Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! So long as you have registered with a valid credit card, you can bid from anywhere. 

For watches that do not meet reserve, we work with the seller and highest bidder to see if they can work out a deal. In cases where reserve is not met, you may make an offer to the seller via last chance offers.

Once a bid has been placed, you cannot cancel it. If you as the successful Buyer fail to complete the purchase of an auction for any reason other than the default of the Seller, you will be obliged to pay the 5% service fee (the fee has a $250 minimum).

You may ask questions via the comments section of the auction if the piece is available for last chance offers.

Our auction specialists work with sellers to ensure the condition is accurately reflected in the listing. In addition, all watches are inspected by our authentication center to verify both condition and authenticity.  Once inspection of the watch is complete you will receive a report on the piece. You have 2 business days from this point to ask any quesitons or request additional information before you pay the seller for the watch.

Unless the title of the auction says ‘No Reserve’, all auctions have a reserve.

You can register to bid when you create your account or by clicking on the place a bid button on any live auction. Registering to bid requires a valid credit card, however, there is no charge to register. We will only authorize that your card is valid. Your card is only charged if you place a bid.

You just type in the amount you would like to bid. If it’s higher than other bids and there is still time on the clock, you become the high bidder. Bidding increases immediately to your entered amount. The bid you place in the bid box will become the new high bid and the amount you will be responsible for paying should you win the auction. 

If you win an auction we charge 5% of the final bid price, with a minimum fee of $250 and maximum of $5,000 (5% of a $100,000 bid). The fee for sales higher than $100,000 is capped at $5,000. 

The 5% buyer’s fee is paid via the buyer’s card on file at auction close. The transaction for the winning bid amount is between the buyer and the seller.  At the close of the auction, the winning bidder will receive instructions to send us proof of funds for the winning bid amount. Once the funds are verified, the seller will send the watch to an authentication center to ensure authenticity and condition. Once the watch passes inspection, the buyer makes payment to the seller directly.  The seller's approved payment methods are listed on every listing. After the funds are received by the seller, the authentication center will ship the watch to the buyer.

For auctions labeled as premium, the watch was verified prior to the auction and the watch is being held in escrow by the authentication center. The buyer will pay the seller directly after the end of the auction. Once the funds are received by the seller, the authentication center will ship the watch to the buyer.

If the reserve is not met, we work with the seller and high bidder in hopes they can reach a deal.  If no deal is made, the item becomes available for offers from the public.

All offerings are for auction only. There are no Buy it Now prices and sellers cannot sell watches outside of a live auction. If you wish to purchase a watch make sure you're the highest bidder!

Ask questions from the seller in the comments section of an auction.  We like all communication to be public to create an equal and transparent experience for all bidders.

You can subscribe to receive email auction updates by opening an auction listing and selecting the WATCH button at the top. If you no longer want to receive auction updates from an auction, you can click the WATCH button again to un-watch it and stop receiving updates.

You can update your credit card information by going to your account page. Under the contact info tab you will see your credit card information. Click the edit button to update the credit card on file.

We encourage all potential bidders to read the listing and review the comments for details of the watch and insights offered by members of the community. Questions can be asked via the comments section, and we recommend potential bidders to do so before placing a bid.

It’s common in online auctions for buyers to use special software to enter a bid in the very last seconds of an auction to outbid others without giving them a chance to respond. During the last 2 minutes of our auctions, the clock resets to 2 minutes after every bid. This happens until no new bids are placed and the auction ends. This gives everyone a chance to place their bids and gives sellers a chance to sell to the actual high bidder.

When bidding, we place a hold on your card for 5% of your initial bid amount with a minimum hold of $250 and maximum of $5000. If you win the auction, that hold will be converted to a charge. If not, the hold will be released immediately at the end of the auction. It can take up to a few days for your bank to release the funds.

Auctions labeled as premium have been sent to our authentication center prior to the auction going live for authentication, detailed photography and performance/condition evaluation.  In addition, the watch is in the possession of the authentication center and ready for immediate shipping once the auction ends.

