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Dappertime Watches

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fishburn7

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I've been in the market for a watch for a while now, and I stumbled upon Dappertime watches.

I am not the owner, but am learning a lot from their marketing and product development executions.

Basically they are an Australian company who buys "generic" skeleton and chronograph look-a-like watches from manufacturer's in China, Markets their product heavily on Instagram and Facebook as a classy gentleman's brand that damn near anyone can afford. They don't manufacture, and until recently they didn't design anything. I'm assuming the company is probably being run by 3 people, any more would be a waste imo.
 
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Developmental

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I'm not sure what I think of their product line called "shoejizz" - sounds like an accident needing cleaning up

nor the idea that the first piece of text to hit you in the face after scrolling down is their affiliate scheme nor the coupon in the banner

I don't mind the images in the slider but they are repetitive

I don't think their landing page is ugly as such, I just don't find it very compelling - I think they could do a better job of selling me an aspiration/association - even given the budget price point
 

Charnell

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I'm not sure what I think of their product line called "shoejizz" - sounds like an accident needing cleaning up
Maybe that's their attempted viral marketing technique. I would have never went to the website if I didn't read the rests of your post.

I can see it now on facebook:

"Woah! Cheap watches you can afford, and you'll never guess what their shoe line is called..."
 

fishburn7

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The more I look into this I've found probably 5 "brands" that are offering the exact same line of watches. All seem to be targeting the "gentleman" stereotype. Some are offering their own twist by offering either shoes, or bracelets or such.

It amazes me that people actually make money selling someone else's product that multiple people are also selling. Obviously they have to be doing it better than the competition with whatever niche they're going after.
 
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Digamma

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It amazes me that people actually make money selling someone else's product that multiple people are also selling. Obviously they have to be doing it better than the competition with whatever niche they're going after.
It's good marketing, I guess. How well are they doing?
 

Choate

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Well if you look at it from a consumer's perspective trying to buy a reasonably priced watch, how many watch distributors are they going to look at before buying a watch? I would guess one or two individual websites, and then Amazon.

It doesn't matter that Wal-mart, Best Buy, Amazon, Staples, and 1,000 other retailers are all selling the same Samsung 32" 1080P television, nor that every grocery store is selling Lucky Charms. The demand is there: people know what they want, but what makes someone go into a Whole Foods to buy Lucky Charms for $1 more than buying it at Market Basket?

I think this is a great example of brand marketing and I guarantee someone on this forum could create a successful watch brand company importing watches from Alibaba. If everyone is targeting classy gentlemen in this niche, why not be the purple cow in the market? How about selling the same watches but with a hip, technology friendly, brand background? Or put a Hollister/Abercrombie type twist on it and just make it cool.

Million ways to sell watches.

Instead of entering a market to buy a watch, how about entering the market to sell watches?
 

fishburn7

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Instead of entering a market to buy a watch, how about entering the market to sell watches?


This is exactly what I was thinking. After finding this watch company I have found a million more, new companies selling watches, all of them have their own twist, all of them have their own niche market. Some sell to the gentleman, while some sell to guys on motorcycles, and some sell to the "wannabe playboy". Finding my market and testing the need is what I'll be doing over the next couple months, if this watch thing has any real substance to it.
 
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Rinzler

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See, I've wanted to do something similar but I wonder how these guys managed to justify buying product and making sales on their site.
Do you start selling from eBay to see if the market responds to your cheap watches, then move to a Shopify site once you make some sales? (Used Builtwith.com to verify they use Shopify)
Or do you just start buying product, make the site, start marketing to the niche and directing traffic onto the site and hope for conversions...

Way too much paralysis by analysis from my end, but does anyone have any insight?
 

fishburn7

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I will be updating you all with my plan and progress once I get my research finished and hammer out my products.

I have never done this ecommerce thing before, but I would think you can set up your own website and start selling pre-orders so you don't waste your money on building an inventory, while at the same time advertising and funneling traffic to your store, OR build a landing page and collect emails (still advertising). I would think if you have an ebay store you need to have an inventory on hand (correct me if i'm wrong)
 

Rinzler

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I will be updating you all with my plan and progress once I get my research finished and hammer out my products.

I have never done this ecommerce thing before, but I would think you can set up your own website and start selling pre-orders so you don't waste your money on building an inventory, while at the same time advertising and funneling traffic to your store, OR build a landing page and collect emails (still advertising). I would think if you have an ebay store you need to have an inventory on hand (correct me if i'm wrong)

You're right, with eBay we are supposed to have the product in stock, but there's also a few sellers who dropship.
Presales would be a great idea though. Last night I was looking through a few sites and found several identical watches being sold from oversea suppliers. Pretty attractive business model to be honest!
 
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fishburn7

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Update!

I've co tatted a few suppliers/manufacturers in China about producing my watch. I've figured out my niche and am currently working on The design. (Speaking of, does anyone know of a good rendering software?)

Once my design is done I will be sending it out for quotes while putting up a landing page and advertising my a** off. Once I get real quotes I can determine my price point vs my competitors

WHEN I collect a few emails I will buy the sample and start collecting pre-sales.

My estimate is April my full site will go live selling these bad boys and "gifting" a handful to everyone I know
 

fishburn7

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I've been struggling lately with getting a good quote that I am happy with. My manufacturers are all capable of supplying exactly what I want, the price just seems to be a bit high. I'm looking at about $120/piece shipped. Now, with that being said this product can compete in a more luxury type price range ~395-595.

The other problem I am having is that once I got my design finished I found a competitor with a product that looks nearly identical to mine, but with less luxurious features and materials.

