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Making money selling watches is possible and can be very lucrative. The good thing about selling watches is that it can either be a hobby to make some extra money or a full-time job. You can either start a watch business or take it step by step casually. As the preowned watch market is worth in excess of $20 billion, there is enough space for small players to take a small piece of the pie.

You don’t need a business relationship with the likes of Rolex or Audemars Piguet to make a lot of money by selling watches, nor do you need an expensive business premises. Thanks to the internet, it is easier than ever to make money by selling watches online and almost anyone with a passion can do it.

With that being said, selling watches to make extra money is not an easy thing to do. It requires a great deal of hard work, effort, and dedication – not to mention the setbacks you must overcome. However, it is a financially rewarding endeavor with hundreds of dollars being made on each watch sale at the low end, and up to five figures being made at the higher end.

You can see why so many people have decided to try and flip watches due to the financial rewards. They are also much easier to store and hold their value a lot better than other consumer purchases such as cars or jewelry.

Where To Begin

Starting Small And Gaining Experience

If you’ve never sold watches before it is advisable you do not jump in at the deep end. There are many fakes and clones which would fool experts at first glance. Until you have gained experience handling, viewing, and understanding how luxury watches work, buying them is not going to be a good idea.

This is because many of the defects in fake watches are exceptionally small. Whilst a professional watch dealer will be able to spot these differences relatively quickly with a jeweler’s loupe, a beginner will not. A single mistake can make the profits of several sales disappear instantly.

It is advisable then, that you begin selling watches as a side hustle until you learn the ropes. Only then is it worth it to make an official business. Of course, if you already know everything about selling watches, then making a business is likely the best option.

Where To Actually Start

This will depend on a number of factors such as initial capital, location, experience, and understanding of the watch business.

If you have a large amount of capital, you can pretty much set up anywhere you want, advertise online, and get the ball moving very quickly.

On the other hand, if you have limited capital, you may need to start out as an online watch dealer. This will keep overheads at an absolute minimum but somewhat restrict your ability to find stock to purchase. At the absolute bottom end of the food chain, it is possible to browse eBay auctions for less desirable brands of luxury watches such as Maurice Lacroix and Raymond Weil until you build up enough money and clients to sell Rolex and Audemars Piguet.

Building A Reputation & Presence

Everyone knows that building a reputation is crucial. Just like all other businesses and especially for selling watches, a reputation takes a lifetime to create and only a few minutes to destroy.

It is key to keep your integrity intact at all times and not sell any watches with suspicious parts or dubious origins. Building a brand comes alongside a reputation. As soon as you have a stable base of satisfied customers, your name will be recommended on watch forums and your presence will grow. The same can be said if you rip people off and behave inappropriately. The watch community is large, yet small enough to spread both good and bad news very quickly.

Networking

Networking is absolutely crucial when selling watches. If you haven’t owned a business or sold anything for a profit before then you will need to network to fully appreciate just how helpful it can be.

Put simply, by creating a network with other watch resellers, you are able to make money in ways that otherwise would not have been possible.

If a watch dealer associate has a buyer for a Rolex Daytona and you have stock, it may be possible to do a deal for a sale that otherwise would not have happened. This works in the opposite way too. You may have a watch sitting for several months, only to receive a phone call from a watch dealer friend who has a buyer for you.

These situations are priceless and are not possible if you do not put in the time and effort to network.

Understanding Trends & Avoiding Hype

Understanding trends can make or break a watch business. If you had predicted that Richard Mille watches would be selling for the pricepoint they are today, you would have made a lot of money. The same can be said for understanding when a crash is approaching.

These skills and understanding can only really be understood by immersing yourself within the watch business. If you are an outsider – it will be impossible to understand what buyers are truly looking for.

One key point is to avoid leverage in order to buy and sell “hot” watches. Some watch sellers borrow money on credit in order to obtain and sell watches that they believe will go up in value. Whilst this is a legitimate way to do business, it is extremely risky. If a trend turns against you, you can end up with a lot of overpriced and unsellable watches, whilst owing people a lot of money.

Taxes & Other Expenses

Whilst taxes are not at the forefront of selling watches, they should be kept in the back of your mind. If you’re making a profit, it is important to not invest 100% of this money back into watches since you will have to pay tax at the end of each financial year.

Other watch selling expenses must also be factored in if you want to make money. You will need to carefully consider whether you want to pay for insurance, how much it costs to ship expensive watches, as well as renting premises and paying bills.

Sourcing Watches To Sell

Online

Sourcing watches online is extremely difficult. In general, it is extremely difficult to find deals on platforms such as eBay, Amazon, Chrono24, or any other watch marketplace. The reason for this is that a lot of the sellers are dealers or private sellers who understand the value of what they have. Another reason is the selling fees for these platforms. The seller is charged between 5-12% depending on where they sell their watch. This is a lot of money for a 4 or 5 figure sale.

With that being said, it is possible to source watches from smaller selling platforms such as Etsy, Mercari, or Vinted, as well as stalking eBay auctions for a good deal. Occasionally, somebody may underprice their watch or turn up with a rare, unusual, or vintage piece of which they do not quite grasp the value of. In these situations, sourcing online can be extremely easy, but very time-consuming. Unless you have a good system in place with a deep understanding of how to get deals online, this is not recommended.

In Person

Buying watches in person is the easiest and oldest way of doing business. Local clients with expensive watches do not want to keep them forever and often want cash for their old timepieces.

These clients should not be ripped off, but instead should be treated as potential future customers. If you give a fair price and a good service to a man trading in his watch today, he may come back and buy something from you in the future.

