Here's a Serious Question;

[Ard]

Not that all the questions I have seen posted here aren't but this one bugs me. Now there aren't that many things about watches that "bug" me but this is HUGE.

I'm not a chronic watch buyer but I enjoy looking / shopping after some models that have eluded me for years because I just didn't want to part with my money. So I guess I'm a sort of window shopper and the windows in this century come via websites, auctions on eBay and the like.

When you are looking at an offer for a watch model you have never owned or even tried on and it is being offered for sale in 'Pre Owned' condition what is the single most important thing you need to know / learn from the sale listing?

Yeah pictures are nice and really good pictures are even better. Yeah knowing if the bracelet has all the links is another big one if it's a bracelet watch. Box & papers yeah yeah but...…….....

The number one thing I'm looking for in the details is......…. Drum Roll...………… The Diameter of The Case!

If I had a ten dollar bill for every single watch listing I have seen where I am seriously tempted and the seller failed to add the diameter of the watch I could just buy a new Monaco or whatever else about 5 grand would get me!

I always take that to mean that the seller is not a watch person because if they were they would know how ultimately important that one detail is to a potential buyer. I think Bracelet links is the second or equal to size too.

What say you?

[Skeptical]

I don’t necessarily disagree, but if I’m to the point of seriously looking, I’ve done my research and know the specs.


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[Pneuma]

The thing is, good deals usually come from non-watch people because they don't know how to price their watches, so they are either way overpriced or underpriced.

[Ragl]

Want to know something? Ask the question.

Cheerz,

Alan

[OvrSteer]

If I'm buying any watch-- new being the most likely culprit because something new is by definition something I didn't know about before-- case diameter is the #1 thing I need to know. I can derive everything else I need to know from that and anything that's not acceptable size-wise is something I can immediately give up on.

If I'm buying used, it's that plus "does it have all the links"/condition of the strap/is the strap original. Most everything else should be evident from pictures.

[OvrSteer]

Want to know something? Ask the question.

Cheerz,

Alan

If you could ask the question in the thread and the seller could answer it once for everyone that would be helpful, but the powers on high here have deemed that to be A Bad Idea.

I'd hate wasting someone's time here to ask the question if I could research it myself (even if it were a hassle) and if I ask a non-WIS on eBay or whatever, they won't know and I'll probably get an inaccurate or arbitrary answer anyway like "bigger than a bottlecap, smaller than a coke can." Gee. Thanks.

[Fergfour]

Listings with inaccurate measurements (or no measurements) aren't unheard of. I always research the watch myself anyway. Sometimes it's a discontinued model so it can't be found on the manufacturers website so try to find reviews. Sometimes "reputable" watch review sites give slightly different measurements too which is fun.

[The watch knob]

I want to see good pictures. I don't need loupe level, but this is 2019 and even the cheapest smart phones have cameras capable of better than the grainy crap you see on eBay, Chrono 24, etc. At least put in a basic effort to photograph something you're trying to get several hundred or thousand dollars for in a sale. If you can't do that, even if it's a watch model I'm lusting after, I'm not even going to bother asking for better photos. If someone took good ones and I wanted another one, I'd ask, though.

[mannal]

Good morning Ard,

Not all people are the same, therefore, not all sellers are the same. I learned not to sweat the small stuff, hoping I live longer. If I need more info, I send a PM. As far as I go, I've sold a dozen watches on WUS and my listings suck. I have a few active posts, go see for yourself

[dmjonez]

If it's a piece of which I've never heard, diameter and thickness are at the top. If it's something I know, good photos can make the difference. And as always, price is king...