We put every seller and their watch through a vigorous dilligence process prior to allowing the watch to be listed on Grailzee. We will not send you payment instructions until the watch has been verified by our authentication center to match the auction's representations. In the very uncommon circumstance that a watch does not pass inspection, we will immediately notify you, refund your buyers fee and permanently ban the seller from Grailzee.  Protecting our buyers and sellers is our #1 priority.

The seller pays for shipping to the authentication center and the buyer pays for shipping from the authentication center to the final destination.

Once a watch passes inspection and is being held in escrow, you will be asked to pay the seller via a seller approved payment method.  All sellers accept wire transfers. Some sellers have opted to select credit cards. Every listing displays the accepted payment methods.

Fairness is one of our most important values and we have gone to great efforts to develop a system that is transparent and fair to all of our users. We do not allow sellers to bid on their own listing, and any such behavior is strictly prohibited. We have tools in place that monitor bidding and the user accounts from which bids are placed to ensure this doesn’t happen. Additionally, we choose to make each user’s account history public via their user profile. 

We do not cancel auctions. We require listings to be exclusive to us during that time with all other ads taken down.

Once you complete your submission, an Auction Manager will review it and get back to you, usually within 48 hours. There is no way to edit your initial submission, however you will have the opportunity to add more information and photos after the initial correspondence.

You are able to lower the reserve on your watch at any time during your live auction. Simply email your account manager or auction specialist and they will take care of you.

We don’t like to re-list a watch if it doesn’t sell. A listing has the most interest when it is new to the market.

Yes, we consider watches from anywhere in the world.

For $400 you can add our premium services to any listing.  Simply send us the watch via insured shipping (we'll help you arrange shipping); we'll authenticate the watch, verify its condition and take professional photos to help buyers bid with confidence.

You can submit your watch by going here. Once you submit, one of our Auction Managers will review your submission and get back to you, typically within 2 business days. If we accept your watch for auction, you pay the listing fee and an Auction Specialist will be assigned to you who will assemble your listing based on the information you provided. If you have chosen Premium, we help you arrange insured shipping to us for authentication and photographs.

A reserve is the minimum price that a watch will sell for. We work with sellers to set reasonable reserves, and avoid watches with reserves that are not realistic. Reserve values are not shown on the listing, nor do we announce when reserves have been met.

We choose which watches to list based on a number of factors including condition, quality of information, quality of photos, requested reserve price, and similar watches currently for sale.

Auctions start and end 7 days a week, with regular listings live on the site for 4 to 7 days.

We work with you to find the best options for insured shipping. We want to make sure your watch is always safe!

If you choose our Classic submission (no professional photos or pre-auction authentication included), the fee is just $99. If you select the Premium submission type (pro photos and pre-auction authentication included), the fee is $499. Either way, that is the only fee a seller pays.

For White Glove submissions, we will construct a package to your liking that will best suit your needs.

If you are having problems uploading photos in your submission, try starting with 5-10 photos that show the overall condition of the watch. In addition, we recommend that photos be 2000 – 3000 pixels on the long side, which usually results in a 1 – 2 MB file size. Photos that are too small or too large might not be able to be uploaded. If accepted, more photos can be added prior to the auction going live.  Please email or live chat us if you continue to have issues.

All sellers are required to accept wire transfers. Sellers, at their discretion select to accept credit cards. If you wish to accept credit cards, please reach out to support@grailzee.com.

For classic auctions: after the auction ends, the winning bidder sends us proof of funds.  After which, the seller ships the watch via insured shipping to our authentication center. The authentication center verifies the watch was accurately represented in the auction listing. Once verified, the buyer pays the seller directly. After the payment is sent, the authentication center ships the watch via insured shipping to the buyer. Usually sellers are paid within 5 business days.

For premium acutions: since the watch has already been verified and is in the possession of the authentication center, the buyer immediately pays the seller after the auction ends. Once the funds are received by the seller, the authentication center ships the watch to the buyer.  Usually sellers are paid within 2 business days.

If your watch is accepted for auction, an Auction Specialist will be assigned to you who will be in charge of assembling your listing based on your provided information. They will also monitor your auction and assist with any questions you may have.

