Community Stories

Watch sale or trade-in. HELP!!

Atalien2005
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I have always loved watches since a kid but have only learned of a proper watch (mechanical) over the last few years. During that time my taste has matured and I’ve come to the realization that I’m naturally drawn to modern watches that I can wear and enjoy, as with vintage it’s a lot more worrisome. Instead of having to worry or relegate my vintage watches to a safe, I’ve decided to sale/trade instead.

My dilemma is I’ve finally settled on my modern grail but this year I’ve had way to many inbound watches and I’ve only sold one or two. Ofcourse that ratio never seems to balance the books and needless to say my watch budget is totally blown for the year. Maybe for the next couple of years 😲.

I have about 5-6 watches that I’m willing to part with to fund this grail. The way I look at it, I really only have two options.
1. Sale each watch individually, either here or eBay.
2. Consignment/trade to a dealer.

The first option I know is the most sensible choice, but in this hobby sometimes sensible isn’t alway an option 🤨. If I’m able to sale all the watches, I would be able to fund the grail plus another watch that I’ve had my eye on for a long time. The downside to this option is it could potentially take a few months if not longer to sale so many watches and honestly I don’t want to wait:whipped:. The second option, I would be passing on a large some of money to a dealer for doing something I could honestly do myself, but I would have the watch faster.

The part I need help with is who does the community use to help in situation like this? The dealer that gives the best percentage on consignment or trade-in value? Sorry for taking so long to get to the question but wanted to give a little background of the situation. Ofcourse no thread is complete without a picture.
3E2E118B-15AC-4211-8163-04BD09E30141.jpeg
 
Bushido
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I would look first for dealers, with good reputations, whom have the watch you're after. Contact them, explain what you are wanting to do, and see where they come back on pricing. Weigh that against the time, effort, and potential increased money from you selling personally. Then decide which choice is better for you.
 
JG808
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I understand how the pull of a new watch can lead to hasty decisions. However, you may be surprised what a dealer comes back with for trade-in value and everyone is happy. The travel time is certainly a worthy grail and good luck with your pursuit!
 
Darlinboy
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The first step I suggest you take is removing the CAPITALS and exclaimation point! from the thread title.

After that, it’s up to you to find the best path forward.
 
Traveler
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1. Great watch, mine says Hi

08876F4C-95A4-4AFB-B275-7A980F4F0B9D.jpeg


2. Try EWC in Boston. Out of all the big name dealers, I have found them to be consistently the most helpful / flexible in putting together ‘many for one’ types of deal. You will likely raise more cash selling individually over time, but like they say, time is money .....

3. Good luck
 
The Father
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Is not the experience with most dealers in any product you’ll get 40-50% less than what you can get selling privately. Don’t know what your selling, are you talking about a couple grand or 10k difference between private sale are giving away to a dealer.
Depends on how much you care to give away.
 
Nathan1967
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Sell ‘em here Duquan. I think you’ll get a better price than selling to a dealer, you’ll shift them faster than via consignment and with less hassle than via eBay.
From what I’ve seen you have good watches, that are well maintained and in demand. Price them correctly and I think they’ll sell in a reasonable timeframe.
Hopefully we’ll see you in London again fairly soon with that nice PP.
 
Atalien2005
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The Father The Father
Is not the experience with most dealers in any product you’ll get 40-50% less than what you can get selling privately. Don’t know what your selling, are you talking about a couple grand or 10k difference between private sale are giving away to a dealer.
Depends on how much you care to give away.

1. Rolex Explorer II white dial (BNIB) purchased Sept 2018
2. Omega SpeedTuesday 1 (BNIB)
3. 145.012-67 Extract and serviced by Simon Freese March 2018
4. 145.022-69 DON bezel chocolate dial with extract. Was serviced by Al (Archer I believe, Al is on the receipt) in 2016 when I purchased.
5. 145.022-69 220 Bezel with Extract.

Traveler Traveler
1. Great watch, mine says Hi

08876F4C-95A4-4AFB-B275-7A980F4F0B9D.jpeg


2. Try EWC in Boston. Out of all the big name dealers, I have found them to be consistently the most helpful / flexible in putting together ‘many for one’ types of deal. You will likely raise more cash selling individually over time, but like they say, time is money .....

3. Good luck

I believe a decent upside to any dealer willing to make the trade. I've tried in the past to negotiate with EWC on 3-4 other watches and have found them not willing to play ball and offer anywhere near reasonable prices. They guy I was communicating with had just became a father so not sure if he was stressed or just not taking me serious.
 
dscoogs
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Atalien2005 Atalien2005
...
I have about 5-6 watches that I’m willing to part with to fund this grail. The way I look at it, I really only have two options.
1. Sale each watch individually, either here or eBay.
2. Consignment/trade to a dealer.
…
Sounds like you have very valuable watches, and can afford to wait but don't want to.

