Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

This Yema N81X26 'Head Only' was listed on LeBonCoin a couple of days ago. 

http://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/1058740916.htm?ca=1_s

Best as one can tell from the two photos, it appears to be in good overall condition - apart from a nasty scratch on the case-back.

Asking price is 200 Euros.

Seiko7A38 at November 18, 2016 at 3:52 AM

Seiko7A38 at November 6, 2016 at 12:21 PM

This two-tone 38mm 'reduced' Yema Spationaute III (model # N80A696) fitted with a ghastly green and black NATO strap  was listed on eBay earlier this afternoon by a French seller. Whereas I have seen prices of 300 Euros asked for mint examples on the original Yema shark strap, I don't think this one warrants that much - nor anything like that. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262707680144

That French eBay listing for the Yema Spationaute III 38mm 'reduced' on a NATO strap ended a couple of days ago, unsold, as I'd expected. The seller re-listed it at the same 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of 300 Euros, soon afterwards. I  didn't think anything of it, and duly added it to my eBay watching page. Checking it, this morning, I noticed the re-listing had ended yesterday evening - sold, according to eBay, for the 300 Euros asking price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262722249727

I found that difficult to believe, so I checked it myself using Goofbid's eBay Best Offer History tool ....

.... which shows it actually sold against an offer (the only one received) equating to 250 Euros, rather than the full asking price.

Well, despite what Goofbid said, about it selling for a offer of 250 Euros, that 38mm 'reduced' Yema Spationaute III, on a NATO, is back on eBay again, re-listed as of this lunchtime - with the same unrealistic 300 Euros Buy-it-Now asking price as before. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262747797572

It wasn't difficult to spot this Yema N7 America's Cup model # N71Z36, with the French eBay seller having thoughtfully including 'Seiko 7A28' in his description. Not quite so easy to read it off the case-back though, with most of the engraving all but obliterated. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332053015643

Yema America's Cup de 1987.

La pile et le bracelet sont neufs. 

Attention, la montre est à réviser, la plupart des fonctionnalités sont en parfait état de marche sauf le compteur des neuf heurs qui se remet à zéro mais ne se déclenche pas ainsi que la grande aiguille des secondes. 

En revanche, le sous-registre à 3h fonctionne parfaitement avec une précision de 1/10e de seconde. 

Avec une partie mécanique de 15 rubis et une motorisation indépendante pour chaque sous-registre, cette Yema à la même ergonomie qu'un chronographe traditionnel avec en plus la précision du quartz.

Même mouvement que la célèbre Seiko 7A28. 

Une pièce de choix dans une collection Yema digne de ce nom.

That French eBay auction for a Yema N71Z36 America's Cup ended yesterday evening, selling for a mere 31.50 Euros after 14 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332053015643

I'd meant to write up this next item last week, but simply didn't have time. 

If you've followed this thread, then you've possibly noticed that sightings of the 38mm 'reduced' Yema Spationaute III, with the blue dial, model # N80A66 are rather more scarce (in Europe and USA) than it's bigger 43mm diameter sibling. A good percentage of them seem to turn up in the Far East - indeed a number have been previously been offered by Indonesian blogspot sellers, which makes me wonder if Yema deliberately targetted this smaller diameter model at that market, because its smaller size might suit their wrists.

This example, fitted with a blue NATO strap, which appears to have had a typically hard life and suffers from badly yellowed and missing lume, was listed on eBay last week by an Indonesian seller, with an opening bid price of $0.99.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322351542779

For auction authentic yema paris chronograph SPATIONAUTE III

Stainless steel case

Width 38.5mm

Rotating bezel

Glass has been hairline scratches

Strap is replacement

Crown srew has not lock

Lume hands has been fall out

Watches is run and good working

Refer to the pictures for detail. 

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

Shipping not available to Africa, Italy.

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

$30 shipping by EMS.

