For me, communication is the key to a successful transaction. If it's this tough to get a response, I'd move on. I've tried twice to purchase a piece off of Chrono24, no responses to my inquiries at all.
Just my personal opinion.

 

Buy the seller, not the watch. If the seller isn't communicating, move on.

 

Buy the seller, not the watch. If the seller isn't communicating, move on.

Yup. Keep shopping for a better and more communicative seller.

 

Absolutely move on. Great advice above

 

C24 participants (sellers) can be hit or miss. I've sent many many messages to sellers and price suggestions only to be ignored. My guess, they receive a TON of spam like messages and some legit ones get lost in the mix. So now, my default expectation is to send a message and not expect anything back. But if I do receive something back, then that's a good sign.

If your seller isn't responsive take it as a sign and move on. There will be other fish in the lake.

 

You cannot just buy from a private seller unless he responds you, this is one of the stupidities on chrono24, private sellers cannot sell at fixed prices, they always have to get 'offers' first to which they have to respond....

 

A non response by any seller in any situation (ebay, craigs list, market place, chrono etc) is a bad sign, move on.

 

Your frustration about the non-responsiveness you are experiencing now pales in comparison to the frustration you would be experiencing after sending money and getting no response to numerous "where is the watch" inquiries.

 

That's true on some sites but on Chrono24, that money doesn't reach them until YOU release it. And that doesn't happen unless you get a watch you are happy with. If the watch doesn't arrive, the money comes back to you. If a seller doesn't want to use the escrow service, I'd decline to deal with them.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I will keep shopping unless the seller responds.

 

... but at the same time I have the "fear of missing out" feelings going on...

If I were a seller and you sent me an offer that I figured was too low, I wouldn't get back to you either. I'd let it stew... you know, to see if you had a fear of missing out... then you pay my price. Either way, you stick to your guns and move on. Just because a deal on a watch presents itself, don't mean we have to bite.

 

Yes, I understand, but I am not a lowballer and only make an offer when I am serious about buying.
The watch was listed at $3,999.00, and I offered $3,800.00. I was expecting a counter as the watch was listed as negotiable.

 

I've purchased six watches on Chrono 24 over the past few years. And I've had nothing but good experiences. The communication from sellers -- at least the ones I've dealt with -- had been acceptable at worst and sometimes great. (Chrono24, similar to eBay, bot monitors messages to help stem the movement of transactions off the platform.) I always follow up with a separate message when I've made the "suggested price" offer. Patience pays off as some people are on vacation, work, or otherwise occupied and don't communicate quickly. The failsafe is the escrow service; you don't release the money from the holding account until the watch arrives and you are satisfied you got what you paid for. I'll continue to buy and sell watches there. I have yet to sell a watch there but I will be doing that this year. It seems to provide decent protection for both buyer and seller.

 

A private seller not responding is a big no-no. That person doesn't care, so you shouldn't either.

BTW, I have found Chrono24 sellers very very unwilling to negotiate. Perhaps it's the premium it costs to use the platform, but I've had much better success on eBay and just on the private boards like this and Rolex Forums and Reddit.

But buyer definitely beware.

 

Generally, a lack of negotiating on C24 has not been my experience. But perhaps it depends on brand and price. You are right that the back-and-forth is much more of an eBay flow. As far as negotiating, I've had better luck with private sellers than dealers. But I also don't mind if sellers want to stick to their guns on prices. There always are other watches out there. That said, the ones who don't really negotiate after enabling the "suggest a price" box are setting themselves up for irritated potential buyers. Also, it's a very international site so I assume not every seller is English proficient and not every seller comes to the table with similar negotiating norms. My rule on Chrono24 and eBay (and etc.) is to stay polite; several times people have re-approached me at my offer when their overly optimistic price didn't pan out.

 

From the seller-side (I've sold 4 watches on C24 this year).

How it works;

1. As above - a buyer must make a "price suggestion" to a seller.
2. Then a sell can either accept, counter or ignore.
3. A BUYER isn't bound until a) SELLER accepts BUYER'S offer; OR b) BUYER accepts SELLER'S counter-offer.
4. Sellers must put a timeline on their offier.
5. If you're buying, expect a seller to put in a shipping cost because a) shipping costs money; and b) C24 doesn't take a cut of shipping costs.
6. ALWAYS USE THE ESCROW SERVICE. This is the key protection and I refuse to sell to users who won't or can't use it (NA in some countries).

For our posting friend, unless it's a 1 of 1 then walk away.

 

There are other considerations for first time buyers on C24… for starters, what are the currencies involved? Is the shipping included in the asking price? Did you include it in your offer? Did you know that C24 will charge you up front for any currency conversions/international transactions (at a slightly higher rate, naturally)?

 

Avoid and move on. If you decide to buy, this is what your future communication will look like:

You: "Hey, it's been over a month. Watch hasn't arrived. Did you mail it out yet?"
Seller: ...
You: "Alright, it's going on almost two months now. Why hasn't it gotten here yet?"
Seller: ... (deletes account)

 

I’ve had no issues negotiating with or receiving responses to questions from professional sellers on C24 but I tend to shy away from private sellers.

 

bunch of good advces here. all sellers, chrono24 or not, deserves a first chance, but should also do their part to be noted as a trusted seller in the future. i dont see anything good from here

Unless the price is really that good, or you are willing to take a gamble, I would just move on.

 

There are other considerations for first time buyers on C24… for starters, what are the currencies involved? Is the shipping included in the asking price? Did you include it in your offer? Did you know that C24 will charge you up front for any currency conversions/international transactions (at a slightly higher rate, naturally)?

There are other considerations for first time buyers on C24… for starters, what are the currencies involved? Is the shipping included in the asking price? Did you include it in your offer? Did you know that C24 will charge you up front for any currency conversions/international transactions (at a slightly higher rate, naturally)?

The seller is in same country as I am, same state even. I sent the seller a second message asking for his postage price.

 

Does the escrow feature apply to this private listing?

 

Yes, it does I believe.

 

The consensus appears to be for you to move on, Mark.

I realise the difficulty when it's a watch you really want, but I agree with the others.....if there's been no response to either of your messages, move on.

Give the seller until the weekend and then decide.

Just my 2c.

Russ.

 

Buying a watch from a private seller does not give you any protection. There are many stories of people buying from a private seller who screwed the buyers. They are not legally obligated accept returns... which means that you can get screwed...Something to thing about.

 

The seller got back to me, he said another buyer is going to inspect the watch in person and will let me know the outcome.
So, all is good. Fingers crossed as I have wanted one of these since I first saw them.

 

He's saying "Sorry, your offer does nothing for me, move on".

 

Yeah, maybe he misunderstood my second message, as I was willing to pay his asking price plus postage.

I should have just asked for postage first. live and learn.

 

No, I just don't pay good attention. Maybe he thought it was too good to be true. Maybe he doesn't speak English?

 

It's funny because if I ever have something listed for sale and have the price as negotiable, and someone swoops in without making an offer, my red flags go up.
His English is fine, and he was polite when he did respond, so I am hoping the whole "buyer coming to inspect" is a ploy and he comes back to me. If not, I will leave it be.