Fratello Talks: Buying, Selling, And Trading Watches With No Regrets

Can they be avoided? Or do they just come with the territory?

May 23, 2024

comments 14

Hello, and welcome to this week’s episode of Fratello Talks. This topic is familiar to all those who spend enough time around watches and especially to those who consider themselves collectors. Buying, selling, and trading watches comes with the territory, and though a decision may seem solid at the time you make it, you may always regret it. In this week’s episode, Nacho, RJ, and Morgan discuss keeping regrets to a minimum when buying, selling, or trading watches and offer advice in doing so. But is it possible to avoid regrets altogether? Before we answer that, let’s take a look at what’s on the guys’ wrists this week.

Wrist check

We begin with Morgan, who we are happy to still have around for a couple more episodes before his departure to warmer climates. Today, he’s wearing a watch that he’s sure to get plenty of use out of down on Reunion Island. It’s his Omega Seamaster Professional 300M (reference 2531.80.00).

RJ is wearing his 1991 Rolex Day-Date in 18K yellow gold (reference 18238). It’s a watch from his year of birth (give or take 14 years) that has further cemented his healthy obsession with solid-gold watches. The Day-Date is a classic with which you simply cannot go wrong.

Finally, Nacho is wearing his trusty 1993 Seiko 7002. As he mentions in the episode, this watch was featured in his first article on Fratello. It is one he won’t part ways with anytime soon as doing so would almost certainly not be free of regret.

Buying, selling, and trading watches with no regrets

It’s safe to say that anyone who gets deep enough into watches to have a collection will experience the ebbs and flows that come with it. And though this means that most of us will almost certainly experience some feelings of regret over past decisions, the ideal would still be, like Mr. Sinatra, to have too few to mention. There is no clear guide on how to achieve this. Today, the guys decided to share some of their experiences and advice they would give those at an earlier stage in the journey. Whether you’re a seasoned collector or just getting started, be sure to tune in. There are sure to be some useful insights for you in this chat.

We’d also love to hear your thoughts on the topic, so please leave those in the comments section below!

And, as always, tune in next week for a new episode of Fratello Talks.

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Fratello Talks: Buying, Selling, And Trading Watches With No Regrets

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Enuona says:

May 23, 2024 at 07:51

Reunion is not really my thing. Not sure about the island, just seen it from distance, but my memories from Mauritius are great. All the best for Morgan, hopefully Reunion becomes a great experience.

As for the process, I’m not really in to the habit of revisiting the past, be it people, places, properties or items. Been there, done that rules, and the memories either stick or fades at some point. One keep the important memories for as long as they are important, then they fade as well. Purchasing back memories is all good, but in most cases one cannot purchase back the reality of the past.

Changes tend to be triggered by something, good or bad, but more often than not there is a reason for moving on.

As for watches, I’m not a collector, thus the few I’ve had were bought for a reason and are gone for another.

Fiscally it would have been wise to pick (what I seem to remeber was) a Pepsi and a Kermit(?) back in the day. That is theory, in reality either would have been bashed to the extent that present values would have been totally irrelevant leaving my ownership. No regrets whatsoever.

Advise to fresh collectors? Not the right one for that, but I would argue money could last longer if you do your homework and get the right one, and a good one for a lot of wrist time first. Perhaps stick to that one until content. Then, whatever you’ll get to expand or to fill your boxes with gets a “tough love start” competing for wrist time with something that really means something to you. Makes you conscientious.

Then again, flipping is known to be appreciated by several.

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  May 23, 2024 at 10:39
  
  Thanks for your comment and advice to fellow enthusiasts!
  
  Reply
MB
MarkBu says:

May 23, 2024 at 10:17

My acquisition approach revolves around not spending a lot on any one watch and assuming it’s a sunk cost. The next questions is “When are you planning to wear that” and “What does this one do what none of the others can”. It works pretty well.

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  May 23, 2024 at 10:40
  
  Those are good questions to ask yourself before making the purchase! I try to do the same, but sometimes fail, and then a new watch slips into my collection.
  
  Reply
movenpick says:

May 23, 2024 at 13:50

Regret comes from trying to rationalize that the watch you bought is as good as a much more expensive watch. People concoct so many theories for why their watch is as cheap as it is, hoping if these theories are repeated often enough their watches will get more expensive. It never happens, no one is smarter than the market. Cheap gets cheaper with time, and the regret grows bigger.

