There are several different ways to sell a luxury watch, each with its own pros and cons. Whether you choose to go through a trusted dealer, online marketplace, or auction house, making an informed decision is key. This guide will help you navigate these options and pick the best option for you.

Summary

• For most people, the best way to sell your watch is to a trusted dealer because it guarantees a safe and hassle-free sale

• Council’s service finds you the dealer who will pay you the most

• People with experience selling watches who are willing to take on some risk and hassle can try to sell to sell on an online forum or marketplace

• Those with unique and special timepieces may want to sell their watch through a well-known auction house

Sell to a watch dealer

There are many watch dealers across the US who buy luxury watches. Two of the largest online sites are:

• Crown & Caliber

• Bob’s Watches

The main advantages of this method are that it’s safe, quick, and hassle free.

• Safe: working with a well-known, trusted dealer is the safest way to sell your watch

• Quick: The whole process typically takes 2-3 days, whereas selling on your own to a private party can take weeks.

• Hassle-free: the dealer handles all the details, including shipping and payment

The one downside of selling to a watch dealer is that they will typically offer you slightly less than what you might try to sell it for yourself, since they are buying to sell for profit. For most people, the guaranteed safety and convenienec is well worth it.

The key is to sell to the dealer who will pay you the highest price since each buyer will offer a different amount.

Council searches across the US to find the dealer who will pay you the most. Simply fill out the form on our home page to get started or send an email to info@councilwatches.com.

Sell on a watch forum

Experienced sellers or those willing to take on risk and hassle may consider selling on a watch forum.

The most popular ones are the Rolex Forums, WatchUSeek, and a subreddit called r/watchexchange.

The main benefit of this option is that you sell directly to a private party and can try to charge a higher price.

However, for sellers without much experience, this option can be quite risky as there are many potential dangers when selling such a high-value item to strangers online. Some common scams include:

• Transaction fraud: once the buyer receives your watch, they’ll claim it never arrived and reverse the transaction to get their money back

• Cash / check scams: you meet the buyer in-person who pays you with fake cash or a fake check

The steps involve:

• Take attractive photos to market your watch

• Wait to hear from interested buyers

• Communicate with buyers on questions and price negotiations

• Figure out shipping logistics that will insure your high-value item

A few other drawbacks of this method:

• New sellers are disadvantaged on these forums because most sellers posting on them are established watch dealers. You will most likely have to price your watch lower than other listings to attract buyers

• Selling your watch this way typically takes much longer. It can be weeks before you complete the process, if you ever sell your watch at all.

Lastly, another hurdle with selling in these groups is that there are some thresholds that their users must meet before they can post a watch for sale:

• WatchUSeek: user must make at least 50 posts or comments

• Rolex Forums: user must donate $25 to the site

Sell on an online marketplace

Another option is to list your watch on an online marketplace such as Chrono24 and eBay

Like with the previous option, this allows you to sell directly to an end customer to net a higher price. However, the added benefit is these are much more well known platforms, which gives you access to a wider audience of prospective buyers.

The same cons still apply however, which is that there is hassle and risk to selling this way. Also, it can take quite some time and is much harder for new sellers since most sellers on these platforms are reputable watch dealers. Buyers will always prefer to purchase a luxury watch from an established business.

Lastly, unlike with watch forums, these platforms charge a seller’s fee. For example, Chrono24 charges the seller 6.5% of the final sale price.

Sell through an auction house

One option to consider if you are looking to sell a special timepiece is to sell through an auction house.

The three most prominent auction houses for watches are:

• Sotheby’s

• Phillips

• Christie’s

These auction houses have excellent marketing capabilities and their clients are buyers of the most valuable watches in the world.

Also, the rarer your watch , the harder it can be to accurately estimate its value on your own, since by definition there will not have been many previous transactions to use as a benchmark. These auction houses have the expertise to appraise your watch and facilitate the bidding to make sure you sell for the best price possible.

Of course, there is a catch, which is that these auction houses charge around 25% of the sale price for their services. This is a hefty fee but it can be worth considering if you have an exceptionally rare watch.

Additional Tips

• Avoid selling your watch to a pawn shop or jewelry store that does not specialize in luxury watches. Often, these businesses will not be able to accurately appraise your watch and will offer your much lower than it’s worth.

• When selling online, avoid general classifieds like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Listing on a platform specific to luxury watches will allow you to reach your desired target audience.