Personalising your Apple Watch is one of the best ways to express yourself and let your personality shine. With Replica Bands, you can buy bands for your watch to suit any occasion. Created by Bradley Chaseling, the brand is known for its dedication to providing its customers the most stylish products for the most affordable prices.
Hi Bradley, thanks for taking the time to speak with us, let’s start with what inspired you to create Replica Bands?
Thank you for having me! The idea came to me a few years ago while I was trying on bands at the Apple Store. They had this style called the Classic Buckle and it just looked amazing on my Apple Watch. It was made from premium Italian leather, however as I was to discover – it also had a premium Apple price tag to go with it! I was a uni student at the time and so spending hundreds of my hard earned cash on a watch strap was simply out of the question.
A big part of the fun of owning an Apple Watch is wearing a band that matches your personality. If you get a collection of bands, you can very quickly swap out your band for different outfits, activities or seasons. Sometimes it’s nice to just freshen things up! I knew that there had to be more people like me who didn’t want to be stuck with the same old band that came with their Apple Watch. Not too long after, I started Replica Bands to provide thousands of online shoppers with a more affordable way to expand their Apple Watch band collection.
How did you go about developing your business? What has been the most pressing challenge you’ve overcome?
The most difficult challenge we had to overcome was finding our first hundred customers. It’s one thing to have a product to sell and something completely different to let people know that you exist! To make things difficult, there’s all this information out there on Facebook Ads, Instagram Influencers, TikTok, Google etc… So the question was: How do we actually get our name out there? We tried everything. It took months of experimenting, and slowly but surely, we started to gain traction.
A big game changer for us was really providing our customers with the best possible experience. Nearly every customer to date has received a custom hand written thank you note from myself and the team. That’s just our way of letting them know how much we value their business. We also like to wish them a great day!
What kind of bands do you offer?
We have bands for every occasion. Nylon and silicone bands are great for casual and active wear. We also have Apple’s more fancy stainless steel and leather styles that look great at work, on a date, or just for when you want to look great. Our Apple Watch straps are available in loads of different colours and sizes to fit everyone. It doesn’t matter if you have the small or large Apple Watch… And the best part about our range is that it’s only expanding with time!
What do you think makes your business different from online shops out there?
In order to provide our customers with more value than other online stores, we’ve focused on making our bands more customisable and more affordable than ever. Our leather bands, for example, are even more customisable than Apple’s! Exclusive to Replica Bands, customers can change the colour of the metal on their leather bands. At other stores, you’re simply stuck with the default silver hardware, regardless of the colour of your Apple Watch! Who wants that? We’re also proud of the improvements we’ve made to our Link Bracelet. Unlike other brands, you don’t need special tools to change the length of your band.
Shoppers will also notice our record low prices. We don’t compromise on quality but have managed to do this by eliminating unnecessary costs and drastically reducing our expenditure on marketing. Most of our sales come from word of mouth and organic rankings on Google. Fewer costs for us, means lower prices for you!
What about shipping, where do you ship all bands?
Wanting to have the fastest delivery possible, we currently only ship within Australia. Free 2-day priority delivery is available for all orders. Local shipping to USA and UK is coming, most likely in 2022.
How do clients know which band to order? Is there a way to check their apple watches?
Our bands are compatible with every Apple Watch generation (Series 1 to 7 and SE). That makes things really easy. All you need to know is whether you have the small Apple Watch (38/40/41mm) or the large Apple Watch (42/44/45mm). Our little tip is to check the underside of your Apple Watch where the size and series number will be engraved. You can also check out our helpful guides on the website for more details.
Finally, what’s next for Replica Bands?
Our customers love our leather and stainless steel watch bands. We want to expand upon these product lines and make them even better. Starting in 2022, Replica Bands will be releasing bands made in Australia. Making our bands locally has been a long term goal of ours and doing so will allow us to take our bands to the next level. We’ll also be expanding our leather range, with up to 7 new designs planned for next year. Similarly, our stainless steel bands will be gaining new colours and more durable finishes. We’re committed to constantly improving our bands, now and into the future.
Thank you Bradley for your time!
If you’re looking for some bands for Apple watches or you want to follow up with Bradley Chaseling, visit www.replicabands.com.au
