Reply With QuoteCould be. I also ordered a PRS-29. Email received from Eddie timed at 1402. Here's hoping I got it in time.
Got my order in for the Smiths PRS-29 at 2pm
Went back to see if they were still available (out of curiosity) at 2:04pm and shop was closed.!!!
Is this the fastest yet?
Could be. I also ordered a PRS-29. Email received from Eddie timed at 1402. Here's hoping I got it in time.
I decided to bite the bullet and ordered a PRS-29 to join my Expedition. My "processed successfully" and "Order confirmation" e-mails were time-stamped 1402 so I hope I get it.
When the store opened there were 8 PRS-29A available but RomanCart allowed 38 to be ordered. 30 orders will be cancelled.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
That's a pity.Originally Posted by swanbourne
Feelsbad.
There's a forming pattern, though. 8, 6, and now 4 minutes. So I guess the next opening window will close in 2?
Last edited by lexminute; 14th June 2020 at 15:12.
Blimey 😢😢😢
Yeah....I think when the Navigator comes out the shop is going to be open for about 10 seconds......😱😱😱
TimeFactors is the new Supreme. At this rate there will be bots and people getting paid to queue outside Eddie's!
Oh...
Fingers crossed my order goes through. It’s a combined birthday & christmas present for my son & his introduction to mechanical watches.
Timefactors continues to receive glowing YouTube reviews - word has spread far and wide.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Just had the dreaded email from Eddie - i wasn't in the first 8 orders. I'll be ordering another from the site in a fortnight and hope to have better luck then.
Perhaps I'm mistaken - but I think that was the last 8 of this batch - so you'll have to wait until the new movements come in - but they won't be ETA (unless another supply is found). I believe there was some indecision between either Selitta, which would involve a wait of approximately a year) or Miyota, which could be obtained quicker.
Perhaps a lottery system may be worth considering for future store openings, with each entrant contributing X amount to the fund raiser
Sorry, I should have been clearer! I'll have a look at Eddie's other watches and order one of those; I want something new for the summer (though whether we'll get a holiday to wear it on is anyone's guess).
It’s a shame the system allowed an order through without the stock being available. I clicked buy a couple of seconds after 1400 but I guess I was too slow typing in my card numbers.
I wouldn’t mind so much but I’d made the mistake of telling my son that we’d been successful in ordering his present.
I’m not throwing rocks at anyone, I wouldn’t have the first clue how to set up an online shop so I’m not going to pretend I know a better way.
But if it’s going to be a long wait then I guess my boy will have to have another think about his first mechanical watch.
Any recommends from the brain trust here? Hamilton?
https://www.cwcwatch.com/products/cw...h-1970-pattern
You won’t go far wrong with CWC. There’s plenty of variety there: quartz, auto, mechanical.
In reply to CD-UK.
When's the latest you need to get him it?
Just that the Navigator will be coming out over the next few months - you could think about that one - its pretty special IMHO
Or as Seabiscuit says - you could look at CWC
I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle, uncertainty, lottery and wait time. Many other brands are available at all times.
Surely it’s counterproductive? If the shop was open 24/7 there wouldn’t be this unmanageable spike in orders?
Last edited by TaketheCannoli; 14th June 2020 at 18:41.
Well it’s a combined birthday and Christmas present (July and the obvious December) so it’s his decision whether he wants to wait and try again when there’s some stock, or go for something more mainstream but with a full supply chain.
The navigator looks lovely but it’s not my choice to make - I’ll show him the pictures and the recent YouTube preview.
Received my confirmation e-mail for my Smiths Air Ministry order at 14:02 also, glad I was on time to place the order.
You are going to hate me for this, but I can’t look a CWC in the face without remembering “conkers” being played by my colleagues in my younger and more stupid days. Never played it myself but the poor cracked losing watches ended up with a burial at sea (loser’s pint).
You might want to point out to him the Navigator has the Top Grade Sellita movement in it, so it a higher quality than the one in the PRS29
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I don’t suppose anyone knows when the navigator will be released other than Eddie himself... before Christmas?
Will the PRS29a be available again soon?
I thought the video review talked about August - but I guess, to be safe, you should assume 1 or 2 months after that.
I hope my post finds the right topic.
I have recently take the Everest out of the box. Nice watch though it runs hectic. On the winder shows +1 s/d while on wrist or dial up position on desk does +15 s/d. Is that normal for a new Miyota?
I have never experienced such a big difference.
Set it to the correct time and wear it for a week and then come and tells us what happens. A watch is to be worn until it settles down to a rate. Stop playing with the machines. It is not a chronometer. If you knew what what you were doing you could have it adjusted yourself. So settle down and see what happens by next week.
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
Strongly recommend that you fully hand- wind it then wear it for a week, storing it dial up overnight. Give the crown around 50 twists to get it fully wound.
