hi folks,
has anybody ever wondered about having their watch collection appraised ? this is what i do. i will find a watch like mine on ebay and put it in my watched list untill it sells. for example i have a 21 j grade 72 elgin convertible in the original 14k gold case. the book says top price $5500 in a solid gold case. one sold on ebay in a gold filled case for $4750 plus $75 shipping. it was a buy it now for 3 days ,sold in 2 days. i printed this , now i have documented proof of its actual value on paper if i should decide to sell it. i do this with several of my watches and created a folder for the paper work. hey, its cheaper than having an appraiser do it and i feel its more accurate.
now some may want to and others may not. do you have a dull case ? a brassy case ? MR METAL is the answer . i buy it on line or in my grocery store. one drop on a brassy case rubbed around with a cotton cloth and the case will look like a mirror and last a couple of weeks ! there is no abraisives in it so it will not remove scractches and i will tell you what its amazing ! sterling silver cases will look like chrome ! it takes about 3 or 4 minutes, maybe less to do a whole case. if those "tricky" sellers ever got ahold of this ,us watch buyers would be in big trouble so keep it under your hats... grins
i collect on age , time keeping ability and condition. they all look new and i keep them that way. i dont have any brassy cases but , some of the bows are just a tad so they get a little rub when i want to show them off.
leonard

Leonard, are you trying to just establish a reasonable ballpark figure, or an insurance value? I try and keep a copy of purchases from ebay so I can determine a basis if I sell them. I think the IRS is lenient about value if you are losing money on a hobby, but if you start showing profit it's a different bag of worms. I think to simply establish value is a good idea too. I usually write down the price I paid on each tag, and also keep a serial number list with approximate value. Never heard of Mr Metal, but I don't get out much

Certainly a good way to get a ballpark figure but auctions are funny things. When I buy on Ebay, I figure that I just paid one dollar more than anyone else in the whole world would

Consider also that sometimes it only takes two or three people to really drive a price up. There are certain watches I am willing to pay over book for because I really want them. Others I will only buy if I can get a bargain.

happy hunting

HI MIKE,
WELL FOR ANY PURPOSE REALLY.
I RESTORED A CAR ONCE AND A FARMALL SUPER M . I HAD MORE MONEY IN THEM THAN THEY WERE WORTH. NEXT WAS ITHACA SHOT GUNS, SAME THING. SO I DECIDED THAT MY NEXT HOBBY I WAS GOING TO KEEP TRACK OF THINGS A LITTLE BETTER . IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME OR INSURANCE VALUE THE PERSON LEFT THATS IN CHARGE WILL KNOW WHATS WHAT. IF IM LUCKY ENOUGH TO RETIRE ,WHICH MEANS THINGS WILL HAVE TO BE UPDATED I NEED TO KNOW WHAT ITS WORTH.. I SELL WATCHES HERE AND THERE TO ANTIQUE DEALERS AND JEWELERS ONCE IN AWHILE AS WELL. I WENT TO A JEWELER 3 WEEKS AGO AND ASKED IF HE WANTED TO BUY A WATCH AND HE SAID HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE AND I SAID 170 HE SAID I WILL BUY THEM ALL. { HE DIDNT RELIZE THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE OUT A SECOND MORGAGE TO DO THAT} THAT DAY I HAD A SOLID GOLD SIZE 18. HE OFFERED ME $800 FOR IT AND I WENT HOME WITH IT. NEXT TIME I WENT BACK WITH 7 THAT VALUED $ 9500 AND HE OFFERED ME $1200 FIRST. I SAID THAT BOX IS WORTH $ 9500 HE CLOSED THE BOX AND PUSHED IT BACK TO ME. THEN I WAS ABLE TO SHOW HIM HOW I CAME UP WITH THE NUMBER AND HE OPENED THE BOX BACK UP AND COULDNT DISAGREE WITH ME ON PRICES AFTER THE SECOND LOOK , OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT, THAT WAS RETIAL, BUT,HE RELIZED THAT I WASNT FULL OF BULL ON MY PRICE. THE WATCHES THAT I TOOK IN I HAD PROOF OF WHAT THEY SOLD FOR . THE PAWN STARS ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL CAME TO ONIEDA NY SO I WENT TO SEE THEM WITH AN UN MARKED SOLID GOLD WATCH, THEY HAD NO CLUE AND SMILED AT ME WITH NO OFFER,I LEFT THEIR TABLE SMILING JUST AS WELL, BUT, I REALIZE THAT NOBODY CAN BE AN EXPERT IN EVERYTHING WITHOUT DOCUMANTATION.
I TRIED TO GET MY WATCH COLLECTION INSURED ONCE AND THEY WANED ME TO HIRE AN APPRAISER AT A COST OF COURSE WHICH I COULD HAVE BOUGHT ANOTHER WATCH WITH THAT MONEY SO I DECIDED THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY AND THIS WAS IT AND THOUGHT I WOULD PASS IT ON.LEONARD

