Having A Legitimate (1st World) Crisis

[Runt888]

I was initially looking at the same model as you, but I could't justify the price when I wasn't even sure if I would end up wanting to wear a watch. In the end I decided to start with the sport model and then decide if my usage warrants the price for the next model.

 

[cmChimera]

So before all the reviews came out I was dead set on the Space Black 42mm SS w/ Link Bracelet. It's the most beautiful and I have a lot of faith in this product and a 0% APR credit card for the next 15 months so it was a no brainer.

After these reviews and reassessing my finances I'm fairly positive I don't want to buy the top of the line steel model when the second generation will likely be much, much better, as 99% of Apple products are. Investing $1100 in this product no longer makes sense to me.

I have absolutely no idea which one to buy. My first reaction was to go down to the Sport model, and get the Space Grey 42mm, but that doesn't quite have the elegant beauty of the stainless steel case. So I could get the 42mm SS with Classic Buckle (or Black Leather Loop). But then I'll get the scratches that will be common on SS without the DLC coating. And I'm spending $700. But that's a happy medium between $400 and $1100.

I have an exam tonight, no time to worry about these things... But alas, I am worrying.

So which one did you get?

 

[Q Bert]

We should create a new thread on guessing what he/she ended up buying. My bet is on the AHH-LOO-MIN-YOOM

 

[UltimateSyn]

So which one did you get?

Well, I ordered them both. I couldn't make a final decision without seeing them in person. My try on appointment is today at 5:45PM. I will cancel one of them in the next few days. Did you get into the May 13th - 27th delivery window (I did, really happy about that) or get stuck with June?

I expect to stay with the Space Black at this point.

To fellow orderers who are about to give me crap for 'taking their watch': don't worry, once I cancel whichever one I cancel, yours will move one up in the queue!

 

[cmChimera]

Well, I ordered them both. I couldn't make a final decision without seeing them in person. My try on appointment is today at 5:45PM. I will cancel one of them in the next few days. Did you get into the May 13th - 27th delivery window (I did, really happy about that) or get stuck with June?

I expect to stay with the Space Black at this point.

To fellow orderers who are about to give me crap for 'taking their watch': don't worry, once I cancel whichever one I cancel, yours will move one up in the queue!

Awesome. Yeah I got May 13-27 as well. I'm going to a try-on appointment tomorrow, mostly just to see the watch in person.

 

[bunnicula]

I am slightly concerned about the Ion-X screen, but I think the aluminium will actually stand up better to day to day use. The stainless steel shows light scratches quite easily, whereas I think the aluminium (especially the silver) would hide it.




Not necessarily - I'll be using a debit card.

But, the real question is: if you could get extra protection and/or earn cash back, airline miles, etc. if you ordered with a CC (assume ability to pay balance in full before interest accrued), why would you NOT use that CC to place the order?

That was really my point.

 

[nathanjbrown]

I'll admit: I didn't read everyone else's comments. But I say buy the Space Black SS. And if you haven't already stopped by an Apple Store to check it out (and try on the Stainless Steel model), do so and your mind will be made up. There's a BIG difference between SS and Sport (I'm talking materials and finish). And if you appreciate that sort of thing, you'll just dive in and spend the $1100 like I did.

And, yes...I'm likely to kick myself when it sells on eBay for $500 18 months from now. But I'll enjoy it between now and then!

 

[phpmaven]

Aka why I said if you are doing something with the funds you are using to pay down the debt. General rule, though, is that this typically doesn't happen. People buy with 0% offers and don't pay in time, bringing the accumulated interest due and at 16-25%, that's pretty hefty.

Most people use online banking where it's easy to set up an automatic payment plan that will pay it off within the required time. I've done this many times and never had a problem.

 

[capitanbuzo]

Most people use online banking where it's easy to set up an automatic payment plan that will pay it off within the required time. I've done this many times and never had a problem.

Who doesn't use it? I'm not saying it's hard but people still will find a way not to pay it off in time. Moral of the story, if you don't have the disposable income to buy a non essential item, you shouldn't finance it with a credit card.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Yup - went in for my try-on and, while they didn't have them available for try-on, they had them in the display case and they were mesmerizing. Keeping my Space Black SS.

Now, I tried on the Leather Loop and loved the infinite adjustability and softness of it, I think that's my favorite band. I will probably buy one, but should I buy the black or blue loop?

