Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Seiko7A38 at July 23, 2019 at 12:03 PM

Anybody fancy a fugly frog watch ?

This Kamatz 517000 with the patriotic Tricoleur sub-dials was listed late yesterday evening, by a US eBay seller. It appears to be in very good little worn condition, still fitted with its original Poljot (albeit cardboard consistency) leather strap. Also, for a refreshing change, this example isn't suffering from the all-too-common butchered case-back that blights so many others. It's sensibly priced with a Buy-it-Now price of $125 (or the option to make an offer). Unfortunately there's potentially another $58.65 in GSP charges payable on top.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233293957233

That Kamatz 517000, carried forward from the bottom of the previous page, listed by a US eBay seller earlier this week sold yesterday afternoon, against a best offer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233293957233

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsLogin&item=233293957233

Unfortunately that annoying eBay API feed 'glitch' means WatchCount.com look-up tools still can't provide any clue as to what price it may actually have been sold for.

Belated Update (25th August):

Nearly a month later, using the latest eBay 'BO workaround', I'm able to reveal that Kamatz sold for a best offer of $119 - not much less than the Buy-it-Now price, but at least we know now. As shown by this alternative eBay link:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=233293957233

I suppose I should mention this here, if only for the benefit of anyone who might be looking for a spare pusher, for a Yema N8 Flygraf or even a Spationaute III. 

This empty Yema N8 Flygraf watch case was listed yesterday afternoon, by a French eBay seller as a 7-day auction, with a somewhat over-optimistic opening bid price of 50 Euros, or the option to make a lower, more sensible offer. It's missing the screw-down crown (and the pin and tube strap fixings). It's difficult to discern conclusively, from the seller's photos, but from the reflections, it appears to be fitted with a crystal, albeit one that's been poorly buffed. It's also suffering from a typically butchered case-back. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173981566366

Très beau et ancien boitier Yema flygraf en excellent état possède tout ses poussoirs sauf la couronne pour projet de restauration ou pièces lunette règle a calcul et boussole !! WR 100M

Seiko7A38 at July 4, 2019 at 4:01 AM

Seiko7A38 at June 8, 2019 at 1:30 PM

Is it really worth bothering to mention (yet again) ?  Early this morning, deluded would-be French eBay seller rosangui78 ended his latest re-listing for his grossly over-priced Yema Spationaute III, now fitted with a NATO strap, as allegedly being no longer available.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223526655000

Needless to say, it was back on eBay again this afternoon, re-listed yet again - the 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price reduced to 'only' 760 Euros. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223545207256

Just for the record ....

The following day after he'd re-listed it for the nth time, deluded would-be French eBay seller rosangui78 reduced his 'pie-in-the-sky Buy-it-Now price from 760 Euros down to 'only' 699 Euros. Presumably there were still no takers. Yesterday evening he ended that latest re-listing, once again as allegedly item no longer available.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223545207256

With apologies. once again, for the double quote carried forward from the previous page. I'd overlooked to post an update on the long-running saga of deluded French eBay seller rosangui78 and his grossly over-priced Yema Spationaute III. He did of course re-list it yet again, as I'd expected - on 23rd July. This time he's reduced his 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price down from 699 Euros to 'only' 610 Euros. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223598266247

With one thing and another, I'd also omitted to mention this Yema N8 Flygraf (title mis-spelled as 'FLYGRAPH') that was listed on LeBonCoin at the end of last month. It's in average worn condition, fitted with a non-original replacement leather strap and has a typically butchered, almost obliterated case-back. There's no price stated, just 'Make reasonable offer', which will probably annoy forum member Le Croisé as much as it does me.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1651724182.htm/

Speaking of stupidly over-priced Yema Spationaute III's, this example was listed on LeBonCoin earlier this week with a ludicrous asking price of 900 Euros !! It's no better than average worn condition. Ludicrous pricing aside, the replacement blue 'mock croc' strap, with deployant clasp, that's fitted may be branded Yema, but it's the later lower case logo, so likely off some much more recent model.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1654352546.htm/

