He is wearing an APRO yellow gold
You may know that 40% of Rolex Watches are shipping to Hong Kong.
HK is the Asia hub for Swiss luxury watch distribution.
Only in Tsim Sha Tsui area, there is about 200 Watches shops selling these watches.
Last year a young kid came to know me through this blog and he wanted me to share my experience in watch collection and selling watches...
He was just 17 years old, and he started knowing my because he asked my help to deal with a watch purchased in one of a famous TST watch shop. His watch was a Tudor Submariner who he bought as new at this shop, but next day when he washed his hands it was later found water vapors inside, that shop blamed he did not lock up the crown properly... I helped as I know the shop but the shop insisted not to replace with a new one, asked him to repair at Rolex Service Centre.
Finally he went to Rolex Service Centre to salvage his watch and Rolex retuned him two week later FOC.
That is a Sad experience, for a kid who is still studying as HK$25000 was a big amount of money to him by that time.
He joined our watch gathering and he told ne he is starting to make some money on watch.
We had been meeting and talking a lot on this topics... Rolex Market, Price information, market price trend, what is mostly profitable and which is not and he came to me one day showed me watches he bought that day...
OMG, he bough 4 Rolex, one Omega and one Tudor just in One day..!
Well, his strategy is to sell to USA for making like HK$1000 to HK$2,000 per watch...
That is considered a very low profit as he had to send watches to USA and collect money by wiring..
He had to bear the shipment cost which is 30% of his profit and it took time...buying and going to Courier after school.
I told him, go doing it as it may build your network and Trust... somehow you can buy from your USA partner and if he has some good stuff he can send him...
His DISADVANTAGE become his Advantage as he is not HK people, he cannot speak local Chinese... So he must have to deal with USA or other foreign client as he is good at English... That lead him to work along this direction with his Client..
I still remember he helped me to sell my GMT master Fuchsia to his USA partners, and he is so honest to declare the true value of the watch US$16,000 to the customs, and the watch was taxed US$800 on arrival to his client... my fault was not to infirm him there prone to be having tax in USA...
After months , he had already established TRUST with his buyer and seller in USA. and since then he can ask whatever watch that is sellable in Hong Kong, and Ship something with good margin to USA.
Probably his father is aware that his kid is running business and lending his some capital to make a bigger purchase...
Sooner I saw him buying and selling Patek Philippe 5711, 5712, steel and Rose gold version.
and I met him one day at TST, oh, he was wearing an Patek 5712R...
I think he is on the right track and I could see that is he doing very good.
In Short, I think his winning factors are:
Broad product knowledge
Fast learner
he has guts to make big pruchases
He speaks good English.
He is young but looks mature so people can trust him seeing his picture without knowing his age
Honesty- one of the key factor to do business
Broad network through fb, IG and Messenger.
I met him at Sham Shui Po MTR yesterday and he was wearing an APRO in yellow gold in blue dial. That is a watch of US$50,000
Well, I think that he is making money US$10,000 to US$20,000 a month
Being a 18 year old school kid, I think he is doing very good..
Moral of this story is don't blame the society , don't blame the government, make a way to make your own fortune, there is no short cut... Hardworking, Honest, move faster, move one step ahead your competitor will likely make a big difference.
HK Snob
