Asking the aBlogtoWatch audience about their buying habits has proven to be really insightful for me – not to mention quite interesting. The reason for this is that buying habits indicate not just what people like, but how they incorporate what they like into their own lives. On a bigger-picture level, I hope that anyone listening from the watch industry itself can learn something about the buying habits of watch lovers in order to better cater to the community’s needs and desires. Many people can agree that there is often a rather dramatic disconnect between what watch lovers want/do, versus what the watch industry itself expects them to do.

One example of this is how long it can take watch buyers to make a decision before purchasing something. Watch brands sometimes seem to believe people can make rather quick, almost impulse buying decisions when it comes to luxury watches. While the random mega-wealthy individual does perhaps purchase a very expensive luxury watch on a whim, I personally believe most people take a bit more time before deciding to buy a watch.

Judging from my own behavior and that of many (many) people I’ve seen out in the world, people gradually form a relationship with a brand, type of watch, or specific model. You might say they stalk the watch (or watches that fit into the category) like a shy predator, waiting to strike only when the time is right, but after possibly following around the prey for years, in some instances.

Personally, there have been watches I’ve had my sights on for many years before purchasing them. I am the type of person who feels no particular urgency to buy, even though I know I will when the time is right. In fact, the right formula for seeing a watch might be to understand the delicate mixture of not pressuring a consumer too much, but then creating an authentic sense of urgency that stimulates them to act. Often times that sense of urgency is a sale or discounted price. Other times, when it comes to rare watches, the urgency is about finding something in a particular condition or finding something at all, depending on how rare it is.

I’m open to the idea that I really don’t know how long it takes other watch lovers to make decisions about their timepiece purchases. Of course, it depends on each watch and how much available disposable income someone has at any given time, but my enduring hunch is that most watch lovers can spend upward of a year romancing the idea of purchasing a particular watch before actually going ahead and purchasing it – or even considering to purchase it. Perhaps even more amusing is the fact that when some watches debut I don’t pay them much attention, and then only months or even years later does their appeal grow on me.

In any event, I’d like the audience to chime in on how long they feel it normally takes them to make a decision to purchase a watch after learning about something they ultimately want to buy. Yes, each instance is unique, but I am pretty sure that most watch purchases made by dedicated enthusiasts (i.e., after they buy their first and second nice watches) follow some type of pattern. In the comments below, you can clarify how long your watch purchase decision process takes, or share advice you may have for other watch lovers on how to slow down (or speed up) the desire to add expensive items to one’s personal inventory of precious stuff.