Buying a watch from a person is not rocket science. As long as you have an understanding of the business and what price you should pay, the customer can either take the offer or leave it. Once this is understood, you’re essentially playing a waiting game for someone to come through your door and sell you a watch.

It should be noted that you do not need a physical building to buy a person’s watch from them. However, it does make it a lot easier and much more professional if you do so.

Condition Is Everything

When purchasing watches to resell for a profit, the most important thing other than price is condition. It’s often worth spending a little more money to buy a watch in great condition rather than getting a deep discount on a watch in bad condition.

The reason behind this is that buyers of luxury watches want everything to be as close to perfect as possible. They do not want to have to fix a bezel or have a discount given to them due to a scratch on the sapphire crystal glass.

You will find that the better condition your watches are, the faster they will sell. This really helps with issues such as cash flow since watches in good condition are worth their weight in gold and will turn over extremely quickly.

Selling Watches Online

Although it may seem daunting, selling watches online is the easiest part of the business. Creating a listing and uploading it to either Chrono24, eBay, or your own website is not a difficult task. Whilst photographing a wristwatch is a tricky skill to learn, actually writing about it and putting it on the internet for sale is not.

People are very wary of being scammed – and for good reason. However, there are steps you can take to keep yourself safe such as only using postal services with signature confirmation and shipping to legitimate (non PO box) addresses.

The downside of selling watches online is that the competition is huge when compared to owning your own store. You are trying to sell a watch alongside many other professional sellers who want the sale too. Platform fees can also be expensive, with Chrono24 taking 6.5% capped at $300 for private sellers. eBay is a little more expensive but does regularly have promotions when selling luxury items.

The upside of selling watches online is far more obvious. Buyers are plentiful and with each passing year are more comfortable with buying watches for large sums of money through the internet.

In Person Selling

Selling watches in person is very easy, but often requires much larger overheads than selling online. At the very least you will need a secure office space if you wish to sell watches in person.

The clear benefit of selling a watch in person is buyer confidence. A buyer will feel a lot more at ease when given the chance to view a watch in person – rather than through an internet browser. They will be much more willing to part with their cash for a watch they can see and feel.

Not everyone who comes into a watch store will be ready and willing to part with thousands of dollars. However, the sell-through rate will be a lot higher than compared to online.

Finance & Cashflow

The key to any business is cash flow. Without it, you could be the most profitable watch seller in the world, yet face bankruptcy due to lack of cash. It’s therefore important to understand just how cash flow works and possibly take an online course if you’re really unfamiliar with how it works.

If you’re going to be a successful watch seller, it goes without saying that things are going to be a lot easier if you have more start-up capital.

However, if you are starting out as a casual watch seller, a few thousand dollars will be enough to buy a few starter watches and flip them for a profit. You will need to begin with watches such as Tag Heuer and Raymond Weil, before working your way up to the likes of Swiss royalty such as Patek, AP, and Rolex.

As a hard and fast rule, it is always important to keep extra cash on hand in case a great deal comes along. If you don’t have cash, you will not be able to take advantage of any opportunities until you sell existing watch stock.

Profit Margins For Preowned Watches

Knowing how much to pay is the key battle when succeeding in the watch business. Pay too much and your business will fail due to a lack of profits. Pay too little and nobody will want to sell to you since they can get a better deal elsewhere.

In general, you will make anywhere from 5-25% on each watch you sell. So if you were to sell a watch for $10k, you would expect to make between $500 – $2500 profit on each transaction. This number is explained in greater detail below since there is a lot of nuance in the world of watches based on condition, rarity, demand, and many other factors.

A good test to make sure you’re buying for the right price is to call around to other watch dealers. These could be your friends or just respectable watch businesses in other cities or states.

For example, if you were offered the chance to buy an Omega Seamaster for $5000, you may not know if this is a good price or not. By calling other businesses and asking them how much they would pay for your own Omega Seamaster, you will get a ballpark figure of a reasonable price.

Different Watches Have Different Margins

As previously mentioned, the percentage profit when selling watches is usually between 5% and 25%. The general rule is that the higher the cost of the watch, the lower the profit will be. If you have a network of watch dealer friends who are able to provide a buyer whilst you are the seller, it is not uncommon to make as little as 5% due to the lack of work you will have to put in.

If you are a seller of vintage watches, you can expect to make at least 20% profit per sale given you will actually sell a lot fewer units. This percentage can be higher if a watch is incredibly rare or difficult to sell. Compare this to a watch reseller who only sells recent Rolex releases, they would expect to make anywhere from 5-10% per sale, but be able to sell many pieces each month.

Making 6 Figures A Year Selling Watches

It may sound cliche, but this is a very simple math problem. All you need to do is figure out your average profit margin on each watch you sell and multiply this by a number until you reach $100k.

As an example, if you were to sell Rolex Submariners and make $750 for each sale. You would need to sell 134 of these per year to make a six-figure income before taxes. This works out at selling just over 11 timepieces per month.

It goes without saying that if your margins are lower than this, you will need to sell more watches. Whereas if you’re selling very expensive tourbillon watches, you may only need to sell one or two watches each month to make a six-figure income each year.

Safety

An often-overlooked factor of selling luxury watches is personal safety. Although having a Rolex Submariner is not quite the same as having $12000 cash in your pocket – it really isn’t too far away.

Thieves know that certain brands of watches are very expensive and that they can cash these in for a good percentage of their market value.

Therefore it makes sense to think about your own personal safety, as well as looking after your stock. Watches should be kept in a very safe place and should be under constant supervision. It is not uncommon for a watch business to have several hundred thousand dollars in inventory, so it makes sense to look after it.

Each watch business will have different strategies and setups based on its location, value, and threat of robbery.