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A few questions for those with large collections

jaygatsby

You're Saying I Can Sell?
3/12/18
99
30
18
Hello all,

I am fairly new to the rep world and have been researching on the topic quite a bit. RWI has been more than helpful.

I have a few questions for the seasoned members here.

First and foremost, how often do you all typically buy a new piece? I have just ordered my first and I am already picking my next. I am trying to determine the best way to build a large collection. Either buy piece by piece or save up and buy all at once? Is it when you simply come across a great deal? receive a paycheck?

Also for those with large collections, do you ever consider the fact that you could buy 2 or 3 gen watches for the same you've spent on a large collection of reps? Seeing the "Reps NWBIG" thread does shed some light on this but I am curious.

Now how many of your spouses know your watches are reps? Do they support the hobby?

Finally, thank you all for the great support I've received here on the forum on the purchase of my first rep. I look forward to many more!
 

Luxuracer

Renowned Member
I do not have a 'large' collection ... comparing to some other members ... mine is a little over 70 reps.

When I first got into rep ... just over a year ago ... I bought one watch at a time from different TD to test them out. After that I ordered 3 watches at one time to save on shipping. And of course that not taking into account M2M purchases.

I worn gen watches all my life (couple Rolex and Omega) until late last year when I accidentally found RWI while researching for my next gen Omega. I never knew there are high quality reps. I thought all reps were like those I saw on Canal St. Which all the reps I bought I could have bought 2 luxury gen easily ... but what fun in that. This has became a hobby to me.

My wife knows about my rep watch hobby and fully supports it. "It is the safest and cheapest hobby that you ever picked up in your life!" ... was her own words.

Finally, if you think that this forum help you in your purchase(s), you should become a Supporter.

Best of luck
 

jaygatsby

You're Saying I Can Sell?
3/12/18
99
30
18
Most of us tell our partners that our Gen watches are fake, so they don’t know what we really spent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My partner inherited a gen Patek from her father. I haven't told her of my rep purchase yet, as she is the type who would prefer I spend the extra $$$ (in this case extra $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) on a gen.
 

jaygatsby

You're Saying I Can Sell?
3/12/18
99
30
18
I do not have a 'large' collection ... comparing to some other members ... mine is a little over 70 reps.

When I first got into rep ... just over a year ago ... I bought one watch at a time from different TD to test them out. After that I ordered 3 watches at one time to save on shipping. And of course that not taking into account M2M purchases.

I worn gen watches all my life (couple Rolex and Omega) until late last year when I accidentally found RWI while researching for my next gen Omega. I never knew there are high quality reps. I thought all reps were like those I saw on Canal St. Which all the reps I bought I could have bought 2 luxury gen easily ... but what fun in that. This has became a hobby to me.

My wife knows about my rep watch hobby and fully supports it. "It is the safest and cheapest hobby that you ever picked up in your life!" ... was her own words.

Finally, if you think that this forum help you in your purchase(s), you should become a Supporter.

Best of luck

70 is certainly a great collection. How many years have you been collecting? Post a pic!
 

Stribbo

You're Saying I Can Sell?
24/9/18
97
35
18
I currently only have 4 reps, but I would not order more than 1 (2 at a push) watch at a time. Although I have had no problems at all I am aware that things can and occasionally do go wrong. I wouldn’t want to be waiting on 6 watches with £2,000+ invested to find out that customs has confiscated the lot. Just my personal opinion.
 
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rj999

I'm Pretty Popular
20/10/13
1,033
174
63
UK
I currently only have 4 reps, but I would not order more than 1 (2 at a push) watch at a time. Although I have had no problems at all I am aware that things can and occasionally do go wrong. I wouldn’t want to be waiting on 6 watches with £2,000+ invested to find out that customs has confiscated the lot. Just my personal opinion.

You're right. 2 or 3 at the most to reduce the customs risk. and also, to reduce your purchase rate. New watches keep coming out so if you ordered lots, you'd probably find in a couple of months there's a new one you should have ordered instead!
 