This Yema Spationaute III was listed yesterday evening by a French eBay seller, with a typically over-optimistic 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of 500 Euros, or the option to make a lower more sensible offer. At first glance, it may look attractive in the seller's photos, but a lot of that is down to the non-original strap fitted. Price apart, I'd advise caution. Note the 4 o'clock pusher is sticking out much further than it should and is likely to soon come adrift. The seller eludes to this in his description. If you study his last photo of the case-back, all three pushers appear to be suffering from sweat induced electrolytic corrosion. There are also some nasty slipped tool inflicted gouges in the case-back. Oh, and about that strap - in his description the seller falsely states it's 'an original shark' - which of course it isn't. As can be seen in his own photos, it's actually an Italian Morellato strap in alligator 'mock croc'. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143346193035

Authentique Yema Spationaute 3 , mission Aragatz

Numéro de série 2 451 / N8 OP 76

Dans sa boite d'origine Yema / pas de papiers

Le boitier est en très bon état , une marque sur le fond de boite

Le verre comporte 2 ou 3 rayures peu profondes ( n'apparait pas sur les photos )

Le bracelet est un requin d'origine , encore en bon état , patiné par le temps

Fonctionnement ok heure , date , chrono

Pile neuve + etanchéité faite

A noter : le poussoir bas droite fonctionne mais si on tire dessus il sort de son logement

Les photos font partie de la description

Envoi en colissimo recommandé le lendemain du payement

With one thing and another, I'd also omitted to mention this Yema N8 Flygraf (title mis-spelled as 'FLYGRAPH') that was listed on LeBonCoin at the end of last month. It's in average worn condition, fitted with a non-original replacement leather strap and has a typically butchered, almost obliterated case-back. There's no price stated, just 'Make reasonable offer', which will probably annoy forum member Le Croisé as much as it does me.

It totally did!

You forgot to mention the second hand of the chrono standing somewhere around the middle of the dial. I bet the reset does not work!

About this one posted on LBC: https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1641929861.htm/

Now the seller pretends have received offers at 1,100€ but still waits to consider "the many other offers", ahahah.

I should propose to sell him my SII for half this price so he can make an huge profit.

Seiko7A38 at August 1, 2019 at 8:41 AM

This empty Yema N8 Flygraf watch case was listed yesterday afternoon, by a French eBay seller as a 7-day auction, with a somewhat over-optimistic opening bid price of 50 Euros, or the option to make a lower, more sensible offer. It's missing the screw-down crown (and the pin and tube strap fixings). It's difficult to discern conclusively, from the seller's photos, but from the reflections, it appears to be fitted with a crystal, albeit one that's been poorly buffed. It's also suffering from a typically butchered case-back. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173981566366

That empty Yema N8 Flygraf watch case went unsold first time around. The French eBay seller re-listed it for another 7 days, with the opening bid price reduced to 38.50 Euros. Last time I looked at it, earlier this afternoon, there still weren't any bids placed, but it had gained 10 watchers. One of them must have wanted it, because somebody nailed it twice in the closing minute of the auction.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173988476817

This Kamatz 518000 'Oscar Bravo' in "GOOD PRE OWNED CONDITION" was listed late yesterday evening, by a US eBay seller, who clearly has no idea of the true value of these things, with a 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of $599.99  - or the option to make a much lower, more realistic offer. It's being offered through eBay's GSP programme, which potentially adds a further $193.50 in charges to the ludicrous $600 asking price, for anybody foolish enough to contemplate paying it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163817216404

Although the asking price is totally off the wall, their descripton as 'good pre-owned condition' is on the mark. If you study the photos, the bezel is typically missing the black inlay paint from a few places: notably '40', '45' and '75', plus a few of the log scale graduation marks. Easy enough to touch in, with a small paintbrush. It's still fitted with it's original Poljot (cardboard consistency) leather strap. However what is missing from the listing is a photo of the case-back. The Kamatz 51x000's have very shallow removal notches, so it's not unusual to see their highly polished case-backs ruined by clumsily inflicted slipped tool marks. So I've messaged the eBay seller asking them to provide one.

