Watches are NOT Investments

[huncho]

Originally Posted by jaydav2306

You’re missing my point completely I had a min buy back guarantee at 14 and got offered 11 when I know they sell these for 23 plus….

Enticing customers to buy pieces as ‘ investments” when in theory they want all that profit back over and over again, unless you sell privately like has been said

Anyhoo I’ll leave it there

how do you know they sell for 23 today?

[nocaps]

i know a guy who made a small fortune investing in watches.
he started with a large fortune…

[JSolution]

I coerce my friends into liking watches and sell them to them on finance :)

[HideMyWalletPlease]

I never look at watches as an investment, but professional Rolex models sell faster which means greys are will to pay more and make a smaller margin. So even though I do not consider watches an investment I do try to keep my collection to a certain percentage of Rolex professional models for this reason. However I don’t really sell my watches.

If you try to sell a JLC, IWC, etc The grays wanna pay far less and have a bigger margin because they know they may be sitting on it for quite a while.

So 80% of what I have was highly desirable and bought at MSRP. I don’t really see that as investment but more of minimizing any depreciation or potential losses if I wanted to sell and take my collection a different direction.

[28mm]

When I bought my first then second and third Rolex, I believed with the way Rolex increases price and with discounts I might get (this was starting in late 1990's and early 2000's) that I'd never lose money on my watches.

So in a way I looked at them not as investments but as assets that would break even over time and then keep pace with inflation.

When I paid attention and saw my collection had increased greatly on some models it was great but at the same time getting watches was really hard and my AD's had lost Rolex.

Now I have an AD and am getting watches but still, they are assets that might break even or make a bit of money.

Not at all my main concern and yes it's out there as Rolex for investment. I hear it from just about everyone and it's a bit sad as they have less interest in saving for retirement than trying to get a Submariner.

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by jaydav2306

You’re missing my point completely I had a min buy back guarantee at 14 and got offered 11 when I know they sell these for 23 plus….

Enticing customers to buy pieces as ‘ investments” when in theory they want all that profit back over and over again, unless you sell privately like has been said

Anyhoo I’ll leave it there

I get that—and I totally respect where you’re coming from: I’d be pissed too. But I think this means that that seller is a POS, not (as per your thread title) that watches are NOT investments.

FWIW, I personally don’t view watches as investments.

[funkright]

[Andy0331]

Originally Posted by Theewatchgeek

To each their own but I view watches as an investment in my happiness nothing else

Amen! While many brands are a store of "some" value, typically they don't appreciate, except possibly in line with inflation over time. I give mine a monetary value of about 50% MSRP; I buy expecting to lose money, just like a car.

As you say, it's an investment in my enjoyment; little more.

[DonLee]

well, the current market has been really bad for grey dealers, and many of them have been taking in water. Them offering you low ball prices is an indication that they don't want any more inventory. Anyone who is trying to sell them a watch during this time, is most likely under financial stress, so they will try to take advantage of them.

In a better market, sell via consignment, should be able to get a much better price.

[indianmachine]

Originally Posted by douglasf13

Want to know how I know watches aren’t investments? I’ve lost money on every single Rolex and Tudor I’ve sold.

And this is not necessarily a bad thing, because before everything started rising in value it meant you could actually buy the stuff you wanted without paying a huge markup.

[Bpan]

Don't trust the prices on Watchfinder. They're selling a diver for 25k GBP, but Chrono24 has one for 25k USD (21k GBP). And of course, even Chrono24 is higher than you could get, as the lowest they have a Ruthenium dial 26715 (new 38 mm Chrono) for is 73k USD, but one just sold on Moda for 39.5k USD.

[cascavel]

Originally Posted by Guybrush

Word Police here. I never engage with threads like this, but for some reason I can't resist now--maybe it's the all-caps-y subject-line that pulled me in.

An "investment" is simply something (asset or otherwise) that someone purchases with the aim of increasing (or maintaining against adverse conditions) value.

So you cannot say that a watch is not ("NOT") an investment: it surely is, if someone buys a watch with that intention. What you might say is that a watch is not a very good investment, or that someone who buys a watch with that intention is not a very smart investor.

But it's also important not to universalize from your experience, especially when that experience is (based on what you've written) singular. Others, surely, have different experiences (and stop calling me Shirley).

No doubt, some watches (including some Rolexes and APs) would be considered likely to appreciate significantly. But I suspect that most (like most cars, boats, etc) would not be. But, to give a different example, just because someone buys a poor-performing stock, would you say that stocks aren't investments? Or just because someone buys a house to live in and enjoy and then sells it later at a huge profit, would you call that person a real estate investor even if it wasn't her intention to make money on it when she purchased?

So, you know... words.

You are much too rational, the internet is not going to be a happy place for you.
Based on the performance of a stock portfolio that I began putting together 18 months ago I would say that equities are definitely not ("NOT") an investment.
Based on the performance of a watch portfolio which I began putting together in 2015 and consists of a Rolex 116500 white, 5167/1a, 5711/1a white and Journe Chronometre Bleu, all purchased at MSRP at ADs when I lived in NYC I would say that wrist watches definitely are ("ARE") an investment.
I guess it's a matter of perspective.

[1William]

It depends on the definition of investment and the goal of the individual. Watches of a certain class hold a value, either up or down, from purchase price and can be liquidated or traded for money or another item of value. Make money, lose money, break even it depends on the buyer/seller/market. Sounds a lot like the stock market.

[brkn]

sounds like u r just mad that they are offering less than what you paid. watches can be investments for sure.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Theewatchgeek

To each their own but I view watches as an investment in my happiness nothing else

Very astute my young Padawan