I inquired of Benwatch about the price of this Carrera, and he offered it to me at 3,750 Euro ($5,172).

So the watch had good exposure of eBay, with 643 views, and sold on August 17, at $2,326.

Now that it is in the hands of Benwatch, it is offered at $5,172, a 122 percent mark-up above his purchase price. That would not be a bad profit for owning this watch for one month, taking a few photos and doing a chrono24 listing.

Other than a dealer hoping to get lucky, with a customer coming along who has no idea at all about values, can anyone explain this way of doing business? What could make this dealer think that he can "flip" a $2,300 watch for $5,100? Explanations, please?

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++

: Interesting that you have followed this Carrera, from Matthew
: Bain to Benwatch, who has now listed it on chrono24.

: A few weeks ago, I followed another Carrera, a Reference 2447S
: (with a damaged dial). In the space of a few days, this Carrera:
: went from me to a dealer, at a price of $2,600 the dealer
: replaced the dial, to convert it into a rare 2447 NS or NST
: [which is why he had no problems buying it from me, with a
: damaged dial], and sold it, with its new dial, to Benwatch, in
: the $5,000 range (I would imagine) and Benwatch was then kind
: enough to list it on chrono24, and quote it back to me
: "upon inquiry" at around $11,000. So there you have
: it, from $2,600 to $11,000, with a couple of transfers (and a
: rare replacement dial). Of course, the hands and serial number
: now show that this Carrera had been produced a few years before
: the first NS or NST was produced.

: I like the dealers who offer a nice inventory of watches, and I can
: respect their seeking an honest profit, but . . . [you can
: complete this sentence].

: Do our readers have experiences with Benwatch?

: Jeff

: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: