WATCH PRICES DROPPED ebay etc..worldwidecrunch!

[funkyguy]

umm...
seems the bottom has slightly dropped out of watch sales worldwide?
i guess just a general drop in merchandise sales.

GOOD FOR BUYERS...BAD FOR SELLERS.LOL

THOSES WORLD (W)BANKERS HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER TO.LOL

G.

[rewolf]

....
THOSES WORLD (W)BANKERS HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER TO.LOL

G.

probably, but nobody asks them or takes them reponsible... so they can just continue and hope that it will over soon.
Very wrong - this is just the beginning, IMHO.
If they get the system back on its feet this time, the final crash will be next time. Or after that. It WILL finally crash, that's for sure. It can't work. You can't augment money just by shoving it around the world - you may think you can, but it's all just a bubble, borrowed from the future. Someday somebody will have to pay the bill. Totally sick .
(Sorry for the rant - but you started the topic )

[funkyguy]

"rants"

good for the lungs..eases stress,lol

[azimuth_pl]

if you're a collector = seller & buyer...
what do you do?
only buy and wait with selling for the good times to return?
or do you also sell (below market value) in order to get the money back and make a turnaround with your cash?

[funkyguy]

well.....myself i dont sell many watches nowadays.
(i perfer to trade with other collectors)
as i mainly buy what i like for my collection.
The few i have sold have gone down in price by at least 40% .
so for the moment its a buyers market out there.

But you will find the not so rare "run of the mill" leds watches
have dropped by a lot in price but the real rarities will virtually hold there values or may drop by 10% , thats my conclusions anyway.

G.

[rewolf]

if you're a collector = seller & buyer...
what do you do?
only buy and wait with selling for the good times to return?
or do you also sell (below market value) in order to get the money back and make a turnaround with your cash?

If you are a REAL collector, the situation is perfect: you can buy cheap and there's no good reason to sell - so you can keep your treasures and delight yourself with it
(The situation might change a bit once you run out of money...)
I'm rather into calculators at the moment, not watches, and there I can't see prices dropping. Maybe the whole LED crowd has simply moved on to calculators

[funkyguy]

"If you are a REAL collector, the situation is perfect: you can buy cheap and there's no good reason to sell"

thats a good point "rewolf"

As theres a differrance between "collecting" and "dealing".
dealers generaly just want profits,
collectors seek there desired items and retain them.
like most on this forum i "collect"
and sure if i find a cheap item buried on ebay .lol
and its not to my taste or its a double,,, i sell on.

If by chance i make a incy wincy tiny bit of profit..lol
than it alls good.no harm done.lol

g

[retroleds]

I think people that make up the bulk of LED collectors are the same people who are struggling the worst under this economy - wives, kids, mortgages, car payments. Vintage watches are a luxury.

[funkyguy]

As with any ecomnomic down turn US at the low end of the scale
(working classes U.K term .lol) allways get it in the neck.
we have a political issue in the UK at present with MPs
(elected members of parliment) lining there own pockets with tax payers funds,under the banner of exspenses,

As per usaul the people with the power
feathering there own FUCKING nests first.
or have lawyers / accountants to bury funds / tax,
a way of working the sysytem in there favour.

enuff sersious stuff----back to the watches..lol

[Led-Time]

That very same PM Mr Brown (our local MP by the way) a few years back stood at the gates of Rosyth Dockyard and told the whole workforce that if Labour was elected (Tories were in power at the time) they would reverse the decision the refit the UK’s nuclear submarine fleet at Devonport Dockyard, so when they ousted the Tories in the next election we were all expecting the announcement the new Trident boats would now be refitted at Rosyth needless to say it never happened.

All politicians are only in it to line their own pockets for as long as they can get away with it I can’t stand them it makes me sick to hear what they are getting away with when people in this country are struggling every day to make ends meet. Just look what they’re doing about the bankers that caused all this credit crunch sweet F.A. because they know the big party supporters will pull the plug on the political funds they need to live off the fat of the working class...

Back to the watches...I just bought an Omega to hell with the credit crunch...

[azimuth_pl]

every collector buys heaps of stuff, but there is always a certain percentage that you get rid of once you're bored or if you get a double. if you have heaps then you might be considered a trader.
I still buy in tons but want to sell my doubles which I have tons of as well.
It might be tough especially that my strategy is not to influence my hobby with my savings and pay-checks. with a policy like this you'll never have to explain your purchases to your wife or girlfriend and calm them down that the mortgage is not in risk, etc :)
so I buy cheap one or two or three, repair, swap parts, clean, wear and sell when I'm bored and I still have a hobby that doesn't cost a penny - total lack of stress no matter what.... crunch or not.

so back to my first question:
would you sell below price and make a turnaround with your money or wait for better times to come by storing your treasures for the next few years?

