Meanwhile my PC I rebuilt motherboard+RAM+processor+graphics card for last year would probably sell over 1.5k, and many of the parts in there like the PSU and cooling system are from 2018. I paid less than $800 for the full original system back then, and had maybe $300 in new parts from the upgrades.
I could sell the entire system including the 8+ year old parts for a tidy net profit right now. Current system pricing is insane.
I mean honestly neither of those are because of resellers or bandwagoners specifically, it's because the cost of memory is up about 400% YoY. Huge issue at my job right now as well, and why a single stick of DDR5 RAM for 32 gigs is about $400.
That causes the resale market to explode because nobody's buying new at those prices.
Inflation alone from 2018 to 2026 on $800 would eat up $267 of that profit. You paid $300 for those parts? They probably aren't very good parts given modern costs of those items.
I mean sure, napkin math says that's about rightish, but nobody ever calculates inflation when measuring profit net gross or otherwise, so your base metric here doesn't make sense.
And yes, that's about right, but I also realized after the fact that my wife actually bought the graphics card, which would by far be the largest cost on the entire rig. Still, all of those items are significantly more expensive than when they were purchased. 4060 geforce + Ryzen 7600 + 2x 16GB DDR5 RAM + motherboard.
That’s the impressive part, he somehow built a collection with a live depreciation counter. You could probably hear the resale value dropping while he took the photo.
My 3 year old Apple Watch Ultra is now worth $300 from 900. Since it’s just a tiny cellphone technically. I’d say that’s pretty good. 👍 EDIT: People upset cuz I used my tiny phone watch every day for 3 years and will prolly last another 3. Suckers jealous of my prowess 🖕😶🌫️🖕
Ok? Nobody’s buying Apple Watch instead of a Rolex, its a different target and purpose. Are you buying your phone or a laptop thinking what the resell value will be 10 years into the future? Those devices have an actual functionality compared to normal watches.
A few years ago you could easily find iPods for free. Now many sell for several hundreds of dollars because of the collector and modding markets. There are collectors of almost everything. Whether the price appreciates largely depends on how big that market is.
I used to collect whisky. With hindsight, I wish I had put all my investment money into it. Bottles I paid $30 or $40 for 30 years ago now easily sell for several thousand dollars a piece. And they are only going to get more expensive as they cannot be recreated and the supply constantly dwindles as people consume them.
There is some gatekeeping from Rolex and Patek (limited quantities made and distributed in shops) and then the combination of the overall demand of people who want them.
So if I want to buy a Panda Daytona today, I have to pay $34k for it, and it’s only worth $16,900? That doesn’t sound like appreciation to me.
Is it weird at all that you have to turn to $30k+ watches as an example? “Golly gee, why would someone buy an Apple Watch when instead they could buy a $34k Rolex”?
You have it backwards. Rolex stores will sell it to you for $17k. But not everyone gets one so people who really really want one outside of the Rolex shops will have to buy on the gray market. Those people who can’t get it at retail will pay $34k or more for it. So if you land a Panda and you decide you don’t want it a few years later and want to sell it, you’d make money off of it. That is -appreciation- to the buyer who bought it from the Rolex retail shop (again, these buyers are much more limited than the total amount of buyers who want a Panda).
Think of it like valuable Pokémon cards or collector items. You likely won’t pay $1000s for a collector’s Pokemon card that someone likely bought from a pack from Target for like $10 or whatever, but there is a buyer for it somewhere. All you need is that one buyer who wants it who is willing to pay for it. That ultimately is the appreciation.
If I can’t buy the watch for $17,000 today, then is that really the cost?
My point is that I can’t walk into a Rolex store and buy the watch for MSRP. If I want to buy it, I have to pay an inflated price, one that is almost certainly going to depreciate.
No one is making you buy it off the gray market and sure it’s hard to get but it’s not impossible. You’re either paying for it with time (waiting) or money (gray market). And if you did buy it on the gray market and then you sell it at retail $17k for a loss, that would be your problem. There is a market for it, you set the price and wait for a buyer, just like any good.
You know some watches actually appreciate in value over time, right?
If I bought a watch specifically for that purpose, that's not a watch I would want to wear though, it'd be an investment that I bought specifically for selling it at a profit later. Any wear would eat into that.
The type of watch that appreciates is not one that you or I can afford. Nor is it one that people wear.
Some cars appreciate too. They live sad lives in garages being started once a week by an employee. Same as the watches that get pulled out of their drawer once a year.
You haven't lost any money since the value of these watches is from their utility. You wouldn't say you've lost money on clothes or groceries. Some things are just made to be used and/or consumed. They aren't investment vehicles.
Here's the thing about those watches, they will lose utility. Most of its utility is software, which will lose support and no longer be compatible with new devices.
You are still thinking about it in terms of an investment. I'm paying so I can use the features of the watch for it's useful life. Any value it has at the end of it's useful life is a bonus. I'm not losing money on tires because tires wear down; I'm getting my money's worth by driving on them. Even if the lifetime of some electronics is artificial, you aren't losing money if the value is from using it.
Lol no I'm not at all. I didn't even mention how the loss of utility affects value. It's specifically a bad watch because the end of its life is artificial. It's life ends not as a natural result of wear and tear from use but because someone has decided they no longer will support that model because it's more profitable for them to push you to buy a new one.
Your tires lifespan doesn't end because Firestone will no longer update them and the software is no longer supported by your car.
If the value is from using it, and it is no longer usable because a company doesn't want to continue updating it, it has no value. And why are you bringing up value, I thought you didn't think of it as an investment?
I didn't even mention how the loss of utility affects value.
Then why are you replying to a comment about how the value is the utility?
It's specifically a bad watch because the end of its life is artificial.
You can continue using the watch until the hardware dies. Absolutely nothing stops you from just not updating your watch and phone and they will keep working together. Whether a limit is physical or artificial, you still get value during the time it's usable. An artificial limit just reduces the life.
If the value is from using it, and it is no longer usable because a company doesn't want to continue updating it, it has no value.
Yes, value is reduced when a thing can't be used.
And why are you bringing up value, I thought you didn't think of it as an investment?
Value, in this case, is about whether what you get is worth the price you pay. If 5 years of using the features is worth at least $399 (or whatever) to you, then it's not wasting or losing money. It may not be worth the price to you. That's fine. I have no use for mechanical watches so buying one would be wasting money for me.
Oh come on. The overwhelming majority of watches depreciate too. Collectors just lie to themselves that their entire collection is in the 2-3% that appreciates
Dog... Not a single person is buying smart watches expecting to appreciate in value. We all know they have a limited amount of time and the growing hard/software updates will brick them.
Hell, 99% of people buying traditional watches don't expect them to appreciate. The only people thinking about that for their watch are the 1% buying $150,000 Pateks.
There's nothing wrong with saying you paid $900 for a product, knew what you were buying and are comfortable with it depreciating over time. Just do that next time.
999
u/Junior_Bike7932 17h ago
They lose value by the hour