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Need a lesson on selling a watch on this forum please

2K views 18 replies 16 participants last post by  riff raff 
#1 ·
Hello all...I assume I should post this question here vs the for sale forum...if not I am sure it will be moved. I have been on the site pretty steady for a month or so...clearly addicted. I am having a hard time selling my most expensive watch on Craigslist and would like to try to sell it here. I do a lot of purchasing on ebay and I do have a Paypal account. I just need to know how the sale process works. I can certainly list the watch and include pics thats the easy part. My question is once a buyer commits to buy how do I go about the process so its fair of buyer and seller? I have never sent a Paypal invoice but I am assuming thats what u guys do....If I go through Paypal what fee do they charge? I assume I wait for the money to clear then ship the watch insured. Once buyer has received I guess we touch base to finalize that buyer is happy then we are done.....

Thanks for any info u can provide....

The watch is worth $2000.00 ....
 
#2 ·
There isn't a hard set rule on how you handle your sale, the site has rules you need to read. But you can handle fees etc your way, just make sure you are clear in your listing. You will see people say "net to me", go read other sales posts. You also need to have at least 100 posts and 90 days as a member here to sell.
 
#3 ·
There are 3 things to consider:

1. forum rules - need 100 posts (not speedposts) and 90 day membership to post watches for sale
2. Payment methods - Paypal being common, also can use face-2-face meets if in same area, or wire\moneyorder
3. But most important - assymetrical information about buyer\seller trustworthiness is what dictates terms of sale. If you are a seller and have no established reputation - buyers will likely want to pay Paypal (which has buyer protection and not much seller protection). Similarly it's unlikely anyone will wire you $, and people will likely ask you to ship immediately. Maybe even if selling to highly reputable buyer, they may want to get the watch shipped first. On the other hand, someone with long history and established reputation may dictate much more favorable terms when selling.

The key rule to buying on WUS or anywhere else - buy the seller. What it really means - buyers will want more protection with unknown sellers and will settle for less protection with reputable sellers.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the teach guys. I guess one of the key answers was 100 posts and 90 days. I am not far off from that so I can do some more learning then maybe give it a try in about a month. I look forward to getting this 2k back in the bank and out of my watch case......the watch just isnt getting any wrist time and when I do where it I feel I have to baby it so back to low budget dive watches for me :)

Thanks
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the teach guys. I guess one of the key answers was 100 posts and 90 days. I am not far off from that so I can do some more learning then maybe give it a try in about a month. I look forward to getting this 2k back in the bank and out of my watch case......the watch just isnt getting any wrist time and when I do where it I feel I have to baby it so back to low budget dive watches for me :)

Thanks
The other "rule" is if you think it's worth $2k, you'll wind up getting $1500. Unless you're in Philadelphia, because as we all know
 

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#5 ·
I think that you just need to find a way that is good for you and for the seller. Like other guys already told you, there are some specific rules (about number of posts etc), the rest is up to you.
Example: if you just want cash, there's a chance of 99,99% that you'd be better to put this watch for sale in some "local" market websites. Otherwise, if you - as you told us - are used to selling items online, you can easily find a way - through PayPal or maybe bankwire - to reach other passionate guys from the entire world.
And that is very, very cool! :)
 
#6 ·
Just be careful with PayPal.

Factor in your overhead into the price -- shipping, insurance, PayPal fees -- plus expect buyers to negotiate and sometimes even lowball.

Buyers have two different options when they do a PayPal transaction, and the "Friends and Family" option that does not charge the 3% to the seller offers no protection and is not the right option. I've had people do it, and I've explicitly shipped their stuff of course, but they're putting themselves out there and nobody is getting protected on that transaction. I could have just as easily kept the watch and money, and PayPal couldn't do anything about it. Encourage them to do the transaction correctly. People will also ask for bank transfers, which also leaves people unprotected in most cases. I'm not a huge fan of that either, unless I know the seller personally.

"PayPal Net To Me" is a code word for "I'm going to advertise X price, but you the buyer need to add on 3% or whatever to cover my expenses in the transaction." A seller listing what they want to be paid instead of their loaded price is, IMHO, a douche move if you're not super clear up front and explain the actual pricing structure.

It can be reasonable to add extra shipping costs when there's an unplanned expense, usually with overseas shipping, but it's also reasonable to decide up front where you're willing to ship to. If it costs me $10 to ship CONUS, $25 to ship to Canada but $140 to ship insured to New Zealand, then I might be willing to eat the first two shipping charges (as part of my expecting to pay overhead in the price) but the 3rd scenario, you may need to come back and ask the seller how they want to handle paying for shipping and work with them.

You're not responsible for any taxes or import duties.

You won't ever get 100% of new pricing on a watch that people can go out and buy today. Very few watches appreciate in value and it's almost always because demand outstrips supply-- rare vintage or limited editions. Other watches may be expensive, but not rare.
 
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#8 ·
it's against forum rules to use the friends and family option I believe. When I've sold a watch on here, I typically generate an invoice via paypal. It's pretty easy to find on there.
 
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#9 ·
I am not sure there is really anything that protects the seller on PayPal. If there is i would be interested to know.

I have bought and sold here with zero issues, i find people are very helpful when there are issues....with me it was with USPS and the seller really helped...and want to make this work. I only buy from people here though that have a bit of a history and i can see they are a watch lover and have bought and sold a few themselves. That being said be aware of who you are selling to, do some research in the search field about avoiding scams when selling.

Awkward as a first timer but when you put the watch up for sale by all means open a e-mail conversation and be prepared to answer all questions and send pictures as proof of ownership if required by a buyer. Honour what you say and do and things will be fine.
 
#19 ·
I am not sure there is really anything that protects the seller on PayPal. If there is i would be interested to know.
That is correct. As a buyer, you have protection, as a seller, not so much. Paypal reacts quickly with buyer remorse, and the burden quickly falls on the seller to prove otherwise.

For ads
Pictures, pictures,pictures (add that 30 times).
Bad pix = low interest.
You need approx 10 high detail pictures to sell.

With no reputation, it would be difficult to sell a $2k watch on a forum. Build a rep.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the good advice guys. I havent even got a nibble via Craigslist. I definitely need to open it up to a larger market. If I sell on Ebay I assume I am covered by both Ebay and Paypal to some degree.....and my buyer would be as well. The only problem is that on Ebay there are 10 of my exact watch for sale that i would have to compete with.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the good advice guys. I havent even got a nibble via Craigslist. I definitely need to open it up to a larger market. If I sell on Ebay I assume I am covered by both Ebay and Paypal to some degree.....and my buyer would be as well. The only problem is that on Ebay there are 10 of my exact watch for sale that i would have to compete with.
You'll have that problem no matter where you post it. It's the internet you're competing with, not just eBay or WUS or wherever.

I see this alot. Someone gets a good deal online and then they try to flip it for the pre-"good deal" price. They don't realize that everyone else has a computer as well and that the "good deal" price has just reset the baseline lower. There are no secrets on the internet, so no matter where you post it, you're still competing with the watches on eBay.
 
#15 ·
And when you do list ...don't put out a "FEELER" post ..LOL
I have noticed an uptick in new members circumventing the post count / longevity requirements with "Trade" posts ...just saying
 
#18 ·
You also need to be patient and level-headed. You will most likely get more than one offer from someone who thinks you are in dire need of immediate cash and will offer to help you out by giving you far less than you ask for.
Set a fair price ,but be willing to go down some. Respond to lowball offers as diplomatically as possible but I would advise against simply ignoring them.
 
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