This Online Auction Is Offering Fresh-to-Market Rolexes—and Won’t Charge a Buyer’s Premium

Paige Reddinger
·2 min read

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You may remember an article we posted last year on Bob’s Watches founder Paul Altieri’s incredible story about a woman who came to him with a Paul Newman Rolex Daytona that she found in her $25 thrift store couch. Considered one of the most valuable Rolex models on the market today, that watch was valued at around $250,000 in 2019. Now it’s up for sale on the pre-owned e-tailer’s site in its Fresh Finds auction with a starting bid of $175,000.

The sale includes 16 fresh-to-market Rolex timepieces from a 1966 Ref. 1675 “Pepsi” GMT-Master (current bid $21,000) and a 1966 Daytona Ref. 6239 (current bid $38,500) to a 1957 Submariner Ref. 6536 (starting bid $49,000). But outside of these hard-to-find models, the best part of the auction is that there is no buyer’s premium. The fee is typically charged by auction houses on top of the final bid to account for the company’s overhead expenses—the amount, often 25 percent or more, goes directly to the auction house instead of the seller. With items costing five to six or even seven figures, that can be a significant add-on for the purchaser. “We have always been about delivering value to our customers in a transparent and trusted way so having a “no buyer commission” auction falls right in line with that vision,” said Altieri.

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Naturally, the Paul Newman Daytona has already had the most clicks from interested buyers, according to Bob’s Watches. The couch find could fetch a hammer price of over $200,000. “It’s quite possibly the second most famous Paul Newman Daytona,” joked Altieri in reference to the original which sold for over $17.8 million in 2017. Otherwise, the above mentioned vintage Rolex Ref. 6536 and an Explorer II Ref. 1655 Steve McQueen “rail dial” are garnering the most views.

Interested buyers should mark their calendars: the auction ends on June 15th at 3:00 P.M. PDT. This will be a rare opportunity to get your hands on elusive Rolex models without paying the hefty prices tacked on at traditional auctions.

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