As for the watch winder...........
4 mins every 2 weeks is a little silly. Not many shops are open 0.02% of the time, voluntarily.
The difficulty is that Eddie can't help himself.
He is coming up with very popular designs, and his rate of output (in terms of number of attractive designs) has increased. More and more good designs.
So much so that he is even postponing his own production pipeline, as particularly hot designs demand a faster start than others (Navigator overtaking Caribbean, for instance).
His designs are also being reviewed on YT, and reaching a larger audience. This creates more demand.
At the same time, he buys in (relatively) small batches and because he packs and sends it all himself, the number of total orders each fortnight is (very) limited. So no increase in availability.
More designs. More demand. Same limited availability.
TF therefore becomes a rather strange looking business, open a few minutes every 2 weeks, selling out very quickly of batches of 200 or so watches (when there is probably demand for many of the more popular models).
Re-stocking of the sold out models seems to take a couple of months, so pent up demand for the model du jour ends up crowding the demand for the next new model.
Eddie could probably sell out of the G10 with no problem, but no bugger can buy one because of all the folks queuing up to buy the PRS25 36mm models - only one of the 5 model variants (the AM) is in stock, all the other 4 are sold out, despite being the most recently delivered batches.
And looking forward, there is no way that the demand for those 4 sold out ones will have been satisfied before the Navigator turns up and creates an even longer queue every second Sunday. Let alone the arrival of the baby range.
So Eddie seems to be becoming a victim of his own success.
With so much unavailable due to limited opening hours and limited order volumes, or unavailable because the batch has sold out, there is no doubt that TF will be losing business.
There are bound to have been people that will have taken their watch wallet elsewhere, because there TF has no mechanism to capture that money, in terms of a deposit on a watch from the next batch or whatever.
The choice with TF has always been complete a purchase of an in stock model, or go away and try later.
What has changed is that completing the purchase is now very challenging.
Not only that, but there are many others that will see this pent up demand and see it as an opportunity for themselves.
Well-specified, sensibly-sized traditional field or military-styled watches are doing very well at the moment.
And plenty of other brands are or will be stepping into that breach.
Many of them use what may be considered a more competetive business model, like kickstarter.
Sure, it has its inherent costs, but getting the funds up front to pay for production allows much smaller brands than TF to produce larger batches in simlar timescales.
So there is a danger that TF creates a demand for its product, and then very successfully drives it to another brand by making it impossible to buy what you want from TF.
There is another thread today from someone peeved that a model in their cart is now no longer there to buy.
This will only get more common unless something changes.
I love that the gaffer is upping his game, in terms of great designs.
But without upping the retail end of the game, there is little point in doing so, as the new designs simply cannot be bought from TF in the time allowed.
A difficult, but good problem to have. I wish him luck solving it.
Dave
Some people are missing the point that for Eddie it is more or less a hobby. He doesn't have to do any more or less than he does. He makes amazing watches for silly prices and people like them. The big brands are now trying to create some kind of customer participation that we have been enjoying here for years.
Apart from all that. Did you know there is a pandemic going on?
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
Ok but what is wrong with winder?
They are ''the work of the devil''.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
The quoted accuracy for this movement: "Accuracy, -10?+30 sec per day; Posture Difference, under 40 sec". Both your figures would be within this overall accuracy, and the difference between the two is within the 'posture difference'.
As others have said the figures are within the manufactures quoted tolerances - but usually they are by far better than the quoted figures - and my own experience with Miyota is the movement seems pretty tolerant to position variations.
However, I do have a few watches where there is a similar variation.
As others have said you should wait about a week from constant use, then see what variation you get with the watch left in various positions. That may help you decide upon the best position to leave it over night so that, as an average, you get it as accurate as you can - or alternatively if you want to take it to a watch repairer to get it regulated even better.
However, at the end of the day your watch does appear to be within tolerance
Unless you have a perpetual calendar never, never, never put your watch on a winder. Apart from the unnecessary wear, the results will mostly vary between the winder and the wrist.
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
In the cold light of a new day, I think Dave (sweets @ post #30) has summed up the situation very well. Maybe it's time to put a pause or at least a slow-down on new models and invest some time and resource into the customer interaction elements of the business. I'm sure I speak for most here when I say it's better to wait a while longer for new models to have a better customer experience.
I've discussed with Eddie before the possibility of recruiting someone to work alongside him and I understand that the increase in effort and expense that requires means he's reluctant to do so. However now might be the time to make that investment and really capitalise on the demand he's very successfully created. It doesn't have to be a full-time or even part-time post, it could be someone who is very flexible and can be brought in to help in periods of high demand and paid a day-rate.
