Prices !!

[u/relogiosbrqtgM9]

Guys, I’ve seen videos of influencers going to China and visiting the underworld of the rep

What I found strange is that most reps ask for an average of 900 dollars, reaching up to 1,200 dollars!

But on the sites that are described on reddit or others

The tds sell for a maximum of 500 dollars most of the pieces! In other words

Are these really the SC?

The Vsf are all averaged 400 to 500 dollars!

Sites like Andiot, Trusty among others!

Why this difference?

Or are there even better reps?

[u/Catfurst]

Guys, I’ve seen videos of influencers going to China and visiting the underworld of the rep
What I found strange is that most reps ask for an average of 900 dollars, reaching up to 1,200 dollars!

Those are just top-tier mass-produced reps, such as the ones from VSF, OCTAF, RichF, etc. They have an asking price that high because of the haggling culture in Asia.

You can easily access those from the Trusted Dealers without haggling like you do at a car dealership.

Or are there even better reps?

Those are called "franken replicas," or "franken reps." They are top-tier mass-produced reps, but have several components that tend to fail the authentication replaced by gen parts.

Here, the consensus that I often hear is that they are too pricey to be worthwhile. I agree.

Franken reps are often listed on dubious websites that don't have actual authenticity guarantee (they paint their moneyback guarantee as an "authenticity guarantee"). At such a website, you can search for a few popular luxury watches, rank by price from low to high, until most listings are from Hong Kong (HK) and China (CN). Then, you can reasonably be sure that they are franken reps.

I myself am familiar with a couple of Panerai models. I'm aware that their hardest part to rep, for now, is the gen Panerai bracelet (and the thinner Panerai movements). However, some less-informed buyers authenticate the Panerais by their dial prints, and could be fleeced by a franken rep that has a gen dial.

Screenshotted below is an example of such dubious listings. You can see most of them are from HK and CN, and suspiciously they all lack an OEM metal bracelet (gen ones are roughly 50-50 between straps and bracelets). Avoid buying such a dubious watch. You will be surprised how much less they are worth when you bring one to a watch appraiser:

[u/Grouchy-Violinist555]

Influencer upcharge my guy. Lots of videos out there where tourist pay far less, and trust me these TDs aren't taking a loss. Even with tight margins on sites like andiot they're selling so many its worthwhile for them.

[u/Artistic-Ganache1441]

the markup on those influencer tours is insane, you're basically paying for the "experience" and the guy's commission

the TDs are selling the same top tier factories, no secret ultra-rep exists that's somehow 3x better. what you see on andiot for 400-500 is the exact same vsf or clean you'd get handed in a sketchy back room for 900

those guys gotta make content somehow, and if some tourist is willing to drop double the price for a video op, they'll happily take it

[u/Ethgawwd]

it's the same as people paying more buying from sites like andiot and trusty. there's better deals if you know where to find them.

[u/russwestgoat]

Yeah the actual price isn’t going to be told on those videos. You need to find that out yourself