Let’s speak about how selling a watch turns into a success story!

How to sell watches? How to sell them very fast? Asked Frank

Dear Steve, I have three watches to sell, sadly. We need to fix the roof of our house and the company I was working for two centuries went bankrupt. I’m in need of money and the construction guys charge about $8,000 for the fixings. I made good money in the past and could buy expensive watches from time to time. Now, I picked-out three of them for selling. I don’t know the value and especially I don’t know how to sell watches? Can you give me an idea of the value and a tip for selling? That would be awesome.
Frank from Las Vegas in Nevada

Frank, this are bad news. I feel very sorry for you. I did my best to appraise your watches carefully. And Frank, I know how to sell watches. Besides our company, you can auction them or asking qualified watch buyers. But read my explanations before you sell. I know the watch buying industry very well and following my explanations can be very helpful for you. Getting ripped-off, especially when you sell in an urgent need of money, can really happen. Well, you have knowledge about watches and I’m pretty sure that you can distinguish between a fraudulent offer and a good offer. But anyway, I love to stand by your side and you will be surprised how much your watches are worth. You will see, you didn’t lose a lot of money, as you feared.
reDollar appraiser, Steve Redrich

Frank wants to know, how to sell watches?

Frank: Well, you know that I e-mailed you the bills of sales besides the photos and certifications. You already realized that I bought all watches pre-owned. We buy almost everything pre-owned because of capital loss. Maybe I got them for a proper amount once. In total I bought 8 valuable watches within the last 15 years. The three I picked-out are the ones I don’t wear very often. It’s not because I don’t like them it’s more because I like other’s best. So, Steve let’s talk about my selling options, first.

Steve: Well, it depends on the situation. Generally spoken, there is no other way besides selling with a watch buyer of your home town, if it comes to an emergency like a disease or any other instant need of money. If you need money by “today” you need a buyer offering cash on hand. Your situation is different. You told me that you need cash within the next weeks. Thus you have more time for selling. Alternative selling options like selling with our company, selling with an auction house or a watch trading website is thinkable. Very often, we hear customers complaining about bad prices in their hometowns. But Steve, it depends. You live in Las Vegas. I think it’s possible to find reliable watch buyers there. But that’s very different to people living in the countryside. Some neighborhoods often have just one or two places for selling watches. Missing competition causes lower prices. Moreover, countryside watch buyer don’t have so much customers for resell. So what do they do? Right, they sell online or auction online but selling online reduces the dealer-margin and a reduced margin is a reason why you get offered less money than in a huge city like Las Vegas or New York where watch buyers are able to sell pre owned watches directly from the showcase.

Frank: I can follow your explanations but what can I do when I sell my watches with one of my neighborhood buyers?

Steve: I would say, check my calculated prices and shop around. I tell you a fair selling amount for all of your watches. But Frank, don’t let them know how much you got offered before. Let the buyers tell you a quote. Please consider that almost all watch buyers ask potential watch sellers for their expected selling amount. Don’t call a price because you could get out with too less money, especially if you have underestimated the value of your watch. It’s always better to simulate “having no idea”, even when you know how much your watch is worth.

Frank: Ok, that sounds reasonable to me. And Steve, I know what you are talking about. I passed buy a watch buyer close to the Nellis Boulevard. I showed them my Hublot watch and it was like you described it. They asked me for a price and didn’t stop asking again and again even as I said a couple of times that I don’t have any expectation concerning an explicit amount.

Steve: Right, this is how the majority of competitors in this industry act. Let’s start with your Hublot MDM watch. It’s an 18K gold watch, not gold-filled, made of solid gold. It’s a chronograph made between 1971 and 1983. Vintage Hublot watches are not so popular but anyway, they have a good value and this watch sells for approx. $2,700. Our company would offer about $2,300 for this watch. A significant higher value reflects your Rolex Milgauss GV “PVD coating” watch. It’s a modern watch, made in the 2000s. It’s very special because of the physical vapor deposition – short PVD. PVD is practiced since centuries primarily for military use and originally invented to decrease friction wear on metal parts. It bonds a micron thick layer of metal parts like your watch or other jewelry. PVD is also used in dental laboratories for protecting gold crowns. A watch like that can sell for about $4,900. We would offer you $4,200 for this watch.

Frank: I’m very surprised that the loss of capital is limited. Not bad. But what do you mean if you speak about the selling price and the price you pay me?

Steve: First, I calculate the resell value. The resell value is the value I see a watch selling for within the next 20 weeks. The difference between the selling price and our offer is the dealer margin like $700 ($4,900 minus $700 = $4,200) in your case. We always expect that it takes a couple of weeks to achieve the market value for a watch. Furthermore we maintain, clean and photograph your watch for the resell. The dealer margin covers such costs. Well, you could also try to achieve the resell-value if you prepare your watches for selling. Most customers don’t do that because it takes a lot of time and they don’t want to be responsible for it. Moreover we sell your watch with a money-back-guarantee what private sellers should avoid.

Frank: I also wouldn’t do that. I have had problems in the past selling a pre-owned bicycle. But thanks for letting me know. I appreciate your honesty.

Steve: Well, we all know that companies work for profit. But we think that a limited profit is also fine for us. Depending on the assets we buy, we have just little margins starting at only 5%. The resell of watches takes longer. Therefore the average dealer margin of our company is about 15%. But let’s talk about your Breitling Superocean. I guess you bought this watch within the last 3 years, is that right?

Frank: Yes, I bought it in 2014 in Florida.

Steve: It’s a nice looking Superocean selling for about $1,700. We can pay $1,400 for this watch. In total your three watches show a total selling-value of $7,900. That’s almost the amount you need. What a coincidence!

Frank: That’s not bad. Give me a couple of days to speak with my wife. But Steve, be ready for buying my watches. I’m tired of running around making bad experiences.

Steve: We are here for you and we are happy to buy your watches if needed. Good luck, Frank.

Frank: Thank you for your time.

Other questions asked:

Conrad from Memphis wanted to know: How much is my Rolex worth?
Larry from Buffalo wanted to know: How much is an Omega watch worth?