Reply With QuoteI assume that's why their offer for mine has gone from 17K upto 19-20KOriginally Posted by farmkid
I’m not a fan of WF they’ve almost taken a two strand approach following the richemont takeover. Firstly dealer of over priced Rolex and secondly a semi grey market for their own brands montblanc, iwc etc. They have new models with a 5-10% discount against retail for those too shy to ask for a discount at an AD.
I assume that's why their offer for mine has gone from 17K upto 19-20K
Try watches.co.uk
Always use them good service and stand on there bid if watch is as described
Contact tim
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Why have I heard on SC people offering brand new sports Rolexes for £500 less than Watchfinder have offered, with the TZ sales price still being thousands above list price? I'm thinking SD, BLNR and so on rather than Subs and Exp2s. Do they have such high demand for those watches they're willing to pay people with unworn watches straight from AD top dollar for them?
"A man of little significance"
Have you tried Chronext as a comparison?
Chronext offered me 11.2 for my 2014 blnr which is very, very worn (battered). Didn't take them up on it and it's oh my wrist today.
I'm awaiting a quote from them.
Forgive what might sound like a silly question but.... they paid up pretty quick? I’m reading they didn’t pay you for the watch before you left, that you had to wait. Have I misunderstood?
Bank transfer into my account.
While you were there on site?
Yes!
Blimey, that's insane. I suppose they send it to Rolex for a service and case lap and charge £15k for a freshly serviced and mint watch. I just saw a BLNR in a watch shop in Winchester for a quid short of £14k. I'm looking forward to it all ending and all these prices coming crashing down.
"A man of little significance"
That's why I got the quote but the other half of me says if brexit is handled badly (or even happens) the £ will be worth nothing and a basic sub will be £9k so I'm keeping it.
Watchfinder had a nice used Omega 2254.50 last year. It was standard, with box but no papers. The advert was price on asking so I did. A lady from them phoned me the next day and told me the price was nearly 10k euros! I was astounded and asked why it was so much and there must be some mistake She said that was the price! I said no thanks. There was obviously a mistake but it did not fill me with confidence!
In 2008 I bought a 1 year old 2254 from them, box, papers the lot for £895 ,€10K is insane!
Yes. It was insane. I phoned the number back and it was Watchfinder. At least I think it was. Their website is quite compelling but I have decided not to buy from them. People make mistakes but I do not like to think of the stress involved if I wanted to return something. It was not professional. Perhaps someone else was trying to scam me. I don't know. I gave it no more thought at the time but thinking about it now, I think perhaps there was a problem with the security on their website. I suspect they may have been hacked. I have very good protection on my computer and have had no further strange occurrences.
Please understand that I am surmising. It was an unfortunate experience with my only contact with Watchfinder.
Last edited by Kaffe; 8th August 2019 at 20:51.
Discussing a potential exchange deal with them at the moment. Both their watch and an almost identical version of my watch are almost the same price as listed in their website yet they want me to take an almost £6k bath on mine to do the deal. There's business and then there's Watchfinder. Scumbags.
that's ridiculous..
I traded in a tag carrera in a deal with them for just over £1k.. got it from an aunction at about the same price so that wasn't too bad.
a month later I asked for a quote for my IWC and they emailed back with a price that's about half the market value of the watch.... same guy as well, never went back again:(
Initially, in my opinion they offered fair prices, but have now become really greedy with their offers.
For vintage watches they can offer crazily low offer prices. When I questioned it , they said they weren’t competitive in that market.
My thought would be that a reputable business should have said “that’s not our specialist area” and said sorry can’t quote.
Obviously I’m a bit naive maybe , but just thinking some old boy could be seriously ripped off. The previous ‘meter’s first’ post is a further case in point.
They say that they are not competitive in that market but certainly does not seem to stop them asking five figure sums for the vintage sports they have in stock.
Would agree with the earlier comments that they are now working on Richemont margins when it comes to buying in and selling on.
Latest offers on outright sale and p/x have been ridiculous in the last couple of months or so....I was wondering as well the volume of business lost since they pulled out from Chrono 24...
If they hold onto my watch for too much longer I’m going to start thinking that kidnap and ransom demand is also part of their repertoire.
A bit fishy I think.
Having experienced both them an Austin Kaye I’d much rather do a deal with Austin Kaye I have to say.
Completely randomn in pricing bunch of amateurs
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I doubt these grey dealers bother getting any watches serviced at Rolex.