Classic auctions take 1-2 days to be ready to go live. This varies based on how quickly you get us accceptable photos and documentation of the watch.  Premium auctions take 5-7 days as you must first ship the watch to our authentication center for verification and photography.

We accept or reject watches for auction within 24 hours.

The watch is stored in the vault of the authentication center until it is shipped to the buyer. Sleep well at night knowing it is secure and fully insured.

Simply email your dedicated auction specialist to add photos to your listing throughout the auction process.

Although we don’t offer the ability to precisely schedule your auction, we allow our sellers to provide preferences. If you’d prefer a certain start date, or if you’d prefer if your auction wasn’t live during a certain week (for example, due to a vacation or business trip), let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

We recommend never revealing your reserve, especially in the public comments or Q&A sections. We’ve found that disclosing a reserve price almost always slows down bidding, especially as the auction nears or reaches that value.

No – watches listed on Grailzee are for sale exclusively through the auction. If a buyer or seller attempts to make a deal in an attempt to subvert the auction, we will permanently ban you from the site. Instead, if you want to buy a watch on Grailzee, simply bid the maximum you’re willing to pay – it’s the best way to ensure you’ll end up with the watch you want.

It’s very uncommon that a winning bidder fails to follow through on Grailzee. In the unusual event that it occurs, the winning bidder forfeits their 5% buyer’s fee — and they’re permanently banned from Grailzee.

If your buyer fails to follow through, we’ll immediately work with the next-highest bidder(s) in an attempt to sell your watch at an agreed-upon price. In the event that we can’t strike a deal, we may offer to re-list your watch free of charge.

First, we try and negotiate a deal with the high bidder.  If that is not successful, the watch is added to our Last Chance Offers page, where prospective buyers can submit an offer directly to the seller and get a reply within 24 hours (usually much faster). These offers are binding and cannot be canceled. If the seller accepts and you do not complete the transaction, the service fee & your Grailzee account will be forfeited the same as if you did not complete a finished auction.  

You will need to fill out a watch worksheet, linked here.

The worksheet breakdown the watch into 3 categories. You the seller assign each category a cost. The taxes and duties are as follows, no matter the state.

Movement: Free if Swiss.

Bracelet: 3.2% of bracelet value if precious metal. And 9.9% if Stainless Steel. 

Strap: 10% of strap value. Assume most watches without a steel or gold bracelet are to be taxed at $50 since the standard strap value is $500.

Case: Free if precious metal, and 4.3% if stainless steel

If you are  shipping it to our authentication center. You will need to attach the completed form to the outside of the package.  In addition, please email contact@bennisson.com and copy support@grailzee.com to let us know its inbound. Bennisson (our authentication center) will pay the duties on your behalf and we will charge your card on file.

Canadian buyers will need to be aware of the following duties based on Province. You will be responsible to pay the applicable duties and taxes for your purchase. Please note, this guide is provided for your convenience and is subject to change.

The following Provinces are subject to a 5% Goods & Services Tax (GST)  with no additional Provincial Sales Tax (PST)

Alberta

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

Yukon

The following provinces are subject to a Provincial Sales Tax in addition to the 5% GST

British Columbia (7%)

Manitoba (7%)

Quebec (9.975%)

Saskatchewan (6%)

The following provinces are subject to a Harmonized Sales Tax (A combination of GST and PST) 

New Brunswick (15%)

Newfoundland and Labrador (15%)

Nova Scotia (15%)

Ontario (13%)

Prince Edward Island (15%)

Canadian Residents can use the calculator at this link to estimate their taxes 

There is no customs tarrif on goods imported into Hong Kong.

Australian buyers are responsible to pay the applicable duties and taxes for your purchase. Please note, this guide is provided for your convenience and is subject to change.

The cost is 10% GST plus 5% duty on the total ammount (cost + shipping + insurance).

French  buyers are responsible to pay the applicable duties and taxes for your purchase. Please note, this guide is provided for your convenience and is subject to change.

The cost is 20% of the purchase price of the watch.

Italian buyers are responsible to pay the applicable duties and taxes for your purchase. Please note, this guide is provided for your convenience and is subject to change.

The cost is 22% of the purchase price of the watch.