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what's the safest way to sell a watch on Craigslist/person-to-person?

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lovetheocean

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've sold 1 watch from Craigslist but it was an unsettling experience. I met the person at a Starbucks and made sure I was closest to the door in case he took off. If he had brought a friend, I would have been outnumbered.

Does anybody have any better idea or experience on how to do this safely?
 
#4 ·
It really depends on your comfort level. To some extent a private party sale is built on trust. I have heard people suggest the parking lot of a police station or a bank since they will have security cameras at all angles. But if meeting inside a Starbucks is unsettling you may be better off selling to a used watch dealer and just accepting that you will get a lower offer as a result


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#5 ·
Don't? The savings you get on Craigslist is in part because you don't pay for the security of doing it another way.
mplsabdullah said:
Lobby of a police station

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Click to expand...
Keep in mind the police are under no obligation to protect or even help any individual, just "the public." So the police doesn't have to do anything even if you were to yell the guy is stealing from you. And its questionable whether or not they would given there is no harm. DeShaney vs Winnebago County and Castle Rock vs Gonzalez basically absolves police (or social services) from having to do anything to protect anyone. It's the same reason why in the Uvalde school shooting the police will survive any lawsuit even if they acted completely against training. If the police don't have to act to protect children from a murderer, they don't have to chase down a thief, especially when they don't know what's going on.
 
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#7 ·
The bigger the value, the bigger the risk. I only sell low value stuff
 
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#8 ·
I can't really add anything other than to say that the other commenters are correct.

I've done a Craigslist sale or two, but scammers abound there. Do the transaction in a safe, public place and only accept payment that they can't take back once you leave.
 
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#11 ·
I can only speak from personal experience. This is a photo of me about to meet an eBay buyer who won an auction for a Moon Swatch. They're worth a lot these days. The seller is waiting for me just out of shot, laying naked face down on the ground with his hands clasped behind his head. My guys will rinse his eyes out to get rid of the pepper spray once the deal is done and I'm back in international airspace again.

Some might consider this overkill but this I how I roll, even when heading out to buy milk.

Image
 
#13 ·
Suprised this needs to be asked. The only way an expensive watch should be sold person to person is at a police station, with IDs exchanged by both parties. One exception is a bank with security guard, or inside a secured business location. This is less relevant where the parties have public profile (such as long time WUS members with feedback from past transactions).
 
#14 · (Edited)
Sold many items person to person thru Craigslist. Including about 8 watches over the years. (Several guitars, ukuleles, fragrances, and sunglasses)
Every single one of them was a pleasant experience.

Maybe it is where I live but all the watch people were professional working people and were very courteous, respectful, and very conversational as so am I. I usually make it a case to try to speak to them over the phone to get a good feel for who they are and their possible intentions. And that is how I usually pick who I want to sell to.

Curt, nonsentence, ambiguous emails or texts can be one thing, but if I make an offer to talk, and they ghost or refuse I just move on. I never have interest for those starting w a real low ball offer and when I say sorry that's too low, if they come back with just a smidge over their original offer, I know they're just a troll or a some sophomoric tire kicker.

The real guys who are actually in the market for my item will know the reasonable range of offer.

We usually agree to meet at the local plaza near my home. We just park next to each other and exchange goods that way, after a little talk about watches and a thorough inspection. Most guys I've had buy from me didn't even inspect. They just straight up trusted me. I say you don't want to test everything and look it over? They're like "nah I'm good. 🤣
I'm not kidding. I guess I have a trustworthy face or aura about me.

I recall one guy who bought a Tissot moto watch from me, he needed to break one of the hundreds he had so I took his hundred to the Ralph's grocery store to break it while he was in his car w my watch as he wanted to inspect it. I came back out gave him the change and then he decided to buy it and paid me thereafter.

I guess I just have luck w the people I meet. All have been stand up guys.
 
#15 · (Edited)
One story , I sold a pre-owned ukulele that for its brand and model and condition, the buyer offered a bit more than street price (my ad asking price, without countering) and I was a little stoked and hoped they would come through and she did..came to meet me at the plaza, she was this older lady who brought her (either daughter or grand daughter, not sure) with her who has down-syndrome.

They came to me smiling ear to ear and when I showed her the ukulele (I take good care of all my stuff and will never sell something I won't keep myself) the daughter just lit up. I felt for them, the lady paid me and I took 40 bucks out of it and handed it back to her (giving her a great deal) and not to make her misunderstand as if I'm treating her as a charity case (bc I really wanted to just gift it to them) , I just said "yeah I had lowered my ad asking price , not sure you saw that one edit?"

..... I had a couple good experiences like this meeting people on Craigslist.
 
#16 ·
I know Americans have great reservations about wire transfers, but wouldn't a meeting at a busy and/or monitored location (Starbucks, coffee shop, restaurant, bar, etc.) where the buyer can examine the watch at their leisure and then pay with a real-time wire transfer that takes only a few minutes be an acceptable solution? Of course, that's not 100% secure either, but there's no such thing as complete security anyway.
 
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#17 ·
Where are you people meeting? Really depends. Are you selling Pateks and APs?

In Bangkok, I meet people at the mall for everything up to Rolexes, I've had folks come to my condo lobby with a Rolex and even had someone send a motorcycle (delivery guy) with a Ball watch for a COD situation.

Now, I'm in California at the moment and I meet at Starbucks all the time. But which Starbucks? I'm very selective about where and generally I do a good bit of diligence before the meet (LinkedIn profile, general online sleuthing, etc). If you're a literal ghost online, I probably wouldn't sell to you.

Have never felt the need to deal inside a police station. In Thailand, even if I was buying Mosers and Richard Milles, I don't think people would have a problem meeting me at a condo lobby or even a mall for those.

I've not purchased anything that substantial here in California. I met someone at Barnes and Noble for a Speedy Pro but we spoke on the phone the day before and I believe part of that was a soft probe on their part that I wasn't some sort of lunatic.
 
#18 ·
I live in Pennsylvania where I'm licensed to carry. I then have mutually assured destruction if the other party does too. Also, I have brought an equally equipped buddy for encouragement. This is much less ominous than it sounds. I've done multi-thousand dollar transactions without any issues.
 
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#19 ·
debussychopin said:
One story , I sold a pre-owned ukulele that for its brand and model and condition, the buyer offered a bit more than street price (my ad asking price, without countering) and I was a little stoked and hoped they would come through and she did..came to meet me at the plaza, she was this older lady who brought her (either daughter or grand daughter, not sure) with her who has down-syndrome.

They came to me smiling ear to ear and when I showed her the ukulele (I take good care of all my stuff and will never sell something I won't keep myself) the daughter just lit up. I felt for them, the lady paid me and I took 40 bucks out of it and handed it back to her (giving her a great deal) and not to make her misunderstand as if I'm treating her as a charity case (bc I really wanted to just gift it to them) , I just said "yeah I had lowered my ad asking price , not sure you saw that one edit?"

..... I had a couple good experiences like this meeting people on Craigslist.
Click to expand...
Nice move. 👍
 
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#20 ·
I previously sold a Pelagos in London by conducting due diligence and subsequently inviting the buyer to a safe space. (My apartment). He was a WUS member and a very pleasant and agreeable gent.

I probably wouldn't be so inviting now in NYC. Apartment lobbies look like a reasonably safe place for my risk appetite as the rents dwarf most watches. Otherwise if we're talking 10s or K then i would investigate those police station suggestions that were shared above!
 
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