No longer looked at with disdain, the pre-owned market is growing in both dollars and prevalence

As evidence that high-end retail has lost its footing continues to mount — from companies pivoting out of luxury to a crisis in the Swiss watch market — there is at least one bright spot to be found: pre-owned.

“There’s been a major shift here over the last four to five years where people really understand value in a different way,” Alexis Clarbour, director of pioneer luxury accessory consignment website Portero.com, told Business Insider.

Clarbour says that her customers are now seeing beyond the original purchase and considering how the value of the item will hold up if they decide to resell it. These customers aren’t seeking thrift-store bargains, either. They’re true luxury seekers — the average sale price on Portero, for example is US$2,200, and its most popular brand is Hermès.

Watches are also seeing a major shift to vintage and pre-owned.

“For the same reason a consumer chooses to buy a certified pre-owned car, they also desire to purchase a certified pre-owned watch since it’s a smarter, more financially beneficial way of buying luxury,” said Hamilton Powell, founder of luxury vintage and pre-owned watch consignment site Crown & Caliber.

The information available on the internet is perhaps the biggest factor for resale websites. As it becomes easier for customers to educate themselves about items like handbags, watches, and sneakers, they seek a greater value for their dollar in the luxury space. And they’d rather not be bothered by pushy salespeople in boutiques, as these savvy customers already know what they want and what it’s worth.

“Today’s consumers are smarter than ever due to the vast amount of information at their fingertips provided through the Internet,” Powell said.

Interesting article:

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/style...pers-are-increasingly-seeking-vintage-and-its

 

Just my opinion....

When the choice is between a relatively limited vintage piece and a non limited modern piece, I think there is a generation of consumers ...or an evolving generation of consumers that make their purchases that they hope reflects their personality.

Should I buy that brand new (insert brand name) that all the successful guys have

Or

Should I get that unique vintage piece that draws an image of how I want people to perceive me.

It doesn't help that manufacturers have flooded the market with watches lately.

 

New luxury goods need to hold value. Retail is killing value, online sales is one good option to bypass retail. Vacheron start doing something about.

 

I am a young guy and can tell you that vintage is definitely in. That and goofy looking huge watches because... well actually there is no reason for it. As far as vintage goes, I think it is in part to thanks to cites like etsy, instagram, youtube and blogging. The prevalence of clothing and accessories that qualify as "flea chique" is crazy. Uniqueness is the all the rage in a society that wants everyone and everything to be the same.

 

I think that this is definitely part of the story. However, I think a lot of the vintage market is made up of collectors who have been in the game for a while - older folk (I'm only 21...am I allowed to say this haha?) who were around when 5512s, 2998s, SM300 etc were released in the 50's and 60's. There is a sort of trickle down effect due to the relatively short supply of many of these vintage pieces. As 5512s skyrocket in price, 5513s get more expensive as "the next best thing" and so on. In my opinion, that generation is the one running up the value of many vintage pieces. I do agree though that sites like Hokinkee, and their marketing strategy that takes advantage of Instagram and the like have definitely expanded their target audience to a younger generation. Many of us are for sure getting roped into the vintage sector for the reasons you mention, but the vast majority of people in my our age bracket don't have funds for purchasing original, collector grade pieces. We are more worried about paying off our $250K college loans.

 

I don't agree with the comparison between certified pre-owned cars and vintage watches. The overwhelming reason for buying a car CPO is they're cheaper than new. Not true of vintage watches. The people who just want a less expensive watch are buying quartz. The people who buy vintage are mostly interested in the styling and/or the history of their pieces: appreciate 1960s and 1970s styling (or earlier) more than 2010s styling, or have an average-size wrist and don't enjoy a giant watch on it, or just want the watch that Edmund or Neil wore.

 

There is another factor to consider: there is an increasingly powerful nostalgia for the "good old days".

I expect that trend to accelerate further.

 

You mean Before Trump?

 

Nah – Trump's merely a symptom. This dynamic pre-dates Trump by many years.

 

That could certainly be a factor in the Swiss recalling a bunch of unsold watches. The last NEW watch I bought was purchased in 1990. That was my 20th anniversary Apollo XI Speedmaster.

 

I agree. Just looking at the demographic on this forum or most other ones as well (VRF, On The Dash, etc.), the vast majority of posters -- and the really heavy hitting collectors buying $10,000+ watches regularly -- are wealthy middle aged men. Not that there's anything wrong with that obviously, but I think young collectors our age (21-30) are frankly in very short supply, in large part because vintage watch market is getting increasingly hard to break into due to the skyrocketing prices of the most famous references in the past few years (Speedmaster, Universal Geneve, Heuer in particular, which has gone up exponentially it seems).

I don't really know what can be done about this but it will be interesting to see where the vintage market goes in the future. I fear that as the watches get rarer and rarer that a lot of people will simply get priced out of the market, which not only is a bummer but may dissuade an entire generation of collectors who have other priorities than spending half their salary on watches (although some of us aren't so smart ).

 

I agree completely.

Unfortunately, as a student on my way into the medical field and thus a negative salary it's quite easy to be dissuaded

 

Great article. Thank you for sharing.

 

For me (mid-20's) it makes a hell of a lot more sense value-wise to pickup a handful of really excellent vintage dress watches than to drop 3,4,5k on an SMP/Pelagos/Submariner. In the last three months I've gotten an 18k Flagship 30L, a 14k Flagship 285, a C-case Connie, and a Grand Seiko 5646-7010. All were between $500 and $850, in great condition and have top notch, in-house movements. I'm also not going to see one on every third wrist, which makes me appreciate them even more.

 

New watch sales spiked a few years back when the economy bounced up. Alot of people got into watches, economy goes down and people are on the forums more now that they are into watches. Find that vintage pieces are low.... Now they buy vintage and hence vintage prices are going up.

 

As I understand this new "service", if a seller pays them yet another fee, eBay will "authenticate" an item. Of course this will result in higher prices to buyers too, but at least they will have the benefit of a false sense of security. I'm sure unscrupulous sellers will flock to use the service.

 

The Omega's & IWC's of the world should put their entire production in a cellar & let it age. Like top end wineries.

 

when i wear vintage watch esp. rare ones and people know you are wearing one, well i know the feeling.

 

Vintage watches carries a certain charisma that new watch do not have. The old world design is so classic and ever lasting. UG is definitely a symbol of this old world where you won't be able to find re-issues. Yet anyway