Let’s talk bloggers
Watch bloggers and YouTube, instagram has taken over internet in past decade . But people have been buying watches long time before and will be buying long time after . not everyone is influenced by what other guy says . Are we giving them too much power over our wants and desires? Are we letting small minority most of which , not all but most , doing it for money and drive sales , direct the wind in the direction that benefits themselves , the brands rather than collectors . I have to agree there are few Robin Hood’s in the bunch and I thank them for certain knowledge they have spread . 👏🏼
Do you buy watches based on ur own opinion and research or what bloggers say matter to you ?
Personally if I listened to them I would have all Rolexes now but I don’t have a single one ) I like things that I won’t see on others. You don’t have to pay hundreds of thousands to own smth that’s not on everyone’s hand .
I do my own thing. It's all subjective. To each their own as they say. I educate myself as much as I can with my interests. It's okay to hear or read of others opinions. If you know enough you can be a little dangerous lol. Knowledge is power!
Enjoy your watches!
Cheers!
Blogs, YouTube, and Instagram are just the modern versions of magazines, billboards, and commercials from days gone by. The biggest difference now is that you can choose which content you see more than at any time previously. You no longer need to hope a magazine does an article about the watch you want to see pictures of, you can just go online and look for it yourself.
This is likely the golden age of watch collecting, there are options at every price range, and for every style. If you know what your style is, and how much you're comfortable spending, you can easily find interesting options that aren't Seiko, Rolex, Tudor, etc...
I buy whatever the internet tells me to buy.
Without doubt, 'watch influencers' (for want of a better term), do what it says on the box, and influence people. Before a few core people on YouTube got over-excited about Squale, for example, I'd never heard of the brand, let alone asked myself if I wanted one (answer: I still don't). And for sure, the rise and rise of 'AliExpress brands' would be nowhere near what it is, without YouTubers telling you every other day that what you want is a strangely named Chinese facsimile of a heritage brand watch (I still don't want one of those, either). So do they have an influence? Bloody oath they do. Do they influence me? Nope.
I buy whatever the internet tells me to buy.
I always wanted to hear a review on Ressence 1 watch . Can u buy it ? 😂
I watch YouTube vids on watches for entertainment and as a pass time more than actively seeking out my next watch.
I’ll only buy something I love and it doesn’t matter if I’ve seen it on socials first or if I come across it in an AD or through a friend or whatever.
I do find reviews useful for watches I plan on buying as there’s a lot of fair warning re the wearability, sizing etc and qc issues.
Having said that I hate the clickbait vids titled ‘The BEST xxxxx will KILL any Rolex!!’ type stuff.
I always wanted to hear a review on Ressence 1 watch . Can u buy it ? 😂
Sure thing, brb.
I don't give them much power at all, though some are getting my clicks. I won't subscribe or like for the most part. They can draw attention to stuff that would otherwise be way off radar, but you know what they say about opinions.
I think it’s a loop that’s driving the cycle. Influencers make content based on what people will watch, like or purchase. This leads to more content being created on those models which drives the exposure and draws more interaction with that content, so they make more of it.
If X is Better Than Rolex content didn’t generate likes and views, that format would disappear instantly. Yet it does work, maybe too well and it’s helped to distort the market. It’s certainly not the primary cause of the distorted market but it’s certainly an influence.
There are influencers who hype certain watches. It’s entirely their opinion and opinions are like aholes, everyone has one and everyone’s stink. I dyor and watch reviews on YouTube only to get close up shots of the pieces I have already decide to buy, coz I mostly buy online. You need to learn to separate the signal from the noise.
I watch YouTube channels mostly to learn about new brands/models and as entertainment, but their opinions rarely have any actual influence on what I end up buying. It’s mostly because my taste in watches is fairly set at this point, and I already know what I like and what I want. I find online reviews useful if they uncover or reveal what to me feels like a dealbreaker, though.
I think it’s a loop that’s driving the cycle. Influencers make content based on what people will watch, like or purchase. This leads to more content being created on those models which drives the exposure and draws more interaction with that content, so they make more of it.
If X is Better Than Rolex content didn’t generate likes and views, that format would disappear instantly. Yet it does work, maybe too well and it’s helped to distort the market. It’s certainly not the primary cause of the distorted market but it’s certainly an influence.
Hate that click bate bs
For me, bloggers, vloggers and the watch media in general help me get a sense of the dimensions and wear of a watch, but I only use this as one input for my purchasing decisions.
It’s 21st century advertising like magazines and newspapers of the past. I see similar things in the woodworking hobby,” top X tools for less that Y dollars!” Or “Does your shop really need XYZ”
I love how some articles and YT titles are "this 100$ is a Rolex killer" you look at the video and after 1 minute you decide, this is not a Rolex killer and proceed with a push of the X-button.
I must say that I have looked at watches recommended/pushed/reviewed by YT'ers and found some lovely watches. And then you have the other end of the spectrum you look at a site from these YT'ers and think "meh" not even worth the time.
I agree with you that bloggers are overly obsessed with Rolex. It is annoying. Like you, I have no Rolex. I as interested in the Datejust with the palm motif dial, and even would’ve bought one at MSRP (despite it being overpriced by approximately 10% compared to the Omega AT) if that were actually possible. Being Rolex, availability is a joke.
Anyway, I really think most of the Rolex hype bubble keeps going on the spin cycle because the brand is, effectively, on constant advertisement by bloggers. I dropped several YouTube channels because they were so Rolex centric the channels became useless (Watch Gringa in particular, though I hear she changed the channel name).