Miranda
[PuristSPro Moderator]
5904
Diary of a Professional watch flipper.
This is the story of Fabio. Fabio makes the equivalent of £16,000 taxable salary every year just by flipping watches. The irony is he is doing nothing wrong or illegal.The other irony is he’s actually a very knowledgeable watch Collector. In his collection he has a vintage Steve McQueen Monaco, Tudor Submariner from the 1960s, a Polaris from 1968 with box and papers, as well as many vintage Heuer Carrera and Autavia.He also has a Rolex reference 1530 and appointed crown guard guilt dialled reference 1675 with underline!His pride and joy is an original Apollo Soyuz Speedmaster.When he is not travelling the length and breadth of England, he is a cab driver.
So this is how the “operation”works-He has multiple mobile phones and with each Rolex authorised dealer, he gives a different name and address with a different telephone number. He uses his friends names as well as family all over the country. He places orders for a variety of watches everything from Daytona to GMT Master. Every year he’ll will get the call For at least 3 to 4 watches. He will have orders with all the main agents.On average he will make £3- £4000 per watch. Does he feel any kind of remorse, absolutely none. In his opinion he is screwing the rich. I am not sure I can quite live with that kind of mentality or with the ethics of what he is doing.What he did say is that right now it is Christmas come early. The demand for stainless steel Rolex sports watches is currently skyhigh and it’s not just the steel watches it’s also steel and gold and gold. He told me that for the first time in as long as he can remember he’s actually put orders for gold watches. I feel this is highly unethical but he’s not alone he tells me. In fact he thinks every other order for a Rolex sports watch is currently done by an “investor”. He says if the footballers are stupid enough to pay the money then what’s the problem all in a wonderfully Italian accent. In my mind there is no doubt that this activity for want of a better word, it’s definitely causing much of the problems we are seeing . One thing I would agree withFabio is that if people call them collectors if you will are willing to pay top dollar for a sports watch then this kind of activity will flourish. What are your thoughts?
More posts:
Diary of a Professional watch flipper.
This is the story of Fabio. Fabio makes the equivalent of £16,000 taxable salary every year just by flipping watches. The irony is he is doing nothing wrong or other irony is he’s actually a very knowledgeable watch Collector. In his collection he has a ...
Honestly there’s nothing wrong with that
I mean Fabio can only do what he does if the market wants to The problem right now isn’t with flippers rather than the buyers who entertain these ridiculous prices and buy way up high
Correct! I just refuse to be a 'zombie'
I don't want to entertain sellers with these very high prices and just enjoy what I already have I do want a 5980 or a vintage Sub but...no thanks!
He's taking advantage of the market. Just like Uber and Lyft did to his taxi business.
I don't like it but it's totally legal.
I don’t have a problem with his flipping but I have a problem...
with how he places orders under different names with different AD. That just “robs” other genuine collectors’ place in the waitlist....or people who wants to buy a watch for their kids graduation or wedding etc. Play fair.
The simple reason why people want to buy these watches for " graduations/ weddings" is that they retain value. Not necessarily because of the love for them.
True collectors do not stick to one or two brands. I say, stop moaning, buy something else if you don't want to pay the premium. Other brands give discounts. The watch might not necessary retain value, but it will work just as fine as the other 'brands' 😀...
The purposes I mentioned is just an example in response to this case...
I agree we should not neglect other brands as they are all improving with new innovation and will some day catch up with the more prestigious or famous “desirable” brands. I focus on 4 brands, PP, ALS, Rolex and Omega and I’m quite lucky for now, don’t ne...
Thank you Imran for starting an interesting topic.
If I were a taxi driver in UK, I would welcome any additional source of income. Playing around with different names is not very ethical. Anyhow, the main problem are the buyers. Are there really suitable watches available and the buyers need to pay a prem...
Mirage
My first time in Thailand I met a couple of English cats. Being a bit older and more sure of themselves I naturally gravitated toward them. The smarter, but less good looking of the pair, told me about how he flipped used luxury cars. A few years ago a pe...
"Like a steak to a butcher, you don't fall in love with it, you just sell it and go on"
When I was a youngster in high school, my friend Bill's dad was a car dealer. Successful and energetic, he sold Chevrolets and then Mercedes-Benz cars. In 1968 Bill Sr took us under his wing. The first thing he told us was not to fall in love with cars ( ...
Market forces. The Hong Kong market is full of flippers. Love them or hate them, they provide a service. If you really want a particular watch, then there is always
supply at a cost. Some might say, better than not being able to attain I.e. Be put on a wait list for who knows how long.
It has to return to normalcy when the market goes the other way. We have seen it before and it will happen again. The irony is the crazy number of watches Rolex puts out each year...
and still a huge supply gap. When disposable income tightens up the supply will loosen my .02 cents
