New perspectives, fresh capital: Although selling a timepiece can be an emotional affair, most watch collectors regularly choose to part with pieces so they can acquire new dream watches. Given the high value of luxury watches, trustworthiness and a fair price should be your top priorities when selling. Below, we explain how to achieve this with a transparent and reliable watch buying service.
Who buys watches?
If you want to turn a watch into cash, you typically have two options: either sell it directly or auction it through an online platform such as Chrono24, or sell it to a professional, commercial dealer. The latter might be a jeweler, for example, or an online shop like Uhrinstinkt, whose business model is built on trading timepieces. In a nutshell, the process works like this: The watch owner contacts the buyer, receives a purchase offer and gets the appraised amount in exchange for the watch. Alternatively, many buyers offer a trade-in, which is often rewarded with bonus benefits and essentially amounts to a "watch swap" for a product from the dealer's shop (any difference in value is settled). To ensure a precise and fair appraisal of your watch's value, you shouldn't sell your timepiece to just anyone, but rather choose a buyer that specializes in watches and entrusts the valuation to experienced experts.
What makes a watch buyer trustworthy?
Whether your ticking treasure is worth €2,000, €10,000 or €50,000: Large sums of money are the norm with timepieces, which makes the buyer's trustworthiness a key criterion. Anyone who has dealt with dubious watch dealers knows that the risks run the full gamut, from rock-bottom prices to payments that never arrive. That's why the first thing to look at when choosing a buyer is their reputation: Big names like Uhrinstinkt can't afford to make mistakes, because every unfair purchase is a potential scandal with serious consequences for their business. Companies that have been established for ten years or more offer additional peace of mind.
Furthermore, the dealer's purchase offer should be free of charge and non-binding: Reputable buyers won't pressure you into a quick deal, but leave the decision of whether you want to sell entirely up to you until you give your express consent. If the buyer relies on in-house experts for the appraisal, as Uhrinstinkt does, the key criterion of transparency is met as well. Ideally, the buyer will make the process even easier, for example by providing a free pickup service.
The purchase form: The first step to success
A watch purchase is trustworthy when it rests on a solid foundation of data rather than a ballpark estimate. For this reason, the selling process at most reputable buyers starts with a form that captures all the important information about the timepiece and feeds it into the subsequent valuation. Uhrinstinkt, for example, asks not only for basic details such as brand and model, but above all for what's included with the watch; if the original box and papers are present, owners can expect significantly better prices in some cases. The same applies to unworn luxury watches, which are often found in larger collections. You can also add photos to the purchase form. While this isn't mandatory, it is strongly recommended: Sharp, well-lit photos of the watch from all sides speed up the appraisal and make the result more reliable.
In addition, when buying watches, Uhrinstinkt asks for the owner's asking price, whether the timepiece was purchased from the company's online shop, and which type of sale (regular sale vs. trade-in) is preferred. While this information doesn't feed directly into the appraisal, it can bring financial benefits for the seller, such as a bonus on trade-ins.
How does a typical sale work? The Uhrinstinkt example
A transparent process is essential to selling watches safely. Uhrinstinkt shows what a sensible process looks like: Once the owner has submitted the purchase form with all the details about the timepiece and their personal information, the online retailer's experts promptly review the facts about the watch (and ideally its informative photos).
Once the review is complete, the owner receives a non-binding offer from Uhrinstinkt for a purchase or trade-in. Preparing the offer is free of charge. If the seller accepts, Uhrinstinkt arranges a pickup service, also free of charge, that transports the luxurious piece to the buyer fully insured. There, the timepiece undergoes a final inspection to make sure that all information and photos match reality. If the check reveals no unpleasant surprises, the agreed amount is transferred to the seller's account and the sale is complete. If a trade-in was agreed instead, the amount is credited toward the new watch.
Which brands are accepted?
Besides the question of "Who buys watches?", it also matters which manufacturers a given buyer accepts. Some companies limit themselves to the brands they carry or to certain price ranges, while other buyers have the expertise to accept various manufactures outside their regular inventory. At Uhrinstinkt, for example, luxury brands such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille can be purchased even though they aren't permanently available in the online shop. When in doubt, it's worth a quick phone call or email before the photo shoot and submitting the purchase form to ask whether the manufacturer and watch model in question are eligible.
What are the pros and cons of selling to a watch buyer compared with other sales channels?
As long as the buyer is trustworthy, selling to a professional offers the owner of a valuable timepiece two decisive advantages over other options: first, an expert valuation, and second, a highly secure process. Established buyers do earn a certain margin by reselling the watches, so the owner won't be paid 100 percent of the market value, but in return they guarantee a secure sale at close to the fair market price.
If, on the other hand, you try your luck with a private sale or an online auction, you run the risk of ending up miles below the appropriate market price due to a lack of expertise. Then again, unlike selling to a professional buyer, a private sale gives you the chance to be paid the full value by a well-heeled end customer. The bottom line: Selling to a buyer reduces the risk and spares your nerves, but often won't get you the highest possible price you could get for the watch.
