Buying a used Rolex Watch can save you thousands of dollars for a new retail price. However, you need to be careful, because there are a lot of fakes, as well as some dishonest sellers who distort the description of watches on their sites. I created this little reference book to help with this problem. If you follow these steps, it will greatly reduce the likelihood that you will make a bad buying decision.
There are several things you can do to make a better purchase. However, the most important of them are: checking the reputation of the seller, querying the model number, querying the first three digits of the serial number and getting more photos if they are available.
It is very important to check the reputation of the seller, since you are already avoiding possible fraudsters. If you plan to buy your product on eBay, you should check the seller’s feedback, not only the total and the percentage of negatives, but the seller’s rating in the stars. I would advise you to buy from sellers who have at least 95% or more, and a rating of 4.5 or better. If you use a search engine, it’s good to know how long the site has been online and see if you can find more about the website. It is also useful to know if the company has very well explained policies, because the most serious companies have one. Among the things that need to be checked with regards to policies is if they have a return policy and a guarantee policy. It’s always good to know if you don’t like the watch for which it can be returned, or it can be corrected for free if it stops working. Good at asking questions by sending emails, since you can keep a record of everything; however, it is always recommended to call before closing the deal.
When you are ready to buy a used Rolex, you will need to do some research and find out what model number you are looking for. Then you will need to ask the seller what type of watch model you have to see if it matches. The reason for this is that some retailers customize their watches so that customers think that they are buying a new watch. For example, let me say that you are interested in purchasing the Quick-Set Rolex Date Sapphire Crystal stainless steel. Then you do your research and find that the model number is 15200. Then you go to the website and look at some photos, and the seller describes the watch as sapphire crystal. In fact, you do not know that the seller published the Model 1500 Plastic Crystal Non-Quick and tuned it with a sapphire crystal. In other words, the seller offers a much older watch, forcing you to believe that the price is excellent when it is really expensive.
The first digits of the serial number will help you decide what year the watch was made. Therefore, if you need to decide, for example, to look at pictures between two hours that look the same and about the same, then the serial number will be a good deciding factor. For example, if you have a watch R86XXXX (1988) and S73XXXX (1994), then the second would be the best choice.
In some cases, sellers only put one photo of their watches, then it's nice to ask for more photos, including one of the back covers, bracelet and movement. Since you do not have a watch in your hands, this will be the best way to get an idea of how good the watch is. Please also ensure that the photographs listed are photographs of actual clocks, not photographs.
With some time and patience, you can save thousands of dollars on great hours that will last you for decades. Just follow these steps and you will be more confident in your purchase.
