Fish or Cut Bait

From our friends at Urban Dictionary -

fish or cut bait

To come to a decision point: either commit to what you're doing, or give it up entirely.

See also shit or get off the pot

Well, it seems that some brands are opting to cut bait and doing it through authorized outlets.  And as a sort of Public Service Announcement, since brands are saying that everything is great, etc. it seems that you, the customer, might want to know where to get the best deal!  

No, just kidding ; )

Even I am not that cruel.  But as we pick up speed hurtling towards Christmas, the mood has not significantly improved.

A few weekends ago in New York, I listened to two very European brand owners state:

"He is the distributor/retailer, he can price as he wishes".  And truthfully, that is more than fair, but dear brand owner, don't tell me a whole other story that business is YUGE (sorry, couldn't help myself), and that your watch is priced exactly as it should be.  The market place is the only true indicator of what your watch's true price is, and when your "trusted partner" is slashing and burning on prices, then we have a better understanding of what the real price is.  And it also indicates that these very European gentlemen really do not understand the North American market.  Dropping prices?  That's easy!  The challenge will be when you try to raise them back to what you need them to be. Because guess what?  You have already told the customer that, in fact, EVEN YOU think that the price is too high, because you and your official agents are discounting by 25% or more.  They did not get that idea from a blog, from a forum or from some wing-nut on Facebook.  They got it from you, and from your "trusted partner".  So sorry to be harsh, but you've got nobody to blame but yourselves.

Now to some extent this story is as old as the watch business, but what is now becoming more and more telling is that some "big boy" brands are dumping their watches at 50% off (and sometimes more) through their own distribution (read NOT grey market) channels, and therefore it is clear that they do not see the market improving any time soon.  And they are too impatient to fish, so they are now going to cut bait.

A great opportunity for you, the buying public to buy that dream watch at a lower-than-low price!  Just don't expect the resale value to be even what you paid for it during this intensifying Blue Light Special.