le_chef
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Holistic view
When you look at what AP is doing holistically (and read the transcripts) then it all makes perfect sense. It strengthens the brand and reinforces it as a top-tier watch company. There's never going to be a perfect solution that every owner likes, but for the majority this works and strengthens the value of what they own over the long haul.
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Spit in the face to all collectors
Audemars Piguet is considered to be one of the top three watch companies. In the last 5 years they have become a brand seeking the approval and endorsement of celebrities while forgetting their customer. The recent price change for me is complete spit in ...
The sad but real part of the story is......
that AP main competitor is Hublot.........no offence to Hublot but... Mo
Good news for the Top Three
There's now a clear Top Two of Swiss Manufacturers and luckily many good candidates to fill the empty space AP left to Top Three. Best, Kari
Unfortunately it's true now
the ROO and Big Bang are aimed at pretty much the same demographics. I always complained about AP's sometime strange choice of movements for many ROO models but now it seems only natural...
Sadly, I have to agree with much of what you say
Their new leadership is making the brand more affordable and soon that exclusivity that we all love will be gone. In my view the move is a huge mistake and is devaluing the brand. Today I spent an hour at the dealers while my wife shopped, the dealer said...
I know you were holding out for a while
Nautilus I know you were holding out for the rose rubber clad and saw you purchased it around the holidays. I purchased my 15400or around that time as well and got hammered on it as well as my 44mm rose ceramic. I feel you my friend and all I can say is w...
Thanks!
It's tough luck, life goes on though. If AP want to make a gesture to all those affected then I'll be pleased, if not then I'll take the rough with the smooth. Either way I haven't bought my last AP.
What they did is fantastic, you should welcome their move.
I respectfully disagree with you. They didn't lower their prices to compete with Hublot, they did it to be fair to their customer and adjust the past double increase because of the hike in gold prices. Twice they increased by 10% their prices, in a short ...
Thanks for reading and expressing your opinion
Frick Thanks for reading and expressing your opinion. I do buy my watches because I love them and do keep them you shouldn't make any assumptions about my collecting habits. I have been collecting Audemars Piguet for about 10 years and do appreciate the f...
you are welcome...
... Jeremy, i wasn't making assumption, i was repeating what you said, that's why i "copy/paste" your words. That being said, apologize if i made it sound differently. I understand you are frustrated about that situation, but my point was to say that corr...
I understand your point
Fricks, I completely understand your point that they made a mistake in their price increase, however; they did it and after thousands of consumers spent thousands of dollars on their products they decide it was a mistake. Sales aren't as strong and hublot...
Respectfully Fricks
You said " They didn't lower their prices to compete with Hublot, they did it to be fair to their customer and adjust the past double increase because of the hike in gold prices. Twice they increased by 10% their prices, in a short period of time." Well,y...
Well Mo, finally we disagree on something...
... as much as i agree with you that prices increased too much in a short period, was completely ridiculous and didn't make sense. If you admit that, then the decrease of price list is almost an obligation. Otherwise its like going deeper in something tha...
I feel for you Jeremy.
For a collector like yourself or Nautilus, the news of the reduction is certainly not welcomed.
Thanks....
Michael, I will swallow the lose as I do in business just bugs me a bit. Appreciate the post.
Now this thread, and the uproar, simply boggles my mind...
After years of highly unreasonable and rapid price increases, to which collectors have complained again and again, AP is now being criticized for lowering the prices....just ONCE....and only on gold pieces?!?!? Patek hasn't increased its prices in the US ...
Dont see whats boggling here
JFY, Patek made very strategic price increase over the years and will probably continue to increase their retails. Also Patek is a role model in the industry and is considered a grail by most collectors imho. AP had a price decrease during the recession a...
I think you need to consider the metals market
when you speak of pricing of gold watches. I personally thought prices rose to much the past few years. Gold is down and seems to have some more downward pressure, this is good enough of a reason for AP to make pricing adjustments. My guess is they had up...
considering the metals markets
Jerry, I understand what your saying when it comes to metal markets as I'm directly involved with commodities. Having said that we all now that any gold watch even a Rolex day date has at best 6-7k worth of gold inside of it. No matter how much gold rises...
metals prices has very little to do with the price adjust...
considering the amount of gold that is used, i highly doubt AP is changing their prices due to the prices in metals. as JerryW mentioned in the bottom of his post, the issue is with discounts that are being given by ADs to customers. this price decrease i...
