Reginald Ferguson [00:00:00]: I'm Reg Ferguson and I'm a Fashion Consultant from New York City, born and raised. I've been helping men look fly for years and now, I wanna help you learn more about menswear, the entrepreneurs, the brands, and top fashion tips on the Fashion Geek podcast. Yo. This is Reg Ferguson, host of the Fast Geek podcast. How are you? Hope all is well. I hope you're keeping safe. I'm flying solo today, ladies and gentlemen. Straight off the dome. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:41]: I hope you enjoy it. So I have a funny story to tell you. Yo. Check this out. I received a call Thursday morning. You will hear this from Monday on. From a guy who responded to a service app I use called Thumbtack. I often get leads from that from potential clients. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:12]: I thought he was 1. I was excited. We exchanged messages, and he said he'd give me a, he he gave me his number. I called him. I went to voicemail, let him know that. He immediately called me back. This is what he called me for. He wanted to know if I was willing to get online for a drop, for real. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:46]: I totally was thrown off. I just had to listen. I didn't interrupt him because I was saying, mister, what? What? What is he the term had really even escaped me at that moment. But then he explained the details. Essentially, he wanted me to get on a line, purchase 2 items for him, and then ship him the items. But, there was one major catch, ladies and gentlemen. He seemed totally thrown off when I said to him, well, you're gonna have to pay me upfront for my time, for the purchase of the items including tax, and including shipping. And, in order to do this, you're going to write out an agreement, go to your lawyer, get it notarized. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:49]: I get account you know, we get it countersigned, send me a copy, you have a copy, and then I'll do the deed. This is what he said to me. I don't think it's gonna work out, and hung up on me. He's from Cleveland, the mistake at the lake. I am a native New Yorker. So what does that mean, ladies and gentlemen? You better, come with some game because you're about to run some game. He said to me, well, aren't aren't you gonna buy it? And then, and I said, bro, I don't know if I have a hole in the wall. You also don't know me. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:30]: I don't know you. This is the way we do it. We do it with paperwork. So God forbid, if something goes awry, we can point to said paperwork. And that just seemed bewildering to him. He was totally thrown off. Yeah, well, you talked with the wrong guy. I'm not saying he was running a scam, This You might have heard about this. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:05]: There's a lot of buzz. This is a hypebeast type of thing. I am talking about the Swatch and Omega Calabo. Yep. Moon swatch. People are losing their minds. This is a collaboration between these 2 hallowed brands. That's right. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:34]: Both of them are hallowed. Swatch saved the Swiss watch industry. An Omega, of course, is an OG. But heck, think about it, ladies and gentlemen. You had a swatch when you were a kid. You're grown now. Mash up. Essentially, it's a Speedmaster Moonwatch, has all the design elements of 1, but there are things that are distinctly swatch, It has the bio ceramic, which is around the bezel. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:18]: And bio ceramic is specific and unique to Swatch. I believe they have a patent on it, and it's ceramic and a very high grade of plastic. They have minted 11 pieces representing planets. You know, initially, when this guy reached out to me, I took a look and at first I was nonplus. I think also because I thought he was just trying to run game. And I was annoyed that he didn't understand that I wasn't going to front him any money. I mean, why why are you calling me? And I just saw one of them, and I said, hey, yeah, whatever. But I'm not gonna lie, I started looking at them a little bit more. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:08]: And I think it's pretty cool. I'm assuming he wanted to, by the way. They're going for $2.60 a piece, and he was clear that he felt that he would keep 1 and flip the other. But still to the life of me, I don't understand why he thought out of the goodness of my heart, I would pay for everything upfront, and and then wait for a transaction. I'm from New York, yo. I've been there all my life. That is weak. I also wouldn't ask of that for someone else if I was in the situation. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:57]: And the only Swatch store retailing this was in Cleveland. Nope. It's only in the big cities. And we have went around 4 or 5 locations. We have SoHo, which is the one I would have went to. We have World Trade Center, which actually is closer to my house, but I like going to SoHo. We have Times Square, Grand Central. I believe that's about it. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:33]: I think I heard there's a new one on Madison. I don't know. Again, Soho's where I'm at. It's 15 minutes from my house essentially. Easy peasy. So more about the the watch. It has a Velcro strap, It's got that Sirius Omega Lune. It's a quartz. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:57]: It's 42 millimeter. If I had the money, maybe I'd get one, but I don't. I also don't need it. But I think also what I wanna talk about is resale markets. Because for me, the whole idea of flipping something is not in my wheelhouse. It's not in my interest. It's not in my purview. I never think of purchasing anything with the interest of putting it out on some marketplace to try to get more money for it. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:39]: I can't knock anyone's hustle. It's not where I'm going. But as we all know, and particularly supreme in their rise has been the result of this. There are so many bots out there, so much software you can purchase. And regular folks don't even have a chance to purchase things. Same thing happens with sneakers, particularly Nikes, particularly Jordans, Dunks. It's ridiculous. So it will be interesting when Swatch decides to put this online. