Swap antique watches and clocks with people who wind them.
Collections in this hobby move by conversation far more than by auction. Somebody who has lived with a movement for years is the right person to pass it to somebody who has been reading about it, and a swap is how that has always happened.
Swapping a piece you have enjoyed for one you want next
Say what it is in the terms the hobby uses. Maker, caliber, case material, and whether it is running: those four facts are what somebody needs to know whether your piece is the one they have been looking for.
Condition here is a description, not a verdict. A worn dial, an older service, an honest patina — write it down plainly and the right collector will read it as character rather than as a problem.
One good piece is a listing on its own. This is a hobby of single objects with single stories, and a movement worth talking about should have a page where it can be talked about.
Photograph the dial straight on, the case back, and the movement if you can open it safely. Say when it was last serviced if you know. Then describe the piece you would like in exchange, down to the maker if you have one in mind.
The questions people ask first.
List the piece, say what you would like instead, and we introduce you when somebody wants yours and has something you want. Nothing is priced and no payment is involved at any stage.
We work out a band from what the piece is, its condition and how many people here are after that kind of thing. Where the evidence is thin we widen the band and say so, rather than pretending to a precision we do not have.
Yes, and say so in the description. Plenty of collectors are specifically looking for a project, and being clear about what needs doing is what puts your clock in front of the person who wants to do it.
Nothing here has a price.
Barterama is a barter marketplace: a swap site where value is shown as a band rather than a figure, and where no money changes hands at any point. Every item sits in one of twelve bands that we work out — you never set your own, and neither does the person you are swapping with. If we are not confident, the band gets wider rather than more precise.
Where two sides do not quite balance, a small extra item closes the gap. Cash never does, and there is no balance or credit on this site to close it with.
Other things people swap.
Got antique watches and clocks to swap?
List what you have, say what you are after, and we will introduce you when somebody wants yours and has something you want.