How to sell watches? (UK)

[stickyfingers85]

Hi Everyone,

I'm fairly new to watch collecting and a complete novice to watch selling. I have a GP and a Tag that i'm looking to sell but no idea how to go about it.

Does anyone have any recommendations on the best method to sell? I've looked at the following so far:

• WatchFinder - Offers seemed really low
• Chrono24 - I might try this, but the reviews seem fake
• Ebay - I've had bad experiences as a seller before so will avoid this for high value items
• Auction - I've emailed a couple of the local auction houses in London asking for estimates, but the charges are higher than ebay!
• Forum - I could list it here? Have been reading the rules on selling so I could pledge

It seems I can either sell them to a reseller, which is less hassle but ill get less for them, or try to sell privately which is more hassle and riskier, but i'll get a higher price in theory. There is also the added hassle of sending via post with insurance and things getting lost.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

P.S. I'm not looking to sell the watches on this thread, i read the rules, so i wont post details of models or prices, i'm just looking for advice on how to sell. Apologies if this isn't the right forum...

[Russell996]

Watchfinder is the easy no hassle route, it will obviously cost a margin for convenience but equally if you combine it with a purchase from them you might find the end cost to change is acceptable. Selling privately will of course net the highest return but will take longer and require more effort - eBay and Chrono24 give a larger market potential but come with costs and hassles.

[stickyfingers85]

Originally Posted by Russell996

Watchfinder is the easy no hassle route, it will obviously cost a margin for convenience but equally if you combine it with a purchase from them you might find the end cost to change is acceptable. Selling privately will of course net the highest return but will take longer and require more effort - eBay and Chrono24 give a larger market potential but come with costs and hassles.

Thanks very much for the response.

One of the Auction Houses in London came back to me and suggested a reserve price 28% less than what WatchFinder offered!

I'm tempted to stick them on Chrono24 for a few weeks and see what happens

[Dave455]

There is another option.

Many dealers who offer secondhand watches will offer a “commission sale”. Instead of the dealer buying the watch, they just sell it for you, and charge a percentage of the final price. This is zero risk for the dealer, as he doesn’t need capital tied up in stock, and you can usually agree the asking price (and a bit of wriggle room) before you start.

On the very few occasions I’ve sold a watch, this is the route I’ve gone down.

[ansharma]

I use Chrono24 and find it excellent, they charge a 6.5% fee and it is worth it for watches that are not too expensive. They use a secure escrow account system as well as making the seller provide photos of the watch at certain times for security. I did have some scammers approach me to buy my Patek Aquanaut but these can be avoided by doing some basic due diligence and in the end I found a great buyer and sold it for a good price. Feel free to PM me if you need any help.

[MCMartiny]

Originally Posted by Dave455

There is another option.

Many dealers who offer secondhand watches will offer a “commission sale”. Instead of the dealer buying the watch, they just sell it for you, and charge a percentage of the final price. This is zero risk for the dealer, as he doesn’t need capital tied up in stock, and you can usually agree the asking price (and a bit of wriggle room) before you start.

On the very few occasions I’ve sold a watch, this is the route I’ve gone down.

This ^^^ - have used this route a few times in the past and seems like the best balance between risk/hassle on one hand and achieved price on the other. I think Chronext offers the possibility of a commission sale and so does A Collected Man (but i guess the watch you want to sell have fit their type of assortment).