I'll obviously price myself way above this competitor to give the appearance of a better product, but how else can i differentiate myself?

One idea I've been playing with is putting "designer" bands on my watches, so you can order my branded watch with a louis Vuitton band if wanted. I'm assuming I would have to contact the designer and beg for permission to do something like that though, which may end up with me losing some control of my brand
 
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MoneyDoc

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I've been struggling lately with getting a good quote that I am happy with. My manufacturers are all capable of supplying exactly what I want, the price just seems to be a bit high. I'm looking at about $120/piece shipped. Now, with that being said this product can compete in a more luxury type price range ~395-595.

The other problem I am having is that once I got my design finished I found a competitor with a product that looks nearly identical to mine, but with less luxurious features and materials.

I'll obviously price myself way above this competitor to give the appearance of a better product, but how else can i differentiate myself?

One idea I've been playing with is putting "designer" bands on my watches, so you can order my branded watch with a louis Vuitton band if wanted. I'm assuming I would have to contact the designer and beg for permission to do something like that though, which may end up with me losing some control of my brand
Is the material you're trying to use expensive? I've sold a few OEM watches (with my own brand) and the most I had to pay was $10-20 landed (per watch). But that was at an order quantity of 500.
 

fishburn7

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Is the material you're trying to use expensive? I've sold a few OEM watches (with my own brand) and the most I had to pay was $10-20 landed (per watch). But that was at an order quantity of 500.

I didn't expect it to be as expensive as I'm seeing. SST and rose gold, leather bands, and the only expensive piece I could see is the automatic movement. I am looking at 500pcs as well.

Did you have any luck selling your watches?
 

MoneyDoc

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I didn't expect it to be as expensive as I'm seeing. SST and rose gold, leather bands, and the only expensive piece I could see is the automatic movement. I am looking at 500pcs as well.

Did you have any luck selling your watches?
Yeah, I have an instagram page running and all. Similar to Dappertime. Currently I'm planning on entering a new niche in the watch business. Luxury wooden watches. There are some competitors, but either a) their website is shit, or b) their watches are cheap and shit.

Should be fun.
 
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fishburn7

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I've been watching what original grain has been doing over the last few years, with crowdfunding and all, but their product does look like garbage for the price. All the other wooden watch brands are as you said, either shit or have shitty websites. Huge potential
 

Rinzler

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Seeing how much attention accessories get on Instagram is insane!

I feel like people are much more drawn to spending money on tangible objects they can show off, like watches or sunglasses, and using social media would be a great way to market the product / brand. Watches is a pretty crowded market, but I'm excited to see your progress nonetheless.
 

fishburn7

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Seeing how much attention accessories get on Instagram is insane!

I feel like people are much more drawn to spending money on tangible objects they can show off, like watches or sunglasses, and using social media would be a great way to market the product / brand. Watches is a pretty crowded market, but I'm excited to see your progress nonetheless.

I agree completely. Social media has made it so much easier for people to show everyone all the stuff they have. The watch market is incredibly crowded, but it seems there is no shortage of people who want them, regardless of how many brands are out there. The struggle I was having is finding something meaningfully unique in a flooded market.

I will keep everyone updated with my progress once I get my samples ordered
 
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Rinzler

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Not to thread jack, but I've been putting some serious thought into hopping on this Watch game.
Mainly because I KNOW people love being materialistic and watches have always been an accessory to show off. I have been researching the last few months and thinking about creating a brand for a line of men's essentials. But seeing how much activity men's accessories get, is making me want to change my mind (Again)

It's easier to brand and market a physical object, than it is to brand a cosmetic (which is what I was on the cusp of pursuing). Both are desirable, but Slowlaners will eat this stuff up!
 

Mark Anthony Le

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I'm not your target audience but I'm a certified Rolex Watchmaker.

From a watchmakers perspective the inside of these watches are pure garbage. I never understood why people would spend the money on watches like these when if they chipped in a little bit extra, they could have an even higher quality watch Swiss standard
 

fishburn7

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I'm not your target audience but I'm a certified Rolex Watchmaker.

From a watchmakers perspective the inside of these watches are pure garbage. I never understood why people would spend the money on watches like these when if they chipped in a little bit extra, they could have an even higher quality watch Swiss standard
PM'd.


As an update:
I have been in talks with a few manufacturers late last week. I am spending today and tomorrow making sure I and the manufacturers are on the same page as far as the design, and there are no typos in any of the caseback or logo engravings. once I have the details hammered out I will be ordering my sample (by the end of this week). that means I will have my sample and I can start taking photos for ads and such in mid February.
 
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exclusives88

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@fishburn7 are your samples a completely new design of watches or a private labeled existing watch? If it's a new design, what did you have to provide to your manufacturer (ie 3d rendering, movements...etc). Excited to hear your progress
 

fishburn7

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@fishburn7 are your samples a completely new design of watches or a private labeled existing watch? If it's a new design, what did you have to provide to your manufacturer (ie 3d rendering, movements...etc). Excited to hear your progress

realistically it's a mix between a new design and an existing watch. I scoured through hundreds of thousands of pictures of watches and pocket watches to find something similar to what I was going after. I chose the movement I wanted and reached out to manufacturers in a few countries with a picture of the case I wanted to start with, the size I wanted, the hands I wanted to use, the details and complications I wanted to go with and used sketchup to provide them with a visual idea.

The visual is VERY important because in most cases you're dealing with manufacturers who don't speak English very well and ideas can be missed.
 
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