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Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
The 2022 Watch Purchasing Abstinence Club (WPAC).

Welcome to the 2022 Watch Purchasing Abstinence Club, otherwise known as WPAC. This is the 6th year of WPAC, which was started at the beginning of 2017 to try and get myself and some other addicts out of a crazy buying/flipping cycle with watches, we were buying for the sake of it rather than for the appreciation of the watch itself, constantly chasing the next, new shiny watch or searching endlessly, fixated on some watch; generally, IMHO, a rather unhealthy behaviour.

So, what is the point of WPAC? Well, the aim is to abstain from purchasing watches. But that's a bit blunt really, the abstinence is a tool or a method to break the cycle of buying/flipping and become a discerning consumer of horology. Learning to appreciate what you have, understand what works for you with watches and think rationally about purchases, rather than emotionally. Or the ethos of less is more, as some have suggested the philosophy is here. Yes we still love watches, but as we all know we can be weak, so WPAC is a place to get help; here you can take solace from like minded people and get support and encouragement to stop impulse buying.

With those that stick around and make some commitment WPAC has been successful; for me it's certainly helped me break the buy/flip cycle and stop obsessing, so maybe it can help you.

In previous years we've had some rules, but this year there aren't going to be, there seems little point when we all have subtly (sometimes massively) different goals. If you are in serious horological trouble with buying then look back at the OP in previous WPAC threads, the rules should be a useful starting point if you want to get things under control or just shout out here to get some advice, it's what we're good at. Think of it like a clubhouse or a WUS subforum dedicated to being friendly, chatting about everything and anything and where you can find like minded watch fans.

Having said that, there is one rule I'd like everyone to adhere to; first post should be an intro with a SOTC picture (include everything, don't cheat) and some goals/aims for 2022. Whether you want to abstain completely, want to save for a special watch, just need to take control, slow things down or whatever, we'll be happy to have everyone. Just as long as you're clear on what your aims are.

Please participate in the thread, it's what makes it what it is. Any reasonable topic of conversation is acceptable and in fact welcomed.

Bashing of any potential purchases should still be a mandatory element, but let's keep it funny. Nuclear level bashing is required for any actual purchases.
Expect to be challenged by others if you're suggesting a purchase, whatever your personal goals/aims and expect to need to defend yourself.

.....and one last thing, we do occasionally get some trolls visiting, let's agree to not feed them.

Edit - clarification on enabling: this is a difficult one to deal with as WPAC has evolved such that we discuss watches, post pictures, etc., previously we tried not doing that but it didn't really work and as well despite the temptation provided by this individuals need to develop the control to not be tempted every 5 minutes by something. However, this year we seem to have a mixture of regulars and new participants, and some the latter are wanting to abstain. Hence please don't directly enable by suggesting watches......
 

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Discussion Starter · #2 ·
OK, so my first post is a SOTC and setting out my aims/goals for 2022. SOTC is as follows:
  • Eterna dress watch
  • Helson shark diver 38mm Titanium
  • Tissot Heritage banana
  • Squale 30 Atmos 40mm GMT Pepsi
Unfortunately I can't do a "family" pic as they are all. Currently boxed up as they are all for sale, apart from the Eterna. None are being worn currently. Fitbit is currently doing duty on the wrist......

Odd situation for me to be in really, not having a watch to wear, and as well, as much as I like my Fitbit, I miss wearing a mechanical, proper watch. I've always worn one and it feels odd to not be wearing one. Having said that, it has been liberating to not have a watch to wear and the longer I go without one the less strange it is.......

So my intentions for 2022 is to buy a Tudor black bay 58 and I'll be generating the majority of the funds from sales of the watches mentioned above (and the ones I've sold already). This will be the only purchase of 2022, there will be no other watches in my collection. The Fitbit will act as a beater if required and the Tudor will be the daily watch, in fact the watch for everything. And that's it.

There's been the mental roadblock with the Tudor, as discussed ad nauseam on here and whilst I've been back and forth on this in my head it'll always be a mental struggle. I'm currently happy justifying it via the fact that I'll generate the majority of the funds from watch sales. And that buying (and keeping this watch….) this watch will satisfy me and I'll have a keeper…..

.......however, the BB58 isn't a done deal. I'm still not a 100% sold on needing it and in no hurry to buy. So I'll see how it goes.

I think that I'll spend less time generally on WUS, apart from WPAC, and watch sites.
 

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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
I remember you sold your pelagos at one point, what will the bb58 do that your last tudor didnt?

