How do you sell your watches?

Discuss Christopher Ward watches
Berty
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by Berty »

statto wrote:In the last three years I've managed to sell 55 watches on ebay, and have only encountered 2 problem buyers; one was (falsely) claiming all sorts of issues with the watch but was really only after a post-sale discount. I didn't get caught up in that game, just offered a full refund on return of the watch; as expected I didn't hear any more from him. The other problem was where the watch for some reason didn't meet the buyer's expectations, in spite of the description and photos being 100% accurate. Fortunately there was no discussion re discounts or returns as the buyer admitted he'd gone at the watch with a cape cod cloth and the watch was now scratched (!).

As for the PayPal retention of funds, I have heard of this but it has yet to happen to me - perhaps I've just been lucky.
I've been lucky myself to be fair - I've only had one muppet who bought a used ipod classic from me then got in touch 18 months later to tell me it was faulty and wanted to know what I could do to help.......

What puts me off eBay lately is I know a fair few people (mostly in the vintage BMX collecting scene) who have had their fingers burned with spurious claims regarding damage and reversed payments without the goods being returned. There have been some fairly hefty sums involved and a few scammers have been outed, but police / eBay / Paypal don't seem bothered and I could do without the mither.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by nkh1980 »

Hi All

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread here but I was wondering if the previous comments still hold true given 6 years have passed and CW profile is steadily increasing? I am a long time lurker (first time poster) to the forum, reason being I am looking to sell. Like the OP I realise I don't meet seller criteria here so looking to understand my best option.

Got a CW watch I have had from new for 2 years which is in great nick. Love the watch but my head has been turned by the new 300 and the wife will crack up with me if I buy another watch without selling one to make way. I have 6 watches but have never sold one and must admit the difficulty with the process (and ebay seller fees) is part of the reason...

Any fresh advice to add to the above would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by rockchalk06 »

nkh1980 wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 11:40 am Hi All

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread here but I was wondering if the previous comments still hold true given 6 years have passed and CW profile is steadily increasing? I am a long time lurker (first time poster) to the forum, reason being I am looking to sell. Like the OP I realise I don't meet seller criteria here so looking to understand my best option.

Got a CW watch I have had from new for 2 years which is in great nick. Love the watch but my head has been turned by the new 300 and the wife will crack up with me if I buy another watch without selling one to make way. I have 6 watches but have never sold one and must admit the difficulty with the process (and ebay seller fees) is part of the reason...

Any fresh advice to add to the above would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Best advice I can give:

Stick around. Post some daily shots of your watch, coffee thread, etc. Before too long, you will have enough posts and time under your belt that you can sell. I belong to a wide array of discussion forums from Guns to Food to Watches. Only a handful have rules like this board does and I can tell you from experience, it's needed BAD. It's one of the best ways to gain people's trust. No one wants to drop 5-6-700 or more on a watch from someone who is only here to sell a watch then bail. I mean all of the above in best regards.

Also, buy something from here. These classifieds don't get as much traffic as others, but there are some really good deals. I bought a strap off a guy here that was basically new and saved myself 30 bucks and a week shipping. Dropped the seller some positive feedback and there you go.

eBay is by far the best place to sell. No where is your watch going to get the attention as it does with eBay. Seller fees there suck so bad they should be in porn, but if you can estimate your fees and mark the watch up some, you won't loose too band. Sometimes it's a necessary evil if you want to sell something.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by thomcat00 »

Chrono24 is a decent option for secure transactions. I bought my first CW on the platform a couple years ago. I’ve used Chrono24 since then; there are often a couple dozen CW watches listed.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by NationOfLaws »

Reddit’s watchexchange. Prices are much more realistic, the only fees you pay are PayPal.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

^^^^ Some excellent fresh advice there for you @nkh1980.

It will be useful if we know where in the world you are; why not pop it in your Forum Profile.

Guy
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nkh1980
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by nkh1980 »

Thanks very much folks.

Appreciated. I’m in Glasgow. I’ll get the profile filled out properly and stick around.

Thanks again!
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by tikkathree »

thomcat00 wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 4:07 pm Chrono24 is a decent option for secure transactions. I bought my first CW on the platform a couple years ago. I’ve used Chrono24 since then; there are often a couple dozen CW watches listed.
I'm most of the way through my first selling transaction at Chrono 24 and whilst there's no reason at all for something to go wrong, being only partway through does mean we aren't finished yet. There is an escrow process so the buyer pays into chrono 24, the seller ships the watch and chrono 24 transfers the funding after deduction of fees once the buyer has confirmed receipt.

