The luxury watch industry in many ways still relies on “smoke and mirrors” as a means of interacting with the consumer – often when it comes to pricing practices. If what StockX is doing in the watch space is successful, it could have very real and very impactful effects on pricing transparency in the watch world. Every single day, countless transactions to buy watches do not occur because consumers do not trust the prices. Oftentimes, consumers aren’t sure if they are being fleeced, and if prices are simply too high given market demand.
If enough people use StockX to buy and sell watches, then the platform could become a de facto price authority, controlling or at least heavily influencing the prices for watches on other platforms. Not everyone will be a fan of the StockX effect on the watch market. If successful, the platform will make it a lot more difficult to get a “super deal,” as well as potentially make it more difficult to find unique items or ones that are similar to more popular models, but quite different. Of course, StockX is a business, and to make money they charge a percentage of each sale, which adds to the cost. StockX will be a bit more expensive to use than eBay, but don’t forget that they add the important service of actually checking and inspecting each item individually while eBay does not.
StockX will have a lot of challenges to work out as it expands its platform beyond shoes into other areas such as timepieces and handbags. Not only is the psychology (and price) of buying these items different, but each type of product brings its own issues and complexities. The core notion of StockX is that items can be commoditized such that you can apply a degree of price (value) consistency. This works well with brand new products, but can vary with pre-owned watches, or new ones that have slight variations in condition. With that said, StockX is both highly motivated and fully backed, which should be a strong sign that when issues present themselves, the team will work quickly to sort them out.
Personally, my ultimate goal is to reduce the confusion, complexity, and disjointed nature of buying and selling watches online. There are as many risks and barriers to doing so as there are options. Seasoned enthusiasts and experienced collectors may be able to handle this otherwise intimidating space, but it is my opinion that buying watches online should be a lot more simple, a lot more transparent, and a lot faster.
StockX doesn’t appear to feel as though they are a competitor to the various third-party companies who are selling pre-owned watches with a high degree of success online right now. If anything, StockX feels as though they can work in tandem with online watch retailers as a way of bringing additional customers and helping them when it comes to pricing and understanding demand.
Even people who aren’t using StockX to buy or sell watches should find the platform useful from a data perspective. To understand what watches are popular, which ones aren’t, and how pricing and demand fluctuate overall is going to be very interesting and useful to many people inside and outside the watch industry. I get really proud when interesting technologies are applied to the watch world, and look forward to seeing how the watch side of StockX pans out. I encourage those who are curious to check out the watch area on StockX.com which launches today. stockx.com