Watch Trading Academy is the newly renamed version of Pejman Ghadimi’s course, Watch Conspiracy. Both programs teach you to purchase a watch at its bottom cash value (its intrinsic asset value) and then sell it at a profit. According to Ghadimi, it is fairly typical for watch flipping to give you a 19% ROI within 72 hours of purchase. 

That being said, watch flipping requires a fair amount of work and patience, which even Ghadimi admits to. Watch flipping is a lucrative business model, but requires a high capital, an eye for counterfeits, and constant checking of marketplaces to get the best deals. 

This makes watch flipping a potentially lucrative side hustle, but definitely not a passive income e-commerce. 

In this Watch Trading Academy Review, I’ll discuss why even if watch flipping can be profitable, there are other business models, such as local lead generation, that provide more reliable and consistent results and require less starting capital. 

The 3 challenges of watch flipping

Most experts recommend starting with an initial budget of $5,000, with the profits from each sale going into buying more expensive watches each time. As much as possible, you should refrain from collecting your profits until after at least 6 months. 

Ghadimi claims that you can start watch flipping with just $1,500, but this may only get you premium watches on the lower end of the spectrum.

The more capital you have, the higher your chances are of earning more profit, which you should reinvest in increasing your inventory. This means that while, technically, you can earn a high ROI on your first sale, you should wait until you are able to receive a stable amount of income. This depends on how active you are in selling; but it usually takes around 6 months to 1 year for you to see any noticeable difference in your monthly income. 

Watch flipping is not a get-rich-quick scheme and anyone who suggests otherwise is lying. 

Studies suggest that around 40 million counterfeit watches are sold globally each year. It is crucial that you are able to distinguish counterfeit watches so that you maintain your customer base. Customers who find out that you sell fake watches are unlikely to buy from you again and may even post your name on online forums and communities, further damaging your reputation. 

Ghadimi says that he will teach you how to spot a counterfeit, including a fake Rolex. Nevertheless, experts are now warning of sophisticated fakes that are incredibly difficult to differentiate from authentic pieces. This means that you need advanced skills to spot a fake Rolex like a pro. 

Yet, Ghadimi openly states that he only relies on visual cues to tell a fake watch from the rest, which may be insufficient. 

When you start flipping watches, you need to be online on various marketplaces to get the best deals. In this fast-paced industry, the phrase, "you snooze, you lose" heavily applies - and taking a break for hours increases your risk of missing out on premium, high-paying customers who can give you the best ROI. 

Even if Ghadimi will tell you where to look (which is mostly Facebook), you still need to check your phone often to have a competitive advantage over your competitors. Remember that clients have no clue who you are and are only looking for a salesperson who will give them the best price for their desired watch. They are not bound to hold out on a deal just because of who you are. So, it's important that you are online so that you can speak to your customers as soon as possible. 

What is in Watch Trading Academy? 

Watch Trading Academy is a three part-program that contains over 6 hours of videos, downloadable cheat sheets, case studies, and bonuses. It is a complete step-by-step program that teaches how to flip watches and everything you need to become a watch investor and earn around $10,000 to $25,000 a month. 

By the end of the program, you will learn:

You will also receive these bonuses: 

The three modules of Watch Trading Academy

Once you enroll, you will have access to three training courses.

Module 1: Market Research 

This section is overwhelmingly simple and teaches you to search for watches in seller markets like eBay. 

Module 2: Authenticity

Here, Ghadimi tells you how to spot a fake watch. However, any basic Google search will tell you that even experienced experts can’t recognize some of today’s counterfeit watches. Many fake watches today are so sophisticated that they pass the basic visual “spot” test that Ghadimi will teach you. 

Module 3: Selling 

This was pretty disappointing as there wasn’t really much training and focused on common-sense advice like taking good pictures of your watch before posting it. Ghadimi encourages students to “copycat” others, which offers no real strategy and forces you to learn as you go. 

Pejman Ghadimi: Who is the man behind Watch Trading Academy? 

After helping over 15,000 (unverified) students reach financial independence, Ghadimi then founded the Entourage Legacy (also known as the Secret Entourage), which is a business leadership coaching program. (A little bit like Shanda Sumpter's HeartCore Business, but with more evident results) 

To date, both Exotic Car Hacks and Entourage Legacy are still active on social media and claim to teach the everyday person how to create profitable day trading side businesses by tapping into niche markets and developing an abundance mindset. 

Deviating ever so slightly from exotic cars, Ghadimi then branched out into mid-range and boutique watches using the same day trade techniques from Exotic Car Hacks. He maximizes a technique called “Wealth Transfer Strategy”, which he claims helps his students achieve the results they desire in only 30 days. 

Ghadimi says that watch flipping is a highly lucrative and still untapped market - and it is a “conservative” projection for graduates of his program to earn a 15% to 25% ROI within a month. However, his typical student can earn even more in less time (around 15% ROI within 24 hours). 

How does watch trading work?

Pejman Ghadimi says that watch trading is a very simple 4-step process. First, you need to source a luxury watch brand using his “secret” bottom cash value formula and trading system, receive the watch and list it for sale at a profit,  find a buyer and get paid, and then ship it. 

It’s the same formula that Ghadimi himself uses which earned him more than a million dollars within six months in 2021. 

