Been lurking for a while trying to learn. I'm a high end beer collector and part of the fun is the hunt. I'm starting to see that with watches. So, besides online, what types of places do you go to and hunt? I wandered through some large antique/junk stores today with no luck.

 

Watches?
Sorry. Can't help.

 

How to fish: https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/
Where to fish:

 

Isn't this a bit like asking a fisherman their favorite fishing spots? To answer your question, it could be anywhere from eBay to pawn shops, estate sales, Yahoo Japan auctions, an old cranky watchmaker...

Looking through antique stores is usually just asking for disappointment until you hit on that 1 time in 100 where you stumble across something interesting.

 

I'm not asking for secret spots. Wouldn't really matter since I'm sure nobody lives where I live. But your response was more what I was thinking about. In your experience antique stores are a waste of time.

 

If you truly want to hunt for watches, you need to go where the people from the antique malls shop. Flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales....oh, and then there is ebay.
Essentially, the antique malls are full of items that have already been found by collectors researched and assigned a value. That said, there are the old, out of the way, antique malls where watches have been sitting for years might be undervalued. I'll hit them once and a while.

 

Not a bit like - it's exactly like.

Sure, let me just post on the world wide web all my secrets to success so hundreds of novices can usurp the gems I would otherwise have mined myself.

 

I haven't had much luck with estate sales, nowadays you have to get creative or lucky.. lots of people searching for the same things

 

Know your target is the most important thing. Often even bad photos can tell you if it’s a winner.

If you know your target you can also easily tell quickly what you should pass over.

Hunting watches involves knowledge more then anything else.

 

All the guys with over 3 posts get entry to a “special” hunting park where all the big game is stocked.

 

It's more a question of:
what are you after and how much are you willing to spend and what are you going to do with it?

 

I'd say it's more of a question of why isn't the OP willing to do his own homework and learn the ropes like we all did. Everyone wants everything handed to them nowadays, without putting in the time & effort to earn it.

I used to spend summers at the shore with my uncle, and would occasionally join him in his routine of scouring a multi-county area for vintage items (including clocks and watches).

 

Did they have wristwatches back then?

 

Yes, tiny gold dress watches GALORE! There were probably Speedmasters too, but who cares about them?

 

Hmm, I thought this was exactly what I was doing. Instead of post after post of eBay sales asking if I should buy, I am hitting the pavement. I really thought this post was more going to start a conversation with interesting stories. I'm not sure why everyone is so protective of saying you hit estate sales or flea markets. Real welcoming bunch here. Guess I will go back over to watchuseek.

To those who commented about antique stores bring the wrong place to look, much appreciated. You saved me wasting a few hours.

 

And, of course, the Classic....." was it uphill both ways?"




Now, get off my lawn

OP, Google Images and this and other forums to hone your knowledge so you know what you want, and what it should look like. Mostly, you get one chance at the undiscovered gems, nowadays.

I'd start buying on this Forum

 

Bingo.

Call me the buyer of bad photos (but don't make it my slogan @ulackfocus!). Here are some watches that may have gone overlooked due to bad seller photos (which I'm attaching here):




I knew what I was looking at, and luck was on my side. No after photos.

 

Oh yeah, and this one was listed (and priced) as a woman's watch:

 

This was marked as a 'cronograph' and had no movement photos:



In flesh:

 

You can’t buy good pieces unless you know what your looking for. Ebay, thrift shops, etc 100 bad pieces for one good one. Bad pieces sometimes sell high.

My biggest scores where bad pictures or finding a miss listing. But every time I knew exactly what I was looking for and what to avoid.