Like new means there are no visible signs of use at all. Unfortunately all of these things are subjective, so that’s why a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

I'm a knife guy too - they were my gateway drug to watches 🙂 - and I think your terms track with my expectations. But since people have different understandings of what these terms mean, I always try to get as many pictures (and videos, if possible) and ask plenty of questions before pulling the trigger on a purchase.

 

“Like New” infers it’s in a condition that could be regifted so no visible wear except under a magnifying glass.

“Excellent” means it’s in impeccable condition but may have visible marks.

Check out the Japanese sellers on C24/eBay. They have a much detailed way of describing the condition.

 

A loose guide open sourced from the internet...

LNIB

A pre-owned watch that has been worn, yet is in pristine condition. Accompanied by the factory box(es), tags and documentation. No alterations from factory-delivered condition. The warranty papers must be stamped to establish the authenticity and validity of the watch; No bracelet resizing or marks of any kind. 100%

Mint

A pre-owned watch that is in very nearly perfect condition. Signs of wear are visible with a low powered loupe. May be a watch that is in LNIB condition but not accompanied by the factory box(es) or documentation. May refer to an older watch that has been restored, so long as the restoration returned the watch to very nearly pristine factory original condition. Working perfectly, keeping excellent time, needs nothing. 97-99%

Near Mint

Showing very light signs of wear. Faint scratches on the case, bezel, bracelet or buckle are visible to the naked eye. Completely original in every way. Strap shows light use – may be bent or lightly creased, but not stained. Bracelet may be resized. The watch is working perfectly, keeping very good time and needs nothing. 93-96%

Excellent

Evidence of use is visible to the unaided eye. Scratches are light, but more numerous than “near mint”. If the watch has been restored, all original replacement parts have been used. Strap clearly used but no stains. No dents or dings are detectable, and the bracelet has little wear. Working perfectly, needs no repair or service. 88-92%

Very good

The watch shows what might be considered normal wear by a careful owner who wore the watch regularly. Scratches are evident, but no nicks or dings. May have replacement parts and/or a high quality redial. Running and keeping good time, though may need minor regulation. A sound, attractive presentation overall. 83-87%

Good

Nothing fundamentally wrong with the watch, though it has quite obviously been used. Running and wearable, but may gain or lose a few minutes over 24 hours. Case may show a few dings, nicks, or deep scratches. May have a redial that is not up to high standards. May not have all original parts. 77-82%

Fair

Well used, may require service and/or restoration to be useable. May be running erratically. Dial, case, and other major components may not be original, but no pieces are missing. Even an untrained eye could tell the watch is worse for wear. Some might call it rough. 72-76%

Poor

Shows abuse, requires service and/or restoration. May have major cosmetic flaws, missing parts, may not run at all. A speculative piece – ‘fixer-upper’ would be too generous. Not junk, but requires lots of work to be made wearable. 66-71%

Scrap / Parts

A collection of parts that at one time may have been a functioning timekeeper. Now missing parts, may be rusted or corroded, not worth restoring. Most people would call it junk. 64% or worse.

 

A loose guide open sourced from the internet...

LNIB

A pre-owned watch that has been worn, yet is in pristine condition. Accompanied by the factory box(es), tags and documentation. No alterations from factory-delivered condition. The warranty papers must be stamped to establish the authenticity and validity of the watch; No bracelet resizing or marks of any kind. 100%

Mint

A pre-owned watch that is in very nearly perfect condition. Signs of wear are visible with a low powered loupe. May be a watch that is in LNIB condition but not accompanied by the factory box(es) or documentation. May refer to an older watch that has been restored, so long as the restoration returned the watch to very nearly pristine factory original condition. Working perfectly, keeping excellent time, needs nothing. 97-99%

Near Mint

Showing very light signs of wear. Faint scratches on the case, bezel, bracelet or buckle are visible to the naked eye. Completely original in every way. Strap shows light use – may be bent or lightly creased, but not stained. Bracelet may be resized. The watch is working perfectly, keeping very good time and needs nothing. 93-96%

Excellent

Evidence of use is visible to the unaided eye. Scratches are light, but more numerous than “near mint”. If the watch has been restored, all original replacement parts have been used. Strap clearly used but no stains. No dents or dings are detectable, and the bracelet has little wear. Working perfectly, needs no repair or service. 88-92%

Very good

The watch shows what might be considered normal wear by a careful owner who wore the watch regularly. Scratches are evident, but no nicks or dings. May have replacement parts and/or a high quality redial. Running and keeping good time, though may need minor regulation. A sound, attractive presentation overall. 83-87%

Good

Nothing fundamentally wrong with the watch, though it has quite obviously been used. Running and wearable, but may gain or lose a few minutes over 24 hours. Case may show a few dings, nicks, or deep scratches. May have a redial that is not up to high standards. May not have all original parts. 77-82%

Fair

Well used, may require service and/or restoration to be useable. May be running erratically. Dial, case, and other major components may not be original, but no pieces are missing. Even an untrained eye could tell the watch is worse for wear. Some might call it rough. 72-76%

Poor

Shows abuse, requires service and/or restoration. May have major cosmetic flaws, missing parts, may not run at all. A speculative piece – ‘fixer-upper’ would be too generous. Not junk, but requires lots of work to be made wearable. 66-71%

Scrap / Parts

A collection of parts that at one time may have been a functioning timekeeper. Now missing parts, may be rusted or corroded, not worth restoring. Most people would call it junk. 64% or worse.

