Bulova Accutron watches have a unique tuning fork technology that makes them prized by collectors. The development of the Accutron watches put Bulova in the spotlight. Bulova, however, did not produce the Accutron watches for very long once quartz movement hit the industry. The Accutron watches did have great fame while they were in production being the exclusive watch of certain industries and even at the White House. The limited production and limited styles of Accutron watches have made them popular as collector items.

The Accutron watch was developed as a solution to the battery powered watches that came on the market in 1952. The battery powered watches were not very accurate and Bulova saw a need for accuracy in certain circumstances, like the military. So with the help of a Swiss engineer, Max Hetzel, Bulova developed the Accutron watch with a tuning fork technology. This new watch had great accuracy and was introduced in October of 1960.

The Accutron watch was not only more accurate than battery operated watches, but also had far less parts. The Accutron had 27 parts where as battery watches had 136. The moving parts were reduced from 26 in a battery watch to 12 in the Accutron watch. The fewer number of parts meant less maintenance as well.

The first Accutron model was the 214. This model was unique because instead of having a crown on the side it’s crown was on the back. The two most popular types of Accutron 214 watches were the Spaceview and Astronaut versions. These were developed after NASA asked Bulova to put the tuning fork technology into some of their space equipment. The Spaceview watch has no dial and the inner movement can be seen. The Astronaut watch featured a moving outer ring so it could be used as a timer.

The railroad also found Accutron watches to be of great help. Before 1962 the railroad only permitted the use of pocket watches, but due to the accuracy of the Accutron they became a certified watch of the railroad and helped greatly in coordinating rail travel across the country.

The White House even recognized the greatness of the Accutron watch when President Lyndon Johnson named Accutron as the official gift which was given to diplomats visiting from other countries. In addition Accutron time pieces were the only timepieces used on Air Force One and many military ships and planes.

As the watch industry began to discover quartz movement the Accutron’s popularity faded. Quartz movement was just as accurate as the Accutron technology, but was far cheaper to produce. So with the ability to produce more at a lower cost, watches with quartz movement soon took over the industry and the Accutron became hard to find.

Today the Accutron watch by Bulova is a treasured collector item. There is a special interest in the rare watch styles like ladies watches. There are even some who still wear Accutron watches they bought back in the 60’s and 70’s which is a great tribute tot the well-crafted pieces.

If you are planning to start out a business but do not yet know what to engage into, you should take into considerations the possibilities of retailing closeouts. Many people would buy closeouts simply because they are cheap and if you would really spend enough time rummaging through the stocks, you can always find good quality merchandize somewhere among the heaps. Closeouts are actually one of the best ways to stock your store as you can buy closeouts are minimal cost and sell it a double or three times the price depending on the condition of the item.

There is no science on how to buy closeouts. All you really need is a lot of patients and common sense. The rule of thumb if you buy closeouts is that you should think what your customers would like to have and how much they are prepared to spend for them. Think of things, which are useful, will not easily, get spoiled and those, which are always in demand. You can easily gauge how saleable is your merchandise by keeping a record of what items are fast selling and those which are inert or non-moving. Closeout items which sells fast in the past could be relied on to sell fast in the future given the fact that your client profile did not change drastically over the last few months.

When you buy closeouts, always remember that these things are sold in bundles or are packed in Gaylord or pallets. A Gaylord or a pallet is a sort of box where the items are stacked and stored. These boxes often range from 4 to 7 feet tall so it really packs a lot inside. Most of the things inside these boxes are sold as is. Meaning, in whatever condition they are in, you have to accept it as part of the deal. After all, you are buying these items at just a mere fraction of their actual retail cost.
Now, the upside when you buy closeouts is that these products are often branded. If you focus on buying and selling garments, you could hit a gold mine if you happen to buy closeouts from a department store, which sells top brands. Of course there are restricts in using these brands for advertisement purposes as department stores often do not allow these, but you can always rely on the quality of these items.

As these items are either returns or overruns, there may be minor defects in some of them but clients could easily overlook that if you offer them at very reasonable price. By very reasonable, I mean you can sell them at maybe a small fraction of its original department store price. The technique is sorting the items inside you pallet according to their quality. The better the quality, the higher the price you can offer for it. This way, you can offset the cost of those items, which are already in bad state.

Many people are quite apprehensive when we take out buying closeouts. Most of these apprehensions come from limited knowledge what is really a closeout. Contrary to what you may be thinking, buying closeouts is just like buying new items. Closeout items are actually brand new products that are no longer sold for the wholesale cost. Which means, these products are either overstocks or discontinued items.

Does this mean that buying closeouts would mean buying reject goods? Technically, it may sound like it but actually it is not like that at all! Lets take the garments industry as an example of how things actually work in buying closeouts. We all know that the fashion industry is rather volatile when it comes to fashion trends. Every month, you get new fashion trends in one area, which would make the fad of the previous month kind of obsolete. However, in some areas, this fad may just be starting out and the things that went out of style in another place could be worth a fortune in another! Nothing is really wasted in the cycle. All you need is a good sense of trend coupled with fast and efficient buying and marketing system so let you catch on the main flow of business.

Where to start buying closeouts? There are many places where you can get good stuff. The Internet offers a lot of options as to where you can start buying closeouts and has them shipped to you for added cost. Most of this closeout merchandise is sold in bulk. Shipping options would mostly be F.O.B. (freight on board) shipping point or F.O.B. destination depending on your location. For instance, if you are ordering garments from London and want to have it shipped to Boston, you must agree with the London based seller before hand as to the terms of shipment to avoid unnecessary snags along the way.

Usually, sellers would offer their goods on a per pallet or Gaylord bases. Now, don’t start getting mixed up with the terms here. Let me explain in first before you start to get lost in buying closeouts. A pallet is actually a wooden skid the size depending on the department store or warehouse where it comes from. There are department stores and warehouses, which offers a pallet ranging from 4 feet high to 6 or 7 feet tall. Inside these pallets, merchandises are stacked and shrink-wrapped to maintain good quality. On the other hand, a Gaylord is another form of container, which looks more of less like a pallet except that unlike the pallet, which is sealed, this one is open. Gaylord is mostly used for apparels. Minimum purchase usually applies in buying closeouts so you should be familiar with the pallet or Gaylord sizes that the seller is offering. Estimate how much space you have in your place before making your order or else you would have problems with storage space.

Although you get the best of both worlds if you trade or sell closeouts, there are also some risks involved in buying closeouts. First, since these are overruns and discontinued products, you will probably run into a few damage goods depending on the products. A word of advice specially those who are just starting, its best to start on non-breakables, non-fungibles and not mechanical goods to avoid ending with plenty of problematic items in your hand. Garments and books would be a good place to start when buying closeouts. For one thing, they are easy to sell and are always on demand throughout the whole year!