I often feel I see deals which surprise me are still hanging around. Doesn't mean I want to buy all of them. If I was on Forbes Rich List that could be a different story.

 

Sometimes I feel some sort of "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" thing going on. It's normal fora dynamics.

 

I’ve never seen that happen. Note the number of likes those comments get from other people that feel the same. If it was quid pro quo you would not see the likes.

 

I personally appreciate these comments from respected long term members. Especially when several such comments are posted in a thread.

Case 1: Majority of the time a great watch at a good price sells very quickly.

Case 2: Majority of the time a watch that lingers unsold is either not great or the price is too high.

Case 3: A slim minority of watches are actually great for the price they’re being offered at and for some reason a buyer just hasn’t been there right away. The comment you reference is a signal to the forum that a FS post is case 3 and not case 2.

 

I've made this type of comment several times. I think without exception every single time its because I owned the same watch already and wouldn't buy a second example.

 

Yeah I might be wrong. Not that a quid pro quo would necessarily be a bad thing anyway, it isn't if it is sincere.

But I find those comments unnecessary. They don't adress an objective quality of the watch but something so very subjective as someone's opinion on whether it's "cheap" or "expensive" enough to buy it. If a watch doesn't sell, then it's out of price for the given market at that time regardless of what one might think.

 

Or the right person simply has not come along yet. I've seen this sort of comment made many times, and have taken them at face value that the watch in question is priced well. Why didn't a I buy it? I don't buy things simply because they are priced well - I have to want the item in question and quite honestly most times I don't want it even if it's a "great deal."

I think you are reading a lot more into this then there really is...

 

OF is a relatively small community, so there isn't a buyer here for every watch at fair market value. If you watch the Private Sales section carefully, you will see that well-priced Speedmasters, Constellations, etc., sell quickly, but other brands, especially obscure ones, will sometimes linger, even if collectible and priced correctly. I have listed several watches here that did not attract interest, but then sold elsewhere at the same asking price.

 

sorry i don't agree with that. sometimes this isn't a great forum to sell certain types of watches and sometimes its a slow time of year. the watch i commented on today is a very good Gallet multichron asking a very good price. all one has to do is look at various dealers who are asking much more for worse examples. . . the market for gallet multichrons hasn't crashed in the last 6 weeks that i'm sure of . .the right buyer just isn't necessarily on OF right now

 

Yep.

 

And that's exactly the reason why that incredibly priced watch is "still here": people who read the listing don't want it, and that includes those who comment how surprised they are.

As @dan02 noted above, a "great deal" Speedy or Connie disappears in minutes, no need to remain how well priced it is. The rest I guess they need a little bit of friendly marketing, that's OK.

 

So just to clarify, are you saying that it's still related to price as you did above? Do you not believe that something can be priced very well, and yet sit for a while?

 

@Rochete there are some watches I am very familiar with and I’ll make the comment only under 3 provisions. It’s below market, it’s a great example, it’s a trusted seller.

Example. I’ve made that comment on a few Seikos but I’m waiting for one in a certain date range ( it’s easy to date seiko).

If my comment backed by my reputation pushes a buyer over it’s a win win for the buyer and seller. Seller makes a sale, buyer gets a good deal on a good watch. I see it as putting my reputation at risk when I do it.

No different then posting something here from eBay with a recommendation.

 

Price is one factor. If no one wants the watch, it isn't selling... until someone gets to want it. On this forum, I believe price would be the main, if not only, factor for a nice Omega not selling. With other brands situation is different.

 

So how quickly does something have to sell for it to be priced correctly in your view? A day...week...an hour?

 

From my observations, here a nice Omega will be sold in a reasonable time if it is "correctly" priced.

 

Okay, but my question was what do you consider reasonable?

 

I think the McLaren 540 is a bargain at its current price point. The 12C even more so. Doesn’t mean I’m going to buy one.....

 

Surely everyone’s interpretation of this will be different?

 

There isn't one reasonable time, that would be an unknown variable depending on several parameters for each case. Unfortunately I haven't sistematized my observations enough as to put that into numbers and make a scientific paper on reasonable selling times, nor do I think that would be useful or relevant in any way. At some point you see a watch bumped several times and think "wow this nice watch still here!" or "wow that was fast!". Seller will have his own idea of what a reasonable time is before reducing or withdrawing.