Selling watches

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leemun

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Hi im looking for some direction and advise here, Im trying to sell my late husbands watch collection and i have no clue where to begin. If anyone out there has any advice for me i would greatly appreciate. i have over 300 watches with cases, winders and boxes, all of which are in excellent condition, some never even worn. all brands of Invicta, Ronado, Sterhling, and many others, ranging for $100-to $5000.
If someone knows how i can get appraised or sell without the tedious one by one of ebay im all ears!

thank you,
:dizzy:
 
Welcome to WIT and my condolences on the loss of your husband. By chance was he a WIT member here??

Sounds like quite the collection that you need to sell. You can research some of the model numbers online to get a feel for selling prices - such as doing an advance search on eBay for items sold or checking out Watchrecon website (which picks up private watch listings from several watch forums). Becoming active on forums like this one you could sell individual watches if you would like (always look at the forum rules for listing items for sale - most require you to be active and have a certain post count before you sell). If you do not have a Paypal account, it would be good to open one for ease of receiving payments and for buyer/seller protection. If you would like to minimize the hassle, eBay has a Valet program - you could sell off some of the collection at a time. You box up the items (perhaps a large box you could send a dozen or more at a time), eBay will send you a prepaid shipping label for you to send the package to them, and they will handle listing and selling the items. If the item sells for over $500 you get 80% of selling price, if it sells between $250-499.99 you get 70% of selling price, and if it sells for $100-$249.99 you get 60% of the selling price. Their selling experts are supposed to research the item and trending prices so that you get the most for your item. If no bids, they will reduce the price, and anything that goes unsold they will ship back to you for free. It sounds like you are not interested with the hassle of listing and selling the watches one-by-one, so this could be an option for you. Perhaps you can go through the collection and research prices and try to sell some of the higher end ones on your own and the rest package up to eBay Valet and have them do the work for you.

Thanks for taking the time to try to learn more about your late husband's hobby - I'm sure it brought him a lot of joy like this hobby does for so many of us. Good luck in selling the collection and I'm sure others here will be able to chime in with more suggestions.
 
Rob couldn't have said it better. Our thoughts go out to you. Best of luck. Keep us posted.
 
If you don't want to deal with "onsie-twosie" sales, maybe you can sell them in batches or lots. But you'll probably make the most money by individual sales.
 
The downside (in my opinion) of selling on eBay is the "fees" you have to pay. It is time consuming to list a lot of items on eBay on top of the fess you have to pay.
 
Another option would be to take pictures (in groups, en masse, or individually) and have a WIT member with the time and patience to assign fair prices and help facilitate sales in the For Sale forum. I think it's enough honest folks up here to police each other for fairness on both sides.
 
I think all of the members here would help and are honest. Maybe one would be in your area and that WIT could sort the collection to see what is there and if it would be a good move to sell in batches. Also the member could post some of the watches here for sale.
 
Another option would be to take pictures (in groups, en masse, or individually) and have a WIT member with the time and patience to assign fair prices and help facilitate sales in the For Sale forum. I think it's enough honest folks up here to police each other for fairness on both sides.

I was thinking something along these lines as well. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that you would get nothing but straightforward and honest advice when it comes to the folks here helping you with realistic prices for your watches. After getting such advice, I would consult eBay as well. I wouldn't focus necessarily on what someone is asking for something but rather what it sells for. Just thought I throw my .02 in the mix. If you are on Facebook, some towns actually have their own "yard sale pages" where you can create listings and add photos of items you wish to sell for free (after getting permission to join the group). You can arrange pickup at a nearby public place (i.e. supermarket parking lot etc.) etc. Would definitely have someone with you when you do this though. Aside from everything though, I'm sorry for your loss and I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors.
 
Some great info posted above.
I would suggest that you stay away from craigslist - you don't want strangers coming to your home, and surely don't want countless meetings in public places to sell them a few at a time. Good luck with whatever you decide. So sorry to hear of your loss.
 
