I've never put a watch on sale and am not super active in forums (only have 2 good watches now and I'm thinking of buying the third).

I've put one of them on sale in a local forum and added all the info I could. Warranty info, shots of the cards, placed the real photos w/info about the AD, etc. It got viewed a ton of times but people didn't really advance much.

I see a lot of talk about people flipping watches here all the time, but what would you recommend for someone who has no sales history and wants to leave the buyers less nervous about an item that is in like-new shape and is original?

Another problem I might have is that I got scammed buy a buyer on EBay (it was not a watch tho) who got my item, used it/damaged it and later requested a refund and sent me the product with damage. Even with photos of the item, Ebay provided zero help. I will never use them again as a seller.

 

Sorry to hear about your sale on eBay. There are a minority of arseholes in the world, and unfortunately you met one. I think you will find your experience much better here, but it still pays to be vigilant.

Selling anything is about price and exposure, and a little marketing thrown in for good measure. Forums like this love a bargain, but they value honesty above all else, and the seasoned members in particular can smell bullshit a mile away. Therefore, take quality* photos and use about a half a dozen that show most angles of the watch. Then describe the watch succinctly and outline your price and terms. Unless it is vintage, you don't need a movement shot, and you really don't have to explain its provenance in any detail.

Price the watch fairly. If after a reasonable time you are not seeing interest, you might want to lower the price or sweeten the deal in some way (include postage, offer insurance, waive fees, etc).

Last word on exposure. A lot of people now use watchrecon.com to search for watches, but since it covers a lot of forums, the time your watch is on the front page (about 15 listings) is fleeting. Therefore, take a little time to see what watchrecon shows and structure your sales post to maximise its benefits. For me that means the following:

- post your best front facing picture first,
- ensure your profile includes your location,
- list the price once in the first post and don't add other prices, like the purchase price or extras etc, as these confuse watchrecon,
- list any revised price in subsequent posts so watchrecon picks up the change, and
- bump the thread at least once every 24 hours (if forum rules permit) in the first week, but at different times of the day to spread the front-page exposure over different time zones (especially if offering to sell internationally) - after a week, let the listing rest for longer, otherwise you might appear desperate to sell.

The only issue with watchrecon is that someone who is interested in the watch, but not a member of the forum, will need to sign up, so they may be or just look like a noobie. However, references can come from many places, even their eBay feedback rating.

* A quality photo is one taken in defused light that is in focus and has the subject of the photo (dial, crown, clasp, etc) in the centre. A bright overcast day is perfect, and avoid direct light, like sunlight or a flash. A smartphone will take a perfectly good photo, including pretty good macro shots like this:

 

This is excellent advice. May I share this with others? (I'm watchrecon)

 

Sure, happy to help as long as you reply to the e-mail I sent you on 14 May 17 (Australian time) about search operators.

 

This is great

 

What great advice! You're a mensch!

 

Just my two penn'orth, but people bumping FS ads every 24hours infuriates me.

 

I work in e-commerce and marketing, have done for a good few years now and the advice you provided is impressive and I think every seller old or new could take something from it.

I saw the thread title and was ready to steam in with some photo quality tips and possibly advice on sales copy, but I can't add to your post. Thank you for sharing.

[emoji1316]

 

@arcadelt, that shot you posted does look great. How do you take such a nice picture with a smart phone? Do you use a clip lens or is there some function I haven't figured out?
Thanks much for any advice.
Best regards,
S

 

Yeah. Seems like desperation to me and if I was looking through buy, it'd put me off. I'd bump it weekly at most.

 

I'm not much of a photographer, but through trial and error I have found the most important element for taking reasonably nice watch photos is the light. I take most of my shots outside and find a bright overcast day the best, although a shady spot on a sunny day works too. I use the standard Camera app on an iPhone 6 for most photos, but resort to the Camera+ app for very close macro pictures, which only costs a couple of dollars. The phone is hand held and I do not use an add on lens. I also take many pictures and just pick the best ones. Here are some more that I hope inspire you.

 

wow, they are great. Are those done with the macro app? I don't think I've ever gotten such a good result with I Phone 6.
Thanks a lot, by the way.

 

I don't necessarily disagree, but in the context of watchrecon, your watch on the front page in grid configuration drops off after 30 minutes or less when the US and Europe are awake, due to bumps and new listings coming on line. For those that have a standing search for a particular watch, they have already seen your listing after about 10 minutes of you posting it, provided you've used the same parameters they are searching on. However, the chance to expose it to a casual browser is still pretty slim with a 24 hour refresh cycle. Forums have different rules on bumping, but irrespective everyone is competing against the volume from the marginally largest listing source, being watchuseek, which has a bumping frequency limit of 12 hours.

I think there are two schools of thought - post and let it rest, or bump regularly. In my opinion, if you have a much sought after watch, are a well known seller, or really don't care how long your watch takes to sell, then you can go slow. For everything else, bump as often as your allowed or you feel comfortable doing.

 

I can't be certain, but I think the middle two were taken with Camera+.