Mentality: How to Win in the Watch Trading Game

One of the most overlooked virtues to becoming a great watch trader and what is known as a “soft-skill”: Mentality.

A soft-skill isn’t based on a 1-to-1 correlation of producing profits on any given trade, yet a strong mentality is one of the most IMPORTANT skills needed to make serious money in this game. Ask any successful stock trader, money manager, or athlete, and they will agree with a resounding YES!

I’ve observed a lot of mental weaknesses that are blocking people from making the money they want to. These are similar to the mental faults I experienced when I first started watch trading before I was breaking $100K in profit every 4 months.

The good news is, it is possible to escape these bad habits and create a strong mentality for yourself going forward.

If you want to get out of the weeds of making a few hundred dollars every flip and feeling the pain of having no one hit up on your watch listings, then continue reading.

The WRONG Mentality: Emotional, Indecisive, and Unaccountable.  

These three traits are at the core of what thwarts traders from making strong deals and establishing long-lasting relationships that can produce even more profits in the future. I see a lot of traders buying watches that they like instead of buying the watch that’s the right DEAL. If you want to enjoy watches to wear and don’t care about making money, then sure you can pick out some models that you like. But if you want to make money, you need to buy the watches that can be purchased at or below target price and focus on getting really good at selling those to retail buyers. This is where you start making thousands of dollars per trade instead of a few hundred dollars or even losing money. When you buy a watch at too high of a price, it’s either because you don’t know what the target price should be for the watch or you got emotional about the transaction and made a mistake.

The less emotion you have towards trading watches, the better your results will be. Emotions can blind you to the facts about the entire deal, and they are the main obstacle I see in newbie traders.

Indecisiveness can not only lose you an opportunity on a strong deal, it can also ruin your reputation in the watch business.  

A huge mistake I often see is that people will do their research on the watch they want and then instead of making the deal, they start asking irrelevant questions, continue to tire-kick the seller, and even pull out of a deal after they verbally committed. Not only will your indecisiveness lose you money, it will ensure the sellers who you backed-out on will not do business with you in the future. Few things are worse than when a seller counts on your word to move forward with a deal, and you change your mind. It shows you aren’t good for what you say, and in this game your word and reputation are literally EVERYTHING.

Unaccountable attitudes are unwelcome in this game. If you misrepresent a watch you’re selling and don’t own up to your mistake, you could be one of these type of traders. If you commit to doing a deal and then back out of it, you are being unaccountable. If you say you’ll wire someone funds on Monday, and don’t do it until Thursday… you guessed it. I can’t emphasize this enough: don’t be the person who is unaccountable for their actions. It will end your opportunity to make money in watch trading quicker than you can imagine.

The RIGHT Mentality: Unemotional, Decisive, and Accountable

These three traits are at the core of what turns traders into the go-to people that both buyers and sellers reach out to before anyone else.  

When you learn to buy the deal over the watch you “like”, you start realizing that the money is always there and it’s almost impossible to lose. If you do your market research, don’t sell a watch too soon because you get scared you may not get another offer, and then wait until the RIGHT buyer comes along that will pay you exactly what you thought the watch was worth…you win. That’s the difference between being emotional and selling quickly like a wholesaler for $300 profit and making $1,500 profit on that same watch.

Like any strong trader (think stock trader, commodities trader), your ability to control your emotions and have discipline around how you buy and sell is what gets you to the next level.

Decisiveness is a trait that will get you deals on watches that no one else can have.  

When a seller knows you are good for paying for the watches instantly, you have the funds, and that you will never go against your word, then they are much more willing to provide you flexibility and favorable terms because you’ve earned that respect. Remember, no one gives out their best deals to tire-kickers and clowns who may or may not be a serious buyer. They’re most inclined to work with people they know can make moves NOW if the numbers make sense.

So when you have done your research and are ready to buy the watch, shut up and BUY IT.  

Accountability is the other most important mental trait to harness. When something goes wrong with a deal, and/or there was a miscommunication, your ability to show accountability for what you can control is what saves it all.  

People appreciate dealing with others who are accountable over others they cannot trust. It may not always be the easiest thing to do or the most lucrative approach for you in a specific deal, but I promise you your long term value and ability to make money will be amplified directly as a reflection of how accountable people think you are.  

Those who aren’t accountable don’t last long at all in this industry. Always remember: word travels fast!


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