Seiko7A38 at June 5, 2019 at 12:21 PM

Another Yema Spationaute III, fitted with a random (Festina) stainless bracelet, was listed later this morning by another French eBay seller, as a 10-day auction with a possibly over-optimistic opening bid price of 199 Euros. The seller describes it as being 'in very good condition'. It's generally in much better overall condition than the previous example - apart from its case-back, which has not only been similarly graunched, but all the engraving has been obliterated. Major problem with this one is that it's missing the top L.H. pusher. It's all very well plugging the hole, but where are you going to find a replacement ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223541531508

That Yema Spationaute III, fitted with a non-original stainless bracelet and missing the top L.H. pusher went unsold first time around. The French eBay seller reduced the opening bid price to 175 Euros and re-listed it 4 times. The latest 10-day auction re-listing ended yesterday evening, with it finally selling for 185 Euros after 4 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223612923140

No great surprise (to me, at least), the winning bidder, who shows as m***_ (84) in encrypted abbreviated form, is the same person who won the eBay auction for the empty Yema N8 Flygraf case a couple of days ago. So he already has a donor for the missing pusher. Well done that enterprising eBayer. 

Seiko7A38 at April 23, 2019 at 3:10 PM

This Kamatz 517000 in lightly used condition was listed yesterday evening by a US eBay seller, with a laughable 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of $237.77  - or the option to make a much lower more sensible offer. Not only is his asking price almost double what anybody in their right mind might consider paying for one of these 'fugly' watches, but it also needs a new battery ! To add insult to injury, he's offering it through eBay's dysfunctional GSP programme, which potentially adds another $84 in charges on top of his ridiculous asking price !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293060316064

When watches remain unsold for extended periods of time (usually because they're over-priced), I tend not to bother posting updates, except for example, if the seller makes a dramatic price reduction, re-lists the watch with a fresh set of photos - or when it eventually sells. So unless they've read through the previous pages of this thread, a new member may possibly get the false impression that I'd missed one.

Late yesterday evening, new member Michael, from the Ukraine, posted a link and the primary image (neither of which actually worked) of a Kamatz 517000 listed on eBay. Not in this thread, but in the Wrong Un's thread in this forum section.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293060316064

This was the same Kamatz 517000, listed by a US eBay seller, in the last week of April, which I'd previously posted about on page 33 of this thread (see partial quote) and still remains unsold. The seller has made a couple of revisions to the listing, reducing his Buy-it-Now price from $237.77 to $204.

So if you're wondering why I deleted your first post, Michael - Sorry .... 

This well worn Yema Spationaute III, with less than desirable yellow lume, fitted with a NATO strap*, was listed yesterday evening, by a Belgian eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of 300 Euros, or the option to buy it-Now for 360 Euros, for anyone daft (or desperate) enough. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273971817769

Montre quartz Yema Spationaute III mission Aragatz.

La montre est en très bon état.

Pas ou peu de traces sur le verre.

Quelques traces peu visibles sur le boitier.

Une, un peu plus marquée au dessus de l’index à 3h sur la lunette.

Tout fonctionne !

*I've never made any secret of my loathing for NATO straps, but when complete with the original Yema pin and tube strap fixings (which are as secure as the fixed bars found on military watches), the Spationaute III might be a suitable candidate. Unfortunately this watch no longer has them - instead replaced by a mis-matched pair of worn looking spring bars. 

The previous Yema Spationaute III, fitted with a lurid blue 'mock croc' strap, listed by a French eBay seller at the beginning of this month, sold early this morning. Checking the item revision history, a few days ago (on the 19th), the seller had reduced the Buy-it-Now price from 500 Euros to 'only' 450 Euros, for which it sold.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143346193035

This alternative view of the ended transaction appears to confirm that.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=143346193035

This Yema N8 Flygraf in decent lightly used, but untested condition was listed this morning by a US eBay seller, as a Buy-it-Now for $250, with no 'Make Offer' option. It's still fitted with the original Yema ribbed black leather strap, but unfortunately it's split in a couple of places.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174008440287

Rare Vintage YEMA 8N 001 6 Quartz Chronograph Watch AS IS untested.

See pictures for condition details.

Strap original but has damage see pictures.

Watch is untested and sold AS IS.

I don't test electric or quartz watches, if they work I will mention it otherwise sold AS IS.

Size 43mm excluding crown and pushers.

Lug size 22mm.

Lug to lug 50mm.

