Such Huge Price Differences - What's The Story?

Kintarō Hattori

Hey Folks,

I mainly buy Seiko's and have bought many from Singapore through eBay. This time just for the hell of it I've been looking at Casio's (urgh I know, I want one for some odd reason). Anywhoo there seem to be some pretty mad price differences between China and Hong Kong which you can see with the watch below:

China - €22.18:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-EF527BK-EDIFICE-Chronograph-men-Watch-EF-527BK-1AV-/200676775440?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2eb9449610#ht_2625wt_1163

Hong Kong - €112:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Casio-Edifice-Chronograph-Mens-Watch-EF-527BK-1-EF527BK-/130594893885?pt=AU_Watches&hash=item1e680ff03d


What's the story here? Are they blatant fakes? I can understand why they'd go to the trouble faking an Omega, Rolex etc...... but Casio?

Doc Daneeka

Out of interest, do you not have a problem shipping to Ireland from Singapore? Never bought from there but notice that most don't seem to say they will ship to Europe.

Eoin

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

What's the story here? Are they blatant fakes? I can understand why they'd go to the trouble faking an Omega, Rolex etc...... but Casio?

I dunno - when I was looking for my Tissot, I came across loads of fakes (box, papers and the works). I was a bit surprised, as although it's a nice watch, it's not exactly considered premium.

If you google for "fake casio edifice" there are enough results to at least make me think twice.

Kintarō Hattori

Doc Daneeka wrote: »

Out of interest, do you not have a problem shipping to Ireland from Singapore? Never bought from there but notice that most don't seem to say they will ship to Europe.

I never had any problems thankfully. I found a reputable seller and bought quite a few Seiko's over the years from them.

Bullseye1

You would imagine its alot easier to make fake watches like Casio and pass them off for a handy profit. They are in direct competition to Casio unlike the fake Rolex which has little bearing on their profit (I would imagine).

Trampoline

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hey Folks,

I mainly buy Seiko's and have bought many from Singapore through eBay. This time just for the hell of it I've been looking at Casio's (urgh I know, I want one for some odd reason). Anywhoo there seem to be some pretty mad price differences between China and Hong Kong which you can see with the watch below:

China - €22.18:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-EF527BK-EDIFICE-Chronograph-men-Watch-EF-527BK-1AV-/200676775440?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2eb9449610#ht_2625wt_1163

Hong Kong - €112:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Casio-Edifice-Chronograph-Mens-Watch-EF-527BK-1-EF527BK-/130594893885?pt=AU_Watches&hash=item1e680ff03d


What's the story here? Are they blatant fakes? I can understand why they'd go to the trouble faking an Omega, Rolex etc...... but Casio?

I have seen an incredibly convincing fake Citizen chronograph, that a guy bought online for around €50. The price for an equivalent genuine Citizen here would have been €250-€300ish (hard to say exactly as the genuine version was never released in Ireland).

On this fake, the case was pretty much perfect, the caseback had the correct serial number, but the bracelet was a noticeably cheaper looking imitation (the links were not of the same quality solid steel as you'd expect). Still, it was impossible to be sure until we opened it up - inside was a standard battery-powered quartz movement, but someone had gone to the trouble of removing the back plate from an Eco-Drive movement and attaching it to this movement - so at first glance it looked like an Eco-Drive when you removed the caseback, but when you took out the movement you could see there was no solar cell, just a normal battery. That, and the fact that the movement packed in after a few months wear.

I was really shocked by this - like you, I couldn't fathom why someone would go to such lengths to fake a relatively inexpensive watch. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't believe it.

Kintarō Hattori

Well I'll pass on picking one up from Hong Kong or China so and will look to somewhere a little more reputable.