Comprehensive Guide On How To Sell Your Luxury Watches On Facebook Via Moda Watch Club

Selling your high end timepiece(s) to a stranger online may sound like a daunting task, thankfully Moda Watch Club  and Moda Watch Club - 10K & Under make it fast, easy, and safe, as long as you follow these steps. 

Moda Watch Club is the premier place to trade your luxury watches. Anything from Omega, Panerai, Zenith, and Tudor, up to the upper tiers of Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek, Richard Mille, FP Journe, and anything in-between. The group started in 2018 as a dealer to dealer platform (under the name Wholesale Watch Club) and was a place for dealers to post to other vetted dealers to have liquidity and to share inventory between each other. Kind of how Real Estate agents have pocket listings, this was a place to share off market watches that other dealers could sell to their clients. Eventually, due to the rules of the group and the extreme growth, we made more platforms for the dealers themselves to do that and started slowly letting in vetted traders, and let it grow organically from there. It has now gotten to the point of 45 thousand + members that were all invited in via friend of a friend or otherwise and is now. The group has been the highest transacting watch trading community on Facebook bar none for years now but we have never advertised it nor really let too many people know it exists.  

Now that it's starting to have a lot more retail end users in there who are not familiar how this world works, I figured a I would type up a basic how to guide on how to sell a watch in the group.

Before you even make a post, please have these things ready.

• At least 5 really good photos of the watch and what is included that accurately depict the condition of the watch. Basic rule of thumb is one clear shot of the front of the watch and the dial, one photo of everything included and the warranty card (make sure to edit out the serial as you don't want to get in trouble by the Authorized Dealer who sold it to you at msrp), a picture of the buckle/clasp as that's usually the most scratched part of the watch, and one picture of each side of the case as this is generally where there's scratches that are hard to see. If its a new or like new wrist watch this should be enough. If its older and more used, include good pics of the bracelet (including stretch if any), and any other flaws or damage. If a watch doesn't come in as described or you used catfish angles or lighting to hide flaws, we will 100% side with the buyer every time for a return/refund. 
• A realistic price that you want for the watch. The reason our communities buy/sell so many watches is because they are priced accurately. There is 100's of posts every single day in the group and at the time of this writing at least 30 of them get declined due to price being out of line. We are not asking you to give up the farm and price it 30% under market but if its over market (and we have a really good pulse on the market) you can expect for the post to get declined. Best way to do this is find a post inside the group you're listing the watch in and find the 2 or 3 pieces of the same watch or similar. Compare those prices and post yours within the same range. If you're basing your comp's on Chrono24, eBay, or random forums that the watch has been sitting for last 3 months, there's a very good chance your post will not get approved. The moderator/admin team of the groups doesn't really allow for people to post crazy pricing because it makes the groups look bad and wastes everyone's time. 
• Basic idea of what you are selling. If it's a new sport model Rolex, in most cases you only need 4 pieces of information. (price, model number, date on card, & condition). If its something older or more unique, you need to do some research about it. 
• Your payment information. Sounds simple but you won't believe how many times we have had to deal with people freaking out that someone didn't pay when they didn't provide the correct routing and account number for a bank wire or ACH payment. Most big dealers pay via ACH, so for that all you need is your name on account, address account is linked to, and the routing/account number that's on your check. If you want wire only payment, make sure to contact your bank and get the correct wire information (in most cases it just means the wire routing number, account is usually the same).

Now that you have those 3 things, lets get to the fun stuff, HOW TO LIST YOUR WATCH

1. Open up what Moda watch group you want to list it in. Hit new post, and first add your pictures. The format that works best is the #1 bullet point above. Picture of dial/front of the watch, 2nd picture to be of everything that's included with the purchase, 3 the buckle/clasp of the watch, 4/5 the sides of the case, and anything after that is up to you but if its a preowned watch with scratches better to include as many pictures as you can so the buyer knows exactly what they are buying. 
2. The Description: Your best bet for this is to find a description that someone has posted already in the group and kind of follow that format. At minimum it needs to include these things. 