Are there alternatives to selling watches?

Yes, there are alternatives to selling watches, according to Ghadimi. However, none of them are worthwhile. In the almost 2-hour free training Ghadimi offers on his website, the serial entrepreneur compares watch flipping to other money-making models, such real estate, 401k/IRA, cryptocurrency, and stocks from the stock market. Ghadimi says that only watch flipping offers consistent and reliable results with the least risk factor. 

What is the “secret” to watch flipping?

Ghadimi says that there are four types of watches: Commercial (such as Swiss Army, Seko, and Luminox), Fashion (such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior), Mid-range (such as Cvstos, Uboat, and IWC), and Boutique (such as Blancpain, Panerai, and Rolex watches).

The key is to focus on the last two categories, as these are the ones that forward-thinking investors want to purchase as income-generating assets, much like digital real estate. This is important: You need to treat your watch as an investment rather than personal property. Those who are willing to buy a pre-owned high-end watch from you are those who also view watches as an investment. 

What is bottom cash value? 

Bottom cash value is the intrinsic value the watch has at its manufacture. This differs from wholesale, as wholesale already adds an extra layer (though tiny) of profit to the bottom cash value. Your goal is to buy a real boutique watch at its bottom cash value and then sell it at its retail price. 

There are two options you can consider in getting a watch’s bottom cash value: The first is to contact the local dealer directly, asking them to sell their items - though most likely, you will need to split the profit with the dealer - or you can submit a sell or trade-in form online. 

What is risk exposure? 

Risk exposure is the cost difference between sourcing a watch at its intrinsic value and how much you sell it in a marketplace. 

Ghadimi explains that watch flipping depends heavily on buying a watch as close to its bottom cash value so that you minimize risk exposure and maximize your profits. He uses a simple formula, which you can see in this image: 

What is the wealth transfer strategy? 

Wealth Transfer Strategy is a simple game plan that encourages you to reinvest your profit after each sale so that you can buy more expensive watches and earn more money. 

It’s quite simple, and looks like this:

So, why is this a problem for Watch Trading Academy?

Pejman Ghadimi claims in his online trading academy that you can start flipping watches for as low as $1,500. He lists more than a hundred real-life examples of students who now earn $25,000 a month or joined their more exclusive “100k Gold Members Club” all within just a few months and starting with a small capital. 

However, his very own Wealth Transfer strategy and what he claims is his “typical” ROI don’t add up. Let me break this down for you.

> Let’s say you bought a watch for $1,500

> You sell it at a profit with a 19% ROI (Ghadimi’s “average” ROI), which means that you earn $285 for your first sale. 

> You can now either reinvest $1,785 to buy a new watch with a profit of $339.15 or buy another watch at $1,500 for a $285 profit. 

> Assuming that you keep buying watches at $1,500 with a 19% profit, you would need to sell 17 watches in order to receive the “conservative” monthly income of $5,000.

However, this doesn’t even consider payment processing or shipment fees, so it could take more than a month for you to receive $5,000. Of course, you could “hack” the system by buying more watches WHILE the other watch is “on hold”, but that means that you need more capital to start. 

This is a problem for Watch Trading Academy because a majority of their sales pitch is that you could double or even quintuple your starting capital in just 30 days. Ghandimi even shows a chart that says that you can earn $5,000 a month with just $2,000.

But again, none of this takes into account shipping time and when you will receive the money. It also assumes that all watches are bought within 24 hours of posting, which is unlikely.  There are just so many assumptions about Ghadimi’s model, which may be caused by the need to oversimplify the business so that more people will buy his program. 

Let me clarify: There is income-earning potential to watch flipping, but it is not as easy or as automatic as Ghandimi paints. More realistically, you should have at least a 5- to 6-figure capital to boost your income potential. 

Is there free training for Watch Trading Academy?

Yes, there is free training for Watch Trading Academy. 

This roughly 2-hour free training can be viewed on the official Watch Trading Academy website. I use “training” very lightly because around 85% of the video was about how wonderful the program is and the countless students who’ve achieved success using the program. 

Is Watch Trading Academy a scam?

No, Watch Trading Academy is not a scam. Pejman Ghadimi has been doing this successfully for years, so clearly, he knows what he’s doing. That being said, there are more negative reviews about the quality of his content, with more people saying that paying $500 (at a discounted price) is too much for a program that you could learn if you were just diligent about watching YouTube videos on watch flipping. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Watch Trading Academy 

CONCLUSION: Is Watch Trading Academy worth it? 

No. Pejman Ghadimi does open your eyes to the relatively untapped market of luxury watch trading, but doesn’t really provide you with any strategies that you couldn’t figure out on your own. The only real bonus to the Academy is that you will gain access to a very active Facebook community, which may offer insider tips and tricks. 

And even with that, remember that watch flipping is an active business model. This means that the amount of money you earn relies solely on how much work you put into it. If you’re already burnt out with your 9-to-5 job and are looking for another income stream, doing watch flipping may add to your stress levels and place a dent in your bank account (at least initially). 

Instead, I'll end this Watch Trading Academy review by recommending going for a completely passive business model, like local lead generation. With this model, you don’t need a large capital and after a few months of minimal work, can receive consistent income automatically.