Selling Rolex's direct to buyer, not AD. UK only.

[GNK]

So a complete noobie when it comes to selling so go easy....

So I see watches that say Rolex this and that worth £12k for example. You go check Chorno and the other sites and the 12k seems about right for that model. So you are happy you have a 12k watch. Now when it comes to selling it I'm quotes at trade price which is considerably lower. A few people I've spoken to say only sell to dealers, you don't want to get involved in direct sales.

So the problem I have here is that your 12k watch is no longer worth 12k. It's valued at 12k but you'll get considerably less when you sell.

I've had very little advice about how to sell direct so I can get something close to the 12k it's worth. What is the best way to do this? I see facebook pages and the for sale section on here but there must be some good tips to selling direct? Is it the minefield people are telling me about?

Even if someone can help me here the watch I wish to sell is a bit niche. It's a 2018 Mother Of Peal Datejust 36 so the prices I see on the sites vary wildly. I've been offered 7k trade for it but it's gotta be worth more surely? If selling direct is difficult and on top of that the watch itself only suits a small number of people am I on a hiding to no where to try sell direct?

Just need some guidance about the trade/direct process, viability and dealing with slightly different watches.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Oxfordian]

Profit, everyone wants to make a profit.

The dealer will buy as low as possible and sell as high as possible, maximise profit but also cover any costs.

A private sale price is somewhere between the dealers prices, normally higher than the low but lower than the high. The risk with a private sale is getting an honest trade completed, most people are fine but there are some rogues out there.

So, your £12k watch at Chrono 24 isn’t really a £12k watch, it’s only ever what you can get someone to buy it for. You might insure it for £12k but if you’re selling it is never going to be worth the insurance value.

Your MOP DJ36 isn’t the most popular watch in the Rolex range, so expect offers to reflect that.

My 10c of opinion.

I would also point out that this form doesn’t always like chats about investments.

[GNK]

Thank you for your comments. Can I point out I'm not trying to make a profit or chat about investments. I just want help with understanding how Rolexs are sold. I have the MOP but I also have a number of sports models and trying to decide what to do with the MOP. It's a rather unique situation and there is no autotrader for watches so this concept that my Hulk, for example, is worth 15k but it's not really. It retails for 15k but because (so I am being told) the only/best way to sell is via dealer then I'll get a good amount less than 15k. It's a very different sitaution to anything else that is worth £XXXX. Making my head spin a little. I appreciate a desirable Hulk vs niche MOP adds further complexities to this.

Then there is the MOP I am thinking of selling. 7k from a dealer but prices up to 11/12k on the sites. So there must be a happy medium where I can sell for what I'm happy with and the other person gets a watch they want without paying the AD's cut. How do people do this or do the AD's and watch sites have this sewn up in the Rolex world?

[Bryan81]

The dealers aren’t buying your watch to keep as a personal possession. They are buying it only to flip it for as much as possible. That was the mention of “profit” that others are getting at. If they paid you close to what they’re going to sell it for, why would they even buy it in the first place?

The buyers from the dealers are paying a premium since they know it will be a safe hassle free transaction that also comes with some sort of warranty/guarantee. The more solid the dealer and their reputation, the more of a premium they can charge.

In my experience, a watch that can sell for £12k from a dealer might go for about £10k in a private party sale. This assumes you find a buyer that can feel comfortable buying from you. Without sales references, that can be hard. Without references, you might have to go lower and should also expect the buyer to want additional safety measures (won’t wire funds, wants a face-to-face or at least FaceTime, etc.). Ironically, you need past sales references to sell privately many times, but can’t get the references easily since people are reluctant to buy.

In selling to dealers, I always consider their offer as something to be negotiated if it’s unreasonably low. If needed, get offers from a couple and you can then use the competing bids to hopefully get the price up slightly. If the watch really can be sold by the dealer for £12k (meaning you’re seeing prices for the exact same reference at that level elsewhere), then I’d think you could get offered more than £7k. At the same time, if the dealer expects it’s going to take a while before someone buys it from the, meaning no quick turnaround in their investment, the offers likely will be lower than you would like.


