As someone at the very start of their watch buying journey, and seeing the collections and variety of watches people here have, I wondered where people source most of their watches from?

Direct from the watch brand, ebay, other watch selling sites, this forum, other etc.?
And what are peoples' experience with the different sources?

I have bought and sold on eBay- no problems whatsoever

Bought from the Forum - again, no problems

Dealers - again, no problems

But other watch selling sites - none at all

Generally I’ve been lucky because others have reported problems with eBay sales/purchases

Facebook works OK. Buyer beware though.

Ebay is better than it used to be

I haven't had issues buying and selling on Ebay. I even bought an Omega on Amazon and it was fine. I bought a couple on Jomashop and was happy with the experience.

Most of my watches are CWs, all but 1 bought directly from CW. There is something slightly more satisfying buying directly from the manufacturer than any other source. I can't pinpoint why.

I’m a sucker for a good deal, and the online options have certainly helped on that front. The hunt for the best deal is half the fun, at least for me. I have bought from ADs, and very few things are more rewarding than walking out the door with a brand new grail. But who can resist the thrill of unboxing a great Black Friday special? I have purchased from Jomashop, no problems. EBay, Chrono 24 from experienced sellers. When buying from individuals I try to establish a repore, asking questions and evaluating the response. One of my larger purchases, in the first round of correspondence, the seller gave me his personal cell phone number and encouraged my to “just call if I had any questions.” We developed a friendship and corresponded regularly through out the Covid lockdown, which was very rewarding. As always it’s buyer beware, but with a little homework it is possible to wire money to a bank in London, to a German based company, for a watch in Japan, and have it sent to the US, without any hiccups.

Similar experiences to others for me - I've bought a lot of stuff off eBay, including watches. In well over 1000 transactions I've had problems with three transactions - and one of those was due to the nature of the item not being accepted by the carriers.

To be honest I've had less problems buying online than going into a store.

The one word of cautions I would offer is that there is so much available online that if starting a collection of anything, think about what you actually want to collect rather than accumulating stuff because you can. To my way of thinking, a collection has a theme ...though that theme may be "things I like".

exHowfener wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:03 pm The one word of cautions I would offer is that there is so much available online that if starting a collection of anything, think about what you actually want to collect rather than accumulating stuff because you can. To my way of thinking, a collection has a theme ...though that theme may be "things I like".

I think that’s solid advice. I could easily have gone down a rabbit hole with buying and built up a collection very quickly that I would have come to regret. Thank god I didn’t have the money to do. What I’d buy now is considerably different from what I would have bought at the beginning of this adventure if I’d had the funds to indulge.

Any thread on collection building needs a link to Downer’s Rules, I think. I’m sure someone will add it in short order.

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:35 pm Any thread on collection building needs a link to Downer’s Rules, I think. I’m sure someone will add it in short order.

Downer's Rules

Edit to include:

Viognier's My Watch Experience and Learnings So Far also a good read. Read Downer's Rules is #10.

Thanks, all very useful. I've used eBay quite a lot, mainly for buying cricket bats which I have a bit of a collection of.

I'm generally just interested in watches that interest me and that I would use.

Mine are a bit of a mixture. One of my three CWs was bought direct, the other two from members of the forum. Other watches have come from ADs (Cartier, Omega) or forum members, one from a secondhand/vintage dealer who is a moderator on another forum I use. A couple of my vintage watches came from local dealers.

I’ve never bought so much as a drawing pin on eBay and I guess I’m probably not going to start any time soon.

I’ve bought from ADs or reputable on line dealers for some of the higher end purchases. For watches up to about £1,500 I’ve bought from eBay, Facebook groups or sales corner in here.

For selling, the most expensive watch I’ve sold was about £800, for anything higher I’ve usually part exchanged through Watchfinder.

About a third of my CW watches are second hand, mostly bought via this Forum or one of the CW FB groups. I’ve also used Chrono24 and eBay successfully.

Slightly different question, do people have certain types of watches that make up their collection? Or just 1 certain type?

I tried not to duplicate watches, although I failed occasionally. So only one with a pepsi bezel, only one with a green bezel etc. I will duplicate watches in different colours, as long as I like the colours. So I have a C65 handwound in blue, black and yellow, but I didn't like the green/khaki.

I buy online more than ADs, but new or good condition used are both ok.

jbm90 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 11:11 pm Slightly different question, do people have certain types of watches that make up their collection? Or just 1 certain type?

I like a bit of variety. I try to avoid too much repetition of style and brand. I have absolutely no interest in or liking for divers, fliegers and military. But within my “modern” box you have:




Top L-R

• Speedmaster - a working chronograph that goes with anything or any place

• C63 - GODO GMT - gets the Greek island trips

• MeisterSinger Metris - looks a bit of a novelty item but actually a serious piece of kit with 200 m WR – it has been on holiday with me to Egypt.

• Glycine Airman Double Twelve - A nice toolish all-rounder with a really useful lockable bezel that can serve as a GMT indicator.

Bottom L-R

• C9 5-day Small Seconds - CW’s “Marine Chronometer” - nice dressy watch with daily wearer capabilities

• Ulysse Nardin San Marco GMT +/- - classy and dressy traveller’s GMT. Goes to Cyprus for Christmas

• Cartier Tank Solo - my go to dress watch, gets a lot of general wear too

• C5 Mk1 - a bit of CW nostalgia that gets the occasional outing

So, I have some variation of style and, apart from the three CWs, they are all from different brands. I also have a similar number of vintage watches, which are more homogeneous.