Community Stories

Man, times are tough

Davidt
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I agree it’s not a good time to be selling. I’ve had a couple for sale that I fully expected to sell and very little interest.
Bad timing for me as I’d like to sell a few bits this year but equally I like to play the hands that I’ve been dealt so I’ve ended up buying a few watch recently at what I think are good prices. What did Doyle Brunson say, something like “always play the opposite to the rest of your table”? Fair enough, if everyone’s selling, it should be a good time to buy. I’m finding it is.
 
alane24
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djmusicman djmusicman
It's not just watches... I used to buy and sell guitars and that market is dead. Hard to sell and not many great deals if you're a buyer.
Oh interesting. I assume that most guitars that are collectible fall in that price range where it's considered expensive by most and those who would have some left over income are opting not to buy. Market dynamics are truly fascinating.
 
Larry S
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I have a bunch I want to sell but of course the current economic roller coaster has folks tweaked.
 
ahlgringo
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Larry S Larry S
I have a bunch I want to sell but of course the current economic roller coaster has folks tweaked.
Sure would love a 105.012-65 fyi
 
Fatcat
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Another watch today 1/3 of the price of last year , definitively buyers time , already seen a TinTin and japan racing at 8K that was not even a dream 1 year ago.
 
Ron_W
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Maybe times are back to normal again and the 2018 - 2022 years are the crazy exception.
 
Evitzee
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Fatcat Fatcat
Another watch today 1/3 of the price of last year , definitively buyers time , already seen a TinTin and japan racing at 8K that was not even a dream 1 year ago.
Reality and sane prices have not hit Switzerland yet. There was a TinTin in Bucherer's pre-owned case in Luzern today, CHF 12,600, that's USD $14,100 net export price. Also a Snoopy 50th for CHF 20,000. Crazy prices. And the shops are devoid of customers, dead as a doornail. Just the opposite from May 2024.
 
Faz
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djmusicman djmusicman
It's not just watches... I used to buy and sell guitars and that market is dead. Hard to sell and not many great deals if you're a buyer.
Oh lucky me….I’m trying to sell both…stagnation unfortunately.
 
Mark020
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I'm surprised by the sheer number of nice watches which will be auctioned in the next weeks. 2 big collections being liquidated at Bonhams and Christies/AQ. Also 15 Heuers at Dorotheum. Large number of rare Rolexes (not the usual boat load of Daytona's but 6202, 6204, 6205 and the like). Wonder if the market is deep enough to absorb this.
 
Evitzee
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Mark020 Mark020
I'm surprised by the sheer number of nice watches which will be auctioned in the next weeks. 2 big collections being liquidated at Bonhams and Christies/AQ. Also 15 Heuers at Dorotheum. Large number of rare Rolexes (not the usual boat load of Daytona's but 6202, 6204, 6205 and the like). Wonder if the market is deep enough to absorb this.
I've got four watches and a Cartier clock going to auction late this month. One watch from 1951, the others from the 1980's and 90's. In my experience quality always sells, and it must be priced right for the auction. I had a second clock in the consignment that was declared a total loss during shipping even though it was shipped in its original fitted box and packed carefully, but somehow FedEx managed to ruin it in the 24 hr journey. Auction house quickly paid the loss to me, probably better than what the item would have brought at auction.

Post-auction update: Everything sold, got 29% more than planned. Quality always sells.
Edited:
 
iamvr
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Even harder trying to sell in the strongest currency on the planet 🙁
 
vibe
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Have you seen the pieces things are going for on auction aggregators like live auctioneers? Crazy inflated prices for poor examples. Maybe that is where people are spending their money.
 
pdxleaf
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Buying power in the toilet
Screenshot_20250707_130656_DuckDuckGo.webp
 
Walrus
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I was watching the news and bobs watches whom I sold a watch to years back actually had a television commercial. I don’t know if that means they spend extra on advertising as sales or good or are they slow and trying to expand (which would be the point of advertising anyway) I guess there is a gold watch selling craze going on right now I forgot the main source but the story (partly based on numbers from the CEO of bobs watches) was on the msn news feed when I was clicking around. I notice even at work my Home Screen gives me a lot of watch news.
IMG_2422.webp
 
pdxleaf
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Sorry, what did you say?
 
DoctorEvil
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Buying power in the toilet
Screenshot_20250707_130656_DuckDuckGo.webp
If you think that's bad, one Aussie dollar is currently worth US$0.65

Back in the early 2010s, the Aussie was at parity with the US dollar. It was the heyday of shopping on eBay, especially buying stuff from US vendors. Back then, overseas eBay purchases didn't even attract import duty. Didn't take long for the government to wise up.
 
Dsloan
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Buying power in the toilet
Screenshot_20250707_130656_DuckDuckGo.webp
This just reminds me of how I almost convinced myself to buy some watches in Canada in January to resell in the states. My wife, however, wasn't keen on me spending $10K to try and make 10% profit while also evading customs.

Also, she was right that I'd never get around to selling them anyway.
Edited:
 
sheepdoll
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I do a daily eBay search on Omega, using the checkbox and the north America filter. (sometimes more than once per day, I keep the tab in the browser open.) I noticed that the number has halved since last year. Used to be 80,000 now it is 40,000. I hardly bought anything this year. What I did get is next to useless. Mostly I am targeting empty cases.

I am thinking of listing some parts, under the title 'bench sweep." 99cent sort of thing. The plates may be usable, the wheels have broken pivots or missing/bent teeth. Such things do work for art projects. At least I will be disclosing the condition.

I took a pass on a print of a ship blueprint this morning. Seller wanted nearly 300 bucks shipping for an item marked down to 120. They did offer to bring the shipping down to 65 bucks. And this for something that one could spend 30 or 40 bucks to copy at a blueprint place. I suggested they roll it in a tube and use media mail. So it is not just watches.

I rarely look at the non omega stuff anymore. ... so many watches, so little time..
 
Evitzee
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DoctorEvil DoctorEvil
If you think that's bad, one Aussie dollar is currently worth US$0.65

Back in the early 2010s, the Aussie was at parity with the US dollar. It was the heyday of shopping on eBay, especially buying stuff from US vendors. Back then, overseas eBay purchases didn't even attract import duty. Didn't take long for the government to wise up.
When I left Melbourne in 2001 the USD and AUD were close to 1:1. Stuff was CHEAP if you got paid in US dollars. Swings and roundabouts are the order of the day. Back in the mid-80's the rate for the Swiss Franc was CHF 1 = US$0.40, I bought a lot watches back then. Now it is CHF 1 = US$1.26, a 3x swing in rates over the 40 years.
 
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