FOMO and vintage

I have been "collecting" watches for about five years so my experience is somewhat limited. I started my collecting with a few pieces from an AD until I fell for vintage watches. Although my vintage collection isn't big , I am slowly looking to expand it with quality pieces.

Generally speaking vintage watch collecting can be a treasure trove and a mine field at the same time.

Therefore,I wanted to share and discuss the "Fear of missing out"(FOMO) phenomenon in watch collecting with the community. I think the FOMO phenomenon was first described in social psychology but with last years cryptocurrency rage it became somewhat of main stream thing in other things also.

In my opinion most "bad judgements" buys in the vintage watch collecting might ultimately be due to the FOMO effect. I personally have not (yet) stepped on a "mine" with my vintage watch purchases and I wanted to share and hear tips on how to keep it that way.

Recongizing that the FOMO effect is real is the first step imo. Vintage watch collecting is all about condition, originality and patience. Therefore it is easy to understand , that when finally that reference you've been wanting/waiting to pop up for a year or so is listed for sale in an auction/dealer or forums , the excitement might too much to handle. Alas with excitment, FOMO starts rearing its ugly head.

I personally have avoided at least a couple of bad deals due to the fact that I recongize this effect in me and in my actions. It's a weird, almost akin to a Gollum/Smeagol discussion:

S:Should I ask more questions? Ask for more and better photos? Why doesn't that serial number match with the supposed year of production? Why does the seller insist it's "all original" even if I can clearly see the crown is new?
G:Nooo, it's fine. It will be our new preciousssd. Quickly pay it and it wil be oursss.

I literally avoided one such dubious sale just before confirmation of transfer of funds just because I sensed that Gollum like addiction sensation for a new piece and went to check the details again.

My tip is to know the FOMO effect, embrace it and learn to control it. Never let FOMO deter you from making due diligence (twice) on a vintage watch. Once you know the enemy it's easier to conquer it. FOMO is the ultimate enemy in vintage watch deals in my opinion.

I would very much like to hear from the community any FOMO related tips and experiences(good/bad) in vintage.

Needed to be reminded of this, especially of the fact that there are a gazillion out there and there's always a better one most of the time

This is what opened my eyes: most of these interesting watch companies made millions of watches. There will always be more to choose from.

Yup, I have an idea of who's knowledgeable about what so if I'm in territory where I don't have a lot of experience, I almost never hesitate to ask someone. It's always been beneficial, at the very least I learn something and at the best, I make a new watch friend. (And on that note, thank you to everyone I've peppered with questions over the past 2 years!)

Never heardhof FOFU but literally laughed out loud on this. 😁Probably won't be accepted into social psychology terminology books but surely many of us recongize this. As long as FOFU prevails over FOMO then I guess wer'e all good. 👍

You must have a huge collection now, with so many to choose from.