Do you pay full price for vintage Rolex?

[Hub6152]

Originally Posted by BrazenC5

How do you wear a dozen+ watches on your wrists? You must have very long arms!



The context is about dealers...dealers buy in volume especially if they want to make a profit.

Exactly

[Dr.Smellody]

I'd like full access to graveyards to complete my collection. Cut out the middle men.

[kzm40]

Timing is important, when I bought my red 1680 good ones were around 10% more than a new 16610.

[cajuntiger]

Originally Posted by boomtime

With vintage its a gamble. You risk some major headaches going the cheapest route; you might save on the front end, but you'll probably end up at a similar price when things are all said and done save yourself the headache.

It is only a gamble if you dont take the time to educate yourself.

[ravenhome777]

Why are all these vintage watches in Japan?

[Hub6152]

Originally Posted by cajuntiger

It is only a gamble if you dont take the time to educate yourself.

And that is an absolute must (as I know only too well). But even then it’s not impossible to get caught out. The level of sophistication that’s involved in the frankens is astonishing.

[SOG DIVER]

Originally Posted by kzm40

Timing is important, when I bought my red 1680 good ones were around 10% more than a new 16610.

I went into an upscale watch AD who saw my red Submariner 1680
some years ago. He stated "That Submariner might be worth $14 K,
but I will give you $11 K today. I smiled and replied, "but I am the original owner."
Just two years ago at the Rolex AD in Las Vegas near Tiffany's, a knowledgeable staffer stated "we can't get those or even think about finding them. People come in wanting the older Rolex Submariners."

[tekno]

Not worth the risk for most, you don’t have to buy from a big name dealer. Plenty of smaller dealers and individuals on the forums.


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[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by Dr.Smellody

For context. I would never purchase from the full price online/brick and mortar retailers.

I have sourced my vintage locally and until recently have NOT had competition. I have loved every piece I have purchased and have flipped them all for three times what I paid in trade towards other pieces.

I can't imagine paying $69k on a 6536 or $38k on a Bart Simpson... assuming that is retail.

Originally Posted by Dr.Smellody

I'd like full access to graveyards to complete my collection. Cut out the middle men.

Did you just give away your secret source?

[vintagewatch]

I'm fortunate to have purchased almost all the vintage (4 digit reference #) Rolex watches in my collection at least 20 years ago. I always made notes of when (date) I purchased them, how much I paid, and so on. Shortly after purchasing a few of these watches I had buyers remorse due to feeling I paid too much. A couple of examples:
1980 GMT 1675 for $1200 in 1992,
1977 Explorer II 1655 for $800 in 1991.
Both the watches are all original and in excellent condition, but at the time of purchase (by me) I paid on the high side and I felt I may have spent too much. It took some time, but as any Rolex sport model collector knows, the values have increased exponentially. My point: Buy wisely and the best you can afford and hopefully in the long run you will do well.

[BisonHead]

Originally Posted by Dr.Smellody

I'd like full access to graveyards to complete my collection. Cut out the middle men.

That made me nearly choke on my porridge laughing.

[Dana1]

I think some of them vintage watches are discontinued so it's hard getting them cheap. Buying great quality timepiece from collectors doesn't mean it's cheaper than getting them from AD's

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[HL65]

I always have and do try to find the very best watches I can find which means dealing with the very best hunters. I pay the price I have to in order to acquire them. There is no so called market price as every watch is very much different. So if you want great examples you pay the price. If you want soft watches that are overpolished with iffy dials you get yourself a bargain.

PS I will add that I have bought very few watches over my 30 years of collecting from an ad. Most were bought working with those who I consider the best hunters to find me watches as in Andrew Shear or Eric Ku. Most watches I see advertised I wouldn't want to touch in the first place. Once in a rare while one will pop up in an ad but 99.9% of the time not so much.

[brockburst]

Originally Posted by ravenhome777

Do you pay full price for vintage Rolex, or is there ways to get them cheaper? The reason I wonder about this, is obviously dealers get them cheaper and sell them for more, but where do they source them?

