AD or second hand for high end watches?
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Hello! Im new to collecting watches and also new to horology and im glad to have a community to discuss these things with.
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Last active: 3 months ago
High end:
If market price is above retail price: Go Authorized Dealer. For example: Rolex Submariner
If market price is below retail price: Go Second hand Dealer. For example: Zenith El Primero
If you can buy from a trusted seller, there are significant savings available by buying pre-owned watches (well, at least for watches that don't trade above retail on the secondary market). The obvious advantage of buying from the AD is that you know 100% you're getting the authorized product with full warranty. I had picked up a pre owned IWC Pilots Chrono 41 last year from a trusted seller, and ended up saving over 35% of the list price. The watch was only 6 months old, so the majority of the warranty remained. If I didn't trust the seller, I would not have taken the chance, but since I did, I opted to save the money.
Either or
I prefer to buy new when possible and from an AD. No questions, no worries or extra digging on my part. I buy to keep so I don't really care about resell value. I probably could have saved a bit of money but not enough to bother me or make a big difference in the grand scheme of things. I have gotten decent enough discounts on everything except Rolex, of course, so that helps.