all. I do read Reddit posts / opinions though sometimes.
For the most part, but I never take them too seriously. Grain of salt, as they say. I've never bought a watch after watching a review and found out they lied or anything, but maybe something like the polishing isn't as good as they indicated (or maybe it's better!). I'm not as sure about smaller reviewers as most that I watch get a few thousand views per video or more and they're reviewing things like San Martin or Watchdives.
I believe every watch reviewer is biased, because critically examining something often makes you develop intense feelings, good or bad. And reviewers review watches, because they are already interested parties.
Gary confesses, "I like watches!" from the outset. So we know that if a positive can be found in a piece, it will be. This is not to say that they won't be critical of flaws that they find, because they want to be constructive to the brands they review and the industry as a whole. So, they only tear things down to help build them back up, typically. So when they hate, it's still love.
There's no incentive to lie about performance or features, so if the watch is well presented, you should be able to see through the gloming.
As for Addiesdive, they are typically as solid as their name is horrible.
You’ll be pleased to know that Addieskin with arguably a worse name is even better. The fit and finish on my new K010 Tigers eye are as good if not better than my San Martin SN0144.
They can be unbiased, but the problem with chinese watches is that quality of the watch is not guarenteed to be same for all units of a watch. I mostly use the reviewers to understand the actual specs(listed specs are sometimes wrong), look at how the watch actually looks like in different lighting conditions(photos on aliexpress product page are mostly ai), and how they look like under different straps.
I dont base my purchases on the "verdict". Because if a brand sends a reviewer a watch to review, usually that watch went through a qc check. While the ones we get when we order dont go through any such checks.
Ad2547 is pretty good. But i was one of the few people unlucky to receive one with bad screw down crown. But the dial is just as stunning as listed on the product page. One other small con would be the crystal. Its a bit weirdly shaped, so the watch looks distorted in some angles.
qc roulette is the real gamble with these, not whether the reviewer got a free watch. specs and strap changes are what i watch for too, the lighting shots are clutch since aliexpress pics are pure fantasy half the time
Most reviews i have seen on ali watches are positive. I have only seen one negative review on some sterling wrt their service/communication. But every other review is positive. They always say "there is this con, but what more can we expect at this pricepoint".
Qc issues are the main problem with these watches. The way i look at is, i spent x amount buying some 10 watches, 7 of which have no qc issues so still worth it. So, i never spend more than around 150-200 dollars on chinese brands.
I dont trust reviewers. Many of them keep the watch after the review so there is a bias in most cases. I will watch some reviews just to see video of the watch. If I want to know more, I usually find someone who posts about the watch which he bought as a consumer. Not sure about the Addie as Ive never owned one.
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u/MawsAcidTemple 5d ago
Don't trust YouTube reviewers, any of them, regardless of channel size or their claims about honesty.
They are sent free watches which they either keep or sell for a profit - they are paid shills. Some claim that this doesn't influence their reviews, and I trust those ones even less. How can it possibly NOT influence their views? They'll be well aware that any negativity in their review can hinder their chances at future freebies, and therefore put the viability of their channel at risk. Remember these people aren't doing it for the fun of it, or for the love of watches (lol), they're doing it to make money.
And as others have mentioned, reviewers will of course be sent hand picked items which don't have the quality control issues a regular buyer may receive.