Selling watches in lots to the trade

Selling watches one at a time is how you get the most for each. Sometimes that isn't what you need. Capital tied up in slow stock, a niche you're leaving, or a pile of pieces that aren't worth listing individually all point to the same answer: sell them together, to the trade, in one transaction.

When a lot makes sense

• Aged stock that hasn't sold and is costing you carrying cost, as the aged inventory article covers.
• Watches outside your niche, taken in trade or bought as part of a collection.
• Low-value pieces where listing, photographing, and shipping each one costs more than the margin justifies.
• A need for cash quickly, which the cash flow article covers.
• Leaving a category, where clearing out in one move is cleaner than a long tail of listings.

Price it piece by piece

The mistake is to name a single number for the pile. Instead, value each watch at what the trade would realistically pay for it, then add those figures up. The trade price article explains why those numbers sit below retail, and the max buy calculator helps you model what the buying dealer will be thinking.

That total is your starting point. Expect to concede something for the convenience: the buyer is taking the slow pieces along with the good ones and putting up all the money at once. Decide in advance how much of a concession you'll accept, so you're negotiating from a plan.

Choose what goes in

Be deliberate about the mix:

• Keep your strongest pieces out, unless you're clearing everything. They sell well on their own, and a lot price rarely does them justice.
• Be honest about the weak ones. A buyer who finds three unsellable watches in the box won't buy from you again, and word travels.
• Group sensibly. A lot of related references is more attractive than a random assortment, because the buyer can see who they'd sell it to.
• Say what's missing, including links, boxes, and papers.

Present it properly

Dealers buy lots on information and trust. Make it easy to say yes:

• A list, watch by watch, with reference, serial, condition, and what's included.
• Photos of each piece, not one pile shot.
• Known faults and service needs stated plainly.
• A clear price for the lot, and whether you'll split it.

The dealer selling article covers dealing with trade buyers, and the condition report article covers describing each watch.

Expect to be cherry-picked

Buyers will often want the best pieces and not the rest. Decide beforehand whether you'll split, and what the price is if you do. A common approach is one price for everything and a noticeably higher per-watch price for selected pieces, which reflects what you'd be left holding.

Agree the terms

• Payment in full before the watches ship, or on collection.
• What's included, confirmed against your list.
• Inspection, including how long the buyer has and what happens if something isn't as described.
• Shipping and insurance, and who pays, remembering that a lot is a single high-value parcel unless you split it, which the shipping article covers.

Put it in writing, with the list attached, and invoice the sale as one transaction with the individual watches itemized.

Keep the records straight

Record each watch as sold individually at its allocated value, even though the money arrived as one payment. That's what lets you see the real profit or loss on each piece, which is the whole point of having tracked them. The cost basis article covers the allocation, and it's worth doing while the deal is fresh.

The lesson from a lot is usually in that record: which pieces you shouldn't have bought, and which you held too long before deciding.

Selling to a jewelry or pawn shop covers another quick exit for stock you want gone.