Do you sometimes put too much emphasis on Value on your watches?

To be honest, not really, but only because I already know that no watch is worth its original asking price. It's like DVDs which drop in price 6 months later, or back in the day, singles and LPs which ended up in the bargain bin for those who weren't early buyers.

I don't buy a watch unless I'm okay saying goodbye to all I'll spend on it. If I do decide to sell it, cool, I get some money.

Same here my problem is I bring more in than I let go.

Same, I consider money spent on watches to be completely gone forever, as if I'd put it in a pile and burned it...

If I sell a watch and get back something, I'm completely happy. "Value retention" is completely meaningless to me.

Value only matters to me during the process of research & until I buy the watch.

Learned that lesson when I bought 2 Casioaks with the intent of swapping the crystals/modules to make the watch(es) I wanted that Casio didnt.

Sadly, the modules/crystals were different sizes so the swap didn't work.

Sold them for a 50% "loss" and the last shred of my naiveté flew out the window.

I used to buy but now only build for a lot less money.

Value is such an interesting subject. For example I have two watches in my collection, $100 and 1k, respectively that both hold a lot of value to me. I can sell them close to purchase price. However, I value them for what they offer. Nothing else is really comparable. They are both INVALUABLE, I won't sell them, because there isn't anything that can match them dollar for dollar. Yes it's subjective.

Also, I have bought retail for piece of mind that I'm buying a legit watch. if it resells for less I'm not as bummed out because I've enjoyed my experiences with them. Like paying for a goodnight out. It's the memories gained not the material lost that matters.

I never question the price because I know it is never justified. All I can do is make sure I waste my money on the stuff I would like to have. Stuff that I think is worthwhile owning because it does something better than the rest. The money is gone either way but that way at least I am left with something I actually want.

Watches that are kept in good condition tend to keep a good deal of their value. The variable is how popular they are in the first place and whether anyone wants to buy one secondhand. If they do, and you only paid half retail price as in your example, it's a pretty fair bet you will make all of your money back, even offering it for sale at half its retail price which would look attractive to a buyer sometime in the future when the watch isn't on sale, and possibly isn't even being sold new any more. So it's certainly something to consider when making a purchase, so long as you're a collector who lets go of watches after a year or two or three. There are some, of course, who just keep filling up box after box after box, and will make for a hell of an estate sale one day where no one cares about prices paid.

No, at this point I just buy watches that I want, but nothing outside of the range of what I can afford. I think it is easy to get caught up with value and before you know it you have $10,000 plus sunk into dozens of watches, and the only reason you have so many is because you were only hunting for value. In reality you also would have spent the same amount or maybe even less on a handful of more expensive watches that wouldn't be considered value buys.

@cabarbhab hit the nail on the head, I have a dozen watches now exactly bec I was hunting for value. I got most of them on deals - ranging from 20% to 40%. I don’t regret them but at the same time, most of them don’t get much wrist time and therefore aren’t really “worth it”. I probably would have saved quite a bit by going slightly up market and getting 1 or 2 pieces that get used a lot more.

When I buy watches I like to get a good deal, and I will sometimes buy used. I have paid retail for a few watches that are difficult to get any other way. While I generally don't have intentions of selling my watches, I do keep track of what their pre-owned retail values are and I only expect to recoup 50-60% of preowned retail if I sell.

Done that lots of times. Often more than 50% off.

Does it diminish the watch? Not at all. Take Zodiac for instance. I find them a bit over priced at MSRP but with a good discount, worth every penny.

Never bought new, never will.

I am totally ok with whatever dollars lost forever with regards to my stash of watches. Clothing remains a sore point however, I look at the racks of suits shirts trousers that have been rendered redundant by my age, a global pandemic understand what is a genuine waste of money. I used to purchase my Breitling watches for 50% of MSRP from the agent so knew my watches were worth 20-30% of the list price. Watches that cost more than 50 bucks are a pure indulgence.