Watch Brands Confront a Risky Business: The Secondhand Market

Discussion in 'Luxury and Lifestyle' started by truetype, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. truetype

    truetype

    Watch Brands Confront a Risky Business: The Secondhand Market

    About four years ago, Maximilian Büsser, founder of the boutique watch brand MB&F, bought his wife a 1970s Rolex Air-King for $2,500 on the website Chrono24. When it arrived, he was dismayed (though perhaps not shocked) to learn that he’d been conned.

    “The crown was not original, the dial was not original, the case was not original and the glass was not even glass but a piece of Plexi glued to it,” Mr. Büsser recalled. “Buying a pre-owned or vintage timepiece is extremely risky business. Most brands have turned their backs on the market and left it in the hands of a lot of individuals who are not to be trusted. It’s time to reclaim it.”

    Come summer, the brand will do just that, when its website begins selling pre-owned MB&F timepieces offered mostly by customers. Mr. Büsser emphasized that the models will be limited editions no longer available at retail “because I don’t want my retailers to think I’m competing with them.”
     
  2. mlawson71

    mlawson71

    If you're buying something that expensive secondhand it's best to first examine it in person.