Prices range from $9200 to $9400. Four of them are listed.

https://www.watchrecon.com/?query=ultraman

I thought the markup would be even higher.

 

2 out of the 4 are already sold

 

I won't pay even those relatively tame markups, no matter how badly I want a watch. Rolex markups are way worse for hot new models. 100% or more is common. I have philosophical issues with flipping, and while it's pure capitalism, it's the buyers jumping on these watches that encourage the practice. I'd never call for banning it, but I sure won't aid and abet the practice.

 

The manufacture are just as responsible for artificially limiting supply. So if you really don’t want to aid and abet the practice you shouldn’t buy any limited editions that might escalate in value.

Also didn’t somebody already sell at ST2 here?

 

Selling it is fine, profiteering is sketchy. At least on the hot new watches. It's not forbidden or illegal. It's not even amoral in a capitalist society. I just choose not to participate in it.

I don't hold a company responsible for the actions of buyers/sellers. Just like I don't hold the manufacturers of power tools responsible for folks having accidents with those tools. Or car manufacturers responsible for highway deaths (unless the accidents are due to defective manufacturing).

 

That’s it, plain and simple.

 

Prices seem to be getting lofty.....a member here has posted one with an asking price of $9,950...wonder how high they'll go.

 

I dunno. Its not life saving medicine, its a veblen good. I've got no issues.

 

Who cares? On a long run basis the higher the number of LE releases per year the lower would their price be on the secondary market. What i see is that plenty of people expect to make like 100% profit overnight by selling Ultraman. The same watches keep on exibiting themselves at Chrono24 for quite a few days now.

 

I'm thinking the market will correct itself over time. We saw the same run-up in price on both the 60th Reissue ($9k+) as well as the ST1 (also $9+) during the first couple of months of early allocations.

Then $9000 turned into $8500 turned into $8000 turned into $7500. In fact, I believe the 60th reissue is now basically selling at retail or even slightly below retail prices now.

I can't imagine the ride continues when you've already gotten a swath of people who have been burned last year playing the flip game.

 

Even if it does correct itself, the correction might hurt those who earnestly bought the watch (and sell later) more than those who sell early to flip and drive the price down.

I guess watch manufacturers wouldn't care too much about what happens in the secondary market, but if it's hurting potential long term customers and benefiting watch flippers who will only buy when they can extract profit it might be in their best interest to take more extreme action.

(Also, I'm new here and not trying to step on anyone's toes. Sorry if I rub the wrong way!)

 

Unless people stop buying it with ridiculous price tag then this madness wont stop same as rolex. Sometimes I think that people just put sold just to show that it actually sell for that amount. Who knows.

 

Welp now the Hodinkee LE has hit watchrecon....definitely not going to pay these markups to combat flipping.

 

Who got burned? In your example the worst of the 3 is now at RRP. Hardly being burned.

In actual fact I would say the 60th is at more like 90% of RRP now but hardly losing your shirt is it? Buy the ones you like. Leave the ones you don’t, that way you get enjoyment whatever the price outcome.

 

If I had to guess I would think watch manufacturers watch the secondary market very closely, and they care quite a bit. They want to continue selling many more watches in the future, and at the highest prices customers are willing to pay. The secondary market shows them:
- how much demand is out there
- for editions where they picked a fixed number to release
-- did they issue too many and over-price it
-- did they issue too few and under-price it
- for whatever design items they released
-- did customers love it and so they should do more in the future (ie: Japan Olympics LE release of Apollo 11 35th and Gemini IV)
-- did customers not like it and so they should not do it again
- what social media channels showed the most promise for generating hype and driving demand (ie: Fratello vs Hodinkee vs IG, etc)

 

Hmmm...I don't get this discussion at all. We all buy stuff for 3 reasons: 1.- Need, 2- Want, 3- Investment. I don't see how a luxury watch couldn't be bought as an investment item. As with any investment, there is always risk that the hoped for appreciation will not occur.

 

Maybe you should ask the dealers why they do then?? Of course there is always a risk a meteorite hits you too...just not very likely!!

 

Folks buy "investment" watches every day, and usually they're a bust as far as return goes. Generally speaking, watches make lousy investments. Some folks justify paying thousands of dollars for a watch they covet by saying it will only appreciate in value, and that they can't lose in the long run. Unfortunately, they usually do lose in the long run. For every watch model that goes up in value over time, dozens more simply continue to depreciate. And nobody can predict what watch will catch on, nor when. Sometimes you can indeed make a nice profit on a watch. It helps to buy a watch at a discount rather than a gray market premium, but even buying a watch "right" doesn't mean you will make money on it.

 

Looks like prices are slightly declining, started at $9,300 and now can be found listed at $8,700....will it reach ST1 price levels in a yr?

 

Hope it drops quickly so I can get one from the flippers before I get the call