Reselling Watches

Are you a horologist with a massive watch collection that you never use? What if we told you that you can turn the timepieces into an incredibly lucrative side hustle?

Interested? If your answer is yes, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about reselling watches.

We’ll also cover the benefits and drawbacks of this venture.

An Overview of Reselling Watches: A Primer

People from all over the globe invest in luxury watches for several reasons. For starters, the timepieces are exceptionally durable and can last for many years.

Other than that, they’re flashy with incredibly intricate design details.

Moving on, designer watches maintain a high resale value. Because of that, many people have decided to start a watch collection.

During prosperous times, they can collect more timepieces. Yet, if the economy takes a turn, they can sell the watches for profit.

If that sounds intriguing to you, we can help you! We’ll show you how to turn this hobby into a fully-fledged business.

How Much Can Reselling Watches Earn You?

According to Statista, the second-hand vintage watch market was worth $786 million in 2021, and this figure is constantly growing.

As you can see, there’s a major demand for used designer timepieces. Luckily, that means you can enter the industry and snatch a part of that pie.

Most of the time, as soon as you buy an item and leave the store, its value drops. However, that’s not the case when reselling designer items for a couple of reasons.

First up, expensive watches are collectibles. That means people will go out of their way to get their hands on the timepieces.

Plus, they’re willing to pay a small fortune for them.

Besides that, as the watches get older, their rarity will increase. This makes them even more desirable in the eyes of a collector.

So, there are many opportunities to make money reselling watches. Although your earning potential will depend on your collection.

That’s because some watches maintain their value better than others. Here are a few luxury timepiece brands that sell like hotcakes:

• Rolex
• Cartier
• Omega
• ICW
• Jaeger-LeCoultre
• Patek Philippe
• Audemars Piguet

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Side Hustle Reselling Watches?

There are a few costs associated with starting a second-hand watch business. For starters, you need to think about your inventory.

Where are you sourcing the watches you’re going to sell? If you already have a collection, then you don’t need to worry about that.

Yet, if you’re starting fresh, it may be a good idea to scour thrift stores and the internet for deals on vintage watches.  

Moving on, you should take authentication into account. The majority of brand-name timepieces come with a certificate of authenticity.

If you don’t have verification documentation for all your watches, you may need to ask for professional help.

Contact an authentication service to help you track down the origin of the timepieces. Depending on the business you hire, it can cost between $50 and $150 to authenticate a watch.

Finally, you should take packaging into account. You can’t ship a luxury watch in any old box. It has to provide enough support to protect the fragile parts of the timepiece.

Where Can You Resell Watches?

There are several ways you can go about selling your secondhand timepieces. In this section, we’ll cover the best places to sell watches.

Where to Independently Resell Watches

If you want to branch out on your own and start your side hustle independently, you have one of two options.

First up, you can choose to sell them to local jewelers. This is the fastest way you can move the timepieces.

Yet, that means you may not get the full market value of your watches.

Because of that, it may be a better idea to launch an online store. Not only will this help maximize your profits, but you can sell the watches from the comfort of your home.

If creating a website sounds like a difficult challenge, there are a few services that can make the entire process easier. These include Squarespace and Wix.

Gig Economy Companies That Help to Resell Watches

Creating your own online store can be time-consuming and expensive. So, to keep your costs low, you can opt for a gig economy company.

This is a business that can facilitate the selling process for a percentage of the profits.

One of the most popular online marketplaces in this category is Amazon. That’s because the platform gets millions of visitors a day.

That means you should be able to find potential buyers in a flash.

Other than that, you can try reselling on eBay. It may take a while, but if you list the timepiece up for auction, you stand to increase your profit margins.

Lastly, there are several businesses that specialize in reselling designer watches. These include:

• WatchBox
• Crown & Caliber
• Timepiece360
• The Luxury Watch Company

Why You Should Consider Reselling Watches As a Side Hustle

There are many benefits to starting a vintage watch resale business.

• Easy Operation: After listing your timepieces on a gig economy website, you won’t need to do much.
• High Return on Investment: Since luxury watches appreciate value, you’ll have a high profit margin.
• Opportunities for Expansion: If you enjoy selling watches, you can choose to expand in the luxury accessories market. You may even want to try starting a jewelry business.

Problems With Reselling Watches

Sadly, you may run into a few issues while running a watch resale company.

• Time-Consuming: It may take months before you find the right potential buyers for your timepieces.
• Large Capital: If you don’t already have a watch collection, you’ll need a sizable investment to secure your inventory.
• Shipping Requirements: To ensure your watches arrive safely at their destination, you need to package them carefully. This may mean higher shipping costs.

Frequently Asked Questions