mkvc
1304
As my wife says, "What are you going to do with the money?"
If the money is needed for life reasons (tuition, etc.), the watch should certainly be sold. As a matter of fiscal discipline, there is certainly no object to selling a watch (or trading it) to get another one, or to selling to replace money recently spent.
For me, though, it seems to be a matter of principle: while I am not really spending consequential amounts of money, I have a feeling that my net outflow should remain below a certain level. Furthermore, while I am aware that there is no penalty for leaving a watch in a drawer, I don't like having watches I never wear. As a result, I frequently make efforts to sell watches for amounts that are completely meaningless. (Not really major efforts: I hand them to my watchmaker and ask him to get me some money if possible. If I'm lucky, the amount he gets pays for a few servicings.)
For me, the most difficult thing to do is to sell a watch I like, but don't wear, but that will not yield much money.
How do you decide when to sell?
I know there's no general answer to this question, but there are a couple of watches that I own, and love, that have exploded in value over the past year or two, and are currently worth multiples of what I paid for them. This tempts me to sell them. But I...
Funny and interesting topic.
I never buy to sell, but sometimes I have to: - Because the guy who has a watch I want wants to trade it with a watch I have. - Because there are watches I am hunting I love even more than some watches I have. - Because I have to reduce the collection to ...
There are watches I’ve sold because I found I wasn’t wearing them and/or they no longer fit with my lifestyle
Almost always when I’ve done this if they’ve appreciated in value. I haven’t really sold at a loss for the above reason.
I *certainly* did not buy these to sell
Which is part of why I'm so confused! It's the first time in my collecting career that I've faced this "problem"!
Alternative 1
I by watches I like and want to wear. I find no enjoyment from simply owning it (and having it as a safe-queen), I find my enjoyment from using and wearing it. Selling it means I can't use it, so I don't sell.
If I love a watch, I'll never sell it...
Unless wearing it makes me feel uncomfortable. I know that we shouldn't care what other people think (it's a xxx thousands watch) but it basically depends on the environment we live and work in. Envious eyes are the the less impressive, much worse when yo...
That makes sense
And it's actually part of the reason I'm *unlikely* to sell these to move up. I don't know if there are too many watches above these in value that I'd be comfortable wearing. My one foray thus far into a higher price bracket--the Patek 5960--made me just ...
I buy always with emotion
Even when i must over list price it is no reason not to buy. One of my watches is on heavy discount, i paid with a little discount when i trade. The reason was the place was most important, than going online and score a big discount. I added emotional val...
Interesting
I find the idea of paying over list *very* distasteful... but as you say, that's a way in which I'm being less than *purely* emotional in my response to these things. And this is a realm where rationality is probably a mistake!
Market behavior
It’s trading and money is just money. But i only buy if it is in my eyes worth it. I bought my seamaster on a big discount and made some profit, so not always i go above list price. It all depends what i want when i want. I know where i can score and wher...
“...but I love owning them...”. That’s the answer.
When the love is gone, or you’d love something else more, then sell; otherwise keep and enjoy.
There's also the trade across...
i.e., is there something I'd love just as much that's still trading at X rather than 3X. Then I can pocket 2X without feeling I've given anything up!
That’s true. Love equally plus cash may be a worthwhile move.
But how do you know you’ll love equally? Hard to tell until you’ve owned the new piece for a while.
There's a distinction to be made . . .
. . . between current production and vintage. A relatively modern watch that's gone up steeply in value (i e, Snoopy 2) can still be sourced without much difficulty. So selling at a profit doesn't preclude getting another if the urge prevails. Try finding...
That's true.
Both of the ones I'm thinking of are relatively difficult to source, for modern watches... but they are not THAT hard to find with patience (I found one through patience, the other through luck).
I would sell in three cases
1. I needed the funds for something important 2. I no longer love the watch and I am ready to move on 3. Because of increased value, I can leverage into a piece I want and appreciate more. ie. trading a 5711 into a 5270. No comparison in watch but getting...
Yeah, if I had a 5711 I wouldn't even be asking this question
Because I'd have sold it long ago! It's a great watch but worth so much less to me than they're trading for now I can't imagine *not* leveraging it into something else if I had the chance.
I decide based on wristtime.
If I’m not wearing it anymore then it is time to let someone else enjoy the watch. Last watch I was sold was a seiko skx781 “orange monster”. Didn’t really need the funds and still thought it was kinda cool. But no one was getting a chance to enjoy it. So...
Because I want a new watch and ...
... trading another watch for the new one keeps my watch expenditures endogenous and makes me feel like my watch addiction is compartmentalized from the rest of my life.
I get that.
In fact, I could do one better: if I sold these two, the profit would cover my last three years' worth of watch expenditures. All of a sudden I'd have turned back into a reasonable person!
C’est si bon...
“So I say it to you, Like the French people do, Because it's oh, so good.”
Many Many Many, Reasons
1 - Market wants the watch more than I do, they can have it. 2 - Want something else more than this and need funds from this one. 3 - Don't like the watch as much as I thought and hoped. 4 - Seeing too many people with the same or similar watch. 5 - Quali...
