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sxl2004
·Good luck & have fun!
Selling on Amazon(?) Wish Me Luck!
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WatchVaultNYC
·I'm not familiar with this program:
"certified pre-owned watch program"
Can you explain what the "certified" entails? Is this like buying a "certified series" used BMW that has gone through a maintenance check and is deemed to be in good working order and comes with a warranty, or this this just about authenticity?
Cheers, Al
I actually came about this opportunity the other way around - I wanted to find a company that would provide a 3rd party warranty for my watches, turns out they were part of the Amazon program, to which they referred me to.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerYes, that's exactly what it is. Aside from authenticity and theft checks (which I already do) it goes through a third party specialist (designated by Amazon) for inspection of the mechanical condition and grading. Then it gets a 1 year warranty through that same company. It goes without saying that it is in the interest of the 3rd party warranty company to make sure that they inspect and test the watch thoroughly, since they are on the hook for warranty claims.
I actually came about this opportunity the other way around - I wanted to find a company that would provide a 3rd party warranty for my watches, turns out they were part of the Amazon program, to which they referred me to.
Thanks for that - can you name this 3rd party company? If not that's fine - just curious really.
Are you involved in the process of a claim at all, or does all this happen without your direct involvement? Just wondering if you will get some sort of ongoing feedback about the condition of the watches you are submitting - I'm assuming you would.
If the 3rd party determines the watch needs servicing, do they go ahead and do that and charge you for it, or is the watch simply sent back to you, and you have to take care of getting it serviced?
Also, how long is their warranty period? 2 years?
I find this idea quite intriguing really...
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tjoy89
·http://www.watchfacts.com/
The following blurb is on the pre-owned watches page on Amazon:
"Certified Pre-Owned watches are previously worn, store-displayed or otherwise “used,” and each watch comes with a report generated and provided by the third-party seller offering that watch for sale. Each Certified Pre-Owned watch seller must obtain certification from WatchFacts, Inc. and must conduct certain testing for each Certified Pre-Owned watch listed for sale on Amazon using the standards set by WatchFacts. Required testing includes a theft check, an inspection, a grading evaluation, water-resistance testing and timekeeping accuracy assessments. Sellers may list only watches that obtain a grading condition (and score out of a possible score of 100) of Very Good (83-89), Excellent (90-94), Mint (95-99) and Unworn (100), according to WatchFacts grading methodology. Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of the scores listed. Sellers are also required to only use images of the watch available for sale for Certified Pre-Owned watch listings."
The following blurb is on the pre-owned watches page on Amazon:
"Certified Pre-Owned watches are previously worn, store-displayed or otherwise “used,” and each watch comes with a report generated and provided by the third-party seller offering that watch for sale. Each Certified Pre-Owned watch seller must obtain certification from WatchFacts, Inc. and must conduct certain testing for each Certified Pre-Owned watch listed for sale on Amazon using the standards set by WatchFacts. Required testing includes a theft check, an inspection, a grading evaluation, water-resistance testing and timekeeping accuracy assessments. Sellers may list only watches that obtain a grading condition (and score out of a possible score of 100) of Very Good (83-89), Excellent (90-94), Mint (95-99) and Unworn (100), according to WatchFacts grading methodology. Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of the scores listed. Sellers are also required to only use images of the watch available for sale for Certified Pre-Owned watch listings."
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WatchVaultNYC
·Thanks for that - can you name this 3rd party company? If not that's fine - just curious really.
Are you involved in the process of a claim at all, or does all this happen without your direct involvement? Just wondering if you will get some sort of ongoing feedback about the condition of the watches you are submitting - I'm assuming you would.
If the 3rd party determines the watch needs servicing, do they go ahead and do that and charge you for it, or is the watch simply sent back to you, and you have to take care of getting it serviced?
Also, how long is their warranty period? 2 years?
I find this idea quite intriguing really...
I have to go through some materials, but the way I understand is that when claims are made they are the first point of contact. I am always involved in the process, and can opt to have the claim done in-house or directly sent to them. There is a premium I pay beforehand for the warranty when the watch is sold, and no additional cost to me if a claim is made. It works more or less like zero-deductible insurance.
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmakerhttp://www.watchfacts.com/
The following blurb is on the pre-owned watches page on Amazon:
"Certified Pre-Owned watches are previously worn, store-displayed or otherwise “used,” and each watch comes with a report generated and provided by the third-party seller offering that watch for sale. Each Certified Pre-Owned watch seller must obtain certification from WatchFacts, Inc. and must conduct certain testing for each Certified Pre-Owned watch listed for sale on Amazon using the standards set by WatchFacts. Required testing includes a theft check, an inspection, a grading evaluation, water-resistance testing and timekeeping accuracy assessments. Sellers may list only watches that obtain a grading condition (and score out of a possible score of 100) of Very Good (83-89), Excellent (90-94), Mint (95-99) and Unworn (100), according to WatchFacts grading methodology. Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of the scores listed. Sellers are also required to only use images of the watch available for sale for Certified Pre-Owned watch listings."
Thanks - had a look at the page and had a chuckle with the one example - a Daytona. They say "For a watch to qualify for our Certified Pre Owned program, it must receive a WatchFacts® Score of 83 or better."
One example they show the Daytona gets a rating of 95 out of 100, but in the results it says that the water resistance testing does not meet the manufacturer's specs, and the watch "does not track the time properly" and it "needs service." Not sure how that gets a 95/100...
Will be interesting to see how this pans out.
Cheers, Al
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gatorcpa
··ΩF InvestiGatorI perused the website. It should work very well for late model pre-owned big-name brand watches like Rolex or Omega.
