Price upon request

I get trying to deter tire kickers, and if it's a piece I'm hot after, I'm going to be contacting them for additional details and photos anyways. But if I'm just going about my usual searches and it catches my eye, it's a turnoff to not list the price. You can discover something new you didn't realize you liked by glancing through the offerings, but if you don't even know if it's a possibility, it's kind of a turn off whether you can afford it or not.

How does the POA notion deter tire kickers? Isn't it more logical that when a buyer sees an asking price he will know if he is interested and/or can afford it?

I don't like some of the FS listings on various boards asking the buyers to submit offers (and BTW, don't submit a low ball offer). With a lot of vintage watches, the thin volume of trading of a certain piece means that even with diligent efforts figuring out a fair price is often not feasible, not to mention that a lot of sellers are not seeking fair prices. Also, take a look at vintage Rolex Submariner and gilt GMT prices over the past 24 months. It seems like the market is increasing weekly. So offering a fair price is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. So is this just a pseudo auction strategy?

Sellers know what they want for a watch. I would like them to give an indication in their listings.

That's certainly a possibility too. This is a fun thread!

POAs turn me off. But I would ask if it's an uncommon watch. I got this one on a POA sale at a reasonable price from a dealer. Sometimes it works out.

That honestly drives me nuts about chroncentric. It's not an auction site, list an asking price.

If you're interested in my opinion on this topic...


PM me for details. Bank wire only. 🙄

It's been more of an annoyance to me than anything else, but generally speaking, the more honest dealers and sellers I've bought from do not utilize POA or use it only sparingly on their most valuable pieces.

Matthew Bain is one of the best dealers in the business. He's a good guy.

I've known Matt so long that I actually purchased furniture from him...lol.

Ben Hodinkee took a trip down to South Beach to meet him and was blown away by his collection and depth of knowledge. He might have one of the best collections in the world.

Anyway, just my opinion. I'll tell you what: if I had listened to him and bought the watches he told me to buy instead of the ones I chose to buy, I wouldn't have to work anymore... lol. And, I'm serious like cancer or a heart attack. Over the years, he's recommended countless 4 figure watches to me which are now 6 figure watches. And, not just one; like more than I can count.

Oh, well. At least I listened to him...once? Maybe twice, sort of...

I'll ask him why he does this next time I speak with him but I already know the answer.

Matt is a dealer and a collector. Translation: he really doesn't want to sell a lot of his collection. Price upon request means he gets to feel you out for a minute or two. Perhaps you're a hedge fund trader or portfolio manager and you know a Paul Newman Daytona is a watch which will impress people who get impressed by these sorts of things. The bottom line is that this sort of buyer wants to pay the most amount for this watch. I'll repeat: a guy who just received his seven figure bonus or his portion of 20% isn't shopping around for "a bargain". They want to pay up so they can brag to their colleagues and associates about their acquisition.

So, a smart dealer like Bain isn't necessarily looking to hammer this type of client; but, he's definitely looking to get the most money out of this buyer as possible. His experience tells him that this is usually a "one and done" type of client. He knows a finance guy who knows little about watches but a lot about how to negotiate is going to act a certain way.

If he's dealing with another dealer who has a buyer for a certain watch; then he takes a far different tact. Most likely, he's not going to give up one his gems to another dealer unless the guy is ready to pay up and dealers don't like to pay up.

Frankly, here's nothing nefarious about any of this. I'm not looking to sell my car but if some random guy offers me twice what it's worth, I'm probably going to sell my car.

The stuff that Matt Bain is looking to churn usually winds up on his ebay account which is run by a couple people who work for him. The watches on his ebay store tend to have a common theme: 10 to 20 year old high end watches like AP, VC, Rolex, UN and of course, basic PP complications. Oh, and lots of JLC masters and tons of reverso's.

It seems like the watches he lists on ebay
are watches which Matt probably feels don't have great long term investment prospects. Maybe some singles and an occasional double but, no home runs.

One more thing: the watch brand for which Bain has the least amount of expertise is definitely Omega. Lol