Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Seiko7A38 at September 19, 2020 at 3:58 AM

This 7A38-7180 was listed yesterday afternoon by an Italian eBay seller with a Buy-it-Now price of 155 Euros, which may be low enough to tempt any unwary potential buyer. If you are considering it, I strongly recommend studying the photos carefully. The ends of the watch case and clasp show evidence of having been re-sprayed in the past. I suspect the bezel has been too. This same Italian eBay seller braiwa previously sold a couple of deceptively described 7A38 Frankens (3 years ago). Caveat Emptor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154093239354

Just checking my eBay watching page, that suspicious-looking 7A38-7180, listed by Italian eBay seller braiwa a week ago, appears to have sold this morning, for the 155 Euros Buy-it-Now price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154093239354

'Appears to have sold' being the operative words. In case you hadn't noticed, it's back on eBay again. The Italian eBay seller re-listed it yesterday evening.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154105189539

Meanwhile, another 7A38-7180 which was listed very briefly, on eBay Italy late yesterday afternoon appears to have sold very quickly and stayed sold. It was a non-runner, listed for spares or repairs, that appears to have suffered a catastrophic battery leak. But the case and bracelet were in reasonably good condition and the dial and hands appeared unaffected. The Buy-it-Now price was 50 Euros.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164403187996

Leggere bene:

Orologio usato NON FUNZIONANTE - per pezzi di ricambio.

Seiko 7A38 7180 .

No b&p

Per qualsiasi cosa non esitate a contattarmi : 

massico72@libero.it

WatchCount.com's Look-up tool reveals the listing was live for just under 5 minutes, during which it received only 1 view, before being snapped up by the canny buyer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164403187996

I'd deliberately delayed posted an update before, but Italian eBay seller braiwa's suspicious-looking 7A38-7180 appeared to have sold again, last week - to a newly created Zero-feedback buyer. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154105189539

No great surprise - it was back on eBay again, re-listed this morning. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154122958599

Edit: .... and pulled less than 6 hours later. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154122958599

The canny buyer was me

It arrived yesterday:

The movment was corroded badly and someone filled it with oil:

I decided to exchange it with a movement I had as a spare. I will see what I can rescue later. Watch is running (Hand-setting skills still to be improved):

Great catch and quick save, Felix.  That's the route I would have taken, had I bought it. Good to see you used a replacement movement with the correct colour day and date wheels. I don't see anything wrong with your hand setting. 

My spare movement had white wheels, so I also used the ones from the original movement. White wheels would look awful...

Untested : Normal Wear for a 33 year old watch. 

SOLD AS IS : NO RETURNS 

Thank you !

Yet another well-worn partly functional 7A38-7180, suffering from manky lume, was listed yesterday evening, by a US eBay seller as a 7-day auction with an opening bid price of $65, or the option to make an offer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254755618752

SEIKO MAN'S CHRONOGRAPH WATCH: 

In GOOD condition for a pre-owned VINTAGE watch, it is available for repairs or for parts. It ran but when a new battery was installed only the bottom second's dial is functioning. It is a well known model number and quite desirable. 

Examine all pictures as they are part of the descriptions. 

Shipping in the U.S.A. is "USPS first class", unless notified by buyer.

Shipping anywhere outside the U.S.A is "USPS first class international",

or "E BAY International Standard Delivery", Or the "E bay Global Shipping Program". 

THANK YOU, JONWA

The above 7-day US eBay auction for a well-worn partly functional 7A38-7180 ended yesterday evening, selling for $96 after 5 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254755618752

The other non-running well-worn 7A38-7180, with badly corroded hands, listed by a US eBay seller, sold late last night, for a reduced Buy-it-Now price of $95.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203136767408

To make a refreshing change, here's a half-decent example of a 7A38-7180 !! This was listed earlier this evening by a UK eBay seller, with a not unreasonable Buy-it-Now price of £179.99, with the option to make an offer. There is some loss of black coating from the edges of a few bracelet links. Unusually, this shows as bright metal, indicating this is possibly one of those matt black 'spray painted' bracelets, rather than black chrome coated (underneath). The small U section pieces in the seller's penultimate photo are the interconnecting links from adjustment links. The multi-coloured description is as writ. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154178795830

This is a Seiko quartz watch from the late 1980's which is a chronograph with model number 7A38-7180 - the worlds first quartz analogue display chronograph watch. It has a 38mm diameter casing and comes in black with gold accents - a beautiful watch. The watch casing is in very good condition - the glass is in very good order and the buttons work perfectly, there are a few minor marks on the steel back cover. There is a little bit of wear on the strap but nothing too serious, the clasp closes with a snap. The watch has recently has a new battery fitted. The watch will need the time and date re-setting - it doesn't come with instructions but probably isn't too difficult to sort out. The original box is in good order too and even has its cardboard outer sleeve. A great addition for your collection or an ideal gift. I will post outside of the UK but postage is strictly by tracked service only. I have set a buy it now price for what I believe the watch is worth but feel free to make me a reasonable offer. 

Items are safely wrapped as quickly as I can. I normally post out on Saturdays but will try to make it to the Post Office midweek. Items are only sent after payment is received and cleared. If an item sells for over £30.00 I may automatically include insurance and tracking which will either be Recorded/Special Delivery or International Signed For Service for bidders outside of the U.K. International bidders must wait for me to send an invoice - please do not pay until I have sent it. Under Ebay rules I am allowed to include additional costs for packing and handling which may reflect in the final invoice amount.

I accept the following forms of payment: 

Paypal for U.K. and overseas bidders-no surcharges at all-this is my preferred method of payment.

Personal cheques made out in U.K. pounds.

U.K. postal orders.

There are no other payment methods.