The saga continues..

Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z

 

[NewbieCanada]

If the only way you can buy it is by financing it, you probably shouldn't buy it. If you are financing it to get a higher ROI with the unused funds, then it makes sense but I doubt that's the case.

Most people on this forum (and elsewhere) buy their phones by financing them and wouldn't think of paying out the minimum $649 for an iPhone 6, let alone the $949 I paid for mine.

I'm not judging them, and I'm certainly not going to judge someone who found a way to spread the payments out on the watch for a year at no cost.

I could have gotten 3 months interest free through Apple, but I prefer having the airline points and double warranty I'll get on my credit card.

Besides which, I keep only $500 in my chequing account. I use my main credit card wherever possible and pay in full, accumulating the maximum in airline points. I have another credit card that gives me 4% cash back on groceries - how would I be better off using debit?

 

[capitanbuzo]

Most people on this forum (and elsewhere) buy their phones by financing them and wouldn't think of paying out the minimum $649 for an iPhone 6, let alone the $949 I paid for mine.

I'm not judging them, and I'm certainly not going to judge someone who found a way to spread the payments out on the watch for a year at no cost.

I could have gotten 3 months interest free through Apple, but I prefer having the airline points and double warranty I'll get on my credit card.

Besides which, I keep only $500 in my chequing account. I use my main credit card wherever possible and pay in full, accumulating the maximum in airline points. I have another credit card that gives me 4% cash back on groceries - how would I be better off using debit?

Anyone who has signed a two year contract has financed their phone. It's built into the price of your service. No interest financing (for introductory offers such as this, if it's some special, I guarantee there's a cost of capital is built into the purchase somewhere) is a good deal but I'm still sticking to the fact that a lot of people, not everyone, but a lot of people use these offers to buy things that can't afford and realistically shouldn't be buying. I could open a credit card and get free 15 month financing but then I'm hurting my monthly cash flow and being encumbered by something that I could have paid in the beginning. If it's not a necessity, you probably shouldn't finance it, moral of the story. It isn't a good habit to live outside your means.

Paying with a credit card is perfectly fine. I paid on my Amex for the rewards and double warranty, great way to get extra peace of mind. However, I never keep a credit card balance, I pay it off every month. It sounds like you do a similar practice but I do say, a $500 cash balance is pretty low. You have different risk tolerances than I do but I'd personally keep a higher balance.

 

[NewbieCanada]

Paying with a credit card is perfectly fine. I paid on my Amex for the rewards and double warranty, great way to get extra peace of mind. However, I never keep a credit card balance, I pay it off every month. It sounds like you do a similar practice but I do say, a $500 cash balance is pretty low. You have different risk tolerances than I do but I'd personally keep a higher balance.

My need for cash is low. I live in a country where no medical emergency would cost me any cash outlay (or credit outlay) and when travelling outside the country I have coverage through my credit card. I have two credit cards I don't use at all, so there's always $30k credit available to me aside from the cards I do use.

I actually only recently increased it to $500 after keeping it at $100 for the last ten years or so!

 

[shayanhooshmand]

What I recommend the most if you want to keep the cost low (in Apple terms) but still look nice is to get a Sport and purchase a Leather Loop Band to go with it. At $150, the Leather Loop is one of the cheaper Apple Watch bands.
I got a 42mm Space Gray Sport with a blue leather loop. This picture is what convinced me.

You can also go to mixmywatch.com to see the Apple Watch Sport with other bands.

 

[CharlieCat666]

So before all the reviews came out I was dead set on the Space Black 42mm SS w/ Link Bracelet. It's the most beautiful and I have a lot of faith in this product and a 0% APR credit card for the next 15 months so it was a no brainer.

After these reviews and reassessing my finances I'm fairly positive I don't want to buy the top of the line steel model when the second generation will likely be much, much better, as 99% of Apple products are. Investing $1100 in this product no longer makes sense to me.

I have absolutely no idea which one to buy. My first reaction was to go down to the Sport model, and get the Space Grey 42mm, but that doesn't quite have the elegant beauty of the stainless steel case. So I could get the 42mm SS with Classic Buckle (or Black Leather Loop). But then I'll get the scratches that will be common on SS without the DLC coating. And I'm spending $700. But that's a happy medium between $400 and $1100.

