Throw away society and EDC kit

[grenfell]

Funny you should say that . Before christmas i was working at some company offices. They do air conditioning and i was overhearing a conversation. A quote was being prepared and the lady doing the quote said " this sounds terrible , our call out charge is £85 and the parts are 92pence " . She had a think and then added " i'll put down a clean too , it'll sound better" .

[Deeps]

Aptly, we were discussing Casio watch straps with my missus's mate last night when she was round. She' manages a branch of a well known jewellers, she was saying they charge 12 quid to change the strap and it costs them £3.50. She was saying the watch batteries cost them 2 quid too although I can't remember how much she said it cost for them to change the battery. Luckily she does ours for free.

Would be interesting to know the mark up on new watches and also how many new watches they sell compared to how many they put new straps or batteries in. It could very well be selling new is the largest portion which to a degree would explain the cost of replacement work. Spare parts have pretty much the same transport costs but could take up storage space and tie up assests for an indeterminate amount of time. Another reason for higher costs becomes apparent when inquiring about something to be told "we haven't got it in but can get it for tomorrow" so added courier costs . This seems quite common with car parts in my experience.
I'm not trying to defend retailers as i think some just charge "what the market will stand" and will charge as much as they can , just doing by usual fence sitting and seeing both sides.
Luckily the watch strap /batteries doesn't affect me as i haven't worn or carried a watch for 25 years at least . Hardly ever wear my wedding ring either.

I'll ask her mate, I know from old mates who have the brass neck to do it that a lot of places will have a 10% discount if you ask. It might be down to the manager's discretion though. They used to ask (long before there were the official Forces discount sites) if they did Forces discount and more often than not it just got put through as student discount or whatever.

I'm with you on the wedding ring thing too, I've been married twice and never had a wedding ring either time, I just don't wear jewellery so it would have been a waste of money.

[grenfell]

My reasons are simply practical. I've spent most of my working life on building sites where dust and grit can quickly scratch and damage watches and jewellery and add to that i've seen people snag up watches and rings to give it a saftey angle and it wasn't a huge leap to leave them at home. An old plumber i worked with kept a pocket watch in a tobacco tin lined with wadding which i always thought was a good idea and one i always planned to emulate but never got round to it.

[Turkey Doughnuts]

Aptly, we were discussing Casio watch straps with my missus's mate last night when she was round. She' manages a branch of a well known jewellers, she was saying they charge 12 quid to change the strap and it costs them £3.50. She was saying the watch batteries cost them 2 quid too although I can't remember how much she said it cost for them to change the battery. Luckily she does ours for free.

Nice little mark up £7.50 but you'd need to do a good few off then

I saw none genuine straps around that price but from experience they are not usually as robust as the originals



I still like the simplicity of the basic Casio it tells the time, it keeps time and shows the date, the battery lasts a long time and no one will mug you for it.......

Few years back I popped to My car late one evening whilst rummaging in the boot I was approached by 2 likely lads hoods up, I knew I was been approached.... Excuse me do you have the time? ... A very strange request in today's world when everyone that age seems to have a smart phone......

There was a strange look between them when I told them it was about half 10 having glanced at my watch....


Might have been totally innocent but their body language and posture wasn't exactly friendly and they positioned themselves one either side of me both looked a bit nervous and they left at a fair pace perhaps they were late or didn't have me pulling my phone out my pocket to snatch and run......

You saved yourself some hurt there. I was sitting down and got asked to 'call a taxi' checked my phone, no credit. They kicked me in my face breaking my teeth and tried to grab my phone. A gang of about 4 'yooths' in busy area adults all around and no one did a thing (not the first time I was attacked either), they just turned around and walked the other way. It was at that time I decided I was never going to put myself out to help anyone again unless I was sure they would do the same for me. The amount of time I have been called 'selfish'!

[butterbean]

its madness.

last summer my watch battery died. casio ediface thing.
popped into timpsons asking for a battery to be fitted.
around £55 not pressure tested or guaranteed, £80 odd with it.
i was blown away by that. i was expecting £5 tops as i know its a 1 minute job
nope.

popped onto wish.com, bought a watch opener (free with £1 postage) arrived 3 weeks later.
opened up the watch. old battery out, checked which type it was. amazon prime. £1.45. next day delivered.

all done.

something so simple to do and i cant help but think how many folk have been had by places like this and just not thinking, or having the confidence, to do it themselves.

as i said, madness