UK trusted sellers/grays

[dtr1988]

Hi there,

There is a lot of info on here regarding trusted sellers in the US, but I was wondering if there are any UK equivalents to DavidSW and the like?

Beyond that are there any hidden gem gray dealers other than the usual suspects of Watchfinder etc?

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong section.

[accountank2000]

Originally Posted by dtr1988

There is a lot of info on here regarding trusted sellers in the US, but I was wondering if there are any UK equivalents to DavidSW and the like?

Beyond that are there any hidden gem gray dealers other than the usual suspects of Watchfinder etc?

Probably not with the same depth of stock to be a 'go to' name on the forums. The US is a bigger market after all and there are fewer of us UK forum users here.

Watchfinder are the biggest second-hand dealer with a chain of stores and a growing turnover of over £100m, as of a couple of years ago before getting taken over by Richemont. They have plenty of stock but play on their strong reputation and high demand to keep prices high - they have more stock at any time that they let on, to stop you thinking that the popular models are easy enough to get. They always have them, for a price... They generally don't list more than 600 Rolexes at a time, but that's enough to cover a broad range of models, ages and conditions. Their real stock must be somewhat higher than that.

You may have already found out that groups like Watchfinder don't offer very much if you try to sell to them, as their scale means that if you don't go for a bad deal, they can probably find someone else who will!

There are lots of dealers around the country with smaller stocks but with a lower profile who get a somewhat regular flow of the watches that the ADs never seem to have available, at a premium price of course. Chrono24, filtered for UK suppliers, will serve as a decent stepping off point to find something you're interested in and look up the dealers' own sites from their name or address. And what you may find is that the price they're offering on Chrono24 is more than they have on their own site because C24 will want a cut of several percent as commission.

From starting at Chrono I found a dealer in Wilmslow who gave me a reasonable trade in on my Seadweller for their Oysterflex WG Daytona recently, when I eventually decided I wasn't going to wait for one through the ADs and have the hassle of selling my own as an unwarrantied private sale.

No sooner had I bought the WG Daytona they had another one up for sale at a similar age and price point and their 'sold' listings show a regular flow of them. The price of the steel Daytonas was insane of course, no interest in those from me. I found them a friendly bunch with a physical showroom and accommodative of appointments during the recent lockdown. They are ADs for some other brands, but good supply of Rolex new/as new condition.

[SSdayton]

Try watches.co.uk (SWC) in Chiswick. I have always had a positive experience with the owner John. Friendly, knowledgable and trustworthy. Definitely worth a visit.

[scooba]

Originally Posted by ssdayton

try watches.co.uk (swc) in chiswick. I have always had a positive experience with the owner john. Friendly, knowledgable and trustworthy. Definitely worth a visit.

x2

[Uggi]

Originally Posted by accountank2000

Probably not with the same depth of stock to be a 'go to' name on the forums. The US is a bigger market after all and there are fewer of us UK forum users here.

Watchfinder are the biggest second-hand dealer with a chain of stores and a growing turnover of over £100m, as of a couple of years ago before getting taken over by Richemont. They have plenty of stock but play on their strong reputation and high demand to keep prices high - they have more stock at any time that they let on, to stop you thinking that the popular models are easy enough to get. They always have them, for a price... They generally don't list more than 600 Rolexes at a time, but that's enough to cover a broad range of models, ages and conditions. Their real stock must be somewhat higher than that.

You may have already found out that groups like Watchfinder don't offer very much if you try to sell to them, as their scale means that if you don't go for a bad deal, they can probably find someone else who will!

There are lots of dealers around the country with smaller stocks but with a lower profile who get a somewhat regular flow of the watches that the ADs never seem to have available, at a premium price of course. Chrono24, filtered for UK suppliers, will serve as a decent stepping off point to find something you're interested in and look up the dealers' own sites from their name or address. And what you may find is that the price they're offering on Chrono24 is more than they have on their own site because C24 will want a cut of several percent as commission.

From starting at Chrono I found a dealer in Wilmslow who gave me a reasonable trade in on my Seadweller for their Oysterflex WG Daytona recently, when I eventually decided I wasn't going to wait for one through the ADs and have the hassle of selling my own as an unwarrantied private sale.

No sooner had I bought the WG Daytona they had another one up for sale at a similar age and price point and their 'sold' listings show a regular flow of them. The price of the steel Daytonas was insane of course, no interest in those from me. I found them a friendly bunch with a physical showroom and accommodative of appointments during the recent lockdown. They are ADs for some other brands, but good supply of Rolex new/as new condition.

Mark Worthington?

[joli160]

Good experiences with “Guardianoftime”

[rootbeer7]

I have connections with some lesser known dealers in Hatton Garden. Happy to help.

[petay993]

Originally Posted by Uggi

Mark Worthington?

It will be, I live round the corner from them and agree they are a pleasure to do business with but being in Wilmslow, they are not the cheapest.

There is haggle room though and their trade in prices are competitive. What I would say is that their stock is immaculate, never viewed anything that was less than mint, they have a proper workshop on site and can polish and re brush to Rolex standards.

[accountank2000]

Originally Posted by petay993

It will be, I live round the corner from them and agree they are a pleasure to do business with but being in Wilmslow, they are not the cheapest.

There is haggle room though and their trade in prices are competitive. What I would say is that their stock is immaculate, never viewed anything that was less than mint, they have a proper workshop on site and can polish and re brush to Rolex standards.

Yes that's the one - missed the name off my earlier post. Their trade in offer was literally a couple of thousand better than Watchfinder had offered - on a Seadweller that Watchfinder had previously sold to me, and WF had previously arranged for Rolex to do a movement correction under Rolex service warranty so they knew its recent history, but they weren't at all competitive on a prospective trade-in.

Of course, a trade in offer needs to be seen in context of how much you pay them for theirs, as it's the 'net cost to change' that matters, but overall the deal with Mark W was OK or I wouldn't have done it. They gave an indicative offer range over email before I brought it in to do the deal, and stuck to the middle of it (no bait and switch). As you say, they have a workshop so could take my watch to inspect it there while I waited. All seemed very professional.

[Elmer]

I’ve bought and sold watches to Mark Worthington. Very professional and easy to deal with. I agree they aren’t the cheapest when buying but if they have what you want and it’s still in your budget I would recommend them 100%

[Bruno Datejust]

Does anyone have experience with Spanish Chronoexperts? Their offers and business bases seem interesting.

[joeboy]

I have recently dipped my toe in the Rolex Sub market. After decades of will I/won't I my unrealistic thought was that it was a case of show up with the cash and walk away with a watch. Little did I know! I looked around and could have had a sub no date 21 at around 9.5k, WTF! In the end I found myself a 2005 no date oyster steel and i'm absolutely over the moon. Photos to follow once at 10 posts.