Selling Vintage Rolex and Bracelet.Any Suggestions?

[Marc-Barr]

I have two items I am trying to sell. I have a Mens Rolex and an antique Gold and ruby Womens bracelet. My question is, where do I go to sell? I had them appraised and have the paper work(not sure if this is important or not when selling) but have heard in the past they usually appraise them very high,so I should not expect to get what they are appraised at. Anyone know if there is any truth to this? I hate Ebay but don;t know where else I could go to sell them. Any suggestions?

[waywardangler]

There are many types/values of appraisals.  Insurance purpose, replacement, retail selling high, retail selling low, wholesale, auction, and maybe some others.  Will you be selling direct to an end buyer, a dealer, an auction, etc.?  A direct sale to an end buyer would net you the most $.  Ebay would take 9% plus listing fees plus PayPal fees so lets figure 20%.  An auction house takes about 30%.  A dealer would probably give you a fifth of what the appraised low selling price is.  Pawn Star Rick would be your best bet as he would give you half of what it is worth...in cash.  JMO.

[Marc-Barr]

Thanks. Yeah, Direct sale would be the best but I feel like I am dreaming winning the lotto going that route. A friend suggested Craigslist but I end up getting scam artists wasting my time doing that. I could always take it to local jewelers I suppose. I've had them for years and they are not doing any good collecting dust in my jewelry box. I know there are plenty of people out there who make a living buying Rolex's. Found a lot just doing a Google search. I's just like to get a fair amount for them. Seeing you break down the options was very helpful though. Thanks again!

[talesofthesevenseas]

You might try a consignment shop, or Ebay is another option.

[mart]

Some jewelers will take consignments,, have you checked with any?  At  least smaller ones might.

[mariok54]

I would have suggested a good local Auction House that runs specialist Auctions as well as general Auctions, but I was surprised to read that they can take c 30%. Over here both the buyer and the seller pay commission, so on average (in this area)  if I were to sell something through Auction then it would cost me between 12.5 and 15%, plus 20% VAT, so the maximum would be 18%. Some Auction houses will reduce the commission to 10% or less if the item sells for over £1000.

[waywardangler]

Mario, if you have an auction house that only charges 12.5%, there is no need for eBay.  I would consign everything with them to save the hassle of packing/shipping/listing.  I shot out a general consignment %.  Some are lower and some are higher.  If Marc does go with an auction house, you have to make sure they handle what you are selling and advertise.  Selling a Rolex in a farm auction won't do much but with a house that does jewelry and coins would.  Sometimes the period between the consignment, selling, and payment can be months.

As to the hated "Buyers Premium", read this...http://www.ganews.co.uk/premium.html
A practice I really hate and I rarely patronize auctions that charge it.

[mariok54]

Hi Wayward,
That article says it all. There tends to be two types of Auction Houses where we are. One which tend to deal mainly in House Clearances and other lower end value items, and I know of two that have a buyers premium/commission of 12.5% (+20% VAT, so making it 15%). The other type of Auction House will deal mainly with Edwardian & Victorian, and generally charge 15% + 20% VAT, so making it 18%. If they have specialist Auctions then they may charge a 17.5% + VAT buyers premium. I still use these auction houses, I just make sure that I decide how much I want to go up to, work out what the buyers premium would be included in that, and that's when I stop bidding (or not)

Sellers commission tend to be the same. Unfortunately most items that I've sold on ebay, not necessarily high value, probably wouldn't fetch nearly as much at these types of Auction. After two bad experiences of selling on ebay I would no longer consider selling any high value items there.... I would prefer the security of the auction house, after all, ebay is not much cheaper.

As ebay really favours the buyer I'll continue to buy through them as well.

Sorry for hijacking this thread

[waywardangler]

I am not sure how it is in the UK, but in the US, the buyer's premium legally belongs to the seller (unless the seller agrees to give it to the auction house) and not the auction house.  There is a big misconception among auctioneers, buyers, and sellers that this premium goes to the auction house.  See...http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/index.html?id=1543
"Consequently, an auctioneer who keeps buyer's premium proceeds, without the seller's approval, would breach the fiduciary duty owed to the seller by engaging in self-dealing. Where such conduct occurs, the aggrieved party can sue the wrongdoer for damages and to disgorge all ill-gotten gains."

[mariok54]

Hi Wayward, it certainly does seem to be different over here. That first link you posted pretty much tells it as it is. The auction house keeps the buyers premium, so it's pretty much another commission. I suppose what it does is spread the pain. That's why ebay is still attractive to buy from, but not necessarily to sell through ... but with no sellers ... ?

[gingertomantiques]

Try one of the many watch forum sites , they allow private sales & do not charge for the listing, its totaly free & worldwide coverage

have a look at watchuseek there are others
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/

Could be interested in watch what sort of rolex is it, how old, condition  & how much

[Marc-Barr]

Thanks to everyone. This place rocks! Very helpful replies and a lot for me to consider.Thanks again!

[jondar]

I sold a vintage Rolex about three years ago.  You didn't mention which model yours is.  Mine was a bubbleback model popular in the 40's.  The hands on mine had been replaced (a mistake on my part) with modern ones and it had been cleaned and timed.  Occasionally ads will appear in classifieds offering to buy.  One dealer in Dallas offered $700 but I would have to send him the watch and trust him to send me the check.  Huh uh.  One dealer ran an ad that he would be in my town on a certain date buying and I called him and he did give me $700 for the watch.  He said if it had the original hands it would have been worth nine.  All in all, Ebay is your best route.  Prices seem to be high there.

[Marc-Barr]

Fro those who are interested. The Rolex is a 18kt gold oyster perpetual datejust wristwatch.Tiger eye dial and fluted bezel with attached 18kt yellow gold Rolex jubilee bracelet with hidden clasp. Circa 1978.

The bracelet is a 18kt yellow gold bracelet with 12.33mm in width,hexagonal frames connected by a bar link:the bracelet is bead set with a total of 136 round brilliant cut diamonds and channel set with a total of 66 square step cut natural rubies,each measuring approximately  2.5x 2.5mm. Sorry I didn't put this in my original post.

[history dude]

I do not see mentioned that Rolex keeps a record of the original purchaser going back generations. If you can get some info from them on the original buyer... well, some amazing discoveries have been made that way, greatly increasing value.

Remember the guy on Antiques Roadshow with the old watch? The appraiser pointed out that the name on the repair paperwork was TS Shaw... the real name of Lawrence Of Arabia. The guy had no clue the whole time he owned the watch.