Laughable ‘For Sale’ threads recently

If you bought from a dealer it’s overpriced here.
Simple this is not the place to sell Vintage watches at dealer prices.
Plenty of watches here on the FS thread that fit that description, and they will sit there. They are not going to change so we just let them sit until they either become cheap or they get sold elsewhere.

Maybe a time limit or bump limit would deter the worst offenders. The ones who do 10 bumps without a price drop are wasting everyone’s time and basically spamming the new posts list.

Many here now that have between 200 and 3-400 posts and haven’t said Boo outside the Private watch sales forum since gaining access to the FS privilege.

Yep people have found us, mingled with us, and are flashing shiny things at us and just want to make money from us.

Luckily there is still plenty of good eggs that we interact with in threads like this. 😎

Yes.

You give us paragraphs, nice structured ones. Thanks for nice paragraphs 😉

Those full page of writing and no paragraphs annoy the shit out of me...

It is reassuring that this thread exists at all as evidence of the overall objectivity of this group. Moreover, I'm pleased to see that what this really represents is the membership simply looking out for one another on both sides of a proposed transaction. I think many times a seller hasn't done as much research as they should and market forces help to adjust the asking price since there is a great level of knowledge and experience here. Conversely, some sellers are very astute and list reasonable prices for their watches. Unfortunately for some of us, those listings usually get discovered after another astute member has pounced! Really I enjoy watching this process because it helps me develop my own metrics for how I might value a watch I'd like to buy or sell.

Not to encourage a thread drift, I think what bothers me a bit more than unrealistic asking prices is the common issue of a string of listings by the same seller for the same model watch all in a row. I guess I just like variety.

Lastly, I wish the search function was amended to allow searching for a specific reference. For example, it seems each time I try to search for, say, a Sinn 356 UTC, the algorithm removes the "356" because it's "too common" or something. Perhaps more knowledgeable members here can help me learn a new way to search.

Hope you're all having a smashing Wednesday out there!

Why should everyone price so low that they find a buyer immediately?

I get that some people find amazing deals (ie: ebay, from people that don't know what it's worth), they then put nothing into servicing, and move it along for slightly less than 'market' value and it sells immediately. What I don't get is why this needs to be the target for every private seller...

I know this is the general consensus opinion of many/most here, but it seems to assume 3 things that I find somewhat flawed and almost troubling:

Assumption 1. Market prices are all based on non-serviced watches. I guess this is due to the large contingent who buy/sell/trade multiple watches and rarely if ever feel the need to get the serviced so long as they "run fine". That's fine for those people, but it isn't me.

Assumption 2. Everyone who says a watch is serviced is lying. I know caveat emptor, and I can accept this assumption as a given if buying from an unknown/unproven seller. However, your advice is on this forum, and I take it to mean by extension you would have me believe everyone selling on this forum is lying. What a shame.

Assumption 3. Every watch service is a quick clean & lube that adds no value to a watch. I get that some are okay to drop their watch off at any local hacks workbench for the lowest quoted service (in the rare case they chose to depart from assumption 1 above). I find this assumption absurd. I have had quite a number of watches serviced by Al. In each case I received ample evidence and justification that the 'service' he performed on my watch was time consuming, thorough, proper, and made a significant improvement to the function of the watches ability to keep time. Since I like watches that are in great working order, I find this very valuable, in the amount of the bill Al hands me at the end.

For me, the value of a watch reaches a low point when running 'fine' but a service is long overdue. Let's say that watches average 'market-price' is $500. If it costs me another $500 to service that watch to get it back to proper condition (inspected, cleaned, all bad parts replaced, adjusted, etc), the 'value' of that watch is now $1000 to me. (Not to you, I know, but I'm not selling it...).

Let's say I plan to re-service that watch every 10 years with minimal wear between services, and the additional service will be $400. Ignoring any change to the watch's 'market-price', the 'value' to me would decrease by $40 each year, so that 5 years later the watch would have a rough 'value' of $800. Now, should I sell that watch, I wouldn't expect to recoup exactly the full $800, but I don't see why $700 (40% over the 'market-price') would be an unreasonable expectation.

People who follow assumptions 1, 2 and 3 above will never buy from me, but then I might be patient and willing to wait for someone who sees 'value' more as I do. I know I would much rather pay 40% over your 'market-price' to a trusted person (documented service records like I have from Al) than get an un-serviced watch for $450 (10% off 'market-price).

I know... I'm the weird one around here.

Why waste $200 on something that is worth absolutely nothing?

Your assumptions 2 and 3 are negated by proof. Trust but check. You said it yourself, someone who knows what they are doing provides evidence when they service a watch. Why would a seller not have proof? YMMV but personally I never sell a watch that is running poorly, every single thing I have sold I have either had serviced myself or sold with proof of a recent service prior to me purchasing it. It's not difficult.

I am not entirely sure I understand your Assumption 1, but if you are saying a recent service adds value over an unserviced poorly running watch then yes I fully agree. I mentally price a service in to any watch I am looking at if there is no proof of a service (see above).

If you have proof, then the market value is not the same as one with no proof.

I agree. And in those cases as a buyer I would be willing to pay a premium as a result.

What I disagree with is the prevalent mindset here that all similar watches (brand, age, model, condition) have exactly the same base 'market-price' and that service should not be a relevant factor. I agree that unproven/undocumented service should not, but I wouldn't rule out other legitimate cases.

I think the reason is that most frequent 'sellers', especially those who "price it to move" are the ones who don't see any need to get watches services. In their eyes a service holds no value and therefore should never enter the equation.

Wow .... this horse is still dead after five pages of flogging. Still I guess it needed five pages.