Watches you wear...

[Insufficient Funds]

Originally Posted by sketchyt

I was left a slew of fairly valuable watches (Rolex, PP, Omega, etc...) by my dad a few years ago now. Some have paperwork/packaging, some don't. I have some idea of what their worth by looking on Chrono.

What's safest and most effective way to go about selling them and not get hosed? Would prefer doing it locally.

I would also be very interested in what you might be willing to sell.

For appraisal and maybe even selling them, I would contact the authorized dealers in Calagry for each brand. J.Vair Andersson and Calgary Jewlers should cover most brands. They are reputable from my experiences with either, and they might make you offers on them as well. Or they may be able to help brooker a deal with their known clientele so you don't have to do Kijiji deals for large sums. No one likes that.

There's Chrono24 as well(I've never used it) ,r/watchexchange on reddit or you could contact Crown and Calibre to see what their process is for buying watches.

But like I said, I'm interested in what you listed so if your comfortable, shoot me a PM.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Beautiful!
Looks like an early 90s model with the Zenith El Primero movement.
I have a good sense of the price range but won't post it on here.

These don't sell as quick as the newer ceramic Daytona's, and I do think getting it to a brick & morter retailer like I suggested would be the best way to sell it.
It's worth enough that any shipping/insurance are worth it, even if you're sending it to another city like Vancouver or Toronto.

[Pacem]

Picked up my grail watch last night!

Took 4 years to figure out what kind of watch I wanted, so worth it.

The Zenith Chronomaster Original



Absolutely love it. I had such a hard time sleeping last night because I just wanted to wear it.

I didn't get a lot done at work today I just can't stop staring at it. I was really disappointed when the previous version had been discontinued earlier this year. I really had my eye on it but there were a couple things that were not perfect about it. They fixed every issue I had with it!

I was not sure what I wanted in a luxury watch so I just started of by purchasing some Seikos and got a feel for case size and dials I liked. Tried on so many watches.

Went from: Seiko SRP691J1 -> SRPB07J1 -> Seiko SSA383K1 ->SPB143J1 -> Sinn 556A RS

Pic Below

[jayswin]

That is stunning! Really love the design and the trio of colours inside is perfect.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Absolutely sweet watch!
I came very close to buying the chronomaster sport last week.
Congratulations!

[Winsor_Pilates]

I added to the collection this week as well; needed a green watch for Christmas

IWC Portugueser Chronograph
Got it on a steel bracelet but also got the leather strap to change up later and is the classic Portuguese choice.

[lazypucker]

Hi all, I have a question regarding buying Rolex watches. How long is the waitlist usually for a Submariner or a GMT Master?

If I am going to walk into J Vair Anderson tomorrow and ask to be put into the waitlist, will they point and me and laugh? Is the waitlist only for VVVIPs? Will I be wasting my time to go through an authorized dealer because I have no purchase history and I will be "waiting" forever to get my desired model?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Hi all, I have a question regarding buying Rolex watches. How long is the waitlist usually for a Submariner or a GMT Master?

If I am going to walk into J Vair Anderson tomorrow and ask to be put into the waitlist, will they point and me and laugh? Is the waitlist only for VVVIPs? Will I be wasting my time to go through an authorized dealer because I have no purchase history and I will be "waiting" forever to get my desired model?

Yes pretty much. You are basically never going to get a Rolex unless you are a frequent customer and even J Vair and Birks are completely empty as are most authorized dealers for the past year and likely into the future as Rolex has seemingly committed to take their brand up market.

A lot of ADs are mad that Rolex made them build all new show rooms recently and yet they have no stock for them. J Vair said they recently went to Vegas and they only saw 2 Rolexes in the entire city for sale by ADs.

You will be waiting forever. The only way to get a Rolex these days (supply chain even further squeezed with covid) is to go gray market. Anybody who gets the call from the AD can pretty much sell the watch right away for 1.5-2x the price.

The meme on r/watches and r/rolex is people are asking if they should be buying their AD dinner or gifts or even offering up their wives. Some people are genuine about this in their desperation.

[Pacem]

I am out in BC. I've been on a waitlist for an Explorer 1 since November 2020. This is before they reduced the case size to 36mm from 40mm so I am not even sure ill want it haha. No purchase history.

Did the whole check in and visit from time to time. The sales associate who took my name and number is super nice and chatty with me. Any time that sales associate is not there I basically get treated like I shouldn't be bothering them. Technically, I guess I don't look like a person who would spend thousands on a watch but it really bugs me when I get treated that way.