• What the watch is, for example, "Brand New 2022 Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona White Dial - Panda" - I like to include the nickname if it has one or anything else that might catch someone elses eye while scrolling.
• The Model Number (in this case 116500ln)
• Date of the warranty card (purchase date) lets say in this case its March 2022 so (2/2022)
• Condition: In this case its true new brand new never worn. For like new its bit more tricky because most people consider brand new as in its never been worn, never been sized even at the ad, and there isn't a single hairline scratch on the PCL's (shiny part of the bracelet). If you had it sized to your wrist at the store you must put that in there, example "brand new sized at ad, no handling marks". You might also come across a word "SLIDER" that means its in like new condition, might have a couple hairline scratches on the PCL's and its technically a new watch but maybe its 4 months old instead of 2 weeks old kind of deal. Its a dealer term more than anything. Now if your watch is pre-loved (as it should be) be sure to include a ton of photos of the condition, and do your best to accurately describe it. Most dealers can judge condition pretty well simply off the age of the watch but try not to throw out the word mint unless it truly is mint. If a watch is few years old chances are it's in "clean" condition not mint. Add in if it needs polish or refinishing. Now if you're selling a 10 year old + watch be even more conservative on your description and (I'm starting to sound like a broken record) add in as many photos as you can to show accurate condition. 
• Next you want to say what's included with the purchase. Every watch generally has different items that are included with it. A basic new steel Rolex will have the watch, warranty card, leather holder, manual, green hang tag, white barcode tag (international doesnt) box, outer carboard box, and white sleeve. Audemars Piguet will have watch, tag, box, white foam, folder with warranty card and booklet, and cardboard box. Patek Philippe will have watch, box, (pusher in the pillow if watch requires it), box dust cover, manual leather holder, manuals, warranty papers, and outer box. This is just quick idea on what most come with, some models have a lot more items in there. Always be on the cautious side, do not use the word COMPLETE unless you bought it direct from the AD and including absolutely everything. You will also see a lot of watches listed as 'Watch & Card", that's pretty normal in the dealer to dealer world as many dealers have a ton of boxes and extra's to make a watch complete and it saves on shipping when you don't have to send the package in a big box when margin is slim on the piece. So for the example up above it would be something like "Complete set, including watch, both box, booklets, tags, warranty card, & booklets"
• Next you want to put your price. As stated above please make sure you do your due diligence when it comes to pricing. If you're out of line chances are it will be declined or if it accidently makes it through expect some lowball offers or members to call you out on your pricing. This community is very tight knit and they do not take kindly to members trying to take advantage of it.  
• If you're selling something new and simple, that should be all you need. If you're selling something more unique or harder to get, this is where you'd want to add in some more information about it, why someone should buy it, maybe add in what other comps there are in the market for it, and other salesmenship type items should go here. 
• Then for closing add in who's covering shipping. 99% of the time if you're a new seller, you will not have the ability to make shipping labels as fast, efficiently, or cheap as any of the dealers in the group can. For point of reference, an average overnight insured (for say 40k) shipping label for me as a dealer would be roughly $50. If you took your watch to fedex and said ship this for me, they 1 wont be able to insure it and 2 will tell you something like $150+. If you're a new seller its better to just say shipping label on the buyer.
• Now that the pics and description is out of the way it's time to talk about the next steps. If you priced your watch accurately to market, expect your watch to sell in about 30 minutes or less. There is 1000's of cases of where the watch gets sold within 10 seconds of being approved. This is also where you have to be careful though, because these groups do not work like your local rummage sale group. The first person who comments 'SOLD' on your post, gets the watch. If someone private messages you that they want it, tell them to comment sold on the post first. If you don't sell to the first person marking your watch sold, you can expect a very short stay in the Moda communities. Now on the flip side, if the person who commented sold doesn't follow through on the deal, you must alert an admin/moderator with screenshots about the issue. Not following through on a deal is our main rule you cannot break in the Moda communities. You might hear the term 'mazal' in this world it means they'll take the piece, or 'you'll be banned for breaking mazal' meaning you'll be removed from all the Moda groups if you do not follow through on the agreed deal.
• {MOST IMPORTANT} At this point your watch was posted, it got sold, and now you have to work out the payment details and coordinate shipping with the buyer. This is also where our groups stand out from the rest, because we do this part very differently. In 99.9% of cases since you're a new seller in this group expect 1 of 2 things to happen. If a vetted dealer marks your watch sold YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SHIP FIRST on their shipping label, and be paid the next day via Bank Wire, ACH, or whatever method of payment you agree on. This is the industry standard, this is also how we are able to 8 figures of sales daily in the groups without any hick ups. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS BEFORE EVEN LISTING THE WATCH. The flip side to this is if another member who's not a dealer marks your watch sold and doesn't have strong references (we will get to that in a moment) please use the middleman service that is run by Daniel Moda & Nazar Moda (click their names to get linked directly to their profile, or go on the groups about page, click admins, and find their account). There is a fee for this service. It starts at 250 + shipping both ways, either we provide the labels or the buyers. The way it works is, once deal is agreed upon Daniel or Nazar will make you a label from you to our office here in South Dakota. You ship the watch here, we inspect the watch and take accurate pictures of the condition and forward them to the buyer. Once buyer confirms the watch is what was described, he will pay you directly for the watch. Once you confirm that the watch is paid for, we will only then ship the watch to the buyer. 