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[JSolution]

I’m in the UK as are you I see. You might be pleasantly surprised and what secondary dealers are willing to pay especially if they already have a buyer lined up - although yours admittedly won’t be the easiest sell for them and they would probably sit on it for a while.

It’s not a bad offer you had though. I usually sell/trade to dealers and lose a grand or two just for a quicker process.

You’re really not going to get 12 grand for that watch though I don’t think. Good luck :)

[bob sims]

Originally Posted by GNK

So a complete noobie when it comes to selling so go easy....

So I see watches that say Rolex this and that worth £12k for example. You go check Chorno and the other sites and the 12k seems about right for that model. So you are happy you have a 12k watch. Now when it comes to selling it I'm quotes at trade price which is considerably lower. A few people I've spoken to say only sell to dealers, you don't want to get involved in direct sales.

So the problem I have here is that your 12k watch is no longer worth 12k. It's valued at 12k but you'll get considerably less when you sell.

I've had very little advice about how to sell direct so I can get something close to the 12k it's worth. What is the best way to do this? I see facebook pages and the for sale section on here but there must be some good tips to selling direct? Is it the minefield people are telling me about?

Even if someone can help me here the watch I wish to sell is a bit niche. It's a 2018 Mother Of Peal Datejust 36 so the prices I see on the sites vary wildly. I've been offered 7k trade for it but it's gotta be worth more surely? If selling direct is difficult and on top of that the watch itself only suits a small number of people am I on a hiding to no where to try sell direct?

Just need some guidance about the trade/direct process, viability and dealing with slightly different watches.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sell to a dealer. Expect a 20% hit. Well worth it IMHO.
Of course better yet if you can find a private hand to hand buyer you can trust not to rob you. Maybe 10% hit there.

[RolexSimon]

Just like buying and selling a second hand car - you might get a better trade if you "upgrade" to another watch from the dealer. You will never sell your car privately for the same price as someone can get from a dealer who has to include a warranty and a profit margin. They have to pay staff, web-site costs, an office etc. Private sellers do not. Take 10-20% off the 12K and you'll be about right. Also you're better off than some as in the UK - you don't have to pay VAT on second hand goods - unlike Australia so we get stung an extra 10% for that on resale value.

[bob sims]

Originally Posted by bob sims

Sell to a dealer. Expect a 20% hit. Well worth it IMHO.
Of course better yet if you can find a private hand to hand buyer you can trust not to rob you. Maybe 10% hit there.

Doesn't matter US, UK or Bangladesh. The world works on a spread between buyer, seller and middleman.

[FL23833]

Originally Posted by GNK

A few people I've spoken to say only sell to dealers, you don't want to get involved in direct sales.

This advice could be for your safety. I've been playing guitar and bass for most of my life and I've sold a few very expensive axes direct. Here's my advice.

It's OK to sell direct but list all of your terms in the ad to weed out time wasters and hopefully any thieves. Write you will only meet them at a local police station or bank if they're paying cash or bank wire (you should get there 30 minutes early) and tell them the wrong color shirt or say hat but then don't wear a hat.

If you're selling in a Facebook group ask that group if anyone vouches the buyer and only accept a form of payment that can't be reversed like PayPal G&S.

[Driver8]

Originally Posted by Bryan81

The dealers aren’t buying your watch to keep as a personal possession. They are buying it only to flip it for as much as possible. That was the mention of “profit” that others are getting at. If they paid you close to what they’re going to sell it for, why would they even buy it in the first place?

The buyers from the dealers are paying a premium since they know it will be a safe hassle free transaction that also comes with some sort of warranty/guarantee. The more solid the dealer and their reputation, the more of a premium they can charge.

