Buying & paying expensive second hand watches.

Phill_78 · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:16 pm

Hey guys,

I wanted to hear your feedback and advice on the following;

I am considering buying a second hand Patek costing around £15k. The seller isn't a dealer/shop, but from doing a bit of research I found that he often sales watches and other related items. It is a considerable amount of cash so I'd be a bit nervous to get it sent over the post and hope for the best. The watch is in London and I am in Edinburgh.

Do any of you have experience buying a watch this expensive from an individual? Did you collect in person or did you hold your breath, close your eyes and ask for it to be sent to you? And if you collected it in person; did you pay by bank transfer before you collected the watch or did you carry cash in your pockets - or in a briefcase mafia style?

Any tip or advice welcome. Thank you!

Watch nut · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 7:41 pm

Put cash in briefcase and pack a gun or 2, if your going to go mafia style do it right. Just a joke, do whatever you feel comfortable with, it's your hard earned money. Good luck

Dracha · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 12:10 am

Once flew from amsterdam to london and back the same day to pick up a watch
Same amount approx

Edin. To london i would pick up in person as well (actually within europe i would pick up in person for anything over >10K as flights are a cheap)

Driver8 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:29 am

If £15K is a lot of money to you (it certainly is to me, and as you're asking this question, I guess it must be to you too) then I'd recommend biting the bullet and getting a cheap flight down to London to do the deal in person. The cost and aggravation of the flight is tiny compared to the potential cost and aggravation of losing £15K.

In terms of payment you could ask the seller if you could make a transfer at a local bank with him present. Alternatively (and if you don't fancy carrying 300 £50 notes on your person) is to get your bank to draw you up a bankers draft (if they still do them these days!) - essentially a cheque but without any clearing period. I remember buying cars with those years ago!

Roffensian · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:08 am

Given that the distance isn't too bad and you are in cities with regular flights between them then face to face seems the most feasible. To avoid risks of sending money ahead or carrying cash then I would get a banker's draft / certified cheque as Driver8 says - as good as cash for the seller and less risky for you.

Either way the cardinal rule applies - buy the seller not the watch and it sounds like they have a track record. If you have to do a remote deal consider an escrow service, not cheap but provides some safeguards.

boogiebot · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 5:54 pm

My only suggestion is buy the seller. 15k pound is a good chunk of change to loose if the deal goes sideways.

kromdom · **Posted:** Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:29 pm

What I would do personally:
* meet seller in person at a trusted shop where authenticity of watch is verified with buyer/seller present
* without losing sight of the watch, buyer goes with seller to agreed upon bank where payment is made
* have a safe flight home

If above is too much hassle, look into using an escrow service. Best of luck.

TomP · **Posted:** Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:14 am

It might be worth being candid about the seller's identity so that others could report on any experiences, for peace of mind. If he's reputable I'm sure he won't mind opinions being solicited in this way.

zbrockman06 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:01 pm

If it's a descent amount of money to you, invest the little extra to fly there and do it in person. I handle big watch purchases, both buying & selling regularly so I have become accustom to it but I still prefer face to face deals. Also, if at all possible pay with your CC so you can at least have the backup of your credit card company if the deal goes sideways.

As a seller, I would prefer my buyer to fly to me, pay in cash, and fly home. Safer for both parties. If he has a problem with that, there is your first red flag. I have had 2 buyers fly in, pick up the watch, and fly home. At first, I thought it was odd as I would never fly in for a watch purchase but made it easier and put the buyer at ease. Hope this helps.

coltstrong · **Posted:** Mon Feb 10, 2014 11:47 am

Watch nut wrote:

Put cash in briefcase and pack a gun or 2, if your going to go mafia style do it right. Just a joke, do whatever you feel comfortable with, it's your hard earned money. Good luck

It's funny cause you're joking but I think that's a good practice.

wessa · **Posted:** Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:35 am

coltstrong wrote:

Watch nut wrote:

Put cash in briefcase and pack a gun or 2, if your going to go mafia style do it right. ....it's your hard earned money. Good luck

It's funny cause you're joking but I think that's a good practice.

In other words, do it mafia style.
Put cash in brief case and pack a gun or two.
Pass the brief case to the seller, take the watch, shoot the seller, take the brief case ;-)

Watch nut · **Posted:** Tue Feb 11, 2014 6:37 am

wessa wrote:

coltstrong wrote:

Watch nut wrote:

Put cash in briefcase and pack a gun or 2, if your going to go mafia style do it right. ....it's your hard earned money. Good luck

It's funny cause you're joking but I think that's a good practice.

In other words, do it mafia style.
Put cash in brief case and pack a gun or two.
Pass the brief case to the seller, take the watch, shoot the seller, take the brief case ;-)

Exactly, then you have the best of both worlds

bwyt · **Posted:** Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:11 am

i think its better to deal face to face

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