I'd avoid Ebay (for reasons listed above) and Craigslist because of weirdos and thieves.

I've sold a few on Ebay and the fees are outrageous. Never again.
Craigslist is a minefield of ways to get screwed and the risks outweigh the gains.

Commission someone on the boards to help you is the best suggestion I've heard, and agree with.
 
that would be ideal, where would i post that?

Right here! :wink: in the "Buyers & Sellers Lounge"

This new subforum was just created, so buyers & sellers can meet up. Also this would be a great place for sellers to get advice on photography, layout & posting tips, etc.

Start another thread & restate exactly what you want to do.
Here you can meet someone on the forum to help you.:hand: Once you have met you might want to work out the particulars using the PM's.:mail:

Good Luck!:up:
 
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I wouldn't discount eBay - you get a much larger buyer pool there. A few times I couldn't find a buyer on the forums for a watch I was selling, and I listed on eBay (bumping the price) and sold quickly and netted more than if the watch sold at my asking price in the forum listing. With that many watches to list/sell, I still think trying the eBay Valet is an option to try - box up and send them a dozen to sell and see how it goes. Shipping is free, they do all the work, any unsold they ship back to you for free. It's a pain to create for sale listings (I have about 6 I want to sell, but just can't seem to find the time). If they do well with that dozen, ship them another dozen. If you do not get the results you expect, don't use them again. With that many watches to sell, unless you have the time to sell them yourself individually, the convenience may be worth their fees for eBay Valet.
 
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I think all of the members here would help and are honest. Maybe one would be in your area and that WIT could sort the collection to see what is there and if it would be a good move to sell in batches. Also the member could post some of the watches here for sale.
I kinda agree with 3Cats just let the members know your general location and they probably would be willing to help given the circumstances I'm sure
 
I wouldn't discount eBay - you get a much larger buyer pool there. A few times I couldn't find a buyer on the forums for a watch I was selling, and I listed on eBay (bumping the price) and sold quickly and netted more than if the watch sold at my asking price in the forum listing. With that many watches to list/sell, I still think trying the eBay Valet is an option to try - box up and send them a dozen to sell and see how it goes. Shipping is free, they do all the work, any unsold they ship back to you for free. It's a pain to create for sale listings (I have about 6 I want to sell, but just can't seem to find the time). If they do well with that dozen, ship them another dozen. If you do not get the results you expect, don't use them again. With that many watches to sell, unless you have the time to sell them yourself individually, the convenience may be worth their fees for eBay Valet.
Unfortunately EBay Valet will not accept watches!
 
Unfortunately EBay Valet will not accept watches!
Ebay valet stinks any way. I sent them a like new/excellent condition iPhone with original box, and unused earbuds, charger and cable. The took a low rez ppic, never mentioned or showed the bow and items or the condition. At the last 30 seconds, some smart buyer bought it at starting bed. So instead of me getting the 'average' for my phone, I got much below average AND, they took there 20% cut or so. Also, I waited over 2 weeks for the morons to post the sale. I got MUCH more from igotoffer.com, who sent money to my paypal account within hours of receiving the phones.
 
That's good to know - I did not realize that the eBay Valet does not accept watches. I used the Valet when it first came out - they offered no fees for first sale. I sent them 2 Franklin Mint Wells Fargo collectibles that they sold in the price range I expected (about $300 each) and I was happy that I sent 1 box to them on their dime and received the funds in my PayPal account with no other effort on my end. Sounds like perhaps they were putting their best foot forward at the onset and that things may have gone downhill since then.
 
Unfortunately EBay Valet will not accept watches!

I heard that too. I think it's because of the fake luxury watches circulating around. They don't want to get involved in that nonsense and what could happen. They don't want to unknowingly be selling fakes or have people say they received a fake.
But I thought they would still handle lower cost, non luxury watches.
I guess you can call and ask, or just send them in. They will return what they dont want to sell.
 
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