US manufacturers?

[CISO1969]

Just curious why no one has done this before:

1) Buy all parts from China & Swinterland

2) Assemble them here, perform QC and service here

Why not? If among our little community and done on small scale, I'd pay $300 or so for a decent watch with high QC and made well.

Thoughts?

 

[piratedzeus]

Don't think that this would work out at 300$...

 

[jiro]

if that ever happens....it probably will be well over 300USD

 

[watchace]

ever heard about Labour Costs? penies vs dlls

Cheers

 

[CISO1969]

Interesting. But if all they are doing is finish work, for example on a Pam: dropping the movement in the case, screwing in the CG, adding hands to the dial and luming--you are looking at the cost of parts and shipping and some sort of basic assembly cost--why wouldn't $300 be reasonable expectation?

I mean let's say you can buy a complete rep for $50 in the Ghongzhu (sic?) Market... couldn't you source those same unassembled parts cheaper, ship here and assemble?

Just brainstorming and trying to see why this would be cost prohibitive?

 

[nietzsche]

Quality control isn't just assembly issues, it goes back to the fact that you probably don't have great quality control on the parts end. Unless you wanna manafacture everything in the states, there would be no good way to maintain good quality control when you are outsourcing cheap parts. The ending watch would be probably as much as buying a real watch seeing how most manafacturers have economies of scale and highly mechanized assembly lines.

 

[CISO1969]

keep in mind we are talking "basement business" or "Cottage industry" --not some factory that actually pays overhead for benefits etc and has to deal with a imposed minimum wage

 

[LegendofSpeed]

I can see your point... think of something along the lines of Davidsen....

You could bring in 10 high end cases, movments, and the such... say you do 10 watches a month to just generate income to support your watch buying...

The price would be over $300 though... more along the lines of Belials offerings ($400+)... but modded and very nice...

 

[CISO1969]

Sure--I'm sure for every 5 CG's you'd get one would be a throw away due to poor quality, same thing wiuth other parts, but, if you are paying very little for these parts (exact cost I'd just be guessing) would that really impact your bottom line on say a limited run of 30 watches?

So let's say the manufacturer buys $100 worth of each part needed for a Marina Militare. He spends $2000 (a guess) That equates to enough for say 20 - 25 watches but in reality only enough are decent quality to make 15 . Add to that any out of pocket for lume and for testing or cleaning a movement -let's say $500.

And you sell your 15 watches at $300 each and get $4500, that's $2000 profit to play around with or to act as a buffer against defects etc etc.

I know, it's all about sourcing cheap quality Asian made parts and then finding someone to build and upgrade them, but for a bright young watchmaker with connections I'm sure this could make sense.

 

[LegendofSpeed]

Problem right out of the gate is that you have to find 15 people to buy the same watch... which is doable... but you have to sell your run of those to build more....

Also, you're not factoring in lost parts shipments (as with what happened with Belial)...

It could work... but you would have to have a good and reliable hook-up...

 

[willster]

Sounds like a good idea....but something tells me that folks with expertise or even interest to do this would want a really big profit margin to take the risk.....one call to Federallies from one pissed off buyer could produce an unwanted vacation in a tiny cell w/ Bubba

If I understand the many posts I read about the cost of servicing a Rep in the CONUS (anywhere from $150 USD to $200 USD) and addd the cost of the parts and maybe a little more work to make all fit right....amnot sure what Profit margin would be at $300 USD including S&H etc.

Not much I imagine

RBJ might have a valid opinion on this though

 

[CISO1969]

I'm a dreamer and idealist

 

[d4m.test]

I suspect the legal ramifications are different between manufacturing and selling reps, harsher for manufacturing. Comments? Your cost when raided is much higher compared to confiscation of goods too (tools, facilities, etc.) So you need another premium to justify that besides higher labor cost. You might have to sell above the $300 line which in my opionion is the current high end price of reps. And then a lot of the quality issues are not in the assembly process but in the manufacturing of the parts. So if you say your watch is assembled in the US and want to ask for just $100 more, I'd say "not interested". My 2 cents.

-bm

 

[rogerwine]

I say it could be done. Somewhere between $300 - $500 USD. There are people out there paying $600- $1000. for scam site Rolex, so a ready clientel for 15 watches a month could be done. And there are so many business people in the U.S. sourceing hardware from China that it readilly makes sense. Not to mention all of the Chinese from Hong Kong and Singapore that have relocated to the U.S. and Canada. But the legal issue is the big Alligator in the toilet. What with China to US delivery problems and staying hidden in regards to internet ISP and physical address. You'd have to call it "The Big Cajones Watch Service"
Rogerwine

 

[thelawnmowerman]

Hey Willster
You know what Bubba would say dont you?

something along the lines of .... 'your my my little puppy now' or 'who's your daddy?' :lol:

 

[willster]

Hey Willster
You know what Bubba would say dont you?

something along the lines of .... 'your my my little puppy now' or 'who's your daddy?' :lol:

and my guess is he would be right :shock:

 

[CISO1969]

How about one
company making no brand/no names reps?

Then another company can make logo upgrade kits

 

[grebeck]

How about one
company making no brand/no names reps?

You mean Invitica?

 

[ThumbModds]

Here's what it comes down to.

I have looked into this and thought about doing it, 2 things restict me.

1.) parts cost, unless you can go straight to the factory producing the parts.
Quality parts are still expensive.

2.) for every 1 watch you sell you have to stock 2, incase of breakage or defects.

On top of this then you have shipping cost's and labor.

to build 1 panerai from parts with ar sapphire $65.00, swiss movement $75.00, dial $10.00, lume $10.00 p/watch, case $50.00, quality strap $50.00 = $260.00 now labor for 5 hours at $25.00 p/hr $125.00 total = $385.00 + shipping.

who here is willing to pay $385.00 for a watch assmebled here in the USA, if you are contact me and I will make you one. :lol:

 

[rogerwine]

Throw in the cannon pin and you've got a deal. We are already at $380.00 for those listed items and we are still not getting what we want with regards to QC. 5 hours of labor = 5 hours of personal QC, its worth every penny. I am getting real tired of sending watches back and forth. My favorite watch, my 1950 Fiddy has seen more time in the mail and on someone elses bench then on my wrist by a margine of 3. And this back from September!! We are all aching for some sweet QC. In fact that could be your new dealer name "QC watches".
Rogerwine