I see there are over 80 CWs currently listed at Chrono 24 including two Concepts at fairly optimistic prices.

Here is undoubtedly a very good place to buy and sell and clearly being a small community is a big part of that, the flip side being the limited reach of the potential marketplace.

EBay I've bought and sold through: I still use it and "buy the seller" and do your research is good advice. Facebook marketplace isn't somewhere I'd feel comfortable buying or selling anything of value. I have bought there and it's been fine so there are bone fide transactions there but when I come across "I'm selling this camera for my daughter's friend who needs the money to pay his rent" in a hurry" and they're asking 25% of the current market value I step away.

Trading or p/xing a CW watch against a mainstream brand at a shop? Honestly I'd expect to be offered somewhere below 50% of the value maybe even 25%.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by nkh1980 »

Thanks again for all the advice guys. I have popped the watch on ebay for the moment but will work towards becoming an active member here for the future. Like I say I have never sold a watch before but I have now reached my limit (6 watches). I can't bear to leave them in the box for too long so many more than that becomes problematic. I stuck a reserve price on ebay but if it doesn't sell I may try Chrono24 or Redditt as having looked I have probably priced low on ebay in the first instance.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by NationOfLaws »

nkh1980 wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 10:26 am Thanks again for all the advice guys. I have popped the watch on ebay for the moment but will work towards becoming an active member here for the future. Like I say I have never sold a watch before but I have now reached my limit (6 watches). I can't bear to leave them in the box for too long so many more than that becomes problematic. I stuck a reserve price on ebay but if it doesn't sell I may try Chrono24 or Redditt as having looked I have probably priced low on ebay in the first instance.
eBay’s fees seemed exorbitant to me. It was a decent percentage on top of the final sale price plus sales tax (which they didn’t seem to have a method for me to collect from the buyer, so that came out of pocket) and shipping.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by Dallben »

I've sold a couple watches on eBay, and while I ended up clearing about 10% less than I really wanted for them, it was nice to have some of the protection ebay offers. Additionally, maybe more importantly, I was able to satisfy my spouse enough with the sales to allow for future purchases.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by NationOfLaws »

Maybe it depends on where you are and your expectations, but for me it's:

15% on total amount of the sale up to $1,000 calculated per item, 6.5% on the portion of the sale over $1,000 up to $7,500 calculated per item, 3% on the portion of the sale over $7,500, plus $0.30 per order (It's the $0.30 that really sinks you). If I can sell a watch on eBay or on Reddit for $1000ish and recoup the 3.5% PayPal G&S fee (or pay none at all if they use Zelle), I'd rather keep the $150.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by Thegreyman »

In the UK ebay charges 12.8% of the selling price plus a nominal 30p. If you are a private seller though they often run 80% off selling fees promotions which then brings the fee charge down to 2.56% (+30p) so quite reasonable really.

I've mainly sold watches on the forum, on ebay (with no issues to date) as well as a couple on Chrono 24 (fee is 6.5%). Clearly the best way is the forum in terms of fees (none) and quality of purchaser, the only real downside is the limited number of potential buyers.
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by nkh1980 »

I have gone with ebay for the moment losing the 12.8% mentioned for the UK. Between the fact I have priced for a quick sale and some buyers don't know CW brand I am getting less than I feel the watch is worth so part of me won't lose any sleep if it doesn't sell this time. Could then look at other options.

In an ideal world I would keep the watch (black dial) and then buy a white dial 300 as opposed to current plan but there are two problems with that:

1) I already struggle to rotate my watches well enough and think getting down to 4 I love and sticking at that might be the way forward
2) I am not sure dropping £750 for the new trident (would want a bracelet) would do down well with the Mrs without a sale to help justify

It's a tough life....
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Re: How do you sell your watches?

Post by TheBeatles »

As I never post pics on here I have to use eBay.

I always wait for their fees reduction offers, they seem to come up very regularly now because of the competition from other sales sites. There was an 80% off last weekend.

I always put them up with “Buy It Now”, never bids. Plus I never put a reserve price, I can’t see the point. If that’s the minimum requirement then I don’t see the point.

I’m usually happy to accept offers, I don’t specify that but buyers usually ask and then I strike a happy medium between us. Unless of course it’s a stupidly low-ball offer or if I’ve recently reduced it anyway. This system works for me and I’ve sold loads of watches on eBay that way, with no problems.

The only hitch was years ago, when I sold a CW Jumping Hour. Seller said it wasn’t winding correctly so I accepted it back and returned to CW for a warranty fix. I then sold it again and actually got £50 more this time, go figure!!

One final note:- that Jumping Hour is one of the few I’ve regretted selling.
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