Reply
TW
Berlin_Tony says:

May 23, 2024 at 14:44

I have bought a number of watches in my search for a pre-patina’d quality watch to wear on a daily basis & almost all of them have turned up being far too nice for daily abuse – I’ve just done it again with a cheap 80s diver that looked appalling on eBay but turns out to be Swiss Made & in better condition than my actual daily, I don’t regret buying it because it’s eventual sale will help finance something else

I don’t regret selling the “too good for daily wear” 2nd hand tool watches, I enjoyed owning them & if they aren’t actually what I wanted ultimately then I am happy to let someone else get some pleasure from them – obviously it helps getting my money back on them

I have watch buying regrets, all to do with new watches – I bought a Tissot T-Touch when they were new on the market which went wrong under guarantee twice & the rubber strap broke after 18 months

I also bought a Junghans Mega that was advertised as being carbon fibre, well it was but only the face, the rest was plastic, including the strap so I let that go after only a fortnight & then there was the cheap Casio with a 10 year battery, a 2 year strap which I replaced & a 2 years 1 month movement, annoyingly

I briefly owned a Casio G-Shock with a unreadable white on black display & fades to yellow very quickly see through strap

In conclusion – if you aren’t wearing it let it go, do your research, stay away from new, unproven technology (unless you really want to do the beta testing for it’s manufacturer), most things are cheap for a good reason & just because it looks legible in the pictures doesn’t mean it is on your wrist

Reply
DK
Ayreonaut says:

May 23, 2024 at 15:15

? And bad mistakes. I’ve made a few. ?

I’ve bought a couple of watches that had problems, and turned out to be not worth fixing.
I sold one watch for significantly more than I bought it for.

All in all, its worked out about even – you win some, you lose some.

Reply
Needs.Must says:

May 23, 2024 at 15:25

To sell Exp II to buy Exp 1 is insane. When I got Exp 1 all I wanted was to add was Exp II. It’s got to be the Explorers Club at the end!

Reply
pintaguiness says:

May 23, 2024 at 17:30

Will you look at that, he sold his Royal Oak because he didn’t like the AP CEO.
Tell me lad, when are you selling your Speedmasters? You must not be fond of the Omega CEO after he signed off on a scheme to pay a bidder and under-bidder to set a record price for a fake watch that one of his own employees scraped together with spare parts.

Reply
SC
@Stefdada974 says:

May 23, 2024 at 19:54

Reunion Island here ! Great choice for travelling and make memories with your Seamaster “from the beating of the blades to the tops of the mountains”, as a common expression says here !
Scubadiving and hiking are the more common activities.
Hope you’ll enjoy it Morgan !

Reply
Carlos says:

May 24, 2024 at 10:28

You didn’t like the brand CEO, so you got rid of the watch?? Childish..
I guess I can’t understand or rationalise that one, since I buy what I like regardless of brand image, price or perception, let alone who’s the ceo..

Reply
1. Enuona says:
  
  May 24, 2024 at 11:50
  
  I don’t put money into the pockets of people I seriously don’t like, and I don’t take money from people I want nothing to do with.
  
  A few months back I was offered an estate, and I had a pretty good idea of the handsome value (when everything had been sorted out without my participation, it turned out I was spot on) accepting the estate would have bestowed me with. Acceptance would have been considered fair and fine by anyone, didn’t want anything to do with it. At all.
  
  As far as products goes, I do what RJ did all the time. The vendors won’t notice it, but they are in fact making less money than they otherwise would have. Doesn’t matter whether the product is attractive to me or in general, or not.
  
  I would do what RJ did. Every day of the week.
  
  Reply
  1. Carlos says:
    
    Jun 02, 2024 at 02:15
    
    If you don’t like the company, the CEO or whatever you don’t give them your business. That makes perfect sense to me.
    Getting rid of a watch you already own because the CEO is not someone you like makes no sense whatsoever..
    
    Reply
Franklin Babb says:

May 24, 2024 at 14:53

My son has a Breitling and a Rolex.He would love to have a Patek.Wouldnt we all.Do you have any suggestions as how he might get one of the so called entry level ones ?

Reply