I was waiting in the Russel Talerman watch makers in Maddox st once and a bloke from Armour Winston in the Burlington Arcade walked in with a large bag full of Daytona’s etc - I imagine most get a light polish before going in the window and that’s it.
WF have (or used to have) their own watchmakers on site and carry out any necessary service work themselves.
From experience though, it’s usually warrant work on sons watches rather than preparing watches for sale. They seem to work on the ship it out and deal with problems if the customer notices principle.
I also noticed a big box labelled Watchfinder when in Russel Talerman a years or so ago.
WF’s ears must be burning, their website is awfully slow at the moment
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I bought my BLNR from WF and it had received a full (warranty)service before sale, verified by Rolex in St James when I checked (bracelet needed adjustment).
They need to recoup the £200m they cost to buy I guess.
I haven't tried to sell to them but I bought a watch from them, no problems at all. The watch was as good as a brand new one, box, papers and all.
I'd be tempted to get a price from them if I was ready to sell it on, but judging from the replies here I wouldn't hold out much hope.
Theyre not Rolex approved and never will be. Wouldnt trust a word they say about having "serviced" a Rolex. Their videos make it pretty clear too... Scary stuff.
I don’t trust a word they say about anything. And that’s based on my own experience with them.
I've used WF many times over the years and the buying and trading experience has always been straightforward and easy. I think those of us who have used them in the past have seen the changes over the last 2-3 years, I assume most of which can be attributed to the Richemont takeover.
The asking prices have risen robustly, while the trade in prices have dropped consistently but that's their business at the end of the day. What makes it frustrating for many of us is the sheer amount of stock that they hold of interesting, in demand watches. This is the hard-to-swallow pill that we must get used to or find alternative supply.
What I dislike intensely, is their selling on of spare links on eBay. When my wife bought her Datejust online, without advice, she put an approximation of the wrist size in and duly received the watch that was too small to wear, a few calls to WF and 2 spare links were sent gratis with warnings that any additional links would be charged. That practice does irk me greatly.
i have used watchfinder in the past and was very happy with the deals but no more they have hiked prices far to much for my liking .
I don’t for a second, doubt a word that you’ve said there.
I did once buy a Seadweller from them advertised with eight months Rolex warranty remaining. When it arrived, it was still stickered up from a service at RSC with 21 months remaining. It shows that they’ve little knowledge or expertise in the watches and are merely a “stack em high” outfit.
In their case they also sell high too!
Last edited by Dave+63; 12th August 2019 at 18:58.
Still waiting return of my kidnapped watch . Yet another email tomorrow.
Blinking useless imo
Personally I only believe that WF are in the dominant position they are in because of the buy on credit facility they offer. Buyers without the immediate access to the cash required for a straight purchase see the credit facility as an easy option to spread the expense even if that means taking on the WF inflated premium.
A lot of talk about a watch bubble but this is undoubtedly fuelled by credit and as the credit restraints of pre 2008 have loosened over the past few years this has coincided with the watch market boom. It will not be people falling out of favour with watches that will end the bubble, it will be the easy credit market collapse when the recession hits and that inflated £ 15k hulk or £50k nautilus will not be looking quite so smart when they have to sold quick.
When buying or selling from / to dealers, accept the fact that they have to work on minimum 100% mark-ups / margins. If they work on lesser %, especially in city centres, they'd likely not be in business for very long. Business overheads have to be covered e.g. premises rent, business rates, wages, utilities costs, property maintenance, vehicle costs … it all adds up and is soon swallowed up. And bear in mind that anyone in business is entitled to make a reasonable living e.g. minimum £50k p.a. Unless you've been in business and have experience of budgeting for business overheads you'll likely never understand why gross margins appear to be high. Furthermore, watches and jewellery can sit on dealers' shelves for many months before eventually selling.
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
As a statement of fact, that’s simply not true!
Every business is different and all work on different margins. Dealers may well work on a minimum of 100% mark up (although it’s well documented that WF definitely don’t on all watches) but to say that they have to as a minimum is incorrect.
I bought a few watches many years ago in their early days and they were competetive and had a very personal service. I sold a couple through them on comission, it was only 10-15% then !
Now they are too big and impersonal, hike up selling prices and offer very low when buying.
I wouldnt use them now, prefering the smaller specialists.
Selling on a commission % basis is totally different from PX or selling for cash.
dunk
"Well they would say that ... wouldn't they!"
Looks like GMG watches are starting a similar business. Based in Liverpool.
That's a good and slightly scary take on things. And correct I think. If credit dries up and cash is king all sorts of fire sales might go on
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