Advice for selling

[h0b0]

I am sure many on here sell on their watches before buying the next one. It would be helpful to have a thread with advice on what can help move a watch on and what we look out for as potential red flags.

I am a habitual browser of watch forums and sales platforms. I have bought 2 watches through eBay but there are some things to be aware of. For example, eBay charge rediculous fees which can be as much as 10%. On top of that there is the PayPal fee. I know in Europe this is seen as a seller fee, but in the US it is considered a buyer fee and you would be expected to increase your PayPal payment to cover the 3%.

To avoid these fees I have taken the very risky route of stepping outside of eBay and also sending the money as a gift. This is not advice and if it was it would be terrible. I’m lucky, I have not been burnt. That’s partially because I only buy from people I can see a full history for and have an address that has been confirmed. By doing this I can negotiate out the fees the seller has already built in.

I spend too much time on WatchuSeek. The for sale forum turns over very quickly. Or at least there is a lot of movement on the forum. WatchuSeek has been the cheapest place to find a watch. There are some dreamers but most of the peer to peer sales are at decent prices. You can look through a sellers full history to see what they have sold previously. This has been very useful.

I have also spent time on Chrono24. 2.85% to list an ad so that’s built in to the sale price. But, cheaper than eBay. I have to say the prices are extremely optimistic though. I am going to lost a watch and their suggestion on price is at least 30% more than sold items on eBay. I will be listing at a reasonable price tomorrow and see how it goes. For buyers, I’d recommend looking at the country the watch is located in before buying. There are many safe guards but I’d still not buy a watch from Russia.

Finally, Crown and Calibre. It may be US only though. The deal here is you send them pictures of the watch and they send you an appraisal. If you are happy you send the watch in for them to confirm the price they will pay. Very well reviewed by none watch knowledgeable journalists. I found a lesser version of a watch of the one I have in hand at a very high price. I started a chat and asked for an update on my appraisal. They sent it over and it was 40% less than the listed price on their site. Not terribly surprising reallly. But, I thought I’d ask. They surprised me with being very honest. But, they also surprised me with the reasons. First, the watch listed was 20% above a reasonable sale price. This was because it was on consignment from a dealer. I did not know they provided this service to dealers. I’m light of this, and I agreed completely that the list price was a dream, their offer was much more reasonable at around 20% less than their expectation to sell.


So, I will report back on my experience once things start rolling on Chrono24. I chose them because they seem to have security in lace for both buyer and seller. This was important to me.

Anyone else got experience and words of wisdom to share with the “flippers”.

Updated with correct Chrono24 price

Edited by h0b0 on Saturday 2nd December 11:57

[hilly10]

I tend only to buy and sell on TZ it’s a great safe place to trade, as you cannot just join and start selling. This week I purchased a Planet Ocean, the seller posted the watch for my approval and I paid 24 hrs later. Personally I would not buy from ebay, to many pitfalls scams etc plus as you say the fees are getting far to expensive.

[So]

hilly10 said:

I tend only to buy and sell on TZ it’s a great safe place to trade, as you cannot just join and start selling. This week I purchased a Planet Ocean, the seller posted the watch for my approval and I paid 24 hrs later. Personally I would not buy from ebay, to many pitfalls scams etc plus as you say the fees are getting far to expensive.

I would personally prefer not to own a watch than visit TZ.

[mikeveal]

h0b0 said:

So, I will report back on my experience once things start rolling on Chrono24. I chose them because they seem to have security in lace for both buyer and seller. This was important to me.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1533237

Beware of Chrono24's usage of the word "trusted".

[h0b0]

mikeveal said:

As above, but there are some things you should know.

"Trusted Seller" = Seller has paid his fees and Chrono24 know of no unresolved issues with that seller. It has been reported elsewhere that Chrono24 aren't exactly keen to revoke Trusted Seller status in the event a problem is reported. Essentially a seller pays Chrono24 extra to be listed as a "Trusted Seller." Personally I have no faith in the scheme.

"Trusted Checkout" = Escrow service. Chrono24 hold your cash, the vendor ships the goods and if you don't complain to Chrono24 the vendor gets the money a couple of weeks later. Chrono24 are cagey about how this works, but essentially the transfers are IBAN from you to C24 and then IBAN again from C24 to the seller. The buyer pays a fee for the escrow, the seller does not. From what I can gather, all sellers can apply for trusted checkout, but not all are granted use of the service.

So if a seller isn't listing trusted checkout, its a red flag to me.

Other red flags I've found are:

• No bricks and mortar shop at the sellers address (often a residential address).
• Seller insisting on IBAN and refusing C24 because it's not IBAN (seller clueless or lying).
• Seller unable to send a picture of the watch with your randomly selected time / date (seller does not have the watch).

Treat C24 as a place where genuine sellers and shysters both advertise and you'll be fine.


Lastly, no import duty is payable on goods shipped from within the EU.

I did pay for 10 photos instead of 4 and to be prioritized in searches. Not sure I paid for trusted checkout and have to check my seller status.

As went live today. I still think it’s 10% at least too high but I’m 10% less than their recommendation.