Transactions what is really happening in todays market?

[macplee]

The reason i ask is i have traded watches before with a reasonable buy and sell price during 2021 and early 2022 but now.....not so much.

i have reached out to a few dealers to trade a steel AP RO chrono and they offer me 60% of chrono24 price and they want 95% for their watch. I am 100% ok giving them cash to close a deal so i thought cash plus good watch would be reasonable but NOPE.

wonder if others are seeing similar

[HMHM]

Most of them are trying to ride out the storm and praying HARD each day that the crisis goes away and the market returns. A lot of them bought stocks at the peak of the market and are holding firm on prices to avoid a loss. My local arrogant grey dealer is still keeping red and yellow OPs at April’s price post W&W 2022.

Be patient. There’s gonna be an exciting movie ahead! Let’s see who is swimming naked when the tide goes down.

[rag5178]

My experience with most greys has been exactly the same. Aggressively low ball offers on trade values while continuing to charge prices more in line with the market several months ago.

[thekman]

Sounds like most grey dealers to me. They want to win on both the sell and the buy with ridiculous margins. I have only been able to make trades work when I was trading a super hot watch like a pepsi towards a slow moving watch like a Lange. Other than that the math just never works.

[Gebbeth]

I think for the wider secondary market players like Crown and Caliber and Watchfinder, you are seeing them not offering to buy the watches from you. Rather they are willing to go consignment instead.

I can understand smaller resellers and secondary market players trying desperately to maintain financial sanity in these markets, but when the larger players show indications that they need to tamp down expectations and inventory, there is something larger going on in the background.

Just my thoughts.

[macplee]

Just to add color to this discussion instead of just generalities

my AP RO chrono - not a slow mover i would have thought - chrono24 says 68/69 they said i would get trade value in low 40s. and the watch they were offering was a chrono24 $92 they could offer mid 80s. HUH? they were nice while telling me this....i said - ok i will pass.

no harm no foul.
glad i like my ap and was just looking

[MichelleP]

I looked into trading my Rolex Sub date purchased new end of 2021 for an Explorer I. Figured I'd get a few bucks back but nope. They wanted to haggle for an even trade. Turned that down.

[ap1]

Not surprising. They need to lower their current inventory pricing for sure and are being stubborn. I’ve had dealers decline a blue dial VC OS. Wuuuuuuut

[GB-man]

Buyers market on secondary. When it becomes a buyers market at the ADs and boutiques then we are in business! Or maybe it goes back up who knows.

Simple just don’t buy anything modern or not genuinely rare over msrp.

[Incroyable12]

All dealers are like this for as long as the watch market has existed.

They offer pennies on the dollar. Enough people need the money I guess since dealers always seem to have stock coming in.

Some brands you'd be lucky to get a 1/4th of the value.

[dchang81]

Chrono24 prices right now are wishlists

[gordon86]

Originally Posted by macplee

Just to add color to this discussion instead of just generalities

my AP RO chrono - not a slow mover i would have thought - chrono24 says 68/69 they said i would get trade value in low 40s. and the watch they were offering was a chrono24 $92 they could offer mid 80s. HUH? they were nice while telling me this....i said - ok i will pass.

no harm no foul.
glad i like my ap and was just looking

When you say Chrono is offering at 68/69 is that the average or the lowest of all listings? I realize dealers generally offer 25-30% off the cheapest non-private listing in Chrono.

[EEpro]

Just wait, OP. When trading a watch for the exact same watch, all things equal, the dealer is going to want 25%. That's a hard to stomach $ up in RO and ROC price territory.

[TimepieceRPP]

Chrono24 prices are little bit too high I would think. A lot of dealers are not taking watches at the moment, like my Daytona. Some said they have 5 to 6 in stock already. Even though some offered but the price was ridiculously low.

[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by macplee

The reason i ask is i have traded watches before with a reasonable buy and sell price during 2021 and early 2022 but now.....not so much.

i have reached out to a few dealers to trade a steel AP RO chrono and they offer me 60% of chrono24 price and they want 95% for their watch.

That sounds like the historical watch market.
2021 and 2022 were an anomaly. Working on a 10% margin only works when prices are going up and/or you are pretty sure you already have it sold.

Two things here.
40% profit margin is what dealers get on brand new watches.
Why spend money to make less than that.
Second no one knows if the market has bottomed yet. They could be left holding the bag.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by MILGAUSS88

That sounds like the historical watch market.
2021 and 2022 were an anomaly. Working on a 10% margin only works when prices are going up and/or you are pretty sure you already have it sold.

Two things here.
40% profit margin is what dealers get on brand new watches.
Why spend money to make less than that.
Second no one knows if the market has bottomed yet. They could be left holding the bag.

Exactly. Working on a 10% margin to make 1000 or even 500 bucks was only happening in that hockey stick market where dealers and buyers (who were mostly dealers) were confident prices were headed higher. Now that confidence has been broken nobody is catching a falling knife to make 10% when the downside is that or more.

Dealers want to do consignment at 10% or they want to pay you half whatever the chrono24 prices (aka the museum of unsold watches) are.

[DJH1977]

These are normal patterns of buying and selling luxury items. Reversion to the mean I would guess. Can’t blame anyone for prudence when sitting on a lot of inventory that is providing less cash flow.

[Cdaddylutz]

Great thread

[macplee]

keeping the thread going ....i was offered trade in value for AP RO 41mm chrono black w complete for low 40s.