Are you looking to sell your luxury watch? Well, you can get the most out of it and the best experience with a few best practices.
If you have a luxury watch, especially one in good condition, you might think it’s as good as gold. At the very least, it should be as good as cash, right?
You may have had the privilege of inheriting it.
Or perhaps you went through the exciting but sometimes long, arduous process of acquiring one. And now you want to cash in on that investment.
If you want to sell luxury watches, there are a lot of things to consider. It may not be as easy as you think, and this goes for any great watch in good condition, too. You need to find your audience of potential buyers.
This requires figuring out several components — all of which we’ll go over here.
How to Sell Luxury Watches (3 Tips From an Industry Insider)
Alright, let’s commence operation: sell luxury watches. The very first thing to do is to make sure all of your ducks are in a row.
Optimize Your Expectations
The very first thing to do is to manage your expectations. You may have a great timepiece, and you may have done everything right. However, you can’t price it high if it isn’t currently in demand. And you can’t control the market.
Relatedly, there’s a seesaw of priorities here. On one side is the priority of selling fast. On the other hand, the priority is to sell it for the highest possible price. Sometimes, you’ll get a perfect balance of both.
Sometimes, you have to choose which one matters to you most simply.
Optimize Your Price
Of course, you’ll need to know the watch’s make and model. In addition to that, make sure you have its serial or reference number. Buyers will want to know the number, and having this information will also help you figure out how to price it.
The more specific the information you have, the more you’ll be able to find similar listings on eBay, Chrono24, past or present auction lots, and all of the other potential markets you may utilize.
Make sure you have everything the watch came with. If you have the original box, the paperwork, or even any booklets with instructions — they all could help. As I mentioned in my guide to watch worth, you’re likely able to fetch a higher price when you have the complete package.
It’s not that you can’t sell it without these items. You’ll likely just have to sell at a lower price.
Make sure your watch is in the best condition it can be in. You should definitely give it a good clean and perhaps a polish.
When you’re considering what to price it, take into account any scratches or flaws. If you know that it doesn’t run to spec because of wear and tear, you can’t sell it for the same price as a model that runs perfectly.
In fact, you might consider getting it serviced. It may or may not be worth it, depending on how much servicing is and what price you’re willing to take.
Honesty Is the Best Policy
If you’re selling online, make sure to take as many good, clear pictures as possible. You want the photos, to be totally honest. This means taking detailed shots of any imperfections so that the buyer knows what to expect.
And yes, make sure you take photos of the box and paperwork as well.
Honesty, again, is key. When you’re describing the watch to a client or putting together a product description, mention everything. Mention every flaw and every potential issue. Mention if it doesn’t run to specs and if you decided against servicing it.
And naturally, you should mention all of the great things about the timepiece, too. Why do you love it? What made you acquire it in the first place? Does it have cool provenance (perhaps you got it at a high-end auction, and a famous figure used to own it)?
Even if it’s a famous watch, like the Speedmaster, don’t assume that every buyer will know what makes it so iconic. Mention that it went to the moon or that the Submariner is the original James Bond watch.
Importantly, mention why you’re selling your watch. By being candid about this, you’ll garner trust among buyers. Don’t be embarrassed if it’s because you’re tight on money or realized the timepiece wasn’t your style after all.
If you aren’t clear about your motivations behind selling, buyers might just think you’re trying to offload a piece of junk and will move on from your listing.
And finally, take into consideration any potential platform fees and shipping.
Where To Sell Luxury Watches
Where you want to sell luxury watches depends on what you want out of the platform. Let’s look at your options.
Selling Independently and Privately
If done successfully, selling privately can get you the maximum value for your watch. There are no platform fees, you aren’t paying anyone to do a service for you, and it’s all on your terms.
Ways to do this include eBay, an ad in a digital or paper publication, on watch forums, or even through Instagram. The problem with this route is that it’s the most risky.
If you sell through, let’s say, a high-end auction house, you have an expert team behind your back and a trusted marketplace.
It can take forever to find your potential buyers without the help of experts. And it’s easy to get scammed when selling privately. So, if you decide to go this route, just make sure you have a secure way of receiving payment, perhaps through PayPal.
And be fully prepared to deal with the “customer service” of it all. Meaning if they receive and have a complaint, you’ll figure out what to do.
And don’t agree to do any back alley cash transactions.
Trade It In
Trading your watch is the least straightforward transaction. However, it’s perfectly safe and is a good option for a timepiece that isn’t in heavy demand.
Most watch dealers offer trade-in services. They’ll take your watch and swap it for one of their inventory. Obviously, you won’t get cash from this, at least not right away.
The ideal situation here would be if the dealer foresees an upswing in demand for your watch in the near future. In that case, he may decide to trade it for something that’s already in demand but he has an abundance.
So you’ll effectively be able to replace your watch with something you can sell right away instead of waiting for that upswing.
Or, perhaps you just want that model, and the trade is as good as cash.
Sell It to a Dealer
And, of course, the easiest, fastest way to sell your watch is to a trusted, authorized dealer.
If they want your watch, this can take a whole five minutes of your time, and you’ll walk out of there with cash in your wallet or the money in your account.
There’s zero risk, but you’ll likely get much less than if you did it privately. However, there’s almost no hassle.
Consign to a Dealer or Auction House
When you consign to a dealer or auction house, you’re basically handing over all of the responsibilities to a third party. This is the most convenient in the sense that all you have to do is agree to their terms.
Even more, they’ll likely have resources you don’t have to sell the watch more effectively.
A dealer might need you to agree on the price to sell it. You also have to agree on what their cut will be. It’s basically a set-it-and-forget-it situation.
Just keep in mind that even when it comes to elite auction houses, there’s no guarantee that it’ll sell. And there’s always a chance it’ll sell for the lowest possible reserve price.
Conclusion: Defining Worth
Don’t forget. Your watch is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
You have to be realistic. Regardless of how amazing your piece is, you can’t control demand. I highly recommend giving yourself a realistic low and high range of what you’d accept.
Do you have a luxury watch you’re trying to sell? Have you ever sold one? If so, what marketplace did you use? Let us know in the comments!
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