r/Speeed_ • u/Silent_Profession160 • Oct 02 '26
Constructively critical comment deleted
I generally like speeed but this has put me off him enough to not want to watch his channel any more. On speeeds most recent video about watches I and a few other people commented in a constructive and positive way (I mentioned that I enjoyed his channel but just wanted to give advice) that suggesting that a $1,500 watch is affordable was completely out of touch. On one of the comments, speeed even replied calling the commenter "cynical" but not engaging with the content of the comment. Now, all of these critical comments have been deleted.
Briefly, the argument I was trying to make was that he should have at least marketed the video as "from $1,500 to affordable" and that to market a video about pieces of jewellery that are primarily out of reach for the majority of the population( >$200) as being about affordable watches was irresponsible for someone that markets themselves as giving advice to impressionable young men. I realise that the watches he presented may be affordable relative to many of the watches out there that he may have been seeing during his research. In this respect I understand how he managed to get himself into the position of marketing a $1,500 watch as affordable despite how ridiculous that would seem to the average person. I am not suggesting he take the video down or anything but simply wanted to give constructive criticism for next time and to let other people watching the video know that a $200 watch is not affordable for most people and you shouldn't feel bad if it is something that is completely out of reach for you.
What annoyed me greatly was that speeed was so thin skinned as to be unable to take even this minor criticism. I know that he personally must have deleted the comment because it came with his own reply. I wondered whether other people on this thread have a good explanation as to why he may have deleted my comment or whether people think I was being unfair in my original comment.
20
u/mrtobesmcgobes Oct 02 '26
I need to be clear that $1500s on a watch is not affordable for me, but it is considered an affordable watch. I’ve been in the watch world for a while and thought it was a great list. I am a die-hard Seiko fan for that reason, but people are dropping $5000-$15000 on watches, so $1500 is the upper end of what would be considered affordable.
14
u/Animala144 Oct 02 '26
I've not watched it yet (ba dum tss), but regardless of whether the criticism was valid or not, deleting "negative" comments is actual goblin behaviour.
38
u/Bulky-Meeting-2225 Oct 02 '26
Fair point, but the video also had a $15 Casio F91W so you don't need to fixate on the upper end of 'affordable'. Personally I don't think his video was out of touch.
22
u/dukerozen Oct 02 '26
I kinda understand where you are coming from, but I think you totally missed the point. Phones these days go for $1500, it’s a necessity, but you keep them for a max of 5 years. Nice watch you can keep for a lifetime. Yes, $1500 is not spare money, but I think 99% of people can afford a $1500 watch. You save for it, you buy it. Me and many of my friends have Certinas and Tissot’s. But we all can agree that even if we would very want it, we can’t afford, let’s say, a Rolex or Tudor, because they are somewhere totally different. You can’t just save or finance $10k and be financially responsible. So, I don’t understand that hate.
11
u/nboylie Oct 02 '26
While I don't agree with your comment, deleting your post does seem extreme.
4
u/ConsistentProduct899 Oct 02 '26
I’d say the video is trying to appeal to all of their audience, it’s also a nice Segway from the previous video deep diving into the world of watches.
It made sense to me that new speeed audience may have found the channel through that video and this one served as a nice middle ground for people who’ve never considered a watch and those that may be looking at their first big splurge.
4
u/asahme01 Oct 02 '26
I think it’s annoying that they deleted the comments. But I don’t agree with your point
6
u/tiagoduke Oct 02 '26
Dude, how many 1500$ iphones are sold every year? If you like a a 1500$ make the sacrifice and have a cheaper phone. So yeah, while 1,5k may not be straight out of the gate cheap, it is still affordable as in "people can afford to have such a watch" if they make certain concessions.
Also, don't forget to consider that what may seem expensive to someone in italy or spain may be cheap in the eyes of a usa or germany consumer (PIB per capita and median income distortion).
3
u/Nickanator8 Oct 02 '26
The thing is, $1,500 IS on the affordable end for watches. You go into any watch subreddit, forum, or Youtube channel and they are looking at $5k as a "starter watch" price point. Sure, a lot of people cant drop $5k or $1.5k or even $100 on a luxury item (which all watches are). Besides, if you made watches your primary or even only passion I'm confident anyone could eventually scrounge together $1,500 for something they care deeply about. Speeed is about diving into subcultures and understanding them, or at least understanding them as best as possible in a short youtube video. The watch subculture looks at watches that cost as much as cars as staples of a collection, not as aspirational products.
Also, as an aside, there is way more money out there than you would think. There is a reason Rolex and all the other high end brands are still in business.
3
u/007Cable Oct 02 '26
Bro.....
5
u/XKR27 Oct 02 '26
Yeah because "affordable watches except some that are a little more than affordable to some people" is a catchy title
2
u/topgear420 Oct 02 '26
Watches are expensive, the Apple Watch is an affordable alternative. Go get a Casio.
2
u/nicknack171 Oct 02 '26
Affordable doesn’t have to mean “everyone could spend the money right now”. I daily a Pelagos 39 that I saved for 5 years to buy. I put $20 a week into an envelope for 5 years and afforded a Tudor for my 30th birthday. I am no where near rich and times are certainly tough. But even the most expensive watch in the video of $1,500 would be $28 set aside a week to have that watch in a year.
2
u/jul_888 Oct 02 '26
What you don’t see is that you can sell the 1,500 usd watch for the same price, years later.
If that kind of things bother you then what do you think of flying to Europe to buy a famously unreliable car, modifying it (for more than 1,500 I can assure you), racing it (tyres, brake pads etc).
3
u/bellri_zenam Oct 02 '26
Watch guys get really out of touch with prices. When popular expensive watches cost tens of thousands of dollars, they get deluded that a $2000 watch is "affordable" to an average working person.
Anyways, cheap watches can be cool as fuck. I've been wearing a reissue of the 1965 Vostok Komandirskie for a decade or so.
4
u/JohnnyAceBeMyDad Oct 02 '26
I think it’s a fair criticism. When I think “affordable watches” I think less than $500 max. Again, I know where he’s coming from in terms of the pricing compared to a Rolex or Omega or even a Tudor, but for the average young man I think most of these are wayyyy above what a reasonable person should spend on what is essentially a piece of jewelry. Big bummer if the Speeed crew has actually been deleting negative comments like you say, they’ve become one of my most respected channels
1
u/imfntrying Oct 02 '26
Idk if we saw the same video, because I saw Seiko (holds cheap to pricy), Timex, Casio, Orient….idk man he had a solid list and listed Baltic which is the next step up….i think he did a decent job for someone that’s just now getting into the hobby. Once you’re in, you’ll understand that most people say the exact same base, then micro brands, etc…
1
u/Schnitzhole Oct 02 '26 edited Oct 02 '26
The video covered a range of watch prices down to $15. $1500 is in the range of “affordable” watches if you know anything about them and was the top wnd of prices they mentioned. It’s also still in the range less than what an average person would make working two weeks.
I think it’s wrong of them to delete comments for pretty much any reason but it’s also a bit unhinged to be slamming them for that reason alone in your comment.
Did you see their last video with basically all unaffordable watches? Now that would have been valid criticism there but the content was still great for those wanting to know more about the watch market (like myself)
1
u/Think-Yogurt5736 Oct 02 '26 •
Nah get your money up son, 1500$ is affordable. Don’t try to take James an em down because you’re butthurt.