I would regularly see BNIB Rolexs come up for sale in Craigslist or at reputable jewellers who sell second hand watches. I gave up and just stopped going to the AD in the fall of 2021 as it was pretty obvious local ADs seemed to be working with flippers. I just went bought the Zenith shown in a previous post. Happy as a clam with my choice.

No harm in asking to be put on a list. This has just been my experience.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Pacem

I am out in BC. I've been on a waitlist for an Explorer 1 since November 2020. This is before they reduced the case size to 36mm from 40mm so I am not even sure ill want it haha. No purchase history.

Did the whole check in and visit from time to time. The sales associate who took my name and number is super nice and chatty with me. Any time that sales associate is not there I basically get treated like I shouldn't be bothering them. Technically, I guess I don't look like a person who would spend thousands on a watch but it really bugs me when I get treated that way.

I would regularly see BNIB Rolexs come up for sale in Craigslist or at reputable jewellers who sell second hand watches. I gave up and just stopped going to the AD in the fall of 2020 as it was pretty obvious local ADs seemed to be working with flippers. I just went bought the Zenith shown in a previous post. Happy as a clam with my choice.

No harm in asking to be put on a list. This has just been my experience.

I've been on the list at Birks for 5 years and nothing. I'm not interested in the whole buy 2-3 watches for 10-15K first before you will even be considered game. If you go to the downtown location they just renovated the whole right side of the store this year to be a Rolex boutique but it's a joke as it's completely barren. At least 5 years ago, the rep was able to show me some gold/jewelled models they had to get a feel for them. But stainless tool watches? No luck for us plebs.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I added to the collection this week as well; needed a green watch for Christmas

IWC Portugueser Chronograph
Got it on a steel bracelet but also got the leather strap to change up later and is the classic Portuguese choice.

Beautiful! Congratulations. A Portugieser Chrono was my first "big boy" watch and I still find it amazingly beautiful to this day.

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Hi all, I have a question regarding buying Rolex watches. How long is the waitlist usually for a Submariner or a GMT Master?

If I am going to walk into J Vair Anderson tomorrow and ask to be put into the waitlist, will they point and me and laugh? Is the waitlist only for VVVIPs? Will I be wasting my time to go through an authorized dealer because I have no purchase history and I will be "waiting" forever to get my desired model?

Honestly, I think the best thing to do right now is find a sharp buy in the configuration you want on the gray market. The initial price paid will sting, knowing MSRP and all, but there's a good likelihood that these inflated prices are here to stay. I've mentioned before in other posts, but I consider a good watch as a place to park money... I feel strongly that the money parked in a Sub or GMT at today's market price is still a safe place to park it and the downside risk is minimal.

I suppose the best of both worlds would be to still put your name on the list and you can lower your ownership cost if (if!) they call.

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I've been on the list at Birks for 5 years and nothing. I'm not interested in the whole buy 2-3 watches for 10-15K first before you will even be considered game. If you go to the downtown location they just renovated the whole right side of the store this year to be a Rolex boutique but it's a joke as it's completely barren. At least 5 years ago, the rep was able to show me some gold/jewelled models they had to get a feel for them. But stainless tool watches? No luck for us plebs.

I remember a platinum Daytona in the case ~10 years ago... Just sitting there, waiting for someone to buy it. I also remember trying on the two-tone Nautilus at Brinkhaus that they had in stock... Jim even called a few times to see if I was still considering it... My, how times have changed.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Hi all, I have a question regarding buying Rolex watches. How long is the waitlist usually for a Submariner or a GMT Master?

If I am going to walk into J Vair Anderson tomorrow and ask to be put into the waitlist, will they point and me and laugh? Is the waitlist only for VVVIPs? Will I be wasting my time to go through an authorized dealer because I have no purchase history and I will be "waiting" forever to get my desired model?

As other's have said, don't bother (sadly).
A submariner is a maybe after about 2-3 years waiting if they really like you, but still unlikely. No way you're getting a GMT Master.

The only Rolex you can get at retail is certain Datejust configurations, a Celleni, maybe a Milgauss.
I got my Datejust this time last year and that configuration won't be possible retail anymore either, things have only gotten worse.
I have also been on wait for GMT since that, and can't even get a call with previously buying from that dealer.

[lazypucker]

Thanks for all the inputs/your experiences. I know all about this waitlist/queue jumping /backdoor BS.