I have been somewhat in a similar situation, except that I want to replace modern Speedmaster with vintage Speedmaster.

Option #1 does not work well for me, I have very few purchases on Ebay and 1 on OF (for a hundreds of dollars per item) so no significant history/experience/reputation as buyer/seller.

Neither does Option #2 which on average yields much larger losses than what I may be willing to give.

So I tried option #3 - consignment to a reputable auction house, in my case Christie's by first e-mailing their watch department. I won't discuss the negotiated terms but can describe the process:

1. E-mailing several of their watch department contacts describing what I want to do, 2 got back with me so I dealt with the first one.
2. Provided description + pictures as requested
3. Got back preliminary terms - once agreed they sent me the overnight Fedex shipping labels
4. Among the notable prelim T&Cs are fees and auction parameters (e.g. min, high/low estimates)
5. Shipped the watch(es) to their office in NY
6. Once their experts complete the evaluation of the watch(es), they discuss/send contracts to sign
7. Depending on the potential value of your watch, they can recommend on-line auction (lower values) or live auction (higher values)
8. Watched the auction that they set up + hoped for the best (!)
9. If your watch is sold, settlement in around 35 days to your provided bank account

I first sent them for auction my 2016 CK2998 LE because I was not a happy camper when Omega came up with the Ultraman CK2998 (and I suspect many more Ultraman derivatives in the future), it clears around my expected "market price". It won't be my last.

Obviously what works for me might / might not work for you ... Good luck !
 
Larry S
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Sell em here .. raise the cash and then go get yours.
 
Atalien2005
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dscoogs dscoogs
Sounds like you have very valuable watches, and can afford to wait but don't want to.

I have been somewhat in a similar situation, except that I want to replace modern Speedmaster with vintage Speedmaster.

Option #1 does not work well for me, I have very few purchases on Ebay and 1 on OF (for a hundreds of dollars per item) so no significant history/experience/reputation as buyer/seller.

Neither does Option #2 which on average yields much larger losses than what I may be willing to give.

So I tried option #3 - consignment to a reputable auction house, in my case Christie's by first e-mailing their watch department. I won't discuss the negotiated terms but can describe the process:

Thanks for the information. I didn't realize that Christie's was an option for new, still in production watches.
 
Atalien2005
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Nathan1967 Nathan1967
Sell ‘em here Duquan. I think you’ll get a better price than selling to a dealer, you’ll shift them faster than via consignment and with less hassle than via eBay.
From what I’ve seen you have good watches, that are well maintained and in demand. Price them correctly and I think they’ll sell in a reasonable timeframe.
Hopefully we’ll see you in London again fairly soon with that nice PP.

I will be in London in a couple of weeks to pick up an incoming and it didn't cross my mind to see if I could coordinate it with T4AP. Having looked now I see it's on the 23rd and it doesn't work for my schedule this month, but I definitely look forward to the next time I can attend.
 
Foo2rama
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All of those will sell here quickly at a sensible price for more then a dealer will give you.

Heck I bet some people here will match a dealer price for all of them plus 1k then turn around and sell them....
 
Dan S
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They are all desirable watches, most either new or with documentation of recent servicing, and I think you will get fair market value for each of them in the OF private sale forum. No fees, no hassle, and they will sell quickly if you put the right prices on them.
 
Sublime_1
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Trading in with a dealer would be a lot easier but patience is a virtue and with those watches that virtue could be worth quite a bit of money.
 
EdtheAussie
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I think a dealer will leave you with a greater loss, but will be quick!

Selling here will take some effort, but if priced appropriately they'll sell quick.

Or as suggested sell as a lot at auction, which will again cost some % in commission, and be prepared to wait for clearance of funds.
 
Slowpoker
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That's quite a few watches.

If you are in a severe rush and cannot wait, then try to find a good dealer on here as I'm sure they'll be very fair in prices.

Otherwise I'm sure the watches will sell quickly over here if you list them yourself, they're great watches.

Please do not sell them on eBay, eBay will put a 21 day hold on your funds and PayPal will ask for an invoice for each watch as proof of ownership. If you don't have proof then you won't get the money for the watch.
 
Atalien2005
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Thanks OF community for the comments.

I think the consensus is I should just sell them myself and that is the direction I'm leaning towards also.
 
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