You and me are the only ones here who've offered versions of 1.
See my #3. Interesting to me that nobody else seems to think this way!
Yes, horology is a passion of mine, but I am also a capitalist, even though a bad one...
I still have capitalistic tendencies.
In the specific circumstance you mention, #2 is something I’ve taken advantage of (if one sees it that way, as “taking advantage”, I know some don’t).
It’s been a long time since I sold just to sell, it’s usually offloading to trade, part trade or outright fund something else. But, if you’re not wearing these watches and are getting no utility from them (if not wearing, you may still be happy just to ha...
I'm definitely happy just to have them
And happy to wear them! But part of what I'm thinking about here is 'irreversibility.' On the one hand, no, I don't own anything that's SO hard to find. Any of my watches, if sold, would be reacquirable. But perhaps not at prices I'd be willing to pay... ...
Yes, that’s the rub. And of course we’d all feel a little stupid buying the same thing back for more.
But most of us are financially responsible, and for better or worse the recent market trends have brought this conservation front and center for lots of collectors. Everyone will have a threshold for when this becomes a consideration, it’s the right thoug...
One of my pals parted with his Seamaster a few years . . .
. . . after buying it. Managed to ding the case (banged on a rock while surfing), never had it polished out. Years later, he had an urge to own another. Surfed the forums and, lo and behold, found one precisely like the one he let go of. After a close exa...
Great topic Ian! 1 with a twist for me!
I don’t sell the watches that I seldom wear but gift them to my relatives! My brother and father and someday....my son!😊
Very generous!
My dad gave me a VC from his collection a number of years ago, and I gave my mom a Nomos from mine... but these were both one-time kind of things.
+1. Also gifted quite a few watches . . .
. . . not to mention two of them coming back in a 'divorce settlement' with an ex-gf. ;-)
As my wife says, "What are you going to do with the money?"
If the money is needed for life reasons (tuition, etc.), the watch should certainly be sold. As a matter of fiscal discipline, there is certainly no object to selling a watch (or trading it) to get another one, or to selling to replace money recently spen...
"What are you going to do with the money?"
That's a serious question! Like you, I have some vague sense of fiscal discipline principles, and those principles say, among other things, "There's a price at which you'd be *obligated* to sell it." But your wife's question would remain.
I have a few that makes it on a mental list to sell for several reasons..
- sometimes i just prefer cash although this feeling comes and goes - not wearing them as much but sentimentality holds me back - the thrill of making a profit but not necessarily the profit itself. What usually holds me back is getting the feeling of “i ...
Can't believe I passed up a golden opportunity to say . . .
. . . "You knew this was coming." 🎤
I always look at the opportunity cost
what else can one get for the same amount of money. Take for example a Nautilus 5711. If I had a 5711, I would ask myself would I prefer to have a Patek 3970 or even a Rolex Daytona 6263 which I could afford if I sold the 5711. I would ask myself what rep...
I would never sell a watch I love
just because I can make money with that. And I have sold many watches in the meantime. The reasons always were: They became safe queens over the time because I developed just “luke-warm” feelings about them. Mostly because my taste evolved or when - at th...
Few reasons...
1) I sell when I don’t wear it, I love wearing all my watches so this is key! 2) if I have to fund another that I would like to have in my collection. 3) if the number of watches I’ve exceeds a certain number that will not allow wearing all my watches. Ou...
I use to have 5...I still think it is the right number!
but I’ve allowed myself to 8 now... When 5, it is really hard to choose
I never buy to sell ,
I will only sell a watch when it doesn’t put a smile on my face anymore when its on my wrist regarding what’s the value at that time. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, part of the game . It depends also if the watch is easy to replace or to find ...
When I look at my watches...
...I like to think of the craft, the attention to detail, the design, the brand history, the innovation, the masterful mechanical precision accumulated over centuries of trial-and-error, etc. I do not like thinking of monetary value in the least. When I l...
I can identify with this
i.e., the fact that a watch is a market darling puts you off of it. And NOT because of contrariness, as if everyone else being into it means you have to say you aren't, but rather because a watch becoming a market darling reshapes discussion of it *around...
Blau, I love the question! It is so subjective and thus responses will be varied, but that presents a learning opportunity for many of us—present company included.
When I purchase a piece, the idea of selling never enters my mind. Were it to indeed arise, I wouldn’t buy the watch. Of course, that’s barring any extraordinary situation (e.g. I don’t like the watch, but it has instant equity because the price is so low...
That's exactly why I'm asking
I don't expect anyone to give me 'the' answer (would I even know it if they did?), but it's easier for me to think through my own view by considering other people's views.
For a grail ..
Letting go of a few watches in your collection, even though you love them; is a sensible approach when a grail watch is in your cross-hairs. Some times the price to get the grail is rather steep and one may not have much of a choice but to let go of a few...
For me, there are only three reasons for selling
1) The watch doesn’t resonates with me anymore. A good indication is I seldom reach out for it when I am choosing a watch from my watchbox. I rather sell it than let it collect dust. 2) To fund for another (usually more costly) watch which I prefer more. ...