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trailboss99

Head Honcho - Cat Herder
Staff member
Administrator
Certified
30/3/08
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First and foremost, how often do you all typically buy a new piece? I have just ordered my first and I am already picking my next. I am trying to determine the best way to build a large collection. Either buy piece by piece or save up and buy all at once? Is it when you simply come across a great deal? receive a paycheck? I buy what I like when I get the urge for another watch, why would you buy everything at once?

Also for those with large collections, do you ever consider the fact that you could buy 2 or 3 gen watches for the same you've spent on a large collection of reps? Seeing the "Reps NWBIG" thread does shed some light on this but I am curious. Nope, not I

Now how many of your spouses know your watches are reps? Do they support the hobby? If you are lying to your spouse you don't deserve her/him.
 
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Maron

Mythical Poster
16/2/15
9,469
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Canada
My partner inherited a gen Patek from her father. I haven't told her of my rep purchase yet, as she is the type who would prefer I spend the extra $$$ (in this case extra $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) on a gen.

Good thing you are an adult and nobody can tell you how to spend your money, right?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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muiramas

Erect Aristocrat
Supporter
18/1/17
5,707
7,025
113
Buy as many as you want - they are cheap.

The second great thing about watches is that the wife can't tell them apart;

If you tell her you bought another watch, she'll ask why and say it looks just like the one you already have.
If you don't tell her you bought another watch she won't notice.

If your wife pours scorn on fake watches, get the fake watch anyway and invest in beer / bowling / black jack.
 

nalomb

Be Excellent
6/8/12
3,563
625
113
My wife knows about my rep watch hobby and fully supports it. "It is the safest and cheapest hobby that you ever picked up in your life!" ... was her own words.

My old lady said the same, although not as succinctly haha.

My collection of watches is about 60, with 35-40 being reps. When I started, I got such a sugar high from buying 3 watches for a quarter the price of a gen that I went a little crazy. In other words: picking up watches like a madman is not uncommon. As you go along, you learn some lessons on what to buy and when to wait until m2m as well as defining a motif for your collection (which certainly may change more than once). Dive in as deep as you're comfortable going and enjoy the ride. One bit of advice: I keep a "toybox" fund for myself where if I see something snazzy (watch or otherwise) I have the cash set aside to pick it up. Not a bad idea to start if you haven't already for when that elusive grail or mind-blowing piece pops up when you just paid the mortgage and funded your 401k ...
 

d3xophen

Renowned Member
15/9/18
611
203
43
I also start this hobby for about 3 months. I asked one of my friends that I want to buy one GEN Rolex. I know that he know very well in watches. After chatting with him for a couple of hrs, he gave me this forum link and PT link. From that day onward, I keep reading and reading and reading (sometimes asking) on this forum. I never took a day off.

And now, before I know myself I already bought 18 reps. 10 arrived , 1 on the way and 7 QCing now. I decided to not buy more than 1 rep in a month. But who know, new amazing products are out everyday.
So, buy what you like. Read the forum, follow the rules. Read more, talk less. << this is the basic rules of this forum. Most of the member don't like asking which one is close to gen.

Just want to give you one advice, after buying what you like, do not further reading the specific thread about that watch. They will discuss the flaws. Once you see the flaws, you can't unsee it. LOL. . For example, I bought calatrava rg and aquanaut blue recently. So I don't dare to read that threads. I will read again if watches will update version 2, 3, etc.

Man this hobby is so addictive.
Yes, I told my partner they are rep. Like boss said,
If you are lying to your spouse you don't deserve her/him.
 
