Why does Seiko STILL have QC issues ?

Why does Honda still make some recall issues? … because humans are still involved…

also why is it so hard to return the defective product and get a new one?? I don’t get YouTube videos like these really it’s annoying ok time to unsubscribe and mute this post…

I've bought a number of Seikos over the last two years. I have not had any QC issues, but I didn't buy in numbers that are statistically significant, of course. Then again, I bought around the $200 price point, and I know that you will only get so much QC in that category. (Then again, I replaced the bezel on my last Seiko almost immediately. Even the original one aligned.)

Where I see an issue is in some of their Prospex line, where the whole offering does not compare favorably at the price. I liked Seiko designs, I always did. But I'd have a hard time spending money on an SPB143. 

The large brands doesnt care about us watchnerds, fiddling with misaligments etc. They focus on the average buyer, that wont notice and wont care anyway. Thats their business model, and it makes a lot of financial sense. Seiko (and other large brands), are there for their shareholders, as they should be. 

If we want focus to detail and customer service, we should go with the smaller-medium sized brands, where each sales and repeat customer, actually means something. For those, it makes business sense, to cater for our "nedry" requests.

purchased some Japanese made seikos and everything aligned. bought a king seiko that was assembled in Malaysia and it had alignment issues. seems the Japanese made ones have better QC

Bec when a renowned brand like Tudor follows suit in making a dive watch w a sunray finish like their spb143, they do not need to listen to us peasants

You are aware the SPB143 wasn't the first, and isn't the only watch with a sunburst dial?

I am aware there are other type of suburst dialed watches, but not many divers. further to that, the spb lineage is an extremely popular and hyped out of any other sunburst dive watch in recent times.

I the Rolex Hulk is slightly more hyped, and is also from within the same brand family. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the SPB143, but I strongly suspect Tudor wasn't thinking about it at all when they made changes to the Pelagos. 

fair point and Im pretty sure they werent either. just from my point of view, it looks like one of the spb series

YouTube videos like this exists to advise people that Seiko makes many products with QC issues... It was overall a pretty mild criticism of the watch.

It's far less annoying than the 2018-2020 era videos people made praising Seiko to the moon for making watches that could only sell at grey market prices. The SKX was popular because it couldn't sell at retail, same with the SNK8XX models... Now that people are having to actually pay retail, all the QC problems are just more glaring. I shouldn't have to mod a $1K watch just to fix factory issues. 

It isn't that they dont care about the consumer, they just don't think the slight misalignment is worth addressing. 

I’ve purchased a few over the past year. I only had one that the dial was off. Contacted my seller and returned it for a replacement. Which any Seiko AD should do. 
New one is perfect! so don’t accept a watch that isn’t right. I kills me how many people are willing to accept a misaligned dial or obvious imperfections. This is also why I buy from reputable dealers that care about their customer base. If we don’t stand our ground and say something who will?

Exactly. If  the beancounters said they should invest in fixing QC, they would.

I couldn't agree more, I really like Seiko, I'd like a Samurai, however I'm not paying through the nose for willfully poor QC. Seiko is losing business because of this issue.

I’ve purchased 2 Seiko 5’s in the last 3 months, SRPH 33 and SSK003. Both are great. No QC issues, but have movements that significantly exceed the specs in terms of daily accuracy. No misaligned chapter rings or other defects. I don’t doubt that there are QC issues, but my experience has been very positive.

Accuracy is still a QC issue.

My plethora align perfectly - lucky I guess!

I've purchased only one Seiko in my life and it isn't a diver.  I love it and thankfully, there are no QC issues.

Hi all thanks for all your input here and interesting viewpoints 

The bottom line for me is this: 

If we don't make videos like this to shine some light on QC issues, people who are not in the know will ignorantly continue to purchase watches from companies like this without going the extra step to question the supplier. 

Personally, if I walked into a shop to buy a watch, then noticed qc issues, I would bring it to the sellers attention and ask for another watch. If the companies motto was "it falls within tolerance spec" then I would not purchase the watch and walk away...simple.

If enough people were on the same page worldwide, then eventually maybe things will start to change.

I know it's a big ask, but I believe videos like this are a start in the right direction of educating and informing buyers. 

cheers

Peter

It's infuriating because spotting a misaligned bezel on a +1KUS$ watch like my SPB147 makes you wonder what other less noticeable issues might be hiding inside.

I used to be a Seiko fan. I have only had a handful of Seikos. All of them have had QC issues. They are ‘cheap’ Seikos, but I don’t believe that excuses Seiko in any way. A gen 2 Monster, three SKX007s in rapid succession and a SRP777, all with alignment problems either bezels, chapter rings, or both significantly off.  Would I spend £1,000 on a Seiko after that experience or after reading this thread? No way. Their price-hike on their base divers reflects nothing but greed. As far as I see it there has been no improvement worth the doubling of their low end prices. Seiko need to do better.

I don’t know why they have some of theses issues. Maybe its down to how they recruit and pay their employees in the factories in Thailand and Malaysia? Cost of living, long hours, need for overtime etc etc and in the end a human will get tired. Maybe I’m completely and utterly wrong also. Anyway, it a a shame because it limits the range of options, but I only buy Seiko after seeing the watch in person 

I think more people need to stop buying Seikos.  As long as they keep selling, Seiko will keep making them with sub-par QC.  I've been lucky with Seikos in the past, but my strategy is not to pay full RRP.  I aim to buy new Seikos at around 1/2 RRP if I can.  I recently bought a new baby marine master from an Australian AD that didn't have alignment issues and keeps great time.  Lucky me.