"Full Price" is a relative term. Dealers are in the business to make money. Purchase at wholesale, make a margin. You can find a ton of examples which are the same and apples to apples condition, and you will see prices are all over the place depending on the margin requirement the dealer has...so what does full price mean anyway?

Most will negotiate but if you are wanting to get into the wholesale game, no one is going to give you their playbook here. Finally, margins are a LOT slimmer than you think.

[05carbondrz]

Originally Posted by roh123

Buying great quality from collectors is not necessarily cheaper than buying it from dealers.

Who said anything about Money?

[roh123]

Originally Posted by 05carbondrz

Who said anything about Money?

Well.. The thread is basically about money.

But fine; you are just bashing bad dealers then.

[roh123]

Originally Posted by HL65

I always have and do try to find the very best watches I can find which means dealing with the very best hunters. I pay the price I have to in order to acquire them. There is no so called market price as every watch is very much different. So if you want great examples you pay the price. If you want soft watches that are overpolished with iffy dials you get yourself a bargain.

PS I will add that I have bought very few watches over my 30 years of collecting from an ad. Most were bought working with those who I consider the best hunters to find me watches as in Andrew Shear or Eric Ku. Most watches I see advertised I wouldn't want to touch in the first place. Once in a rare while one will pop up in an ad but 99.9% of the time not so much.

Wise words.

[springer]

Originally Posted by HL65

I always have and do try to find the very best watches I can find which means dealing with the very best hunters. I pay the price I have to in order to acquire them. There is no so called market price as every watch is very much different. So if you want great examples you pay the price. If you want soft watches that are overpolished with iffy dials you get yourself a bargain.

PS I will add that I have bought very few watches over my 30 years of collecting from an ad. Most were bought working with those who I consider the best hunters to find me watches as in Andrew Shear or Eric Ku. Most watches I see advertised I wouldn't want to touch in the first place. Once in a rare while one will pop up in an ad but 99.9% of the time not so much.

Once in a rare while one will pop up in an ad but 99.9% of the time not so much.....

Like a nice GMT 16750 set!!!

[HL65]

Originally Posted by springer

Once in a rare while one will pop up in an ad but 99.9% of the time not so much.....

Like a nice GMT 16750 set!!!

Exactly my friend!

[Dr.Smellody]

Originally Posted by BisonHead

That made me nearly choke on my porridge laughing.

Ha ha ha

[HL65]

Originally Posted by roh123

Wise words.

Ty

[Racer X]

If you hold out for a great deal, you will likely miss out on some of the best examples. If you want the best watch, you likely have to give up on the idea of getting the best deal.

[timedate]

i bought my piece from a dealer who spends a lot of time in munich,

he sources watches, and brings them back to his expert watchmaker, who repairs and services/restores.

You have to be a member of a trade body to have access to the best stuff.

[CPRWATCH]

Depends on what the full price is , quality always comes at a premium . But there is always room for movement on most vintage deals , unless of course your talking serious collector money. Got myself a lovely 16800 last year for what seems like under market prices now , and remember what seems highly priced or over market value in vintage prices today could seem like a bargain in 5 years .

[timedate]

that is not a given

it could easily be worth a lot less

[CPRWATCH]

Originally Posted by timedate

that is not a given

it could easily be worth a lot less

Your quite right of course , & original post edited to reflect this . There are no guarantees on price increases in the vintage world .

[Costa Rakaro]

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[Vincent65]

Originally Posted by roh123

Buying great quality from collectors is not necessarily cheaper than buying it from dealers.

Pretty sure that's not the point he was making...

[Vincent65]

Originally Posted by Costa Rakaro

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I think you mean 'condition', not 'quality'. They're all the same quality when they leave the factory

[Costa Rakaro]

:pouces vers le haut:
jouer avec les mots, c'est comme jouer avec le feu si on est dénoncé