6 Mistakes to Avoid When Upgrading Your Personal Watch Collection
Bad taste may contribute to a bad collection, but it is rarely the cause. Bad decisions build bad collections. And bad decisions are almost always motivated by fear, pride, or unconsciousness. You were afraid you’d never see one at a good price again, so you overpaid. You wanted to prove to yourself that you could wear a big sports watch so you never admitted that you couldn’t. You were never positive you actually loved the thing, but you didn’t want to have to say you’d bought the wrong watch.
These are the duds you can’t afford. Chances are, they’re not worth what you’ve sunk into them, and hanging onto them won’t make your purchase seem smarter.
Mistake 1: Letting sunk cost make the decision
If you haven’t worn a watch in 18 months, it isn’t an heirloom. It’s a dormant investment. An investment that might not be gaining value as fast as you think – high-end watches depreciate the minute you walk them out of the store. Your 2015 Hublot Big Bang (that gets hot near a radiator when you’re getting dressed) isn’t worth $8,000 anymore. The notional value “locked” in unworn watches is another lie your brain tells you. If you don’t enjoy it, it loses value with every tick of the clock.
Mistake 2: Guessing at value instead of checking it
Many collectors tend to overvalue their timepieces since they tend to search for the prices that sellers are hoping to get, rather than the actual prices that buyers are paying. Unfortunately, these are often based on wishful thinking rather than reality. Try looking up the numbers a few months back and base your decision on the actual prices the watches were sold for rather than the asking prices. Also, consider the condition, as well as the presence of the original box and papers. The actual secondary market prices fluctuate more often than you think.
Mistake 3: Taking the first offer you get
This is how you can lose the most money without knowing it. A boutique trade-in, or generic pawn-style buyer, will (on average) be willing to purchase the exact same watch from you for 20-30% less than a specialized pre-owned buyer. They don’t exist to help you get the best price – they’re trying to protect the margin on their own side of the offer. These are convenience offers. The easier it is to sell, the less you’re likely to make. Give that another thought.
Deciding to work via a dedicated platform like Big Watch Buyers gets you closer to true secondary market pricing, since they are pricing against how much folks are willing to pay for that particular reference, not a sweeping trade-in percentage. The extra ten minutes it takes to get a second offer generally ends up being a couple hundred or even thousands extra in the bank for you. Trade-in convenience has a cost. What’s that cost to you?
Mistake 4: Modifying the watch before you sell it
While we’re on the subject, always keep the original parts. Always. Few things are more frustrating for collectors than realizing that the parts they want to be original have been lost to time or “thrown in a box somewhere”. Original parts should be kept in a safe place, preferably inside the watch’s original box if you have it. If you don’t have the parts on hand but know you didn’t throw them away – because you read and abide by the advice given here – state as much in your listing. Most collectors will understand.
Mistake 5: Ignoring provenance
Ask any salesperson: Packaging matters. In the world of pre-owned watches, box and papers are sales tools that do half the work for you. A box keeps a watch safe and makes it feel gift-worthy. A manual can provide the smallest detail of provenance. A guarantee booklet or warranty card can be referred to again and again (and again) by multiple owners to track age and authenticity. It’s the immaculate, no-excuses situation – and you want it, even if you don’t necessarily plan to sell.
Mistake 6: Buying the upgrade before selling the old watch
Buying is the fun part. Most guys want the new item to show up, then play around with it like a kid on Christmas morning just to put a checkmark on the acquisition box before beginning some sort of half-hearted sales effort to unload the old. Post it for a week. Bump. Photo. Post it again. Passive sell, constant refresh. Two months pass. Maybe three. Buyer flakes. Five more weeks go by. Another lowball inquiry. Rinse. Repeat. Finally delete the listing. Fuzzy math. It’s a long, meandering path to swapping out timepieces.
Treat the collection like a portfolio
An owner should be able to clearly explain why each watch is in their collection. If the reason is not good enough – like it’s not used, too expensive or too difficult to sell – then it shouldn’t really be there. It’s simply not fair to the timepieces you really care about. Sell them to someone who will enjoy them, and use the proceeds for something else.