Selling your entire collection is brave, good luck! :cool:
Bloody stalkers keeping track of your every move....... :ROFLMAO:

....always selling for the wrong reason in the past, should have kept the Pelagos (or the previous BB58 I had.....) and not got distracted or waylaid by things. This is a thing of WPAC historical record......
 

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Discussion Starter · #33 ·
Nope. It didn’t last a month. Dial and bezel being different colours of blue was the elephant in the room for me. I just couldn’t unsee it.
Was it really that bad? In all the photos I've seen it's not something I'd noticed, but I do now remember you mentioning this. Was it particularly noticeable in daylight or just all the time? I've noticed the colour, or depth, of the blue varies hugely depending on the lighting.....
 

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Discussion Starter · #36 ·
All the time - just felt wrong or badly done. It might not bother you and I know some people love it, but it annoyed the crap out of me.

Oh and if you buy one you’ll get it used and mint for £2100
Yeah, prices have dropped to a realistic level now, rather than crazy profiteering prices.....
 

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Discussion Starter · #51 ·
Lots of new brethren to WPAC, so welcome to you all :) (y), haven't got the time or patience for individual greetings :ROFLMAO:.

If you've got a goal of abstinence then remember that participation in the thread can be enormously helpful in keeping on track with that. Same goals for other goals really. Just remember someone will always be around to give support, advice or bash what ever watch is absorbing your attention......
 

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Discussion Starter · #60 ·
I bought quite a few watches in 2020, of which way too many Pagani designs (4).. ended up with 13 watches in total:
View attachment 16331314

Sold all but 2 in 2021 and added another 2 so my SOTC is a total of 4 watches:
View attachment 16331316

I pledged the fee at a Kickstarter campagn for a Revelot Hexmariner which should arrive somewhere in februari/march '22.
View attachment 16331326

At some point I would like to add a nice looking skeleton watch with a Japanese or Swiss movement. But I do feel I'm otherwise done buying (and selling) watches. I personally don't care for watches beyond the affordable range (>$1000) so won't be looking to move 'upwards'. But we will see what kind of temptations 2022 will bring. :)
Rossi fan then?
 

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Discussion Starter · #62 ·
46 watches is quite a lot by any standard. WPAC's main goal is to stop unbridled watch purchasing although many of us have found that reducing the number of watches in our collection helps to focus our attention on what really is desired as opposed to what may happen to be the latest Watch Hotness (insert buzzy micro-brand release here) or what can be obtained just because you found a bargain. I see a ton of overlap in your collection and wonder if some carefully-considered culling might be helpful to you.
Exactly Lee, exactly.......


......from a personal perspective I've found that all of the watch related media, especially including WUS, acts as an massive enabler. Bet the majority of us, if we looked back before we found WUS, would have been content with one average watch, not needing a collection of 46 watches. Being on WUS there's an element of normalisation in either having a huge collection, buying/selling constantly or needing to own that expensive luxury watch that's probably beyond your budget.
 

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Discussion Starter · #66 ·
What gave me away? ;) Sad to see him go, but still looking very much forward to the 2022 season. The TW Steel isn't the prettiest watch, but I like wearing a MotoGP watch during the MotoGP weekends (also to remind myself to not watch the news when I can't see the race live).
LOL, fairly obvious to a moto GP fan.....! I'm not keeping up with the latest news but I'd seen he'd be retiring, pity but not surprising.
 

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Discussion Starter · #69 ·
I don't know how you can get to 46 watches. If i get to more than 10 i already get anxious as there is too much choice on what to wear and too many watches that don't get worn (enough).

If you wear each watch equally often then each watch gets used 8 days a year and sits in a box 357 days a year.
I remember discussing this along time ago, I think the general consensus was that you'd end up reaching for the usual suspects, a small sub-group, and there would be a majority of box queens in there. Unless you had some strict rules applied, but that probably ain't gonna work......

......draw your own conclusions from that about the merits of large collections.
 

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Discussion Starter · #77 ·
So why did you need the unicorn? Who wants corn on their horse anyway. [sidetrack, why are these things called unicorns and not unihorns in English?]

What is it with hard to get things? If a girl needs to play hard to get to get your attention, you know its because she's not all that attractive to begin with right...

How much of the decision to buy that watch was based on FOMO, and how much on actually liking the design?

Oh and also welcome to WPAC of course 😊
 

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Discussion Starter · #90 ·
I realize I'm new here, and don't want to be that guy already, but this feels like a better than average place to ask this question.

Given that a few of us have included "spend less time on WUS and other watch sites/media" as a goal for 2022 I was wondering if I was the only person thinking this.