• {EVEN MORE IMPORTANT} This really should be #4 on the list but its hard to explain to someone new in the groups without talking about the expectations in #4 first. The foundation to doing a safe transaction online is DO A PUBLIC REFERNCE CHECK I cannot understate this enough. Every single deal no matter how big or small should have a reference check. Don't go off old ones, always make a new one. Basic template for this is something like "Need reference check on <insert name> for <insert amount>, Wants to send payment on delivery, who is willing to back them with their own money"  then wait 30 mins or so. If its someone who's highly regarded and has done 1000's of deals in the group your post should light up like a Christmas tree. We take these posts extremely serious and anyone saying they will vouch for someone means that if that person screws you, they are coming out of their own pockets to make it right. We have had any instances like that really happen but that's how we like to safe guard ourselves. Now if you're only getting reply's like "I did a deal with him and it went smooth" that's like reading ebay or chrono24 feedback page, try to get a few people willing to back the deal with their own money before shipping the watch. If at ANY POINT you don't feel comfortable shipping first to them, use the escrow service.  Another thing to watch out for is if you have less than 10 references on a post it should be a red flag and for you to look deeper into the buyer because most big buyers in the group buy 1000+ watches a year and have most of the active members in the group as people willing to put in a good word for them. If you're on the fence you can also private message one of the moderators to get an opinion on someone. By now we know who's who and who qualifies to get shipped first too and who needs to use the middleman service. 
• At this point watch is sold, you did your reference check, and it came out positive, you feel comfortable moving forward, now comes shipping it. Its best to have the buyer walk you through shipping because certain insurance providers require different things as far as shipping goes. For example, the provider we use for shipping insurance requires every shipment to be double boxed and all seams on the outside taped. Some require a label on the inner box along with the other box. Talk to your buyer to see how they want it boxed. The main thing to do here is to try to take a few photos before you send it, drop it off at a FEDEX facility (not like a Walgreens or a Walmart FedEx, needs to be a stand alone FedEx) and take a picture of the drop off receipt. Try to do it at least 30 minutes before their cut off time for overnight packages so you don't have your expensive wrist watch out there an extra day. 
• Once you have shipped your watch, assuming it was shipped before the cut off time, it should arrive to your buyer by 1030am or noon the next day. Follow up with your buyer once you see it has been picked up. Give them an hour or 2 to get the package back to their store or office, inspect the watch, and reach out to them to confirm everything is all good. Don't freak out if they don't reply right away, some of these guys are buying 30+ watches a day and they just go in order. The rule of thumb is, once the watch is picked up, they HAVE to send payment confirmation that same day. If they send you payment confirmation and its after wire cut off time, expect payment to hit by 8am the following morning. If by ANY reason that payment isn't in by the following day, reach out to one of the mods/admins of the page and we will intervene. We have absolutely no mercy when it comes to dealers slow paying retail clients. Do not let a dealer say ok payment scheduled, make them show you the screenshot. Then verify the date of arrival on the screenshot. This typically isn't a big issue in the groups, I just don't want a new seller selling their first piece to go through any issues when they weren't comfortable shipping first prior to payment. 
• [Optional but highly suggested] Many big dealers who buy a lot sometimes don't remember who they bought from. A good practice to have is when shipping out a watch to create a simple invoice. Here's a link to a free invoice generator Fill in your contact info, buyer info, the date, Watch description WITH SERIAL, price, and in the notes, put your payment information. Then get their email, email them a copy, then print it out and include it with your watch. I can promise this extra 5 minutes of work will get you paid faster than anyone else they have to pay that day. 

After that, you're done, congrats you just sold your first watch online via a Facebook group, isn't technology amazing. You will no longer have to deal with your local pawnshop or Craigslist Rolex buyers who love to lowball and this way you get top dollar without any of the headaches. (Spoiler alert, you can almost 100% be sure that all those local watch guys are already in the group as that's where they most likely do all their business)

That was a lot of information to take in, I just wanted to create a master guide for the whole process that way I can just copy and paste this link and it answers all the questions. If there's anything I'm missing, please feel free to add in a comment and I'll update the post.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and being valued members of the Moda communities.