I know going to the waitlist is a very long shot. I don't mind waiting for 3-5 years or even longer for a Rolex that I really want. I just hate flippers/scalpers/resellers with a passion!!

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Thanks for all the inputs/your experiences. I know all about this waitlist/queue jumping /backdoor BS.

I know going to the waitlist is a very long shot. I don't mind waiting for 3-5 years or even longer for a Rolex that I really want. I just hate flippers/scalpers/resellers with a passion!!

Have you considered buying used? You could probably get what you want on eBay, or from an auction house like Heritage. I own three Rolex watches and bought all of them used with no regrets on any of them.

[PuckSlap]

It’s not smart; so we go hand in hand. I did change the band, because the one it came with was way to big for my wrist.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[you&me]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Have you considered buying used? You could probably get what you want on eBay, or from an auction house like Heritage. I own three Rolex watches and bought all of them used with no regrets on any of them.

"Grey market" is watch-speak for "used"... Just sounds a little nicer

Seems like OP would prefer to wait 2, 3, 6 years to get what he wants from an AD at MSRP, rather than pay market price to get it now.

Just another point to consider - the manufacturers will certainly not continue to leave the grey market margins on the table, so it's very possible that the list price, when your number comes up in the future, could be nearer the market price today than you'd expect...

[SilverKast]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Hi all, I have a question regarding buying Rolex watches. How long is the waitlist usually for a Submariner or a GMT Master?

If I am going to walk into J Vair Anderson tomorrow and ask to be put into the waitlist, will they point and me and laugh? Is the waitlist only for VVVIPs? Will I be wasting my time to go through an authorized dealer because I have no purchase history and I will be "waiting" forever to get my desired model?

As others have noted, with no previous purchase history it's extremely unlikely you'll ever get "the call" for a sub, let alone GMT. Used to be you had to maybe buy a datejust or something else but now even those are unobtainium. Pretty much every Rolex AD in the world has nothing but empty display cases - supposedly Rolex production has remained pretty consistent at around the 1 million watches/yr but global demand has gone through the roof.

You can still get Rolex, but you just have to pay more now through a gray. There's no shortage of them out there either - just go on TRF (the Rolex Forums) and you'll find a number of reputable grays, they just aren't cheap. Canwatchco.ca is the Canadian forum where you can look for something within Canada and avoid paying customs and duties importing something.

Alternatively I'd check out some other brands and see if anything is of interest. There's so many out there and all sorts of interesting watches besides Rolex (although that seems to be all anyone wants anymore).

[lazypucker]

Quick question - Do grey sellers = resellers / flippers? Much like kids buying up Air Jordans can resell them at a premium?

One thing I don't want to go to the reseller route other than paying a premium is that I don't want to get fakes or watches built with chop-shop parts (because I am a watch noob and can't tell the subtle differences). That's why I will never buy a high-price item from eBay sellers or unknown shops and only want to go the AD route, even I have to wait for years. That being said, who are some of the reputable Canadian resellers?

[you&me]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Quick question - Do grey sellers = resellers / flippers? Much like kids buying up Air Jordans can resell them at a premium?

One thing I don't want to go to the reseller route other than paying a premium is that I don't want to get fakes or watches built with chop-shop parts (because I am a watch noob and can't tell the subtle differences). That's why I will never buy a high-price item from eBay sellers or unknown shops and only want to go the AD route, even I have to wait for years. That being said, who are some of the reputable Canadian resellers?

Grey sellers are essentially anyone not selling at MSRP, even if they're an AD.

There are a number of reputable sites and resellers that you can purchase from worry-free. For instance, Chrono24 is completely legitimate and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them.

[SilverKast]

That's exactly it, greys get their watches from AD's and who knows where else. I've never bought any watches from eBay or Kijiji or anything like that as I'm also pretty wary about getting ripped off with a fake or something.

On any of the forums you basically have to buy the seller, as in do some research to make sure the grey you choose is legitimate. It may result in a price that isn't the cheapest, but at least it's a reputable seller with a large history. On TRF guys like DavidSW, Takuya, and SohAIS are examples of guys I'd have no issue dealing with. You'll pay a premium, but get what you want within a couple of days right to your doorstep. I bought a GMT from SohAIS 5 or 6 years ago and was super easy (although expensive).

Not sure on the Canadian forums though, I don't really go on there a lot as I usually deal with Birks here in town.

Edit: as noted above Chrono24 is a great place too, forgot all about them! Watchrecon is fun to use to look at what things are going for as well.