Reply With QuoteI think it must depend who ends dealing with it ,I sold to them and it was straight forward.
I still can’t believe it didn’t sell here ,I’d of been interested but I already have one .
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So i listed my panerai 1389 on sales corner and unfortunately i did not get a deal together
I emailed my normal dealer i sell to watches.co.uk
and offered them the watch and explained that watchfinder had offered me £6250 and they replied that they would not go that far price wise
For total transparency wf offered £6000-£6250
So i sent the watch to watchfinder on Monday 17th
The received an email confirming on the Tuesday that they had received the watch
I thought great then heard nothing i phoned on the Friday for an update and after being transferred repeatedly i got through to a chap called mark who’s customer service skills were non existent
After a while he informed me that there was a scratch on the sapphire crystal that would require the crystal to be replaced and we can only offer you £5840
I of course said he was wrong
I asked for a photo of this alleged scratch
And said well either send it back or negotiate
Yes il sent the photo he said and we can negotiate
Nothing came to me nothing
So today i tried customer services and they made all the gooing dove noises saying how sorry they were and transferred me to grace
So more I’m so sorry i will send you photos i replied that i had advertised the watch on a watch forum with pictures and there was no scratch on the crystal
Guess what she has not come back to me
They just seem a right shower of sh———t
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I think it must depend who ends dealing with it ,I sold to them and it was straight forward.
I still can’t believe it didn’t sell here ,I’d of been interested but I already have one .
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Such a shame to hear of this kind of practice.
Thank you for bringing it to our attention though. I was thinking of selling to WatchFinder, I'll certainly think twice now.
Anytime I have sold to WF my experience has been the complete opposite to you with absolutely no issues from start to finish.
Just a suggestion but is it possible there could be a hairline scratch on the crystal only visible under magnification.
My watch is with Panerai at the moment- They suggested replacing the Crystal due to a scratch, I’ve got a pretty keen eye and never noticed anything at all, maybe as suggested it’s only visible under magnification, if it’s not noticeable to the naked eye then why change it........
I have sold through them with no problems, they were a little slower than they should have been but otherwise fine
I sold a TT lady Datejust to them and had no problems. They paid the higher quoted price as well. It must depend on who is dealing with it I think.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
All these watch dealers try it on I’m afraid.
I sold two watches to BQ watches, one of them (Rolex) they improved on the Watchfinder offer by £200.
But on a 1 month old two-tone Breitling, they said it needed a polish !! WTF, it looked brand new. So they knocked £200 off.
But I couldn’t be bothered to argue as overall I hadn’t lost anything. But they clearly knew that and reply on the fact that they have the watch and I was likely to cave in (which I did) instead of having it sent back.
BTW - BQ watches must make a lot of money, lots of young female staff, new premises and even a YouTube videos.
loads of phone recycling places try that tactic too.
sent a perfect phone to samsung last year and got a reply that the screen was burned in and they were gonna offer me £200 less for it.
I told them no and to send it back, they refused and eventually offered the agreed price, chancers!!
Got this sent to me today
The scratch that requires a crystal change ?
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There is no denying it is scratched.Originally Posted by scooby
Got this sent to me today
The scratch that requires a crystal change ?
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Any dealer will pick up on a fault no matter the level as they have to sell it on in pristine condition unless stated in the description and would not want the new buyer to return item because of a fault found. WF certainly have never appeared to give much in the way of condition levels of their stock but with in-house technicians you would expect to receive a watch in tip top condition and if the opportunity is there to offer you a lesser price, they will take it.
With 1389 in abundance on the market at around the £7k, £5800-6000 from a dealer is probably pretty generous and not sure many other dealers would get close to that for you.
I sold my AP Diver to Mark Worthington a couple of years ago and unbeknown to me there was a scratch on the crystal. In all the time I had owned it I hadn't seen it. They sent me some photos and it was there, afterwards I checked on my phone a couple of pics I had and when zoomed in it was clearly visible on those pics. They knocked £300 off the agreed price.
I bought my 16710 from WF way back when; when it arrived, it had a different bracelet and a scratch on the sapphire.
They were excellent in getting the faults corrected, but it made me think that their policy was to do as little as possible to their watches and just sort out any issues that are noticed by the customer.
Have sold 3 watches to WF and my experiences were all good. A few times they’ve came back with a low but acceptable range and I’ve tried my luck asking for more and to my surprise they came up with a good final offer. Home collection service really convenient too.
I sent my Bremont to them last week, they came back with a revised offer 620£ less than the quote, stating that the watch needed a new crystal, buckle and strap. Told them to return the watch, no replies from emails and watch still not returned. Would avoid at all costs.
Sounds like second hand cars,I was buying a 3 year old auris a few years ago and noticed the front tyres were down to the legal limit they refused to replace them until I told them to stick it then the sales manager magically agreed to 2 new tyres
I tried to buy from Watchfinder and have given up.
Made contact with them 12 days ago about a watch I was interested in and have heard nothing back at all.
It's been almost a month now. How did that play out?