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rolexwatchfan

Put Some Respect On My Name
17/8/13
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Ah, another "how are you dealing with the addiction" question. Well, "large collection" has a different meaning for each of us being 20-200 watches respectively. It all depends on few aspects of the hobby:
1. Rotation habits.
2. Brand preferences.
3. Material and quality.
4. Rarity of the watch.
5. Habitual hoarding.
As time progresses in this addictive endeavor you will notice increased volume of different brand purchases. "Just to try it out" Different brands, different sizes, material schemes and so on. In time you'll acquire taste for certain brands, sizes, materials and this will be your drive for some time. Then, yet again will you discover the darkest side of this hobby: Frankens and Custom Replicas. That will be the final step of the hobby that will determine your devotion to your collection - will you start selling to feed your craving for more sophisticated pieces or keep what you've collected so far and get what you've really desired to add to your ever growing collection? I guess we will see pretty soon. Welcome to The Dark Side and hold on to yer wallet!
By the way, keep your partner open and informed. Building relationships on a lie, whatever the lie is - is plainly wrong. Don't listen to the guys claiming their GEN's are reps and can get away with it. It's like having a side girl and telling yourself you're never going to get caught.
 

Nanook65

I'm Pretty Popular
3/12/16
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I think Rolexwatch fan on the above post has summed things up very well.

for me personally, I am currently at 19 with another 20 or so that I have sold for one reason or another. I have a watch box max of 12 so right now I am trying to sell a few, but it can be difficult and I totally understand how guys get up to 50 or 100 or even more. I started with about 1 a month and have slowly started with more expensive gens and an occasional purchase of 2 reps at a time to save a little on shipping. When you first start out it will kill you to wait on a new purchase to arrive, but after you have a bunch of watches you realize you can just wear something else while you wait.

As for my wife. She totally knows that I buy and sell watches, but she is pretty much like everyone else in that she rarely notices what I am wearing. For example today I have on a gen Seiko Tuna, yesterday it was gen Sinn U1, the day before a rep Breitling SO 2 44, the day before that a white dial rep IWC 5001. She hasn't said a word about different watches in months and honestly I just think she cares exactly 0% so she doesn't bother to notice. Lucky me , I guess.....
 

mikeanh77

Active Member
13/11/18
490
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Asia
i Enjoy reading the post as much as i enjoyed wearing reps lol.
For the thought of buying 2 gen instead of 70-100 rep??? why not??? lol
70 reps thats nwbig or super rep, i will choose 70 reps everytime. considering buying 1 gen , 1 service cost you another rep lol.



Sent from my iPad using RWI
 
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Norrie

I'm Pretty Popular
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I was going to get a gen Omega PO 600m chronograph but wondered if it wouldn't work with a large rep collection and passed on it. I've gotten past that now and made peace with owning both reps and gens. I owned a very large concert poster collection and sold the meat out of it and put it into watches. Better to have money on the wrist than under the bed. I usually order a few at a time to save on post. I find that to be an awesome excuse. The last 12 months I've slowed down a lot though to about one every 1-2 months. When it comes to wifey, she collects handbags. So... we have a mutual unspoken understanding where what happens in PayPal stays in PayPal.
 
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mikeanh77

Active Member
13/11/18
490
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Asia
I was going to get a gen Omega PO 600m chronograph but wondered if it wouldn't work with a large rep collection and passed on it. I've gotten past that now and made peace with owning both reps and gens. I owned a very large concert poster collection and sold the meat out of it and put it into watches. Better to have money on the wrist than under the bed. I usually order a few at a time to save on post. I find that to be an awesome excuse. The last 12 months I've slowed down a lot though to about one every 1-2 months. When it comes to wifey, she collects handbags. So... we have a mutual unspoken understanding where what happens in PayPal stays in PayPal.

exactly what i thought on watches, better to have money on the wrist.
im in love with bike but the weather and traffic in my area are just not supporting my hobby, so i stop collecting motorbike and change to watch, better hobby i think lol


Sent from the RWI App
 

r0b9502

Renowned Member
22/1/17
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The danger of not letting your wife know the truth is, she could very well insist "I need a bag and a pair of shoes for every watch you have. Dont worry honey, the price this combo will be half of the price of your watch. I am way more financially responsible than you, anyways"
 

macarone

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2yrs later! Few gens mostly super reps and “The ones to have”. Don’t gamble, drug and whore free! She never really asked!
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