I got to Chadstone (Melb, AU) around 3am, lined up outside, there were only about 30 of us. As it approached 5am the line had about 300 people in it. All of the sudden someone from the way back bolted for the mall door which caused everyone else to do the same. The shop is inside the mall and the glass doors weren’t open yet but a swarm of people were there now outside in a heartbeat and us in the front lost our spots. The security guards came and they tried to heard people to the one side prior to the entrance opening. It kinda worked but one group of kids hung by the adjacent sliding glass door and sure enough at 5:30am they all slid open. It was then a stampede to the shop which wasn’t far. I saw a girl get trampled and another I heard broke her arm. Of course those of us who were there first lost our original spots because of this. A few made it to the front but most were way back by now. The whole time shady people were cutting up to the front, pushing and I heard a few brawls. It was one of the more disgusting displays of human nature I’ve seen. One idiot hipster wearing his Tudor just blatantly cut in. He was very close to getting beat up as he wouldn’t move. By this time there would have been over 1000 people in the line. They booed and booed him. It was kind of funny. He just eventually walked off with a sense of weird entitlement. The line wrapped around the inside of the mall and you would have had to have seen it to believe it. You were only allowed to get one watch. As it turned out they only had 150 total. I got close, was next to the Swatch shop window the whole time but we seemed to not move as we watched people let in one at a time to get their watches. There were about 10 police crowd controlling (they had to be called in) and they sold out by 11:30am - store opened at 9am. They took their time selling. Well there ya go, that’s what I saw. Bit disappointed. (Note the amount of people in this photo!)
This is the same activity exhibited 30 years ago when the Swatch chrono and Swatch LE frenzy swept the scene in the early 90's. And they never had enough watches leading to mass disappointment. There was never enough watches to satisfy demand. So it will be with this program. Standard Swatch procedure, it's the way they roll. Many people are comforting themselves with the idea that all of these will soon be available online. Good luck with that. It could happen, but that would be out of character with past Swatch activity.
So you’re upset at Omega because Swatch handled it badly and now you can’t by your plastic toy Moonwatch NOW NOW NOW? Seriously? Just wait a few weeks and you’ll get one. Besides, stamping your feet and not buying the used Seamaster GMT you’ve got your eye on won’t affect Omega’s bottom line.
Ha ha yeah a bit frustrated I guess. It was just the whole experience really. I wish I would not have put myself through that. Just feeling a little defeated for an industry I thought so highly of.
People need to chill out. They're not limited and will be available online. Nothing excuses this behavior... It says something about the watch community when we can't even be a quarter as cordial as the nerds that go to conventions. (No shade to the latter group, as I've lined up at SDCC many times, and many kind people have offered to save my spot for a restroom break during an overnight wait).
Of course it’s frustrating and hindsight is 20/20 as they say but when you’re caught up in the hype it’s hard to let it go. I think it’s a good thing as many of those people are probably not watch enthusiasts and anything thing that gets mainstream people back into watches (that aren’t Apple watches) is a good thing.
sorry you feel frustrated and dealt with the horde. but while all these behaviors and ceremonies might be a bit new to the high end watch crowd, it’s any-given-Sunday stuff for the broader hype collaboration scene. Supreme, Nike, New Balance, Play Station, etc., all have these things going on. I’d bet almost everyone you witnessed exhibit bad behavior were hype resellers. Setting aside the obvious downsides only for a moment, it’s pretty nuts that any low market watch brand (talking about Swatch Watch) has managed to achieve this level of response. Despite the down sides, I’d guess Casio, G-Shock, etc., are a good bit envious at the moment. Again, sorry you got slimed by the hype horde
Should have kept it like it was, the on-the-scene 'complaining' added texture to the commentary. Especially about the two Omega suits that ponced into the store and bought the watch without standing in line, I guess they were taking a break from updating all the people on the Snoopy list as to their status for future delivery.
You weren’t defeated by the industry, you were defeated by modern day rudeness. People suck. Have said that so many times lately and will keep saying it. Fights over toilet paper not long ago. 10-15 years ago in Sydney someone having a bit of trouble at a boat ramp would get help. Now it’s abuse. Moved to Darwin years ago and it’s back to getting help. Man people still pull over to see if your ok if you are on the side of the road up here..
the hype sales platform of choice, StockX, has surely over a thousand completed sales already and more transacting every minute, for each colorway those with the aggressive tactics in person were almost without question seasoned hype flippers motivated by the 3X
More than anything it’s the security at that mall that should have done better down in Melbourne, there are people saying they got theirs as a result of shopping Center security staff effectively selling them a slot in line by “buying full day parking for $80” which is why the line didn’t move. If that’s the case it’s pretty unfortunate. You’ll be able to get one online soon enough though so patience will pay off.
Welcome to the Omegaforum @DiverTrust - what you witnessed is not the watch community- at all! Many of us have patiently waited years to get the watches we wanted…years.
Yea it’s mostly a lot more chill than that indeed, there likely are a whole lot of sneaker scalper types in that queue too accounting for some of the bad behaviour.
That’s crazy. I didn’t notice this but there was a portion of the other side of the shop that I could not see. Maybe they were slipping them in. If that’s the case that’s terrible. Man it was a nightmare, really. Also, you should have seen some of watches on people there. There were definitely watch collects amongst the crowd. Again though I’m really surprised Swatch/Omega didn’t do something to try and offset all this. Just not a good look imho. I get it though on the hypesters/flippers.
I heard a story from Tokyo that mirrored this completely except for the unruly behavior. Trampling people for $400 profit on a watch? A new low.