The marketplace here is certainly a gift. There are not many places where you can have such complete confidence in so many sellers.
I love buying watches but hate selling them. I have been trying to sell some watches and Omega parts on Ebay. I have seen that the ones that send the lowest offers are normally resellers. One time this guy kept sending me lower offers. He said that there was another item like mine but cheaper and wanted the same price. I get it, every body wants a good deal but I’m not going to give it away specially if you are going to make money.
There's a lot of different people with different cultures, motives, & experiences. There will always be uncomfortable events. I am uncomfortable with haggling. I have never worked in sales, or procurement. I grew up observing auctions in my fathers industry, & am comfortable with that. On ebay, for instance, I rarely make offers on significant items. I would rather wait for that, or a similar item, to be auctioned.
I love haggling over price at a flea market or antique show. It’s part of the fun. Online not so much. I’m not usually offended by low ball offers. I understand, I do it too but if you’re rude forget it.
I'm with @michael22 - I am uncomfortable with haggling but with watches, I think it is a little simpler. There are resources that can help us. On the occasion I have asked a seller - what's your best price, I suppose I'm saying - I'm not going to buy at your listed price, I'd like to feel like I am getting a deal without eating your lunch - so let's cut to it - what's the lowest offer you've turned down. Let's start there...
My ex hated haggling. When she graduated college (before we were married), he father gave her $10k go buy a car. We went to the dealership and there was a used car she liked for $9.999. She was prepared to pay sticker to my horror and I actually almost got in a fight in the parking lot becuase I refused to let her pay full price. It took 2 hours but we got the car for $6.7k w/ tax and tags out the door. She never wanted to pay retail again.
I once offered $600 on a watch listed on ebay for $800, BIN or make offer. Got a refusal with no further chat, it had been there a long time, & was still there last I looked. My one attempt to start a haggle totally failed.
Agreed. On the contrary, my recent Seamaster 600 was a BIN of $499 and I offered $325, they countered at $365 and I accepted- and it’s exceptional. Never hurts to ask. If they offer the Make offer, then make an offer.
I never understand the seller who wants to sell but never moves on the price. Take a bit less and use that money to buy something else. But no, they end up stuck with an item purely out of spite. At some point you have to realize it’s time to move on. Years ago we knew a elderly couple who had a nice 1950s Cadillac. The kind with the big tail fins and all the chrome. He wanted to sell it and no one would pay the asking price. Eventually it became a rust bucket and had be be towed away
My experience is only on Ebay. I have not tried to sell anything here. Is it better here? I can see that the members have more knowledge and have a better understanding of the hobby but do you have some of the same problems as on ebay? I have just reached over 200 posts and think I can sell now but I’m afraid.
Don't be afraid -- we will keep you honest Main thing is do not bother responding to DMs from people who only have one or two posts. You have the luxury here of looking at past posts from potential buyers in order to confirm they are/ are not legitimate.
A seller that is motivated to move the product and doesn’t have emotion involved will entertain realistic offers. My aforementioned $325 for an SM600 was on the low side but I gathered from the sellers history that they were a picker who commonly sold at Make offer (reading someone’s sold history is very valuable), and would counter wanting to move it- and they did. A seller who shows something listed 5 times and not sold is not willing to be realistic, I pass on them and don’t bother ever making an offer.
But there are always tire kickers, people who just want something for nothing- you can smell them a mile away with the aforementioned stupid questions: Has it been polished? Does it come with box and papers (even though not mentioned in the listing)? Will you offer an inspection period? Can you ship it and I pay you after I check it out? Will you ship it to my cousin in Dubai and I can get it from him? Will you meet me in a dark and shady alley for the transaction?- come alone.
Not really, I believe that I price my items realistically but when I’m trying to sell something for lets say 100 bucks and someone comes with an offer of 20-25 they are just playing around. I know that in order to sell something I have to negotiate. I even know that this is a hobby where you can loose money but I just won’t give away something just to move it. For that I rather give it to a family member or a friend.
I think that many sellers find that they eventually get their price if they’re just willing to wait a bit. So they don’t jump on the first offer that comes along. This is especially true of watches that are highly collectible but a bit more on the obscure side. Sometimes you have to wait for the right buyer.
I partially agree, but sometimes it's worth waiting for the right buyer. Especially if you're collecting out of the "mainstream" (e.g. military pieces or obscure/rare references). They do come along, but they don't check the forums/marketplaces as obsessively as we do.
I agree, there are bargain hunters and there are sheisters. I love a good bargain, but wouldn’t go so far as to insult a seller with something like 20 cents on the dollar. I see nothing wrong with testing the waters with a seller, as long as you are not being an ass. And I too would rather give a watch away than sell if for $20
...and then you can’t negate the sellers that are also testing the waters. They list a watch that commonly sells for $500 at $1k to see if anyone bites and end up accepting an offer of $400 after a week or two knowing that’s not an unfair price.