What do you do with early poor choices when building a collection?!
Like many people, my passion for watches has been a slow progressive journey. I typically buy watches in the <£300 budget.
I’ve learnt to buy what I want rather than what I’m seeing on watch channels and picking styles that I like and that I know that I will wear.
When I look at some of my early purchases, there are some fashion brands and dubious choices that I just would buy now and will never wear again. My question is, What shall I do with them?
Part of me wants to just move them on as they are taking up too many space and are just never realistically going to be worn again.
But they are part of my watch journey and without these stepping stones, I wouldn’t be where I am today with the other pieces in my collection.
My question is, what would YOU do? Keep them for nostalgic reasons or drop them ASAP?
Born an Edward. Known as Eddie all through school. Now I’m Ed. Where will this name shortening end and should I be worried? Always liked watches but only really got the bug in the last couple of years...
I’ve been told that I should keep them as a reminder as where I came from. Is it possible to hold onto them and pass them on. Someone on WC passed on a watch to someone in need of a watch for an interview recently and I thought it was the best thing I’ve heard of in a long time.
Keep any that have sentimental value (like birthday gifts, etc), and purge the rest. I recommend gifting/selling them to someone you know just in case you have any reservations about it.
Same here if I don’t wear it or want to fund another watch I sell it.
I have one watch (I don’t regret) I plan to sell. But because of this watch, I vet watches for 6-9 months. Thankfully, other than the one, I’m happy with everything in my collection.
I've been lucky that I don't have watches that I don't wear. However I guess I feel that I've already paid so may as well keep them whatever. I don't trade watches to buy the next one, I just wait until I can have it.
Auction them here for charity! 😉
Keep things that have sentimental value to you. Sell things that don’t.
I’ve done a mix of keeping and giving (to fam/friends) earlier watches I bought around 2010, when I first started the hobby. As suggested by other Crunchers, keep watches with sentimental value and sell/give that don’t. 🤙
Yesterday I gave this one to my brother in law. He loves it. I only wore it every couple months.
I sell what I don't wear. I try to keep my collection manageable. I find that I don't typically wear more than 4-5 watches in heavy rotation so I try to really save up for bangers that will stand the test of time. I have to love a watch before I buy it, which means I'm typically stalking watches for 1-2 years before I pull the trigger. The nostalgia factor means less to me than the $200-300 I might recoup that can get me to the next watch that much quicker. Plus, you'd be surprised what you can sell. Even some of the cheapest watches have buyers out there if you put them up for sale.
If you don’t wear, like, want it then sell. Less is More.
Give them away to kids, teenagers... People you know that can't afford shit
As a hoarder i'd keep them for nostalgia. If you can't stomach them at all, you could always donate, sell, or throw them away (dont throw them away) 😄
Learn from them
Keep the ones you like
Don’t make the same mistakes again
I give them away...I find friends, family or colleagues who are interested in watches and provide them with a starter watch.
There are some that will always stay in the collection for sentimental reasons...my first Swatch, my first Timex, my first few Fossil watches...
But my Aliexpress flings are ripe for giving away.
I cannot recall how many watches I have given away, but it is certainly deep into the double digits by now.
It's so fun to see someone new to watch collecting enjoying watches that would otherwise be buried in a bad watchbox somewhere.
They are good for practicing watchmaking.
I usually give them away. Especially if someone expresses a interest in a particular watch. Recently gave one to my son in law and one to my granddaughter. They both commented on the watches so here you go !
I always give away a watch if its something that I don't want anymore and it's a starter brand. I look at it this way it gets people into the hobby in a good way. Let's face it we are crazy people anyway in this hobby might as well get others to join .😎