Does it seem like WUS lately has been making itself, let's say, easier to spend less time on?

Every other thread, seems like, is from one of about three or four genres. The most noticeable being: "something something ROLEX," "I got my dive watch wet, is that bad?," "this obviously fake watch is fake and I'm very obviously trying to sell it against the rules," or endless posts mocking the aforementioned categories.

I guess I'm just wondering if it's just me, or if there has indeed been something of a sea change.
Not sure that anything has changed specifically, but after a while on WUS it just seems to be the same topics repeated again and again......
 

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Discussion Starter · #91 · (Edited)
Thank you!

But, isn't this the thread I come to to NOT be enabled? :unsure:;)
Yep, you have a very good point here. We're not meant to be specifically enabling especially with brethren of WPAC that are trying to abstain......

Probably need a clarification of this......
......clarification added to OP.
 

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Discussion Starter · #92 ·
For yrs I have only subscribed to a couple of threads on wus. The couple of times I’ve ventured off my path has left me with an impression of armies of sad little people say behind they devices typing or tapping the same old mantra over and over ad infinitum.

I find Wpac interesting and in general feel I actually get to know people on here. I’ve even had a couple of meet ups. The only other thread on here I am subscribed to is a photos of blue diallled divers thread but I rarely even look at it unless I have a pic I think might be enjoyed by others there.

So yes I think in general the place is full of crap.
.....but if you are bored of the general fodder on WUS then you can always go baiting in the public forum. Usually a thread on homages, especially Steinharts, usually works.
 

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Discussion Starter · #93 ·
Was thinking that it might be worth some of the WPAC long term residents sharing some of their techniques for abstinence.....

What worked for me was to continuously research about the watch that was the current obsession. I'd read every review, watch all the videos I could find, scour through threads to find mentions of it and delay the purchase via this. I'd also set myself a date, usually a month in advance, that I couldn't purchase it before then. This delaying and the obsessive researching usually meant that I'd end up getting bored with the watch by the time the month had gone and wasn't at all interested in purchasing it.....

Another technique that worked for me was to revisit all the watches and thoroughly understand what worked for me and what didn't. This lead to a set of rules that any prospective watch had to meet and that usually knocked most potentials off. Two of my rules were that any watch had to be 40mm diameter or under and needed to have a rotating bezel......

Anyone else want to share their experiences or techniques that worked?
 

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Discussion Starter · #95 ·
And here is the basher aka agressive croatian guy.

Will be here in 2022. I will probably have a new job I trained for during last year. Both of us, my girlfriend and I, got a job offer before end of our education...so both of us will probably have to move to a nearby small Town in february. We have to work through year of payed internship. Wich in current situation over here is like winning a jackpot. Especially due to fact we are both in our 40ies.

I also started to work for a local lifestyle website. Watches come and go. I am happy puppy.

I wish you all the best. 21 has been confusing for all of us. I hope 22 passes like a breeze.

Will drop by eventually. Have fun gals and guys.
Sinner! Glad to have you back in the fold fella.....

......so, what are the new jobs then?
 

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Discussion Starter · #101 ·
It does appear much harder for Europeans to sell watches. I don't know why, in theory the marketplace in Europe is bigger. Lack of common language, not as consumerist, historical brand preferences; all have something to do with it but don't explain anything like the whole of it.

I was looking at a watch from a dealer in Germany on chrono24.co.uk and in the detail it said that they only sell to the EU. So given that they were posting on the specifically UK version of the site, what did this mean? That they didn't realise the UK was no longer in the EU? That they did realise and this was a way of expressing their resentment at us leaving? That anyone could buy from them but they couldn't be bothered to remove the VAT for nonEU purchases?

It's all too complicated to bother with.
You're probably right about the reasons, also I wondered about using Reddit, as it seems popular, but I can't be bothered "learning" a new format and building up a reputation. Just gotta learn that when I buy it should be a keeper if I want to avoid the hassle of selling...........
 

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Discussion Starter · #103 ·
I'm with you, Hornet -- I purchased a watch earlier this year via reddit and I found it to be a non-intuitive and confusing system for what should be straight-forward things like contacting the seller and registering feedback. But it seems to be the trend for watch sales as more and more transactions are being conducted there. With eBay's growing fees and Watchuseek's stuffy reputation, the Cool Kids are migrating to the latest on-line platform and that appears to be reddit.
Just reading the sales listings on reddit give me a headache, but it feels like if you want to sell you should maximise your exposure.......
 
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