In my experience, a watch that can sell for £12k from a dealer might go for about £10k in a private party sale. This assumes you find a buyer that can feel comfortable buying from you. Without sales references, that can be hard. Without references, you might have to go lower and should also expect the buyer to want additional safety measures (won’t wire funds, wants a face-to-face or at least FaceTime, etc.). Ironically, you need past sales references to sell privately many times, but can’t get the references easily since people are reluctant to buy.

In selling to dealers, I always consider their offer as something to be negotiated if it’s unreasonably low. If needed, get offers from a couple and you can then use the competing bids to hopefully get the price up slightly. If the watch really can be sold by the dealer for £12k (meaning you’re seeing prices for the exact same reference at that level elsewhere), then I’d think you could get offered more than £7k. At the same time, if the dealer expects it’s going to take a while before someone buys it from the, meaning no quick turnaround in their investment, the offers likely will be lower than you would like.

Agreed.

So OP, your "£12k" watch is suddenly a £10k watch (at best) as a private seller. Then if you go for the eBay or Chrono24 route, you will have fees to factor in. For example, C24 charges 6.5%, so that's £650 off your £10K. Then you have to factor in postage and insurance costs, so all of sudden your watch is getting close the £9k net to you (and that's assume you don't have to take an offer on your price as well). And you also have the headache of potentially coming across an unscrupulous buyer, which could result in you losing everything. Obviously this last one is even more of a potential problem if you go the route of selling via forums to avoid fees.

Selling to a dealer is much less of a headache. Most of the time the dealers will send you a pre-paid, fully insured courier package for you to send them the watch, so you don't have to worry about that side of things either.

[mountainjogger]

Originally Posted by GNK

Even if someone can help me here the watch I wish to sell is a bit niche. It's a 2018 Mother Of Peal Datejust 36 so the prices I see on the sites vary wildly.

My thought is that you should not be posting about a watch you have for sale unless you have gone through the process required by this forum.

Agree with advice others have given to your general questions. But I truly hope you are not trying to solicit a sale in this post.

[GNK]

Originally Posted by mountainjogger

My thought is that you should not be posting about a watch you have for sale unless you have gone through the process required by this forum.

Agree with advice others have given to your general questions. But I truly hope you are not trying to solicit a sale in this post.

Hee hee. It's a tough place this forum isn't it. I'm not trying to solicit a sale as I've clearly no idea how to do it. I have a decision to make about one watch in particular that has the added complexity of it being a bit of an odd one but I am also thinking of parting with another in my collection (won't mention it so I'm not looking like soliciting).
I had to name the watch as I thought it was key to the discussion but feedback on the price would have been an added bonus. I got some great advice, which is inkeeping with what I've been told and even a hint at my price so double bonus.

I'm not sure it occurs to many of you very experienced guys but the buying and selling of these watches has complexities above and beyond cars (for example) which is a little unusual to the new guy and this is what I was trying to understand. It's actually pretty simple now people have pointed out so can see people might think it's a daft question to be fair. I've just had to get my head around it and now it makes sense. Not what I'd like to have heard to be fair but makes sense non the less.

[GNK]

Originally Posted by Driver8

Agreed.

So OP, your "£12k" watch is suddenly a £10k watch (at best) as a private seller. Then if you go for the eBay or Chrono24 route, you will have fees to factor in. For example, C24 charges 6.5%, so that's £650 off your £10K. Then you have to factor in postage and insurance costs, so all of sudden your watch is getting close the £9k net to you (and that's assume you don't have to take an offer on your price as well). And you also have the headache of potentially coming across an unscrupulous buyer, which could result in you losing everything. Obviously this last one is even more of a potential problem if you go the route of selling via forums to avoid fees.

Selling to a dealer is much less of a headache. Most of the time the dealers will send you a pre-paid, fully insured courier package for you to send them the watch, so you don't have to worry about that side of things either.

All makes total sense, as do all the other posts so thanks for this. Interesting point about C24 and unscrupulous buyers. I'm going to go look in to this option now but I did think selling via these sites might add a bit of protection somewhere but that said posting cars on Autotrader doesn't so why should it with C24. Intresting point I'll bear in mind and make sure I research thoroughly thank you.