It sold at lunchtime today. Mea Culpa. I really didn't need another, but ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174008440287

Seiko7A38 at June 20, 2019 at 11:35 AM

This collection of Yema Spationautes, including a 43mm III, model # N80P76, fitted with a non-original bracelet and a white dialled 38mm 'reduced', model # N80A696, was listed in an 'Instant Collection Job Lot' earlier this afternoon, by a French eBay seller, as a 10-day auction listing, with an opening bid price of 1500 Euros.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223558810497

Not surprisingly, that first listing for the job lot of 5 Yema Spationautes went unsold.

The French eBay seller subsequently re-listed it 4 times, though not continuously, sometimes leaving a gap of a couple of weeks between re-listings. He gradually reduced his opening bid price each time: 999 Euros; 895 Euros; 831 Euros. His most recent 10-day auction re-listing started on the 1st September, with an opening bid price of 750 Euros (half his original 'pie-in-the-sky' figure of 1500 Euros). The job lot of 5 various Yema Spationautes, including two N8 Spationaute III's finally sold yesterday evening, for 855 Euros after 6 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223647137008

Seiko7A38 at August 4, 2019 at 6:09 AM

Speaking of stupidly over-priced Yema Spationaute III's, this example was listed on LeBonCoin earlier this week with a ludicrous asking price of 900 Euros !! It's no better than average worn condition. Ludicrous pricing aside, the replacement blue 'mock croc' strap, with deployant clasp, that's fitted may be branded Yema, but it's the later lower case logo, so likely off some much more recent model.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1654352546.htm/

Hardly worth mentioning, really, but I was just scrolling through a quick search on LeBonCoin, and noticed the French seller had re-listed his Yema Spationaute III earlier this week - the price now reduced to 'only' 790 Euros. 

https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1673010076.htm/

In case anybody fancies a dressy non-Seiko 7A38, (I've already got far too many of them), I spotted this Yema N81W53 'head only', listed on Romanian watch sales site Ceasuridemana.ro, yesterday, with an asking price of 450 Lei, (RON whatever), equivalent to approx. £83.50 GBP / $104 USD.

https://ceasuridemana.ro/yema-7a38_a287921.html

This Yema N8 Flygraf in average worn condition, fitted with an aftermarket 2-piece nylon strap, was listed yesterday evening, by an Indonesian eBay seller, as a 3-day auction, with an opening bid price of $199.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233352490818

RARE VINTAGE YEMA FLYGRAF CHRONOGRAPH QUARTZ 100M 3-135 YEMA N80016 STAINLESS STEEL

WATCH IS GOOD WORKING

BUTTON IS FULLY WORKING

CROWN SCREW

ROTATING BEZEL

STRAP AFTER MARKET

CASE SIZE 44 MM

STAINLESS STEEL CASE WITH SLIGHT IMPACT MARKS

BACK CASE HAS BEEN HAIR LINE SCRATCHES

OVERALL IT'S LOOKS GOOD

REFER TO THE PICTURES FOR DETAIL

Payment : payment is expected in 2 days after auction ends.

Shipping : shipping with standard international shipping trackable, might take up to 4 weeks so please be patient and do not open claim wo communication.

Shipping not available to Africa,canada, italy and puerto rico.

$30 shipping by EMS.

Feedback : We appreciate it if you would take the time to leave it, Will do the same.

If there is any problem with your purchase, Please contact Us to resolve.

We strive for 100% feedback and customer satisfaction.

We want everyone to have a positive eBay experience!

Spotted this Yema Spationaute III, 38mm 'reduced', model # N80A66 listed on LeBonCoin yesterday, with a comparatively reasonable asking price of 250 Euros.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1682756379.htm/

Subtitled: You can fool some of the people, some of the time .... Or you can try.

I hadn't previously bothered to update this thread, but the 3-day auction for a Yema N8 Flygraf, fitted with an aftermarket 2-piece nylon strap, listed by Indonesian eBay seller inovit4 had ended last week, without any bids being placed - unsold.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233352490818

I was half expecting him to re-list it, but then this remarkably similar looking Yema N8 Flygraf, also in average worn condition, fitted with an aftermarket 2-piece nylon strap, was listed in the early hours of this morning, by 'another' Indonesian eBay seller irmairma1987 (oddly enough, also located in Depok, West Java), as a 5-day auction, with an opening bid price of $149.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323938125304

Completely different set of photos, but it's obviously exactly the same watch, with the same case-back serial number 3-136. Who do they think they're fooling ?