Reply With QuoteNot a watch they want and priced accordingly. It's hardly going to sell as quick as a submariner
I've just lost what little faith I had in Watchfinder!! What!! I hear you all cry, surely not.
A couple of days ago I applied for a sales quote for my 2005 IWC Aquatimer 3548-06 ( the Cousteau limited edition ) on bracelet. Probably due to appear in SC very shortly........See pic.....
The initial offer was between £2000 and £2200. That, I thought was an insult. I checked Chrono24, there are two on there for sale, both on rubber straps in the region of £4400. So I rang them up and highlighted their obvious error in their estimation. Ah!! Right they said, we'll send you an updated offer. This came today, between £2500 and £2750.
Now there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here but I would have thought that the so called experts at Watchfinder would have known the value of my watch or they think I'm stupid ( or more stupid than I am ) or their markup is more than I thought.
Needless to say I shall be loath to ask them for any futher quotes.
Pete.
Not a watch they want and priced accordingly. It's hardly going to sell as quick as a submariner
They do know the value of your watch, if they gave you the Chrono24 price, how would they sell it on at a profit?
Cheers..
Jase
I sold them a Milguass last month, there bottom & top figures varied by £200. So I sent it in as I felt there purchase price was quite good, my watch was in remarkable condition. They then e-mailed the lowest figure as a purchase price to which I called them and said if I do not get the top figure I’ll have it back please. They paid the top figure, but the whole process took nearly three weeks before receiving the funds. Quite painful if you are in a rush.
They need to make min £2000 on a watch these VAT and lot of over head to pay when running a business out of multiple sites around the London area there overhead must be huge.
They were good when I sold my 116000 and 16610 giving a strong offer with no attempting to offer a lower price than their top offer. Would be happy to use them again.
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2750 isn't an insult, I'd be surprised if you get a sack full more on the SC. Watchfinder always seem to be fairly competitive when buying. These days it's fairly quick to get offers from other dealers but don't expect any to give you four grand.
Originally Posted by devonpete
I've just lost what little faith I had in Watchfinder!! What!! I hear you all cry, surely not.
A couple of days ago I applied for a sales quote for my 2005 IWC Aquatimer 3548-06 ( the Cousteau limited edition ) on bracelet. Probably due to appear in SC very shortly........See pic.....
The initial offer was between £2000 and £2200. That, I thought was an insult. I checked Chrono24, there are two on there for sale, both on rubber straps in the region of £4400. So I rang them up and highlighted their obvious error in their estimation. Ah!! Right they said, we'll send you an updated offer. This came today, between £2500 and £2750.
Now there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here but I would have thought that the so called experts at Watchfinder would have known the value of my watch or they think I'm stupid ( or more stupid than I am ) or their markup is more than I thought.
Needless to say I shall be loath to ask them for any futher quotes.
Pete.
Their markups are more than you maybe expected, as with anyone in the trade and some bigger than others.
To be honest they update the offer by 20% and in today’s market that is more than a pretty fair price for that watch. Go and try Blowers or watches.co.uk and be prepared for a bigger misunderstanding.
If you want 4K sell privately and be prepared to wait, if you want a quick sale via dealers, Yes £2.5k is as good as it will get.
Many thanks for all your replies.
I do realise that they have to make a profit and that the watch wouldn't be best seller but I was expecting at least £3K.
I have bought and sold many times with Watchfinder having had no problems but this is just too far.
Maybe it's the new regime!!!
Pete.
Very nice watch by the way, whatever it might be worth.
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Pete I doubt the new regime has changed much, if anything yet.
They are a business and a business that makes a profit. They will base offers on various factors, one being how quick they can sell it and at what profit. If it was certain models they know they will shift them easily. Maybe they dont think so with yours.
I'd take a guess that the future for Watchfinder will be very different' I doubt that Richemont simply want to flog a load of watches. They'll be more targeted than that. They may simply cease to be a competitive buyer in the general market. It's their own stuff that will interest them. A way of avoiding grey dealers by selling their discounted stock themselves.
Selling the IWC on SC will reveal the true value.
How does that work for the watches they sell under 2K?
I needed to sell my 116610LN Sub. I priced it up and they gave me exactly what I wanted for it. A week later it was on their site for £800 more than they paid me. Two days later it was gone.
Saying that, they could have offered you a bit more than they did.
Similar experience as me
Sold them a Rolex without box & papers. They offered me the bottom end of their initial quote (difference was £200).
They advertised the watch for £950 more than they paid me.
Watch was sold in 2 or 3 days.
