Biggest Rolex Bargain (In this forum)

[oysterquartz17000]

Hi guys, I am curious. Once in a while I hear cool stories about rare watches turning up at garage sales or at a flea market.

So it got me thinking, what is the biggest known watch bargain you guys have heard of?

[etp095]

I remember a guy in Texas buying a early gmt for under $50, at a estate sale. My dad bought a 81 5513 for $1200, about 12 years ago, at a flea market.

[FloridaSam]

I go pawn shop hunting all the time. I found this 16013 for $150.00 last Sunday.

[alwayshere]

we've all had good days. Never got to the same bargains as the fellas above but some reasonable deals.

Probably best i've done was a Rolex 16750 for under $2,500 about 5 years ago.

[oysterquartz17000]

Originally Posted by FloridaSam

I go pawn shop hunting all the time. I found this 16013 for $150.00 last Sunday.

No way! Thats what Im talking about. Keep them coming guys!

[FloridaSam]

Originally Posted by oysterquartz17000

No way! Thats what Im talking about. Keep them coming guys!

I'm still pinching myself on this one, a literal dream come true. But, this is what keeps me hunting the thrift stores, pawn shops and flea markets every weekend.

[oysterquartz17000]

Originally Posted by alwayshere

we've all had good days. Never got to the same bargains as the fellas above but some reasonable deals.

Probably best i've done was a Rolex 16750 for under $2,500 about 5 years ago.

Nice! It wasnt a cash converters was it? I hear they dropped the ball once in a while.

Either way, that is a huge bargain, especially now

[uncleluck]

The datejust above is great

I guess the Submariner the chap got from a charity shop a couple of months back for $12(?) was pretty good. Not strictly a member here but a member did buy it from him when he listed it on eBay.

[soicanbefree]

Originally Posted by uncleluck

The datejust above is great

I guess the Submariner the chap got from a charity shop a couple of months back for $12(?) was pretty good. Not strictly a member here but a member did buy it from him when he listed it on eBay.

$2.5 Here is the original post/discussion on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rolex/comme...re_can_i_have/

A member here bought it and serviced it. There are pictures here somewhere.

It was a steal for both parties but slightly more for Mr. $2.5 .

[Toronto Soup King]

I bought a ruined 6694 for $50, a few parts and a service later I have maybe $600 in it and it's a wearable watch. Nothing like that great TT DJ for $150 though!

[JustinK]

I remember someone bought a Bakelite GMT at a garage sale and discovered it’s value when they started a thread here.

[interestedwatcher]

I was thinking about this one today. This will be an interesting thread.

[uncleluck]

Originally Posted by soicanbefree

$2.5 Here is the original post/discussion on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rolex/comme...re_can_i_have/

A member here bought it and serviced it. There are pictures here somewhere.

It was a steal for both parties but slightly more for Mr. $2.5 .

That’s it, $2.50

[Kingface66]

This.

From a barn.

For $3.00

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...ight=Barn+6542

[Juhuatai]

^6542 wins the thread

[sillo]

There's the $6 Deep Sea Alarm that someone found at goodwill a few years back.

My mom found a GMT in a thrift store in March. $750 with tax.

[tkc324]

I need to start hitting those pawn shops and thrift store. Great find guys

[spammyman]

Originally Posted by tkc324

I need to start hitting those pawn shops and thrift store. Great find guys

Waste of time. Only do it if you love doing it.

[JustinK]

Originally Posted by Kingface66

This.

From a barn.

For $3.00

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...ight=Barn+6542

Yes this one is the best I have seen.

[swish77]

I remember this crazy story from years ago, a supposed DRSD Prototype bought at a police auction for $350.

I'm not sure about the final verdict on the authenticity; the thread ended up being closed. But it certainly caused a stir:

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=160988

[Juhuatai]

Holy shit. Looks like that one ended up being sold for 210k to Morgan King I believe.

[sillo]

Originally Posted by swish77

I remember this crazy story from years ago, a supposed DRSD Prototype bought at a police auction for $350.

I'm not sure about the final verdict on the authenticity; the thread ended up being closed. But it certainly caused a stir:

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=160988

That was an incredibly frustrating thread to read lol. A few people gave him great resources within the first few posts, specifically just bring it to Andrew Shear who he lived very close to, and he mostly ignored them and there was no closure and the thread got locked.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by sillo38

That was an incredibly frustrating thread to read lol. A few people gave him great resources within the first few posts, specifically just bring it to Andrew Shear who he lived very close to, and he mostly ignored them and there was no closure and the thread got locked.

Well, I can give you the end result after doing a little more digging ... According to Hodinkee, the watch was indeed authenticated (by well-known and respected dealer Andrew Shear). And as noted above, the watch was then sold to collector Morgan King for a reported $210K.

So, I would think this $350 purchase would possible qualify as one of the biggest Rolex bargains ever.

[oysterquartz17000]

I had a feeling this thread would bring out some awesome stories. There are some of us who missed out on hearing about these bargains, so its good to read about them and see how they came about.

My story is I bought a 'fake' datejust a few years ago for around $90AUD. The watch was a beautiful 16013 and I can assure you, it was very real :)

[sillo]

Originally Posted by swish77

Well, I can give you the end result after doing a little more digging ... According to Hodinkee, the watch was indeed authenticated (by well-known and respected dealer Andrew Shear). And as noted above, the watch was then sold to collector Morgan King for a reported $210K.

So, I would think this $350 purchase would possible qualify as one of the biggest Rolex bargains ever.

Thank you and that is an incredible watch

[oysterquartz17000]

Originally Posted by sillo38

There's the $6 Deep Sea Alarm that someone found at goodwill a few years back.

My mom found a GMT in a thrift store in March. $750 with tax.

How on earth does that happen? So they assumed it was a fake at the thrift store and yet still placed a high price on it relatively speaking? Its amazing. There has to be a chain of events which allows these bargains to rise to the surface. Each story so far has the same theme, owner/possessor ignorance.

[sillo]

Originally Posted by oysterquartz17000

How on earth does that happen? So they assumed it was a fake at the thrift store and yet still placed a high price on it relatively speaking?

Yeah, we're not entirely sure.

Here's the whole story

[oysterquartz17000]

Originally Posted by sillo38

Yeah, we're not entirely sure.

Here's the whole story

lol, so you've opened it up, there isnt a pulsar anadigi from the 1990's movement inside right?

[oysterquartz17000]

Originally Posted by sillo38

Yeah, we're not entirely sure.

Here's the whole story

haha, your mum talked the price down. Thats priceless.

[MinMay]

Not sure if it counts but some of mine are free