In a post from a few days ago, I noticed that someone mentioned that they were afraid to post about their dislike of the Tudor BB58 for fear of downvoting. You know what? The BB is a boring watch that’s not worth the money, and Tudor wouldn’t be half as popular as it is without the connection to Rolex. If Rolexes were as attainable as they were in past years, cut that by a factor of 10. Would you really buy a BB if the reality were that you could just save a little bit more and get a Rolex Submariner? That’s my hot take. What’s yours?

  • ServiceGames@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Just a couple of quick things (not downvoting or trying to start anything).

    • Jody’s channel focuses on watches that are $500 or under (even he’s said this before). Does he occasionally show or review watches that are more than $500? Yes. Does he own watches more than $500? Yes. But, the vast majority of affordable watches that’ll allow him to continue making enough videos to be a professional YouTuber are going to be Chinese… and they are very easily available on AliExpress.
    • Second point and maybe a hit take, his first watch from his own watch brand is horrible IMHO. He feels divers are the end all, be all of versatile watches. They simply aren’t (again, IMHO). I honestly think a GADA watch would have been a better idea for his first watch.
    • AnMuricanPrayer@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      It is true that most of Jody’s reviews are on sub-$500 watches, which is exactly where the Aliexpress brands reign supreme. My issue with Jody is not merely him reviewing them; it’s more a conflict of interest. Coming from a journalism background, I find it interesting that Jody is an Aliexpress affiliate that explicitly makes money off people buying watches via the links in his videos’ descriptions, while simultaneously showering praise upon the Aliexpress brands. While I’ve heard mostly good things about the popular Ali brands, I feel like Jody’s reviews in particular are indicative of him drinking the Kool Aid. It makes sense for him to be as positive as possible about Aliexpress watches in particular, because the more viewers he convinces to buy San Martins, the bigger the commission he gets. While Jody’s reviews are usually nuanced and well-considered, I can’t help but put two and two together when he says he’s an Aliexpress affiliate and that a Seestern is objectively better than a Doxa in the same video.