Watches under 2k less than 10% of there business. 25% of there stock is over 10k I’m only going on personal experience. I’ve had six watches pierced this year all about 2k under there website price.
As above agree that offer is reasonable!
However I will say they have tighten up on there offers of late and more in line with other dealers going back a year they were paying above value in my opinion but we know the business model they implemented from the start and it’s worked for them, time to cash out.
Scarce watches (not necessary desireable) are ofren listed for silly money on ch24. I do not see anyone paying 4K for that watch, or rather anyone in decent timeframe, it might end up sitting waiting for buyer for a year. I think the 2nd offer was rather fair considering they are business and need to make money on it.
I'm beginning to think that I'll hang on to it for the time being and try to bond with it.
The value of any watch should be based on prices achieved rather than asking prices.
I don’t think Watchfinder’s improved offer is unfair. The watch is 10 years old, it needs to be handled and thoroughly inspected to decide what it’s really worth, that goes for any watch that’s a few years old. Factor in the potential costs for service/ refinishing, plus the profit margin, amd their offer doesn’t look unfair.
With any trade there’s bound to be a degree of negotiation, ideally that needs to take place after Watchfinder have seen and assessed the watch.
Paul
I can't see what WF has done wrong here.
You asked for a quote & got one. You accept it or decline it.
My view is that WF don't need/want your watch. There are 25 Aquatimers, which I assume don't fly out the door, listed for sale on the site.
______
Jim.
Their offer seems fantastic to me. I wouldn’t have expected any more. I can’t see a better offer coming from any of the other usual suspects either.
Why expect a used watch buyer to pay more for a watch than they could buy a new one directly from their majority shareholder? I appreciate this model is no longer available, but there is a very limited market for it in the first place.
It's just a matter of time...
Agreed; I wouldn’t expect any more if you listed it on SC either.
Speaking frankly, the IWC is not a desirable watch when compared to a Submariner or similar, and it will likely sit in their inventory for a long time. Honestly, I think the price offered was very fair indeed, and I don't think unsold examples priced at pie-in-the-sky valuations on C24 is a relevant or very helpful comparison.
Agreed - i'm not sure you'd get much more on SC.
The simple answer is staring you in the face... Sell it on Chrono24 for £4400.
Easy, job done, no one will make you a low offer and people will be falling over themselves to give you full asking price without any hassle ........
Don´t know what is the premium for the Costeau Ltd, but they have 2005 354801 model (with bracelet) up for 2750GBP.
For me their offers have been reasonable so far, especially for not so popular watches.
If they're making £2000 on this that's an impressive business model.
https://www.watchfinder.co.uk/Tag%20...82/item/115308
Thereby limiting your options in the future out of spite for one interaction. Based on all the replies here you might reconsider. ;)
I asked for a quote for my SMP 2254.5000. They quoted £1250 & they were selling for £2400. Other sellers seemed to be asking c.£1950 - 2400. I later decided against selling it but it was useful to get the quote.
I believe the company profits last year were just six per cent. The whole business plan seemed aimed at off-loading the company as soon as possible. Watchfinder never seemed a sustainable model....outspending all the competitors using other people's money (sorry 'investment').
The moment price inflation slows, with massive stock bought at high prices....trouble.
Yet it went apparently for around £200m!
I thought offer was fair 🤤
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They’ve just bought my Hublot Big Bang Steel Ceramic.
Blowers declined to make an offer and I thought WF might follow suit as they already had 3 of that model in stock.
They offered a top and bottom price and after I dropped it in with them they formally confirmed the lower (std practice no doubt). They happily met me in the middle when I called though.
Money in my bank a few days later. Easy. But I was realistic about my asking price.
They may make £2.5k on it, but they’re offering warranty, may have serviced it (6 years old) and are tying up their cash. Plus they’ve huge overheads.
But that doesn’t mean I’ve dropped £2.5k on it, as I can’t offer the service they do, nor have their market reach.
It’s called business. They may end up sitting on it for a year. That’s their risk, which is offset by realistic purchasing.
And my win is a quick sale and no risk of buyer’s remorse.
This is not a hobby where you make money, it’s about managing your losses !
This is the last set of accounts filed (year ended 31 March 2017).
https://goo.gl/Jfm7Ro
Profit before tax, as you say, c 6%
Gross profit 17.3%
Interestingly, stock turnover is 123 days, ie 4 months. Quite hefty if you could strip out watches they turnover in days.
This is a January 2016 FT article:
https://www.ft.com/content/437ca528-...1-8e15c9a029fb
I think this is the key, they have to factor in their overheads/warranty/time etc over you getting a quick sale, no matter how hard to bare that is unfortunately.
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