WatchChoice.com Sees Pre Owned Watches Become The Hot Ticket In A Cool Market
WatchChoice.com has seen a dramatic increase in the last few months in the interest being directed towards luxury watches that have previously been owned by someone else. While some people call them second hand watches, others say “used” while others prefer “pre owned” or even “pre loved” but whatever your term of choice, the market for quality second hand luxury watches is gaining in popularity.
As the Global Financial Crisis deepens and the luxury watch market softens, more luxury watch enthusiasts on WatchChoice.com are shifting their attention from new luxury watches to used watches. Glenn Palmer, WatchChoice.com’s Founder and Owner, says comments from Watch Choice buyers points to a number of reasons for the rise in interest in the pre owned market. The soft economy and the uncertainty about whether the economy will slow further or when it will bounce back has resulted in low degrees of confidence in enthusiast’s future financial circumstances. Therefore, buyers planning to purchase a luxury watch have found it more difficult to justify the outlay and have turned to the second hand watch market as a cost effective way to get a luxury watch on their wrist.
Other comments from luxury watch enthusiasts shows the current financial environment has also affected their buying patterns. Some collectors have reported they are more inclined to sell one or more luxury watches from their collection to fund the purchase of their next watch where previously they may have simply continued to add watches to their collection. Enthusiasts who become sellers before buying have therefore added to the number of used watches on the market.
Luxury watch buyers in countries that have recently experienced substantial currency rate declines, such as Australia, against stronger currencies such as the US dollar, English pound and the Euro have seen substantially increased watch prices. Buyers in these countries are particularly looking for the best value and are looking to quality second hand watches to meet their luxury watch needs.
Glenn Palmer says that the increased levels of interest in pre owned watches is likely to continue for at least as long as the economy remains depressed and possibly longer. He says “we could see higher interest levels in used watches maintained in the long term as the current economic climate has introduced buyers who would not have traditionally considered buying a used watch to the value and variety of the second hand watch market”. It will be interesting to see whether second hand watch sales return to their usual levels when the economy recovers.