FAQs
Buying
It is completely free to register, with no subscription charge or hidden fees.
Upon an auction ending, we charge the winning bidder a 5% premium of the selling price or £250, whichever is greater.
Use the message function to ask questions directly to the seller.
It is at the seller’s discretion whether a watch has a reserve or not. Any watch without will be marked “No Reserve”.
At the end of a successful auction the seller and buyer will be introduced through the platform. All transactions are then completed directly between the two parties. WATCHDROP is not responsible for managing or processing the final transfer of funds or watches.
Once an auction ends and the winning bidder is confirmed, the buyer's premium is charged automatically to the winning bidder's chosen payment method. Our fee is only for the use of the WATCHDROP platform and is is additional to the final sale price of the watch. There are NO refunds on the buyer’s premium.
Once bids are placed they are final. If you are the winning bidder, you will automatically be charged the 5% buyer’s premium.
Being confident and satisfied that the watch you are bidding on is authentic cannot be underestimated. We recommend you check through all the images and the description, then ask the seller any questions you feel are important. On completing the purchase with the seller, if you have any concerns or doubts, make sure you seek an independent authentication from a registered watchmaker.
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It is ultimately the sellers responsible to provide accurate and honest information, alongside listing a genuine watch. It is the buyer's responsibility to accept and agree that the information is present prior to bidding. If you have any questions or concerns raise them with the other party directly, or seek independent advice.
No, we prevent this by adding more time to the auction's duration. If a bid is made during the last two minutes of the auction, we add on an extra two minutes to the auction's duration. Then only when there has been no additional bids for the last two minutes will the auction end.
Different sellers provide different payment methods. These can include Trustshare, bank transfer, debit card and/or credit Card. If the seller offers it, WATCHDROP recommends using Trustshare, the seamless escrow service. Trustshare allows for a simple bank transfer from most banks whilst also providing an additional level of safety to the transaction for all parties.
Yes, we pride ourselves on being a safe platform for all users. All listings show if the seller accepts escrow or not. We encourage all users to use our escrow service via Trustshare. More information can be found in our Payment methods page.
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Trustshare is a third-party escrow service which we provide to all users, as long as the seller has chosen to accept it for their listing. Trustshare helps ensure that the watch and money exchange process is seamless and safe for all parties. More information can be found in our Payment methods page.
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Selling
Firstly register with us as a seller and upload the details of your listing. We will verify you and confirm your information meets our 'Terms and Conditions'
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No, it is free to list and sell as many watches as you like.
All listing submissions will be reviewed. We do not however approve listing for watches that would reach an estimate of under £1,000 or brands that do not have links to the luxury watch market.
The accuracy and detail you give in your listing can make or break a sale. Remember that potential buyers only have the information you provide when choosing whether to bid and buy your watch. See our 'Listing & Photography Guide' for more information and advice.
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We give sellers all the guidance we can within ‘Listing & Photography Guide’ to help with your listing. Also, as part of our listing review and validation process, we proofread and tweak descriptions where possible.
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When submitting your watch for sale, we will check that all the information and images are correct and you have provided all your personal information. If anything is missing or we are unsure on a particular point, your watch will not go live until we have checked the details with you. Do not worry, we will make sure this is dealt with urgently.
If an auction does not, for any reason, sell successfully the top 3 bidders will be notified and asked if they would like to make a final offer. If any of the offers are successful, the standard 'Terms and Conditions' apply.