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:21]: I don't know when they're going to do it. But as God is my witness, when they do, good luck everybody. I think it's gonna be really difficult. I would have rather, if I was interested in this, I would have as I said to him, I would get there at 7 o'clock an hour ahead. I think of our 4 or 5 locations, all of them would have a line because geeks are geeks. And this is a big deal. And it seems as though, for the little bit of reading I've done, that the 2 CEOs just said, hey. All these other brands are doing this type of thing. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:11]: Why don't we do it? So definitely for an individual like myself who doesn't have the budget to get a Speedmaster, AKA Speedi, this is a great entry level piece. There's no question about it. And like I said, I mean, I really my watches have watches, everybody. I don't need a damn watch. I need a watch like I need a hole in my head. But after I start mucking around online and seeing all the different flavors yeah. I mean, I woulda copped the Saturn. I like the colors. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:55]: It's, like, brown and beige. It has the rings at the 6 o'clock. It'd be cool to have a budget level Omega, have that cool green room late at night under the covers to take a look. But who will really benefit from this? Will it be, as I just mentioned, the individual who never had the means to get to that level of a purchase? Or will it just go to people who, with the 2 order limit, either flip 1 or both watches. How much will they go for? I'm in a Slack menswear community, and someone found a screenshot, and it was going for the piece was going for, like, 22 or 26100. It hasn't even come out yet. So the savages are out there. But I was talking with this guy, and when I explained to him calmly how it would have to go down, he said, well, but you'll be buying 22 watches. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:22]: You can do what you want with them. Wait, woah, woah, woah, woah, what? Bro, I have no interest. By the way, this call was early, not like early like I was asleep. But before 9, as I was getting ready to have breakfast. And I just felt on at that moment, he had a little bit of a nerve. Like, somehow, he was doing me a favor, but I ultimately was doing him one. I just loved how he jumped off the phone because, like, what I was saying to him just didn't make sense. It was foreign. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:02]: Why would you front money for a complete stranger? I don't think anyone would do that. And I don't know what sucker he, he convinced to do this deed for. I'm hoping that from Monday on, and that's when you'll hear this episode, that there'll be photos of people on the lines, not just in New York but throughout the country. But certainly, I'm really fascinated what happens here in New York City. And what will the makeup of the people be? Would be women along with men? It's a big watch. Will it be the Houdinky crowd? Like, who who is the customer for this? I guarantee with a 2 item limit, All the inventory of the stores that have them, let's say, specifically New York City, they will sell out. How long will it take? I have no idea. I think getting there an hour early is reasonable. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:20]: I would have left my house at 6:30. I would have gotten up because I'm the slowest mover. But I'm always on time. I would get up around 4:30. But I would have had breakfast, I would have mucked around, I would have got dressed. I would have got at the train at 6:30, which means I'd get there before 7. I would have dressed in layers. I would have had some magazines because I keep periodicals in business. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:53]: I love to read them and have way too many subscriptions. My magazines have magazines, everybody. But, yeah, and I would have had a bottle of water. I would have carried a New York Times tote bag, comfortable boots, shoes, maybe sneakers. It's a Saturday. And post it up. Maybe engage in conversation with other people or maybe not. But just stand there and wait. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:29]: See how the line snakes around Broadway or down Broadway from the corner. So for all if any listener cops one of these, I would love for you to send me an email. Could send it at podcast@nyfashiongeek.com, or you could DM me on the insta at New York Fashion Geek. If one of you is among the multitudes that cops won or 2, I would love to I'd love to see a photo or something. You know, just leave me a message because really you'll be you'll be in hallowed ground. In the words of my late grandfather, you'll be in pros corner. You'll be one of the few. Because my my my other question, my follow-up question is, when is Swatch gonna put it online? They're gonna do it next week. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:42]: They're gonna wait and just let the momentum swell. I tell you, when it goes online, it's gonna be a problem. It's gonna be for the many who have bots. It will not be for the few like myself who don't. It's really interesting, though, when you think about it. I started, particularly from the call on Thursday to the beginning of the pod, just going, yeah, whatever. And I'm certainly not caught up in the hype because I just have other things on my mind And my watch collection, I mean, I'm I'm really done. There's always gonna be something new. Reginald Ferguson [00:17:38]: Just always is. And I learned that from my grandfather too. Right now, it's about scarcity, and that's what's gonna drive up the price in the resale market. But continued in the words of my late grandfather, one of my heroes, it's need versus want. He used to have an expression. Old man need more has come and gone, but it's old man want more who keeps knocking at the door. I love that expression. And I think it legitimizes every person in the West their shopping behavior. Reginald Ferguson [00:18:27]: Do I need that watch? Heck no. Do I want it? Maybe. Eleven flavors, y'all. Which one will you pick? I think it's gonna be fun. I think I've kinda turned around. Hey. If you get one, can I borrow it? Just for, like, 5 seconds. Just wanna see what it's like on my wrist. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:11]: Take a photo with it. Knock on the front like it's mine. But to everyone who is gearing up for Saturday, March 26, 8 a. M. Retail store opening. Whether you get there an hour ahead, 2 or 3 hours, sleeping bagging it, chair, or just posting up. I hope it's worth it for you because I'm not going to be on that line. Always be fly.