Need Advice on Selling My Pam359

[princeton3]

Hey guys,

Back in 2011, I received so much advice on this site during the time I was looking to purchase my first luxury watch. I had narrowed my choices down to Panerai, Breitling and Rolex. I ultimately decided on the Panerai and fell in love with the 359. I purchased my watch in November of 2011, brand new from an authorized dealer in Ohio. I have recently run into some financial difficulties that may require me to unload my Panerai. I have probably worn my watch a total of 10 times over the years, so it has very little mileage on it. It is in flawless condition. I have both original straps. I have never worn the black leather strap, only the rubber one.

I have all the original paperwork, including receipts, tags, boxes, etc. I am so afraid of not getting something remotely close to what I paid for the watch, as well as being scammed.

I am a lawyer in DC and would welcome face to face dealings.

With all that being said, I was wondering:

1. What do you guys think is a fair price for the watch?
2. Other than this site, I was thinking of listing it on Breitling.... and Paneri......com. Do you guys think listing a panerai on a non-panerai site is a worthwhile endeavor?
3. Should I stay away from ebay and craigslist?
4. What can I expect to get for the watch?

Thanks for your help on this.

[Coastie]

1. Resale values of Panerais have fallen considerably since you purchased your 359 in 2011. A quick online search suggests a current resale value of $5500-6000. If your 359 is in the condition you describe, it would probably sell toward the high end.

2. You should list your watch wherever watch addicts go . . . don't limit it to just the Panerai sites.

3. I stopped dealing on eBay years ago. Too much worry. I've never tried Craigslist, but doubt I'd use it for something as valuable as a PAM 359.

4. What can you expect to get? Unfortunately, you can expect a multitude of lowball offers, a multitude of requests for pictures/more info/your complete biography (and after you provide all that, you'll never hear back from the requester), a multitude of bizarre trade offers, a multitude of bizarre purchase offers ("Can I pay half now, and then monthly installments until paid off?" or, "Will you take a personal check?"). The more liberally you advertise your watch, the greater will be these types of offers.

Note: We always say "buy the seller," but it's equally important to "buy the buyer." Buyers often want the seller's references--and that's a good thing. But a careful seller should be just as concerned about the buyer's references. There are too many horror stories of sellers being scammed by apparently "honest" buyers.
Good luck on the sale.

[princeton3]

Coastie,

Thank you for the very valuable information. I will try everything that you have suggested. I was also concerned about ebay, and Craigslist; but to a lesser degree. In terms of the possible range of resale values, any amount within that range would be acceptable. I was hoping that would be the range, or close to it.
Thanks again.

[lapince]

if you do a face to face deal never in a restaurant, the guy can cancel the sale and have his buddies jump you when you leave, a guy wanting to buy one of my watches wanted me to come to a restaurant with a Rolex and 3 Panerai, yeah right, when I told him that they were at the bank in the safe and he could see them there, haven't heard from him since

[jhcam8]

You've been on here a while - I'd review the 'Watch Out' and 'Who's Who?' in the Classifieds and study the for sale ads here, on TZ, P.com, etc.

There's some interesting threads discussing F2F sales - I recommend that you review those also.

Good luck.

I agree with everything stated by Coastie and Lapince, too.

[princeton3]

Now I would have thought a restaurant would have been a relatively safe place to meet. I definitely need to do more homework and will definitely check out the "Watch out" and "Who's who" in the classifieds, as well as the other threads as recommended. Thanks! Great advice!

[Fomenko]

Originally Posted by lapince

if you do a face to face deal never in a restaurant, the guy can cancel the sale and have his buddies jump you when you leave, a guy wanting to buy one of my watches wanted me to come to a restaurant with a Rolex and 3 Panerai, yeah right, when I told him that they were at the bank in the safe and he could see them there, haven't heard from him since

This was very interesting, and I learned something useful!
Will read the F2F threads mentioned in the other post as well..!