[funkyguy]

"would you sell below price and make a turnaround with your money or wait for better times to come by storing your treasures for the next few years?"

Myself if i needed the money than i would have to sell,
so i didnt have stock sitting in draws.
so it comes down to if you need the money now?if so than you gotta sell
and except a loss .also be very fussy on what you now buy
as it could be a long time before you sell it..

its all down to money man!!

g

[azimuth_pl]

thanks for the suggestion.
I'm trying to get an average opinion on whether to store the treasures for the next five years or a year or two?
I know it's hard to predict but any suggestions are welcome.
who knows? maybe the market will need 20 years to get back into shape?

[retroleds]

In response to the sell or hold question: myself, I keep putting stuff up for sale, take the batteries out after photographing and tagging, and then wisk them back to the safe where they can sit for as long as necessary. I am not selling on the cheap(have had some extreme low-ball offers lately.....'f'm!) If I 'bite the big one' before they are gone, the wife and her new squeeze can sort it all out. Or maybe my kids. The economic downturn is another reason I have stopped doing repairs during the summer - no reason to get mired into a trickle of repair jobs that might net me $200 a week, when I have other projects that can net me a few times that, easily. I think watch sales(new and vintage) will not decline much further. From what I have seen, a lot of people are wearing wristwatches again, as their cell phone is just not that handy after all. And watches continue to be: jewelry, conversation pieces, mysterious and fun.

[funkyguy]

Some good points made by all here regarding my original post
hopefully goes some way to help others who maybe in simular circumstances in respects to watch sales / buys etc

me..ill just plod along asking around and hoping my most desired items
appear for sale or trade..
on that note anyone looking to sell privatly..pm me.
my main interest is odd shapes..demi/semi drivers.asymmetrics etc.
check my link again .it will give you a idea of my tastes..


http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.c ... Id=2032675

good luck to all during theses uncertain times.

G.

[bruce wegmann]

Recent events on eBay would seem to bear out the truth of your observation. Case in point...a double-boxed P1 with magnet for $7400. By rights, this should have gone a good bit higher [not that I'm complaining...I know I said I would sit this one out, but the temptation was just too great...this puts 5 P1s under one roof].

[LEDluvr]

Personally, I've been on an LCD kick this year, and as you've all obsverved, prices have really dropped on the lower and mid level watches. I'm happy - I am getting several classic Seikos I've wanted for years for the price of what one of them was a year ago.

I too have a few LCDs and LEDs I'd like to sell - just not excited about those particular models anymore- but I'm holding out hoping the market will pick up next year or the year after that. I don't need the money so I can wait.

Congrats Bruce! Your 'number 5' makes me wonder - do you have insurance for your (very extensive) Pulsar collection?

[f.e.a.r]

Recent events on eBay would seem to bear out the truth of your observation. Case in point...a double-boxed P1 with magnet for $7400. By rights, this should have gone a good bit higher [not that I'm complaining...I know I said I would sit this one out, but the temptation was just too great...this puts 5 P1s under one roof].

Not bad for a watch in "mediocre condition", hey bruce

On a serious note, congrats, great watch...

[bruce wegmann]

I merely meant that the watch was in fact worn, and was in average condition [for a P1...high-end things like this are typically worn with a bit more care than, say, something in stainless]. The boxes and magnet made this one particularly noteworthy. And yes, everything is fully covered, documnted and serial numbers recorded. A recent large acquisition finally pressed me to create a full inventory, and I have to admit, I was surprised; I had actually lost track of what I had. The big shocker was, including the latest P1, there are now 95 solid gold Pulsars in the collction, the majority[!] in18K. I think I will dial it back a notch or two for a while...

[charger105]

Congrats on the new P1 Bruce.
Considering just a box (no outer box from memory) sold for about $2.5k last year, $7.4k seems an excellent buy.
I'd never even dreamed of bidding on anything over about $500, but was half thinking about this one ! I thought it could be a real bargain in these financial times.
I knew you could never have too many P1s !

Rgds.

[LEDluvr]

Bruce - if you really want to make us smile, take a pic of all five P1's in one shot. That would be a sight!

[azimuth_pl]

wouldn't that be the Twillight Zone 2? :)

congrats with the purchase.
ps. I wasn't bidding but do you big guys think it will ever be possible to give those poor guys a chance?