I agree with this guide for the most part, although I feel like "Mint" means higher quality than "LNIB". I do agree that LNIB (Like New in Box) means pristine condition.

 

In an analogy to the knife community there is also "Lightly Cleaned" which means shiny, buffed extensively and no semblance of the original finish.

 

Good point. For most watches I would rather have scratches on the bracelet than a polished bracelet that used to be tumbled and now looks completely different.

 

Minty may be the WIS equivalent of Like New. And both are vague. I would be asking what kind of wear makes it less than new.

 

I would say like new is simply a watch that is in a condition as would be purchased from an AD, but from a private seller or gray dealer. I would tend to go as far as saying the watch should not be sized or worn, but if someone explicitly states that it was sized and tried on then I think that’s still ok since that can happen at the time of purchase.

Once it’s been out of the house and worn as a timepiece by an owner I would say like new is now off the table. It is now used whether you think it has damage or not.

 

I think as listed by @msa6712 that gives the wrist watch conditions explained. Like new would be "mint" which means the piece is not new but is as close to new as it can get.

 

Q. What does "like new" mean to you?
A. Like not used/worn to a great extent.

 

I always enjoy the BNIB FS ads that feature a watch being worn that was clearly sized for their wrist. Bonus points for scuffs/scratches on said watch.

 

Sometimes "like new" means what the seller said to you and what you have seen in the photoshop retouched pics, and "ok condition" or "poor condition" is what you get right after you paid him.

 

"Like new" means it's had an owner prior to me that might or might not have worn it because apart from removed links on the bracelet, you can't tell it apart from "New".
LNIB is redundant because "Like New" assumes there is a box and everything that came with the watch included in the "Like New" claim. If it's missing the box, it's not "Like New" to me.

 

"like new" = seller perhaps overstating the condition of the watch in order to extract maximum value out of the sale; caution, ask for specifics, and moar pix, maybe a vid.

 

LNIB is what you hope to get from the 'Grey Market'.

 

to be fair, when I bought my 6139-6005, the seller had pictures similar to this:

when I received it, it looked more like this:

I asked the seller why he used such shtty photos and he said he wanted the buyer to know the worst condition. unless it is in direct light and at a strong angle to the dial, everyday wear I don't ever notice the scratches. seller was a pretty upright guy that not only didn't try to hide anything, he in a way exaggerated the wear. and as for the damaged crystal, it makes the watch ever more awesome

 

That is how I try to list items, with the wear much worse in photos than it will really look like. I tend to lose out on quick sales that way, but would rather overstate any issues than have someone come back thinking they were deceived.

 

To me like new means no visible marks or scratches of any kind. I am very hesitant to use this descriptor, even for a watch that hasn’t left the house. A single mark on the clasp is enough to downgrade it.

 

I agree. And as much as my question should be covered by common sense, I posted it for a reason. I'm not going to call him out by name, but a fairly active seller here had a post for a watch listed as like new condition. I noticed what looked like an obvious ding on the bezel in the coating and asked if it was a ding. This was not mentioned in the written description. I also said that if it was, I wouldn't consider it to be like new.

That second statement of mine was aggressive, I admit, and it really made the seller angy. He implied that I do not know what I'm talking about since I am not a professional (which he assumes he is I guess) and he refused to answer me about the ding since he would not do business with me anyway. I was instructed to stay in my lane, which I will do lol. I was just curious if others may also question the sensibility of calling something "like new" when it obviously is not.

 

I've also heard the term "slider" condition, which I understand to mean basically "like new", meaning, you could mistake this for new old stock or NIB.

 

New= Not Used……

 

Like new is basically if you wore it a few times and put it back in the box and sold it to me I wouldn’t notice.

 

What does "like new" mean to you?

Look at the pictures .

I have seen many threads like this were people debate the words used by the seller and I think the best thing to do is look at the photos. I am of the mindset that used watch is most likely going to have some evidence of wear.

 

Based solely on browsing eBay, this:

 

Like new means no damage, no wear and tear. Someone might have worn it a few times, took it out for pics, display model at an AD or whatever. But it should look the same as a new watch taken out of the box. Anything else and you need to delve into some other category.

 

Maybe worn a little / few times.
No cosmetic blemishes at all when looking at it.

 

For me, Like New (when it comes to watches) means, that the stickers are all off, the watch has touched skin at least once (aka, been worn) and has no scratches are marks (it was babied for the duration of wear).

The next step down would be Excellent and to me would indicate that the above is still true but there may be some fine scratches here or there, as is want to happen when a watch is worn for any significant duration of time.

 

I try to never use like new because of this exact question. I’m always amazed at the array of definitions for like new . In my opinion like new means if I could put the plastic and the tags back on I’d be able in theory be able to walk back in to the store and return it


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