WSJ article: "The four major purchases people regret the most."

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Linked thru here:
https://kanebridgenews.com/what-was-i-thinking-the-big-ticket-items-people-regret/

I can see some buyers remorse, but a little surprised at the price this guy paid in 1984 for what he claims is a submariner? So gaudy his son wouldn't even want it? Sure $7k in ibm stock would have been a better idea but something seemingly wildly inaccurate about that particular scenario... I believe people certainly regret spending a hefty sum relative to their income on an item, the problem is waiting until massive depreciation kicks in...I just don't get how a Rolex sub from 1984 fits the bill. Anyone here buy a sub / similar watch in 1984 for $7k?

The wristwatch of his dreams
“It was back in day of wingtip shoes, white shirts and red ties,” says Bryan Desloge, who began his career at IBM in 1984. And like many rookie employees, Desloge wanted to fit in. “I bought suits. I took my earring out. I cut my hair and I registered in the Republican Party,” he says. To complete the look, he paid over $7,000 for the wristwatch of his dreams—a Rolex Submariner. It was a hefty sum, considering he was making roughly $18,000 a year.

Now 64 and retired, Desloge says his younger self saw the stainless-steel watch as a status symbol. “The older guys had nice dress watches already, while I wore a Casio or a Timex.” Just two years after buying the Rolex, however, Desloge realised the timepiece was impractical for him. “The Rolex is great, but I don’t want to look at a clock face,” he says, “and the glow-in-the-dark hands are hard to read at night.”

Desloge, who lives in Tallahassee, Fla., recently tried to give the Rolex to his son, who turned him down. So it remains tucked away in favor of a Garmin smartwatch, which has a fitness tracker, alerts and email, among other features. Purchased for about $500, the Garmin can multitask in ways his Rolex cannot. “I will probably wear that watch for the rest of my life,” Desloge says.
 
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Seems like the problem is he bought it as a status symbol and never really liked it for himself in the first place.
 
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Nope - a Sub was no where near that much at that time.
 
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82,000 members on this here watch forum and the number of times I’ve had someone come on here with buyers regret is incredibly low.

If anything the only regrets I tend to see are people who wanted a certain watch like a Speedmaster Pro and bought the cheaper alternative like a Speedmaster Reduced, or an Aqua Terra when they wanted a more expensive or larger diver.

People who really like watches enjoy their purchase and unlike cars, the vast majority of watches will not let you down or be expensive to maintain.
 
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The remorse I tend to see is people wishing they had bought a sub (or other!) in 1984
 
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The remorse I tend to see is people wishing they had bought a sub (or other!) in 1984
Right? This guy could sell the thing now and get his money back plus some. What’s there to regret other than not wearing it more?
 
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I would have thought that purchases for ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex-significant others and ex-spouses would have figured in there somewhere. 😁
 
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I would have thought that purchases for ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, ex-significant others and ex-spouses would have figured in there somewhere. 😁
Yeah, I bought a house for one 🙁
 
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82,000 members on this here watch forum and the number of times I’ve had someone come on here with buyers regret is incredibly low.

If anything the only regrets I tend to see are people who wanted a certain watch like a Speedmaster Pro and bought the cheaper alternative like a Speedmaster Reduced, or an Aqua Terra when they wanted a more expensive or larger diver.

People who really like watches enjoy their purchase and unlike cars, the vast majority of watches will not let you down or be expensive to maintain.

Absolutely. I kept considering Longines, Oris and other more affordable tank watches (and there is nothing wrong with them), but my heart had its eye on a Reverso. As the piggy bank got heavier, the excitement for the Reverso grew and the idea of “settling” for an alternative became less and less appealing. I’m sure I’d have been happy with any of the great alternatives, but I would have always felt like I missed my goal.
 
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Yeah, I bought a house for one 🙁

I know that program 😁

I think the biggest regrets may be the pieces you don't purchase, like the Tintin or Japan Racing I had chances at 8 years ago....
 
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Nope - a Sub was no where near that much at that time.

List price on a GMT-II in 1995 was around the $5500 mark, so I don't see how a sub was more, 10 years previous.
 
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There are many things missing from the list . . .

How about this one:

"A boat is a hole in the water into which one constantly throws large sums of money"
or
"The two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat."

We are happier when we adopt an attitude that, when one sells something one has become disenchanted with, any loss one may experience is just the cost of having rented it or leased it for a while.
 
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"A boat is a hole in the water into which one constantly throws large sums of money"

Break Out Another Thousand
 
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The original low cost self-powered boat. Incredibly seaworthy, non-polluting, can go many places that larger boats can’t, and can stow a week’s worth of food, beverages, clothing and camping gear if carefully packed.
 
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Absolutely. I kept considering Longines, Oris and other more affordable tank watches (and there is nothing wrong with them), but my heart had its eye on a Reverso. As the piggy bank got heavier, the excitement for the Reverso grew and the idea of “settling” for an alternative became less and less appealing. I’m sure I’d have been happy with any of the great alternatives, but I would have always felt like I missed my goal.

Exactly. I have stopped collecting non-luxury watches. I don’t need any more watches that don’t make my heart skip a beat.

I’ve always been very particular about how I spend my money. I hate window shopping. I know what I want and I will buy it when I have the money.

I’ll stop yelling at clouds now.
::facepalm1::
 
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According to the google, $7k in 1984 is equivalent to about $20k today. Certainly not impossible to spend that on a watch, but on a Sub? Maybe the AD made him buy a bunch of other stuff first to get on the list?
 
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I have mild regret over one I bought very early in my collecting that later turned out to be redialed... but I keep it cause it is pretty and it sits in my watch box as a reminder to do my research better and not to get too caught up in the auctions. There's always another one around the corner after all...
 
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According to the google, $7k in 1984 is equivalent to about $20k today. Certainly not impossible to spend that on a watch, but on a Sub? Maybe the AD made him buy a bunch of other stuff first to get on the list?

If I had to guess the article adjusted the amount he paid for inflation in 202X dollars, and then listed his pay in 198X dollars. That's assuming it's honest at all.
 
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"The two happiest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat."

I don't know, I had a neighbor who always seemed pretty happy when he was testing the sound system in his driveway and washing it every week. In fact, he liked doing that so much I think he only took it out to the water something like once a year? Seemed like a pretty economical way to listen to loud music in the driveway while wasting water, I must say.