zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Hi all

: As most of you have already noticed it looks
: like AQ is listing Omegamania on ebay as
: well...

: You can take this in two ways.....

: 1) AQ was smart in that they are opening the
: auction up to all ebayers out there....
: Bigger pool of buyers. The potential of
: bigger hammer price obtained. The sad part
: the auction is listed in the wrong currency
: and they say as much ( Sad, that it is not
: listed properly ). For AQ I guess that is
: ok.

Here is Antiquorum's explanation for listing the items in Australian Dollars instead of Swiss Francs:

Due to eBay Live Auction's currency functionality we are unable to post items in our local currency of Swiss Francs. Instead, the items in this auction are being posted in AUD. All values, while posted as being in AUD, should be considered Swiss Francs. Example: $125 AUD bid will be accepted as = 125 Swiss Francs

Since eBay doesn't support Swiss Francs, Antiquorum had to choose another currency for the items. I think that Antiquorum chose AUD because its exchange rate is very close to the Swiss Franc right now. Antiquorum has made it clear that the amounts are really Swiss Francs even though AUD is shown. Not a big deal IMO.

Partnering with eBay may be a good move for Antiquorum, and not just because of the potential for bigger hammer prices. Antiquorum is gaining exposure to many buyers that have never heard of them. A minimum of 50 positive feedbacks in required to bid using eBay, so many buyers will register directly with Antiquorum's bidding system so that they can participate in the auction. At least some of these buyers will probably bid in future Antiquorum auctions.

: or

: 2) AQ and Omega have spent alot of time and
: energy ( Two plus years in the works )....
: on this major event. For Omega this event
: brings the brand and its heritage to the
: forefront for all to see. This is a great
: way to move the brand "up-market "
: which has been Management's plans at Omega
: for a long time. AQ has also been getting a
: lot of positive press on this event. With
: the planning and execution of the
: "auction " world wide tour over
: the last 3 months it has been perceived as
: the "Exclusive Omega Collectors Event
: of the year " . I went to the NYC
: Omegamania event and was blown away with the
: offerings and the level of execution of the
: cocktail event (From what I read and saw on
: TZ all the other events were as good if not
: better). I came away with the feeling that
: Omega is being presented as a Keystone brand
: with a colorful horological history that is
: second to none. The way AQ handled the event
: and the level of quality of the actual
: auction catalog was stunning. But now to see
: that the entire catalog is available for
: bidding via ebay is just sad to say the
: least. All the time and effort that was
: spent in the past 24- 36 months has to say
: the lest been discounted. I have been in
: contact with many people telling me "as
: an Omega collector I REALLY want to win a
: lot from Omegamaina , even if I have to pay
: more!". I think these same Omega
: collectors are going to have second thoughts
: about that. It would be interesting when its
: all over to see if any of the winning bids
: will be from the ebay portal. My gut feeling
: is that the winner of the white gold Grand
: lux will be calling there bid in, or be
: there in person.

I agree that Omegamania is a marketing event for Omega. It's about escalating Omega's brand image and spreading its name recognition, and any profit made selling the watches is secondary. However, I think that Omega is hoping that the publicity will attract new customers in addition to the traditional collectors that will be attending the live auction. What is a better way of reaching out to new customers than accepting absentee bids on eBay? After all, eBay is the de facto auction site on the internet, while most budding collectors have probably never heard of Antiquorum. Maybe some people consider eBay too pedestrian and not worthy of being an absentee bidding system for the "Exclusive Omega Collectors Event of the Year", but I don't see it that way. (Granted I'm a working class guy that wouldn't want to pay more for a lot just because I attended a fancy cocktail event or the lot wasn't available on eBay.) There are eBay users who likely fit the demographic that Omega is targeting, and I suspect that at least some of them will take a look at Omega's website after browsing the listings on eBay. And some of them may even make a trip to their local AD. The bottom line is that listing the watches on eBay is not only about selling the watches being auctioned, but selling new watches to potential new customers and collectors.

I agree that it will be interesting to see how many winning bids come from eBay. I suspect that a majority of the winning bids will come from the live auction, but then I'm often surprised how high the winning bids are on eBay.

: Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to share my thoughts. Thanks for posting the topic.

: Good hunting

: Bill Sohne