I have an exam tonight, no time to worry about these things... But alas, I am worrying.

Easy, get the SS with a sport band. Don't worry about scratches, even if you get them, you'll only notice them when you look really closely. And when you're ready to invest more, you can get a nicer band.

 

[Newjackboy]

So $400 is something you are willing to pay for the FUNCTION of the Apple Watch. That's how you should have looked at it before, that's how you should look at it now. The Sport does what the SS does.

You pay $200 more for the SS. What do you pay for? You pay for the LOOK. That's the same now as it was a week ago. If $200 was worth the LOOK before, why not pay that much now?

You pay $100-400 more for the STRAP/BAND. Those function like LOOK, but you can use them for Gen2, Gen3 etc.

Personally, I just don't understand the whole "I don't want to invest in the SS model because of the reviews" mentality. The SS watch was never about functionality, it was an upgraded look. That hasn't changed at all. If it was worthwhile to spend $200 for a shiny watch case as opposed to a matte one last week, why not now? If you're really concerned with the reviews, there's really only one logical conclusion: DON'T GET THE WATCH. Or, just wait. But downgrading the look of the device because you plan to spend more on Gen2 doesn't make logical sense.

It's not the fact someone wants to spend more on a gen 2- it's because most of us Apple fans will want to buy Apple watch 2, then 3, the. 4 etc etc

By dropping an extra 800 bucks on a certain ban,d is just money down the drain which will never be recouped.

 

[parallax33]

I could buy it outright but buying it with my credit card gets me an additional year of warranty, and I get to spread the cost out over the next year.

----------



This is extremely valid.... Hmmmm...

Though I know you're bias since you're getting the same one!

I am getting the SSSB, and my thoughts are that the SS will undoubtably scratch, and therefore potentially lose value on resale when V2 comes out.

The bands will more than certainly be interchangeable between V1 & V2, so if you think about it, the body is the bit that will depreciate the most. There is about £50 difference between SS and SB bodies price due to the DLC when you separate out from the band.

Coupled with SB strap, not scratching up like the SS, I think an SB will drop the least over 1-2 years.

For me, this makes SSSB a no brainier over a SS Link or SS Mayo, although it issimewhat more expensive.

----------

...Also, thinking purely of bodies and not bands, the SS will retain value better than AL, since it can be polished up to a degree and is more resistant to dents being 317 SS.



----------

I also am feeling the Mayo actually works with SB since it is quite reflective, so will be ordering a spare Sport, Mayo and Blue Loop bit of an addict with shiny things

 

[Appl3FTW]

What I recommend the most if you want to keep the cost low (in Apple terms) but still look nice is to get a Sport and purchase a Leather Loop Band to go with it. At $150, the Leather Loop is one of the cheaper Apple Watch bands.
I got a 42mm Space Gray Sport with a blue leather loop. This picture is what convinced me.
Image
You can also go to mixmywatch.com to see the Apple Watch Sport with other bands.

But this argues paying: 549 for aluminum + leather band OR 599 for stainless steel + black rubber band. For 50 more and get the better watch I picked the latter.

 

[mariotr87]

The problem here is that the value of the product will decrease at the same speed as for any other electronic device, even though it's also marketed as a jewellery piece. In 5 years time (and I'm being very very generous) nobody in the world will want to wear a 1st gen Apple Watch, so it will be completely useless. And we're talking here about a device that can cost anywhere from £300 to £13500. Jewellery is usually timeless, but that doesn't apply here.

There's the problem also of this being a new market segment. Will it actually be useful or will we forget about it in a couple of months? Will developers support it properly? Will this become another hit or will it just be another Apple Newton?

Also, I don't think we should measure how expensive a product is by its price tag alone, but also by the amount of time that product will remain relevant and useful enough that we will want to keep using it. This version of the watch is just going to test the market; you can expect that the next version will be extremely better in many ways.

For those reasons I think it's better to wait until the product matures and stabilises before investing a significant amount of money simply on how it looks. At least you know that it's a safe bet technologically-wise.

That's just my opinion and it's the reason why I'm going to get the 38mm sport version. I might get the milanese loop later on, but only if it comes to light that bands will be the same/compatible across generations. Once the product is refined and I'm sure that it makes my life a lot easier, then I'll probably pay the extra buck to get a £600+ version.