A Vintage Watch Hunter: Self Supporting Collecting

I know I talked about this before but I figure after this much time and this many posts I should go back over it. Unless you have a great job paying you lots of money and much of that is disposable you will always be limited in what you can buy. Those higher end watches will always seem out of reach without lots and lots of saving.

So that is where the idea of using your knowledge and free time hunting down the good deals. It becomes a challenge or a game then and makes things a bit more interesting. You have to have some self control though because you can't keep them all. If I could have kept all the watches I have had over the past 25 years I would have 500-600 watches by now. Some amazing ones and some that are just flat out uninteresting. But the trick is to keep in mind that there is better stuff out there and only keep the best of the best. Keep what you feel belongs in a great collection.

That does mean you need to sell some good ones now and then to keep the cash flowing but better will come along. The idea is simple though, just like any investing, buy low and sell high. The better your profit margin the better chance you have of buying better and better watches. Buy a $100 watch for $25 and now you have $90 (after fees) to buy the next one. You find a $200 for the $90 you buy it and sell and now you have $190 to play with.

The idea is to have a rolling stock of watches for sale that you paid a small percent of the value for and a second group that is your personal collection. You will come across great deals looking in the right places but you have to decide what goes, and that can be tough at times. I have not only sold to buy more watches, I have sold to pay unexpected bills as well. So in that way it can become a revenue stream as well but the more you take away from the watch buying and selling cycle it is setting you back.

The best buying locations are not often your best places to sell. Ebay is the exception to the rule. You could buy and sell there and profit but it takes lots of work and searching to find the right buy then list it right and then sell there. Do it too soon and people researching will see the purchase for a low amount and think that is what the watch is worth. That makes it a harder to sell watch on there. I tend to like to reserve eBay as the place to buy for the collection and sell the local finds.

These were all local finds and most have moved on while others stay in the collection.

Traded for watch and cash...