Today we’d like to introduce you to Raymond Lopez.
Hi Raymond, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been on the wireless industry since 2012 selling and fixing cellphones on my store. Owing to the fact that I love all sources of income, I decided to start changing watch batteries at my shop. My store is on a middle upper class neighborhood so one day one of my customers brought me some watches to replace the batteries, one piece really calls my attention, it was an Office Panerai. The name was already familiar because I was watching Shameless on Netflix and on the first season, the Canadian boyfriend of Fiona has a Panerai. I fall in love with swiss luxury timepieces since that day. First, I started my own personal collection, but it was not enough, in order to get better pieces for me I start buying pieces using it for a while and sale those for a little profit or sometimes to get my money back and wear those for free. It is like hobby with a social purpose because I can help my customer to find really good timepieces a very competitive prices because I don’t charge them the big dealers mark up. It is a win win scenary. I make customers happy while I’m increasing the quality of the pieces I keep in my collection. I build up a great network in where all timepieces are checked in order to meet the standard working condition of the manufactor. My goal as a seller is to bring peace in mind to my buyer and make him a returning customer for more pieces. I offer buyback option for all pieces I sell as well as trade in for another piece. Most of my sales are online in platforms like eBay, Chrono24 and others. Watches right now are a hot alternative asset because some high-end luxury swiss timepieces hold their value very well and even increase price over the time, so you can wear the watches for 1 or 2 years and sell it later for more than you paid mostly Rolex, Audemart Piguet and Patek.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This new hobby/ business venture was born in the middle of a crisis when covid hit last year. I have to close my physical store for two months but still I have to cover all expenses so I decided to put for sale on eBay one of the pieces in my personal collection. It was an Omega it sold fast, then I put a Cartier and it take longer but sold as well. It was obvious this was the way to keep improving my personal collection. One big problem was to find a good watchmaker but after a few trial and error, I found one that is not cheap but his work speaks for himself. So he is now my preferred watch repair shop.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to help people by fixing a cellphone screen or bringing joy adding a nice timepiece to their wrist. People satisfaction is the best reward. I have served people of the city of Miami from many angles. My first job in USA was as bagger at Winn Dixie, later as valet parking for few years in locations like the Graziano restaurant at Brickell, Murano Grande at South Point and 1060 Brickell Ave in where I was given the chance to work as pool attendant and later as Front Desk Manager. The first years in USA were hard. I work seven days a week. Monday to Friday as a Carpentry installer and weekends as Valet from noon to 12am.
My regular day starts at 5:50am because I always leave in the Kendall area and the Carpentry shop was in Little Haiti so in order to be on time for work, I have to drive early and sleep on my car parked in an isolated warehouse until the shop open a 8:00am. At 5pm, I finish my shift and drive fast while eating any fast food because at 6pm I must be at school for my ESOL classes until 10pm. A year later, I was able to pass the entry exams at Miami Dade College and almost finish my associate degree currently I have 52 credits out of 60, but the business life demands more time and I’m not in the mood anymore of wake up early in the morning for Algebra or macroeconomics. The college part was not easy because I work as Front Desk usually on the 11pm to 7am shift so imaging doing statistics after being awake the entire night. On the other hand, it was a wonderful experience because I have some great professors and learn a lot about Universal History and even I took as an elective class Theater. Imaging for a Cuban immigrant like me being in front of an audience acting using another language by the way, it was a fable no a complex play but anyways, I play the villain and I have to memorize the script. My humble advice is to learn English first. It will open incredible doors and allow you to connect to people you will never imaging. I recently sold a watch to a Philippine millionaire and trust me selling a watch to a person in the other side of the work is not an easy task.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
One of the biggest problems for me as a watch trader is to find quality inventory so I’m always on the hunt for new pieces to trade. If you have a watch you want to sell or trade just remember I can be your go to watch person. I’m trying to build a decent Instagram account so all support is just a follow away.
Contact Info:
- Email: yourselfwatches@gmail.com
- Instagram: @yourselfwatches
- Facebook: @yourselfwatches
- Youtube: @yourselfwatches channel
Image Credits
@yussepe.art photo studio.