Reporting you as a non paying bidder will only be considered as a last resort but if you win the bidding and then can't pay using the above methods within seven days I reserve the right to do so-only serious bidders please. Please let me know how you intend to pay a.s.a.p. If you are unsure before bidding please ask me, especially if you have a feedback rating lower than 10. 

Heavy items sent overseas will be shipped by Airmail or other fast courrier-I will not use Surface Mail as it takes too long to arrive and you can't track the item. 

If you are dissatisfied in any way please contact me in the first instance via EBAY 'ask seller a question' to discuss the matter before any feedback is left as I always strive to sort things out should a problem occur. Please give me positive feedback to show your satisfaction and I will leave feedback for you as quickly as I can. 

If you want to discuss any special terms please do so prior to the auction ending and preferably as soon as you can. I do not respond to requests to end the item early for you-it spoils the fun and you might get a bargain. If you are unsure about anything please ask before placing a bid. 

See my other items listed at the moment. Always something of interest and I am happy to combine P&P costs to reduce the postage fees. 

Good luck and happy bidding.

Not surprisingly, that decent condition 7A38-7180 sold later yesterday evening, not for the full Buy-it-Now price (as I thought it might), but for an undisclosed best offer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154178795830

This well-worn 7A38-7180, fitted with a non-original NOS aftermarket replacement bracelet was listed late yesterday evening, by a US eBay seller, as a 7-day auction with an opening bid price of $19.99. The seller's description makes for an amusing read. See my couple of comments below. I could have gone on ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203176199155

Hello, 

Next up in the collection thin-down is this Seiko 7A38-7180. If you've noticed a theme with my listings, yes, I'm addicted to Seikos. 

This one is a fancy dress-style 7A38, with a black PVD finish and gold accents. The 7A38 adds a day/date complication to the 7A28 series, probably my favorite watches of all. They are extremely well made and feature exactly zero plastic moving parts, making them an absolute pleasure to work on. 

Note I said extremely well made- this one has had a bit of a tough life. When I got it, it was dead, all pushers stuck and the crystal completely scratched up. I ultrasonically cleaned the case, replaced the pusher gaskets, oiled it up where I could without disassembling and put 'er back together with a fresh battery. Surprise surprise, she sprang back to life! All functions are up and running 100% and with a new crystal she don't look half bad. To top it off, I found a NOS flexon bracelet that matched the stock one perfectly, so on it went. I'll include the original as well. Watch runs great but note: the finger spring for the chrono is partially missing. Doesn't seem to bother the chrono though. Also, the hands are a bit tarnished.

As always, let the pictures be your guide to the condition and please ask questions!

Let's start with the seller's alleged 'collection thin-down'. I'd posit that a watch owned for barely a fortnight hardly qualifies it as ever belonging to anyone's collection. No this one was purchased with a quick resale in mind. Check the case-back serial number - 640061. It's the same as the well-worn non-runner which sold on 29th October for $95 - indeed the previous US seller had included it in his listing title. As for the 'perfectly matched' NOS Flexon replacement bracelet, well I suppose it is black with gold plated ornament bars, but note the subtly offset fit !

The above 7-day US eBay auction for a well-worn 7A38-7180, fitted with a Flexon aftermarket replacement bracelet, ended late yesterday evening selling for $104.50 after 23 bids. Assuming the re-seller paid extra for the bracelet, after eBay fees are deducted, that will have netted him zero profit ! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203176199155

Seiko7A38 at October 22, 2017 at 1:58 PM

In terms of what's currently on offer on eBay, there's this: an average worn condition example of a 7A38-7180, first listed by a Dutch eBay seller back in August, with a risibly over-optimistic 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of 300 Euros (and no 'Make Offer' option). Gotta smile about the somewhat belated addition of a case-back protection sticker. Off centre too. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332361699813

That partial quote comes from high up the first page of this thread, when in starting this topic, I was summarising the 7A38-7180's then currently listed on eBay. That average worn example was first listed by the Dutch seller on 29th August 2017.

Nowadays, when items remain unsold for long periods, it has become common practice among eBay sellers to end their listings (usually as allegedly no longer available) and immediately re-list, so it flags up as a 'new' listing. Some sellers do this rather more frequently than others, even curtailing 30-day listings, before they automatically re-list, which personally I find annoying. So it's refreshing to encounter an honest eBay seller who actually stuck by his original listing - for over 3 years !

I'd added it to my eBay watching page when I first saw it. It had become something of a fixture, automatically cycling round every 30 days and was probably one of the oldest items on my watch list. I don't appear to have mentioned this before, but the seller revised his listing last November, reducing his 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price from 300 to 249.99 Euros. That seemed to make no difference - until yesterday evening when somebody eventually bought it for that reduced Buy-it-Now price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332361699813

Out of curiosity, I looked it up on WatchCount.com. Over the duration of 1179 days (3 years, 2 months, 22 days), the listing had received a total of 12,741 views !! 

This familiar-looking well-worn 7A38-7180, with tarnished hands and manky lume, was listed yesterday evening, by a US eBay seller, with a Buy-it-Now price of $185 and currently without the option to make an offer. It's most certainly 'Pre-owned' and indeed another instance of Déjà Vu. This is the same 7A38-7180, case-back serial number 590647, which sold (as only partly functional) for $96 at the end of October. See my posts higher up this page.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254797546220

Seiko 7a38-7180 Quartz Chronograph 15 jewels. Condition is "Pre-owned". 

Stainless steel with black pvd coating. Coating has wear. Dial and hands in good condition. hands have some blemished.

Original band. high grade 7a38 movement in excellent condition, fully serviced. Everything serviced including ultrasonic cleaning of case and servicing of seals an pushers. Everything functions properly with new battery installed. 

Thanks for looking and please feel free to ask any questions. Check my other listings for more vintage watches.