HI BILL ,
MOST BOOKS WRITTEN ARE BASED ON WHAT A BUYER WILL PAY. THATS WHAT APPRAISERS BASE THEIR PRICE ON. IF WE DONT EVER BUY A NEW CAR THE PRICE OF THEM GOES DOWN THE USED CAR PRICE GOES UP.

There is a part of the price guide that mentions that appraised price is not an offer price. I have the same situation with regards to certain watches. They are very nice, very expensive, but buyers only want a bargain. But then, when I'm a buyer, the same applies. I only want a deal on some, but willing to go the extra (Mini) mile for the right one.

MIKE THIS IS WHAT I LIKE , TO GET EVERYBODYS OPINION ON , GOOD OR BAD , BASE MY FINAL OPINION ON THAT . THEN IM CONFIDENT IN WHAT IM DOING. I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON WATCHES AND I LIKE YOUR TERM THE MINI MILE, BOY I SURE HAVE DONE THAT. THANKS TO YOU I THINK I CAN BUY ANOTHER ONE TODAY ! SINCE YOU SAY ITS THE MINI MILE... GRINS. ON THE REALISTIC SIDE I TRY TO JUSTIFY WHAT I SPEND MY MONEY ON AFTER SOME OF THE OTHER HOBBIES THAT DIDNT PAY OFF THAT I WENT THE LONG HALL FOR.
LEONARD

Leonard;

That's a good idea, but as no two watches are alike condition wise it is just basically a guess. Was your watch lesser condition than the ebay watch or greater? There's just no way of telling without both of them side by side in some cases. Also, ebay prices are like some said....driven by want and two fools or more meeting sometimes. In other words, you can get a rough idea, but do not take any ebay values to the bank on a scarce or valuable watch.

Now on a 992 or 992B there are so many you can get pretty close...when you have 50 auctions for basically the same watch to look at, that to me is fair market value.

But in the case of a scarcer one, say a 998E Ball
for instance, you may be misled by some prices there. A few weeks ago, a 998E in decent shape sold for 3600.00. A week or so later, another 998E which I thought was in better condition only brought $2500.00. Quite a difference on two very similiar watches!

Just my .02, have fun!

HI TOM,
THIS IS WHY I POSTED THIS ,FOR OTHERS TO SEE AND EXPRESS OPINIONS. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT THE WATCHES AND PRICE . YOU COULD HAVE TWO WATCHES THAT KEEP PERFECT TIME IN 2 PER SAY N.O.S. CASES AND SOMEBODY MAY JUST LIKE THE DESIGN ON ONE CASE BETTER AND THAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE.HOPEFULLY BETWEEN THE PRICE GUIDE BOOK AND WHAT A LIKE WATCH SOLD FOR WE CAN LOOK FOR A HAPPY MEDIUM.
YEARS BACK ME AND ANOTHER GUY GOT INTO A BIDDING WAR ON AN ELGIN MATERIALS BOOK. HE KEPT OUT BIDDING ME, THE BOOK WENT FOR $376.00 HE WON. NEXT WEEK I HAD ONE FOR $32.OO EBAY WAS FLOODED WITH THEM. I STILL DONT KNOW IF THE SELLER MADE THE GUY PAY THE WHOLE $376.00 10 TIMES ITS WORTH. THERE IS ALWAYS THE EXCEPTION TO EVERY RULE BUT WHERE WOULD WE BE WHEN WE WANTED TO BUY AN ITEM IF WE DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO COMPARE IT TO.
LEONARD