How to Sell Your Watch: A Simple Guide

You’ve decided to part with one of the luxury watches in your collection. While there are a number of approaches you can consider, it’s a good idea to approach the task with deliberate steps. If you want to sell your watch for cash and get the best asking price, it pays to take care of some preliminary tasks, choose the sales venue with care, and make sure you’re happy with the outcome before agreeing to any deal. Here are some simple steps that will help with the process.

Time for a Thorough Cleaning

Before attempting to sell your luxury watch, it helps to ensure that it’s in the best condition possible. Do take it in to a reputable service and have the watch cleaned properly. Remember that the key here is reputable.

While many places conduct cleanings, not all of them can work with any brand of luxury watch You want to take it to a dealer who is certified and authorized to work on the brand and model that you plan on selling. This does more than ensure the cleaning is thorough; it also protects the value of the watch.

Even if you had the watch cleaned a year or so back, do have it cleaned again. Make sure you get a receipt so that potential buyers can confirm the cleaning was done recently. The fact that they can identify the professional who did the cleaning is also something that will aid in the sale.

Gather and Organize the Documents

Being the diligent person that you are, there’s quite a few documents on hand that have to do with the watch. You have the original receipt documenting the purchase. Everything that has to do with the service history up to the current day is also on hand. You also have all the documentation that came with the watch when you bought it.

Organize the documents into some type of logical order. You may decide to go with a chronological order that begins with the oldest documents and continues on to the newest ones. There’s also the possibility of organizing the documentation so that there’s all the original documents together, followed by receipts for routine care, and finally any documentation that has to do with repairs.

Your goal is to ensure buyers can easily flip through the documents and find whatever is needed to answer a question about the authenticity, history, and general upkeep of the watch. By making this easier, you stand a better chance of holding the buyer’s attention.

Place the Watch in the Original Box

While not strictly a document, don’t overlook the importance of placing the watch in the original box. Many luxury brands include markings and other details that further confirm the authenticity of the watch. Little things like the placement of a brand or logo on the box, the color, and even the box design can all point to the fact that you’re selling a real and not a cleverly constructed fake.

Having the box also adds something that collectors will appreciate. That’s because not everyone who has ever owned a luxury watch considered keeping the boxes as important. The fact that you have one is sure to pique the interest of an avid collector.

Have the Watch Appraised

Now that you have the watch prepared and the documents are in order, it’s time to see what a professional has to say about the watch’s condition. The best approach is to take it to a professional appraiser who has experience with luxury watches.

A professional may notice little details that would otherwise be overlooked. Depending on what the appraiser finds, that could indicate the watch is more or less valuable on the market. In any event, you’ll have a better idea of how much collectors are likely to pay for the watch.

Remember that choosing the right firm to conduct the appraisal is important. Their reputation for quality, skill, and fair dealing must be impeccable. A firm like Diamond Source NYC is a prime example. By choosing to deal with them, you can bet that the information obtained will be accurate. You may even get an offer that’s in line with the appraised value.

Determine the Minimum Price You’ll Accept

While this is something that you won’t be sharing with buyers, it helps to set a minimum price that you’re willing to settle for if worst comes to worst. That price should be one that makes it worth your time and effort to sell the watch and will leave you feeling as if the deal was fair if not particularly rewarding. Consider a price that does take into account the ownership expenses that you’ve incurred over time.

How badly you want to sell the watch may also factor into determining this minimum figure. Perhaps you’re an executor and need to settle an estate without allowing things to drag out for years. Maybe you’ve undergone a financial reversal of late and need to liquidate some assets quickly. In those types of circumstances, you don’t want to let buyers know you want to move fast, but you do want to keep the possibility in the back of your mind.

Set Your Initial Asking Price

Now that you know what sort of minimum price you’re willing to accept, it’s time to name the initial asking price. This should be at or near the appraised value, considering any other factors that you think may figure into a buyer’s decision. That includes the potential for the watch to appreciate in value during the next decade or so.

The asking price should be set so there’s some room for negotiation. Even if you don’t end up getting what you originally asked, a final price that happens to be more than the minimum you were accepting would be nice. If you have enough difference between that minimum and the initial asking price, the odds are better of achieving this type of balance.

Evaluate Possible Sales Routes to Try

There are a number of ways to go about connecting with potential buyers. One way is word of mouth. Discreetly make it known in your social circle that you’re thinking about selling the watch and encourage people to pass the word along. This could allow you to connect with a collector who prefers to keep things as quiet as possible.

Another approach is to try selling it online. This could be done via an auction site or some sort of consignment site. In this scenario, remember that the site owners will receive some kind of compensation if the watch sells. You may also find yourself fielding a lot of questions from people who don’t know that much about the brand and have no more than a minimal interest in buying it.

If you want to try this approach, do take the time to learn more about how to sell your watch online at an auction or consignment site. There are resources that will help you know how to structure the ad so it attracts attention from serious buyers.

Another approach is to present the watch at a firm known for only selling the best in collectible watches. This is another area where a firm like Diamond Source NYC would make a difference. The reputation and the contacts are already there. You can also depend on this type of firm to provide a reasonable offer for the watch.

Prioritize Your Sales Outlets

Perhaps you have several ideas on where to sell your watch. There’s no rule that says you can’t try each of them in turn until finding the right buyer. The key is to determine which approach you’ll try first and why it should be tried at all.

The reasons for selling the watch have a lot to do with the selection and the order that you try different strategies. If the need for a quick sale is the driving force, approaching a reputable dealer should be at the top of your list. When the need to sell is less urgent, do try some of the other approaches mentioned above.

Learning how to sell your watch is not difficult. You do need to prepare the watch for sale, evaluate the approaches to selling, and exercise a bit of patience. Doing so increases the odds of finding a buyer who will offer an amount that you’ll find acceptable.