For lesser-known name brands or true vintage watches, I'm a bit skeptical.
I would be curious to get the opinion of some the watch manufacturers on this business model.
gatorcpa
For lesser-known name brands or true vintage watches, I'm a bit skeptical.
I would be curious to get the opinion of some the watch manufacturers on this business model.
gatorcpa
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WatchVaultNYC
·Thanks - had a look at the page and had a chuckle with the one example - a Daytona. They say "For a watch to qualify for our Certified Pre Owned program, it must receive a WatchFacts® Score of 83 or better."
One example they show the Daytona gets a rating of 95 out of 100, but in the results it says that the water resistance testing does not meet the manufacturer's specs, and the watch "does not track the time properly" and it "needs service." Not sure how that gets a 95/100...
Will be interesting to see how this pans out.
Cheers, Al
I perused the website. It should work very well for late model pre-owned big-name brand watches like Rolex or Omega.
For lesser-known name brands or true vintage watches, I'm a bit skeptical.
I would be curious to get the opinion of some the watch manufacturers on this business model.
gatorcpa
As for pre-owned watches, the Costco vs Omega case (the true origin of the incorrectly called "anti counterfeit globe") is settled and people can dispose of used watches however they wish - even resell them:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...t-copyright-liability/?utm_term=.7dbbcea47cd1
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerThis is the example on their page right? I checked all 100+ of the CPO Daytonas on Amazon and none of them had a reported failed WR test or did not keep time. Hopefully the one you saw was just a mock-up.
No idea, but it is a strange one to use a mock-up to advertise your services...
Score = 95 - mint! 😉
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WatchVaultNYC
·On the top - Report Number 9999. Watch serial number on that Rolex are alpha digits. On the bottom - Dealer Number WF99999 - the sample report on their web site is most likely a mock-up. Also, unworn/new condition should get a "100" score. Who knows what their web designers are smoking? 🤨
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WatchVaultNYC
·UPDATE:
OK I got though the call, and they are onboarding me! Gotta eat out to celebrate!
On the downside, they have no west coast inspection facility. They want a preliminary audit of a sample of my inventory sent to Miami or NYC. This only needs to be done the first time, and quarterly. I'll probably be spending a few $K to make this happen.
The fees all factored in are a little bit higher than it would be were you selling a watch on Ebay, and the barriers to sell are high - among other things, there is a minimum amount of rotating inventory among other things, and you need to use a custom portal, not Amazon's Seller Central to which my existing businesses already hook up to to shoot inventory to multiple sales channels (website, Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, etc) - this is important if you're dealing with lots of items selling in multiple venues.
There are a lot of hurdles, we'll see if its worth the exposure to Amazon's large customer base.
OK I got though the call, and they are onboarding me! Gotta eat out to celebrate!
On the downside, they have no west coast inspection facility. They want a preliminary audit of a sample of my inventory sent to Miami or NYC. This only needs to be done the first time, and quarterly. I'll probably be spending a few $K to make this happen.
The fees all factored in are a little bit higher than it would be were you selling a watch on Ebay, and the barriers to sell are high - among other things, there is a minimum amount of rotating inventory among other things, and you need to use a custom portal, not Amazon's Seller Central to which my existing businesses already hook up to to shoot inventory to multiple sales channels (website, Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, etc) - this is important if you're dealing with lots of items selling in multiple venues.
There are a lot of hurdles, we'll see if its worth the exposure to Amazon's large customer base.
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Taddyangle
·Great News! The barriers to selling on Amazon are high, especially in certain segments. If there are already pre-owned watch sellers then you can look them up on one of the third party tools to get an idea on their sales. My wife does this on competitors and for new product launches.
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Meme-Dweller
·Thank goodness your third party warranty company isn't Asurion. Can't take those folks seriously.
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WatchVaultNYC
·OK update: the watches that are sold on amazon need to be up to manufacturer's mechanical specs - so timekeeping, amplitude, power reserve, WR need to be good as Amazon is on the hook for warranty work. Practically speaking, this means my entire inventory needs to be tested, and serviced if necessary by my watchmaker before it is listed on Amazon. And since I have no regular watchmaker in San Diego yet, a big package of watches is being sent right now to my NYC watchmaker. Painful up-front expense - but it needs to be done
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KstateSkier
·cool idea. Are your watches going to be prime eligible?! ha!
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Taddyangle
·OK update: the watches that are sold on amazon need to be up to manufacturer's mechanical specs - so timekeeping, amplitude, power reserve, WR need to be good as Amazon is on the hook for warranty work. Practically speaking, this means my entire inventory needs to be tested, and serviced if necessary by my watchmaker before it is listed on Amazon. And since I have no regular watchmaker in San Diego yet, a big package of watches is being sent right now to my NYC watchmaker. Painful up-front expense - but it needs to be done
The San Diego OB offers free testing. 😀
What percent do you think will need service?
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semper_shells
·Congrats!
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slique12
·Cool venture, wishing you the best of luck!
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jzzmusician
·Anytime the proverbial little guy goes all in I'm 100% behind it. I'd much rather buy from somebody who will pick up the phone and say, "hello," than from a gimongus company.
Best of luck with your new endeavor!
Best of luck with your new endeavor!
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WatchVaultNYC
·cool idea. Are your watches going to be prime eligible?! ha!
As for percentage that needs service, I really have no idea. I'll probably just have assume worst case scenario and build in the cost of a service on each watch that goes up on Amazon.. good thing I have a good trade rate with the watchmaker.
