Hi fellow Heuer collectors,

I have noticed some ebay trends regarding Heuers lately and I though they could lead to an interesting discussion.

1. Heuer prices are on the rise. Period.
No matter what era, no matter what model, no matter what condition; if it has "Heuer" on the dial it will fetch a price 20%-80% higher than it would 6 months ago.

Obviously I'm not the only one who noticed this.
Charles Rush wrote in a previous post:"Take my word for it, Heuer prices are on the rise. Jeff and I have discussed this with the possibility that his wedsite "On The Dash" has created a collectors interest, which is causing price to rise. In other words, the information on this wedsite is educating new collectors. These new collectors are competing for a limited number of vintage pieces. They have discovered the wonderful world of Heuer watches."

Is this the only explanation?
Did the re-issue of the Autavia played a role?
Do the low interest rates make brand name vintage watches look more attractive as an investment (not necessarily for big prifit but for retaining value)? Have been Heuers undevalued in comparison to other brands and is this a "corrective move"? Is Tag Heuer (the flaghship of LVMH) as a brand on the rise and this increases interest in vintage Heuers?

It would be very interesting to hear from people who have been watching ebay for years. Are such market fluctations common? Do we have a similar case in the past (even from another brand) from which we can learn?

2. More and more Heuer auctions have private bidder-IDs. This is bad IMHO.

3. The buyers are not the "usual suspects". Not to mention any IDs but there were some ebayers who were actively pursuing and winning Heuers. Who are the guys that are buying Heuers now? Could they be one time buyers? New Heuer collectors? Do they buy to keep or to resell in a prospective market price increase?

Thanks for reading.

Kav