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Secondary Apple watch prices falling

F

forcelite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 31, 2003
23
1
I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed that the apple watch prices on secondary markets like ebay and craigslist has been falling.

My black sports 42mm has just shipped and I was debating selling it for a profit, however if it will only net me less than $100 why bother.

Prices used to be $600-$700 for that watch, and now it's getting into the $500 range.
Within the week or so I bet it will be stably in the $500's, which after ebay fees will net less that $100.

What does everyone else think? Maybe supply is SLOWLY catching up with demand, where as no large profits can be had.
Force
 
Scalpers probably bought hundreds of thousands of watches, considering that it was online-only launch and that scalpers are often well-networked people and asked all of their relatives and friends order a couple for them. So, there's simply oversupply of watches in these secondary markets.
 
People who really cannot wait have already got theirs, they were paying the premium for getting the watches early. As time goes by, the premium goes away, until it reaches the point where those who are willing to wait for a month or two finds the premium doesn't hurt that much and the sellers on eBay can make just enough money to cash in a small profit after paying the fees. The biggest winner in this market, I guess, would be eBay, their 10% final value fee could be higher than many sellers' margins.
 
forcelite said:
I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed that the apple watch prices on secondary markets like ebay and craigslist has been falling.

My black sports 42mm has just shipped and I was debating selling it for a profit, however if it will only net me less than $100 why bother.

Prices used to be $600-$700 for that watch, and now it's getting into the $500 range.
Within the week or so I bet it will be stably in the $500's, which after ebay fees will net less that $100.

What does everyone else think? Maybe supply is SLOWLY catching up with demand, where as no large profits can be had.
Force
Click to expand...

42mm models have always been higher than 38mm on the resale market. Now it seems only the rarer 42mm combos are selling high enough to make it worthwhile as a seller. 42mm Space Gray with Black Sports Band and 42mm SS with Black Sports Band seem to be gaining about $200 profit after eBay, PayPal and shipping fees as of yesterday when I checked. This is a far cry from the $1,000+ in profit you could gain in the first day or two. It's been going down steadily since.
 
Joe1602 said:
All of the rich, impatient people have bought one already.
Click to expand...

This.

its been 2 weeks since watches started arriving, and the only market for these high-proces ones are people that can't wait... Now that watches are shipping, that is a declining group
 
I sold two 42m Milanese a week ago for over $1500 each. I just looked at eBay and in the last few days 42mm Milanese have sold for as much as $1400/ea. So the prices may be dropping, but they are dropping relative to the supply and demand. The Sport are easiest to get, so I'm not surprised that the secondary market is dropping for them. But the Milanese is still in high demand. That said, I picked up both of mine at Maxfield in LA and shipped them the day I sold them, after a short 3-day sale. Most of the Milanese watches I see selling for less than $1k are "guaranteed pre-orders", meaning they won't be shipping immediately (and are also 38mm). The ones almost doubling the retail price are 42mm available to ship immediately. So there are plenty of people still willing to pay huge premiums to get specific watches within a week of the auction. I agree with the above poster who speculates that the link bracelets will see another huge spike in secondary prices. Supply and demand. Buy a cheap relatively plentiful watch, sell it for a small profit. Buy an expensive hard to get watch, sell it for a handsome profit. Those looking to exclusively profit from Apple's botched rollout would do well to carefully select the watches that are in greatest demand. Here's a his and hers that sold just this morning for $2500. That's still over $500 profit per watch.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231556377368

Despite the already ridiculous price, I bet we'll see some Editions on eBay go for an even more ridiculous markup when they eventually start arriving, as I suspect they will be available in limited quantities, as Apple has already said there will be a limited run. Shops like Maxfield and Colette will likely have them in stores before Apple starts shipping them from preorders or stocks them in their stores, so this whole fiasco will continue to be perpetrated through the Summer.
 
Last edited:
some

while the mania/panic buying prior to 4/24 and post have come down from 1000-2000$ for a 42MM space grey sport, they are still selling for nearly 2x retail at 750-800$ BIN..

some certainly can be found for 550-625$, but I think at least if one is willing to ship international, 750-800$ can still be found.
 
forcelite said:
I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed that the apple watch prices on secondary markets like ebay and craigslist has been falling.

My black sports 42mm has just shipped and I was debating selling it for a profit, however if it will only net me less than $100 why bother.

Prices used to be $600-$700 for that watch, and now it's getting into the $500 range.
Within the week or so I bet it will be stably in the $500's, which after ebay fees will net less that $100.

What does everyone else think? Maybe supply is SLOWLY catching up with demand, where as no large profits can be had.
Force
Click to expand...

I think this tells us two things:

1) Forcing us to purchase online, when you have 453 retail stores, will NOT stop scalpers.

2) How is it that scalpers were able to obtain so many watches while there are still so many still waiting.

Apple created a lucrative environment for scalpers.
 
I saw a 38 cb s/s with Apple care go on eBay for 730. That's basically regular price. Now the cb and bsb seem to be shipping quickly so those prices are down. But I would think most 42 watches will still well above face value.
 
rockyroad55 said:
I'm pretty sure people are more likely to wait a few weeks than shell out $200
Click to expand...

Agreed. If you've already waited a few weeks then, by definition, you're not impatient. So what's a few more weeks (if even that)?

----------
Mac 128 said:
I sold two 42m Milanese a week ago for over $1500 each. I just looked at eBay and in the last few days 42mm Milanese have sold for as much as $1400/ea.
Click to expand...

So it might be cheaper for the impatient ones to just grab a 38mm sport to tide them over for a month or so until their "deluxe" model arrives?

They can give it away afterwards, or keep it as a spare.
 
The shipping times are down to 3-5 weeks for most of the 38mm designs, and 4-6 for many of the 42mm designs. Plus, people are seeing that Apple is shipping them quicker than they promised, for the most part. That suggests to me that supply is starting to match demand.

----------
ericgtr12 said:
I think this tells us two things:

1) Forcing us to purchase online, when you have 453 retail stores, will NOT stop scalpers.

2) How is it that scalpers were able to obtain so many watches while there are still so many still waiting.

Apple created a lucrative environment for scalpers.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure this says much of anything about scalpers. A lot of people could have been people who otherwise would have returned them but decided to sell them instead, since they were going for a premium.

I doubt that they forced online sales solely to prevent scalping, though. Likely they did not have enough to go around to all 453 stores. With so many combinations, there may have been long lines for a few days, with lots of people walking away empty handed. There would be thread after thread after thread complaining about how the stores only have the "wrong" combinations in stock, or how someone waited in line for 3 hours and they just ran out beforehand.
 
ericgtr12 said:
I think this tells us two things:

1) Forcing us to purchase online, when you have 453 retail stores, will NOT stop scalpers.

2) How is it that scalpers were able to obtain so many watches while there are still so many still waiting.

Apple created a lucrative environment for scalpers.
Click to expand...

1. Who said Apple's decision to sell exclusively online was meant to deter scalpers? Apple couldn't care less who buys their products. All scalpers are is evidence of demand, and if anything, the evidence of scalping is free market research data for Apple.

My guess would be they don't want thousands of people clogging the stores looking to buy watches and straps until they have enough product for everyone.

2. Scalpers may be many things, but they are not idiots. They and their cohorts pre-ordered in droves. And we're not even talking about very many scalped watches. A few dozen sold on eBay. A few dozen advertised in the major craigslist cities. I'd be surprised if the total U.S. secondary market amounts to more than 50,000 watches.
 
ericgtr12 said:
I think this tells us two things:

1) Forcing us to purchase online, when you have 453 retail stores, will NOT stop scalpers.

2) How is it that scalpers were able to obtain so many watches while there are still so many still waiting.

Apple created a lucrative environment for scalpers.
Click to expand...

No, the scalpers have been severely crippled this time. Going around China/HK/Taiwan this month, almost all of the shops that would normally get imported Apple products from U.S. scalping rings are empty.
 
Those are still some nice markups.
Scalpers must be very upset since they can't just go into a store with cash and buy and buy and buy. The online sale meant needing an Apple ID and you were limited in the number of phones you could select with that ID. Apple probably checked for multiple IDs that shipped to the same address and which bought multiple watches.
Anyway, the rush should die down for the models which are shipping.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Edition sells in the aftermarket. Wouldn't it be ironic after all the talk about the rich folks being idiots to spend $15,000 on a Gen 1 watch if the Edition turns into a collectors item and everyone who buys one from Apple at the start ends up with an appreciating asset? It would be just another example of the rich getting richer. They even get free gold Apple watches! Darn it! (And by Free, I mean they pay for it and then a few years later can sell it for all their money back plus a return.)
 
forcelite said:
I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed that the apple watch prices on secondary markets like ebay and craigslist has been falling.

My black sports 42mm has just shipped and I was debating selling it for a profit, however if it will only net me less than $100 why bother.

Prices used to be $600-$700 for that watch, and now it's getting into the $500 range.
Within the week or so I bet it will be stably in the $500's, which after ebay fees will net less that $100.

What does everyone else think? Maybe supply is SLOWLY catching up with demand, where as no large profits can be had.
Force
Click to expand...

Good. And frankly, I'm looking forward to the point where scalpers get screwed out of making a profit for depriving others of a product they actually want.
 
I just sold my second 42mm SS BSB for 950... :D

But before the judgement falls, I preordered 1 Watch, but the date for me to go out of the country was creeping up, so I decided to buy one on craigslist. I left my preorder up just in case it did come before me leaving. It came last week and I sold it for what the market price in my area was.
 
42mm Sport is still getting around $600 here, $650+ for black. Dallas.
 
CaptHook said:
Thanks. There are a couple here on Craigslist for $900 so I will probably have to undercut that. It must still be a good reseller's market in your area.
Click to expand...

I guess so. I had no idea that secondary market prices were falling. Although I think the market is balancing out here too. I'm looking at CL right now and I see one 42 SS BSB for 980 and then there's a 42mm Milanese Loop for 920...
 
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