To be honest, I think you are being unfair here. I've sold to watchfinder multiple times with no issue and dealt with both Grace and Mark. You got a quote based on a watch with no scratch. It's clearly got a scratch on the crystal that doesn't even appear to need that much magnification to see.
Imagine if you bought that watch from Watchfinder (or anywhere for that matter) and they didn't tell you about the scratch...would you be happy if you received it?
The watch doesn't need a crystal change for you to wear, but it needs a crystal change to sell to a new buyer on WF.
I think the people that have bad experiences selling to WF generally have a "loose" view of condition descriptions. Watches.co.uk wouldn't be any different...in fact many years ago, they refused to buy my Moonwatch because it had a scratched crystal.
Last edited by Christian; 20th June 2021 at 10:15.
^agree with the majority of what you posted except that they’d replace the Crystal to sell on.
IMHO they’d sell it “as is” but the lower offer to the OP would give them a slush fund should the new buyer threaten to reject and want the crystal changing… it’s a healthy extra profit should they not be bothered. A used watch is a used watch at the end of the day, and as such a degree of usage/wear and tear has to be expected, otherwise buy new.
Good point…I don’t actually know how they operate in this respect. Clicked on a few random watches just now and none seem to have condition grading. I don’t know whether this means a buyer must assume the watch is mint or condition in accordance with age.
Third watch sold to them just over a week ago.
Paid the top of what they offered all 3 times but I was forensic in my descriptions and pictures to them each time.
Would use again without fail.
Last edited by RJM25R; 17th July 2021 at 11:37.
I bought a watch from Watchfinder, once. Never again, ever.
Not sold to wf but traded pieces numerous times always with price agreed before me shipping the watch to them (multiple pics etc sent by me)always dealt with the same guy and would happily do so again
I’ve bought, sold and traded with WF and they’ve been nothing short of excellent every time.
I've bought and sold quite a few times in the past with WF. I actually got my VC 4500V from them. I prefer to buy than sell. Recently the offer prices seem to have been lowball - but it is a business.
Something to consider - they are owned by The Richmond group I think you could say they have vested interests in certain brands: https://www.richemont.com/en/home/
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
I have tried to sell/trade but never got rh price I wanted. I guess it spends on the price band you go to buy/trade/sell for.
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I've bought and sold with them and had varying degrees of service.
They're no better or worse than other dealers imo.
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I've recently part exchanged watches with them, Breitling Bentley Motors sold and Breitling Avenger Seawolf purchased. The only faff was that Watchfinder's system failed to link the sale & purchase as a part-exchange which delayed proceedings for a couple of days but, the part -ex allowance was upped (only by £100) and the delay coincided with a discount on any Breitling watch purchase. They quibbled when I asked for the discount (£250) but after they studied their T&C's they acknowledged that there was nothing to prevent the discount being applied.
The Seawolf arrived in a very impressive box, and the courier service to collect my Bentley Motors beforehand was so easy.
I thought I would be short changed with the offer for the Bentley Motors, but it's a watch with little love at the moment. I was right, the offer wasn't great, but the discount on the Seawolf and £100 subsequent increase in part ex allowance was enough to soften the blow.
I suppose they're as good as they need to be and it all comes down to who is dealing with you.....
Had recent success in selling them a Rolex Milgauss. They allowed me to negotiate their offer to a decent level and the postage service was nothing short of brilliant. Took a week to evaluate my watch and send the official offer but once that was sorted I was paid the next day. No complaints at all.
I recently sold to them, they claimed the watch needed a service and wanted to knock £750 off.
I rang them back and asked them to take a look at the service receipt and timegrapher results I sent in with the watch.
They were quick to honour the original price.
I imagine their buying model assumes that 9 times out of 10 the seller will just accept the lower offer.
I would also hold your ground and push for the higher price.
I purchased one watch from them as pre owned, they were one of the only suppliers and the price was competitive with a 5% discount.
I part exchanged a Rolex and the offer was very fair, more than I was offered on here as a private sale and basically what I would have got from EBay without the fees.
Trying to sell any non Rolex is more miss than hit. I have asked for prices on Oris, Blancpain, Tag and a couple of others and offers way lower than what could be achieved elsewhere. Did get a reasonable price on an IWC though so maybe the Richemont connection helped.
I have sold to Watchfinder and it's been smooth and easy. HOWEVER, I avoid buying from Watchfinder. Being as large as they are now, I fear most watches are on a conveyer belt from servicing to storage to selling. Being so large, their appreciation and care for each watch is certainly diminished.
I have bought a few Panerai from them and each one is in bad shape, the box and papers are all over the place. Best to stick with independent, trusted dealers that treat the watches as their own (because they are).
One example is a Panerai Luminor 44mm. It arrived and as I ran my thumb over the edges, a sharp cut in the case was protruding - it nearly drew blood haha.
Ouch WF just offered me £50 for a mint Tissot with a RRP of £910.
Generally good experience but my first purchase was tainted as I was a link short on buying a full set. They fitted the watch with the extension out. I quaried as to being a link short and it was sent to me. A possible common practice considering they have an ebay site selling such items.
A few low balls when stock is high but ok when stock is low.
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