My working space isn't large enough to maintain social distancing.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Fair point, under current conditions it likely won’t be. Gazebo with a paste table in the garden to create a packaging line? ;)
As forum members we are in the fortunate position to actually have some input to the watches Timefactors produces, for that together with the uniqueness and incredible value of the products I'm okay with accepting the limitations of the system, it's the gaffer's business, business model and forum - make the most of what we have because like anything, it won't last for ever.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I know there's reluctance to do so - but I would have thought a possible method is one a prototype is finalised - an opportunity to 'Pre-order is given'. That way a better assessments is made as to how many will need to be produced and how many movements etc will be required.
Things like packaging and address labels could then be done in advanced - and it just might ease the process a bit.
For example, if at the moment there are 300 order per shop opening - and each takes say 15 mins to process and package - then that's 75 hours work alone - which perhaps explains the fortnightly shop opening.
If part of the process could be undertaken before hand then that might help - plus, from a buyers (Pre-Orderers) point of view you'd a least know if you were going to get a watch (or not).
I'm not saying this is perfect - and there's probably hassle in setting up escrow accounts etc. - but the 'problem' is that the popularity is now so great I can't help but feel something else needs to be at least given a try.
I haven’t tried to buy anything from Eddie over the last few months but I am waiting for a couple of pieces to be available.
Yes, there are other places you can go if you must have a particular design right now, but they don’t have Eddie’s mojo in them.
Yes, it might be a pain but good things come to those who wait.
Hopefully it will ease up over time.
I love my PRS-29b, but I had to put up a WTB for one as previous sales have always been lazy sellers in the US on watchuseek who don’t want to post outside of Conus. Ironically it was a very kind forum member who offered me one.
My point is that Eddie’s watches are good, but the price gouging on eBay (£550 for a week old 40mm Everest) and the fact that most of the PRS-29a would have been snapped up by those looking to do the same, puts me off joining the lottery every few minutes that the website is open.
I’d love the Smiths Navigator but I know it’s going to be too much hassle.
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The point I made above is that it will not ease off any time soon. It may well get worse.
There are 4 sold out models in the PRS-25 36mm range - so there is pent up demand there, and no stock, so the next order window or few will not address that.
When they get back in stock The Navigator will be arriving in 2 very popular models.
Then all 3 of the Baby range will arrive, 3 more popular models.
At the moment Eddie may well be opening with no stock to send. When the re-stock and the new models start landing, at an average 150 orders every fortnight (of all types), he will not catch up for quite a few months.
If the batch size is 200 and the demand is there, the above list is 9 models, 1800 watches, 12 openings, 24 weeks. Roughly 6 months.
By then we might be looking at Caribbeans, and maybe even PRS-3s, and the above completely ignores the rest of the range, and straps etc.
Eddie does have the proverbial tiger by the tail.
Dave
How about alternative opening days for (e.g.) Recent Releases and Back Catalogue?
That way the frenzy around the new releases doesn't impact the regular turnover of the older but still good models and straps and stuff.
Personally I'd be happy to order / pay in advance and wait until a watch became available (prefer the certainty) - but understand that way of working can get 'complicated' no matter how upfront you are about the process.
I'm hoping that the release of the Baby range will exhaust everyone's funds so I can get a clean run at a cream Navigator - but if as suggested above we now have speculators diving in now then that's a faint hope I guess.
I wonder how many impulse buys the guv'nor misses out it with the current approach to the online store?
There have been several occasions recently when I've had a hankering for another PRS-10 and an extra strap or two (and I'd be happy to stick in an order and wait for it), but the impulse never occurs at the same time as the narrow window of opportunity to indulge it.
I'm currently working to capacity. After the last opening on the 31st May I worked a minimum 10 hours a day, sometimes 12, for 13 days straight. Missed impulse purchases is not presently a worry.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
What about having an approach akin to ordering a new car? You know you're not going to get it the next day. But the seller quotes an estimated delivery date based on a current view of the order book? I think most folk on here are quite pragmatic and would welcome this as an acceptable compromise, although I accept that might not be the case among the great unwashed.
Hi Eddie thank you for your great work I am sure everyone loves your watches. All I would say is that however you decide to run things is must be work for you. The most important person is you without your efforts we would not have any of your fabulous watches
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I can let you guys in on my experience of ordering. It might give some clues as to the technical process, and why the system is allowing orders above the specified allocation. I wasn't going to share it until after I received my watches, in case I had to utilize any secret to be successful in subsequent ordering stampedes.
I was #170 out of 170 accepted orders on May 31st. Apparently Eddie wanted only 150, but an extra 20 went through. The ordering process took me 6 minutes to complete. It took me longer, because after entering credit card details, it takes another 2 minutes roughly for the credit card validation process to complete. I suspect that the order is held during this validation process, and that the extra 20 orders who successfully got through also held their orders during this validation period.
So maybe some others can verify this experience: did everyone have to validate their credit card? Only some? Only those not in Europe?
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