I had the same feeling!
I had the same feeling! I just bough my very first RO in January. The price reduction is not significant this time for the model I bought. However, I do not feel good at all. I do not think I will bought another AP in the near future. Is this what AP want...
Forgive me for adding insult to injury, but...
I feel like there is shared blame here. On one hand, you purchased gold watches in hope of them appreciating over time; this failed. How is this different from stocks, bonds or anything else? Blame Wallstreet? Oh, wait, you bought the watches 'cause you l...
Thanks Tom
You shouldn't assume that we buy watches in the hope that they appreciate, I think for most of us here that is not the case. I know that my watch will depreciate, I just didn't expect that AP would accelerate the process by 30% within a month of my purcha...
Are we all deaf ?????
Ap plans to "refund" dealers to pass on to clients who recently purchased a gold piece............discuss this with your AD . D piece.
Hi Fomar
You said this before but didn't provide any evidence when asked and your view appears to be contrary to the message coming from the ADs. I see you're based in South Africa and I wonder if the ADs there have decided to give refunds to disgruntled customers...
Your information is inaccurate Fomar.
I will address this topic in a separate post. There are no AP "refunds" of any kind related to the reduced pricing of certain references. Individual authorized dealers will be free to act as they wish to work with their own clients. AP Boutiques are conta...
Price is irrelevant
In this case, the complaining OP should not play at this level if he/she is not comfortable losing some of his/her money in depreciation. Doesn't matter if this is 400, 4000 or 400,000 watch.
With respect
...it is out of line for you to state how someone should or should not spend their money, you should remember that this is a forum for people who love watches NOT a financial advisory service where we each chip in a useless sound bite concerning a depreci...
Respect - missing
If anything, I missed to include the word "perhaps"... PERHAPS it is wiser. PERHAPS the OP should go easy... The rest is far from trying to supply or force any financial advice. Is there a level where we should all be on spending to exchange here? Do you ...
Holistic view
When you look at what AP is doing holistically (and read the transcripts) then it all makes perfect sense. It strengthens the brand and reinforces it as a top-tier watch company. There's never going to be a perfect solution that every owner likes, but for...
I have to agree on jeremy feelings..
Most of the ppl would said " i dont care if the 2nd value goes down" as far im happy to wear it. It all a big lie! Once you try to sell it if the price drop its an "ouch". Especially bought a brand new and drop to 20+. I feel you jeremy. Beside having a g...
Thanks Logan.
We will keep buying nothing else we can do the force is to strong. Thanks for posting.
I agree 100% and..
If Patek or Lange ever did this I would be sick to my stomach! What a bad move and hopefully not the signature of new senior management or AP will have issues for many years to come IMHO. Cheers,
Lets be clear
Lets all be clear about one thing. My wife's Chanel bags have become the better investment and hold a better value than AP has in the last five years. No matter what anyone has to say here in the last five years every single product on the market has appr...
I presume you never bought a car, if not loosing money is your first rule.
90 % of the watches in the market are consumable, just kike cars... You should invest in bags, as you stated. Your ponit has been well heard and read by everybody, so, now, let's talk about watches, you know, the object of our passion, which makes tic tac...
Thank You Nicolas
All my posts have been about watches and those things that go tic toc however yours seems to be about me. Thank you for explaining to me the loss I will take when I buy a car I'll keep it in mind when I trade in my bicycle.
Aaah I disagree here
You said " There isn't a single person who buys a watch on this forum and expects to lose 50% of its value. Why do I use a number like 50% ? When buying a new watch we know that we lose 10-30% in the short term depending on the model and expect it to appr...
Mo, The point in all...
Mo, The point in all this is AP policy and there decisions my vacation and car purchases are irrelevant. My main reasoning for posting is to not be silent when I strongly disagreed with a decision a company made which directly effected me. I agree with Ni...
+2 ...
I recalled in '07-'08 AP tried to rid of traders, hence all LEs prices were increased accordingly then (by doing so, giving no/little room for excess margin to be had by third party/traders).. In a way, that's understandable (why give traders the benefits...
Alright guys, this thread has gone far enough.
Jeremy, you have been given latitude in your replies and we all understand your frustration. Everyone else has had adequate time to comment, and many of you have strategically placed your wise cracks. I hope it is mostly out of your systems now. If you ar...