Watch band prices

[Jtshurtleff]

Hey guys,

As I was browsing the Apple Watch page on Apple.com to order my wife a Series 1 Watch I was looking at buying her an additional band or 2 so that she could accessorize. My wife loves to match when she gets dressed as I am sure many women (and men) do. I ended up ordering her a Series 1 Rose Gold with Sand Pink Sport band at $269 which I thought was a fine price for what it was. Then I began looking at bands and I thought maybe they had gone down or something but wow was I surprised. Sport bands didn't surprise me at $49 a pop and I knew the price for the Milanese bands was $149 but leather bands for over $600 or the Nylon bands for $49? That is nuts. I love Apple and feel like they do over charge a bit but typically back it up with service or quality but I do not think ANY of their bands are worth $600 let alone a leather one, I don't care what name you put on it. The Hermes bands are the worst offenders to me and in my opinion are also the ugliest bands in the collection (aside from the Single Tour which is around $300 I think). I have seen bands on Amazon for $7-8 for the "Sport Bands" and while not quite up to Apple's quality they are still a good value. I think if Apple charged maybe $29 for both sport band types and maybe $49 for some of their leather options with the higher end bands being in the $100-$200 range they would sell so many more. I can't imagine they sell a ton of $600 Hermes options. Who here has bought the higher options? Do you feel like your purchase has been worth the money? What about Sport bands? Do you buy from Apple or do you buy from 3rd parties for less than half the cost? I am interested to know if it is worth it to get the $150 Milanese loop compared to Amazon's $15 options. For the record I had a $20 link bracelet from Amazon that looked very similar to the Apple version and worked very well for me and felt sturdy so I have a little experience with the cheaper bands.

 

[afctee]

Sad to say, but Apple bands are a little pricey. That's probably why so many order via the likes of Amazon, albeit, not authentic Apple bands, at a fraction of the cost.

 

[nikkimd11]

I am planning on purchasing an Apple Watch Series 2 very soon, and I'm totally with you that Apple bands are way too expensive, I am planning on purchasing them elsewhere, this will be my first Apple Watch but I have close friends that have purchased their bands from third-party sellers and refer the bands are good quality and work fine with their watches

 

[RECON1]

Hey guys,

As I was browsing the Apple Watch page on Apple.com to order my wife a Series 1 Watch I was looking at buying her an additional band or 2 so that she could accessorize. My wife loves to match when she gets dressed as I am sure many women (and men) do. I ended up ordering her a Series 1 Rose Gold with Sand Pink Sport band at $269 which I thought was a fine price for what it was. Then I began looking at bands and I thought maybe they had gone down or something but wow was I surprised. Sport bands didn't surprise me at $49 a pop and I knew the price for the Milanese bands was $149 but leather bands for over $600 or the Nylon bands for $49? That is nuts. I love Apple and feel like they do over charge a bit but typically back it up with service or quality but I do not think ANY of their bands are worth $600 let alone a leather one, I don't care what name you put on it. The Hermes bands are the worst offenders to me and in my opinion are also the ugliest bands in the collection (aside from the Single Tour which is around $300 I think). I have seen bands on Amazon for $7-8 for the "Sport Bands" and while not quite up to Apple's quality they are still a good value. I think if Apple charged maybe $29 for both sport band types and maybe $49 for some of their leather options with the higher end bands being in the $100-$200 range they would sell so many more. I can't imagine they sell a ton of $600 Hermes options. Who here has bought the higher options? Do you feel like your purchase has been worth the money? What about Sport bands? Do you buy from Apple or do you buy from 3rd parties for less than half the cost? I am interested to know if it is worth it to get the $150 Milanese loop compared to Amazon's $15 options. For the record I had a $20 link bracelet from Amazon that looked very similar to the Apple version and worked very well for me and felt sturdy so I have a little experience with the cheaper bands.

I saw that double leather band for like $600+ and was a little shocked.

I bought a Sports Band, but I do think $49 is a little much.

 

[Mac Guy]

Without a doubt the Apple bands are pricey. However finding equal quality bands at a reasonable price just isn't happening. All of the bands I've seen don't look as well made as the Apple stuff.

The most important aspect of a band is reliability. The second is the execution of the finish. It seems inexpensive bands frequently fail on both points. The Herm?s bands are very price but the quality is amazing. Cheap band just don't look as good and often don't hold up.

So it's a matter of what's "good enough". I've got some silicon bands that were cheap and they look pretty good. Most people wouldn't know the difference. I would and do. Not crazy about it. I'm trying to find a leather band at a price that doesn't hurt, with a fit and finish that doesn't make me feel like I'm settling.

 

[Jtshurtleff]

Without a doubt the Apple bands are pricey. However finding equal quality bands at a reasonable price just isn't happening. All of the bands I've seen don't look as well made as the Apple stuff.

The most important aspect of a band is reliability. The second is the execution of the finish. It seems inexpensive bands frequently fail on both points. The Herm?s bands are very price but the quality is amazing. Cheap band just don't look as good and often don't hold up.

So it's a matter of what's "good enough". I've got some silicon bands that were cheap and they look pretty good. Most people wouldn't know the difference. I would and do. Not crazy about it. I'm trying to find a leather band at a price that doesn't hurt, with a fit and finish that doesn't make me feel like I'm settling.

I agree, the quality isn't on par but it is close enough. I bought a Case Mate leather band from Best Buy that was pretty good quality, I think it's like $25 so not bad on price. I also bought a steel link band from Amazon for $25 or $30 and it was great quality. I ordered my wife a few bands and the Milanese loop I ordered her is kind of shoddy but it was $12 so I can't complain. I will probably get her an official blue band for her rose gold watch for Christmas or something. I want a nice leather option, a couple of sport bands and a new link bracelet to match the Black SS of the watch.

 

[aokusman1]

I have the amazon one. They even had the black Milanese loop before Apple even made it. No way I'm spending $150 on it.

 

[Mac Guy]

I want a nice leather option,

I'm right with ya on all the above, except for buying other than a couple my aforementioned bands.

My favorite leather band is Apple's Classic Buckle in brown, but it's no longer available from Apple. At $149, it's pricey, but anything else I've seen that looks about as good is at least $100. I may bite the bullet on that one band.

If I can find a good metal band (no death metal please!) I'd be willing to gamble once or twice. I just don't want to have bands that I have to make excuses for.