Are flippers a symptom of a broken society?

Once again, that time of the year has arrived, when the novelties presented at watch fairs in March/April finally hit the authorized retailers market. Well, most of them at least. The others barely caress it, before landing on the more obscure — both in name and nature — grey market. I know, I know: this is far from a pleasant topic, and practically everything has already been said about it. I myself have already written an article on the subject, which Time+Tide Watches kindly agreed to publish. But then, you might ask, why bother and waste time writing yet another piece about it? And you would definitely have a point. However, I would like to share with you my thoughts on some of the reasons that make many of us so sensitive about this topic, and to hear what you think about it.

So, why do we feel the way we feel when we think about flippers? Sure, there is the annoying fact that most of us are not able to get our hands on our favorite watches form an authorised dealer and, instead, are forced to either give up on them or pay an absurd amount of money to some flipper, and hope that the watch not only is authentic, but that it has also been handled and cared for properly. But I would argue that this is only the tip of the iceberg, that there are deeper reasons why the word flipper fills our guts with rage and disgust.

The first aspect to consider is the very nature of the object that flippers speculate on: watches. As I have tried to convey in my first article on this blog, watches are much more than just tiny timekeeping tools, and they are able to touch and move deep chords in many people for a multitude of reasons. When you are speculating on watches, therefore, when you are seeing them as nothing more than a mean to a quick dirty profit, you are vulgarizing something that other people instead care about, showing a great deal of disrespect and disregard towards them. And, even worse, while desecrating this piece of human heritage for your own profit, you flipper, you dishonest AD, you grey market agent, are also making sure that so many watch enthusiasts who could own, wear, cherish, and, one day, pass on those little wonders, can no longer do so. 

This, I believe, is one of the things that make that annoyance I mentioned above something more than a simple annoyance, as it would be if we were talking about stocks or gold bars. It makes it a matter of passion, it makes it personal, it makes it emotional. 

Now, before I continue, I feel I need to address a couple of objections that I can hear coming form some (potential) readers. First of all, some might at this point think that I’m criticizing the idea of watches as an investment — and much has been written on this topic as well. But that is not really what I’m doing here. If we talk about flippers, we are not really talking about investments, are we? Flippers barely touch the watch before putting it on sale for a price they knew with high confidence in advance that they could get away with. Investing is something else, and for sure watches as an investment is an interesting and faceted topic, which I might write about at some point.

Secondly, another objection that I can imagine some of you raising is: and what about the free market dynamics? The old and all-ruling supply and demand law? After all, the number of watches that can be produced and that the manufacturers are willing to produce will likely always be less than the number of hopeful buyers, especially in a time of hypes and social media. I get that, and that is indeed a very much valid point. Discussing this complex and delicate matter, however, is beyond the scope of this article, as is brainstorming solutions for it. What I will say is just that, if it really turned out that nothing can be done to mitigate or tackle the issue (which I’m not willing to believe), I would still much prefer the price imposed by the supply and demand dynamic to be settled at the manufacturers level, rather than at the grey market one. Let the makers of these watches profit from their work and skills, and not some grey-hearted flipper who couldn’t care less about the goods they’re trading in. 

With these objections out of the way, let’s move on to the second aspect that I think makes the flipping behaviour so deeply disturbing. Allow me formulate it in the form of questions: What does this behaviour highlight about ourselves and our culture? What mindset and world view does it stem from? What can it tell us about the present and the future of our society?

As for what it tells about us, the first and most obvious answer is: that we want money. A lot of money, and as quickly as possible. Mostly so that we can buy more stuff, to feel fulfilled, to feel safe, to feel powerful. And it tells us that, for the most part, we don’t care where that money comes from, we don’t care if somebody had to pay a price for us to get it. Why waste time thinking about that? And this brings us to the question about mindset and world view, as I believe that this sort of thinking is a symptom of a short sighted and flawed mindset, which has its roots in the belief that humans are the lords of this world, and that this world is an immutable and evergreen playground, made for our enjoyment, and destined to remain so for eternity. I don’t have to tell you how wrong all that is. We are only a part of an incredibly complex and delicate system, experiencing the statistical miracle called life, and each one of our actions has far reaching consequences. 

Flippers are, therefore, a symbol of the homo homini lupus mindset, that does make so little sense in a world like ours, where everybody is affected by the actions of everybody else. This same mindset is the one that has brought us on the brink of disaster, as governments and companies have for decades being putting local and personal interests and profits in front of the wellbeing of our planet and the future of our children. For how long can this mindset continue to guide our society before it destroys it? When will we finally realize that profit is only as good as the good that it makes in the world?

To summarize, I believe that, at its core, the flippers’ behaviour stems from and represents so many of the things that are wrong with our society and that are bringing us closer and closer to a dystopian future. How could these thoughts not make you feel sick? 

And so it ends yet another rant about the grey market and the infamous flippers. Of course there would be much more to talk about, like the history of the phenomenon, why some watches are so hyped in the first place, the position of the manufacturers on the matter, possible solutions, and so on. But for today I don’t wish to bother you further. I just hope you found the read at least a bit interesting, and I am curious to hear your opinions down in the comments.