I will admit that I was interested in it, but only for parts - the case-back (worn as it was) is better than on one of my 2 examples.

But I certainly wasn't prepared to pay anything like the $104.50 which it sold for yesterday evening, after 14 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322351542779

Perhaps I should consider changing the title of this thread to: Yema N7s and N8s I've missed on eBay .... 

Regular followers of the WRUW thread have probably seen the photo posted by Don, two days ago, which he captioned:

My recently acquired Yema N81W43. Off the Bay at $ 82.00!  

This was another nice (head only) example of a Yema N81W43, which I somehow managed to miss spotting altogether, when it was listed (for a full week) by a US eBay seller at the end of November. So, just for the record, here's the few details of the listing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112218476394

Vintage Yema Chronograph Day Date Watch Head Working

Up for sale is a Yema chronograph watch head in working condition. It does not come with the battery. Thanks!

Posted with eBay Mobile

Like the Don said, sold to him for $82 after 15 bids.

Had I actually seen the auction, while it was live, I probably would have given him a good run for his money. 

Even with the additional $45 for eBay's GSP charges, it still wouldn't have been a bad buy, in that condition. 

Paul, the Yema N8 came with an EXTRA       A stuck "running" second hand.    So. I left the watch in a warm place for a few hours as my first choice  AND it started working again and now continues to work   

At the risk of repeating myself (again) .... 

Hardly worth mentioning really, as it's already had umpteen mentions in this thread before (just search on 'scabby Flygraf') ....

But it's back on LeBonCoin once again, as of the weekend - same photos as before; the asking price now 140 Euros.

http://www.leboncoin.fr/montres_bijoux/867066060.htm?ca=1_s

Seiko7A38 at November 30, 2016 at 9:20 AM

Just checking my eBay watching page, I noticed the French eBay seller of that Yema Spationaute III had ended the listing yesterday afternoon - a couple of days early. Very careless of him (see reason given).  More likely, in truth, sold off eBay for a lower offer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142186560864

Looks like that French eBay seller has found his broken / misplaced Yema Spationaute III - 'cos it's back on eBay re-listed again. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142209952145

The above re-listing for a Yema Spationaute III failed to attract any bids - as did the subsequent re-listing for another 10 days.

The French seller re-listed it once again a couple of days ago; same 199 Euros opening bid price, but with a new set of photos.

Comparing these with the previous set, it looks like he's cleaned up those spots on the dial (or on the underside of the crystal) ....

Pity he didn't attempt to straighten the tail of the sweep second hand while he had the dial / movement out of the case. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142231559407

Fonctionne parfaitement 

bracelet bon etat

This 'spares or repair' two-tone Yema N71Z396 Americas Cup in poor condition was listed by a French eBay seller over a week ago (as a 10-day listing), with an opening bid price of 19 Euros. There's still a couple of days of the auction left to run, if anyone cares.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222360914450

BONJOUR.

LISEZ BIEN L'ANNONCE ET REGARDEZ BIEN LES PHOTOS ELLES FONT PARTIE DE LA DESCRIPTION.

Montre vintage ancienne YEMA Americas Cups FRANCE, la MONTRE NE FONCTIONNE PAS

mesure 39 mm ,vendue pour pieces ou reparation. verre fendu

N'ETANT PAS SPECIALISTE, IL N'Y A AUCUNE GARANTIE D'UN BON FONCTIONNEMENT DANS LE TEMPS. Un nettoyage / révision est souhaitable pour assurer un bon fonctionnement dans le temps. Vente en l'état tel que sur les photos. ENVOI COLISSIMO

montres anciennes etancheite non testee donc non garantie attention avant de la metre sous l'eau

non testee sur la tenue de l'heure dans la duree "si vous voulez un objet neuf n'encherissez pas"

merci 

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING! ALL QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME! I DO SHIP WORLD WIDE

This same French eBay seller, tombilibom (who looking at some of his other wares, clearly falls into the category of incompetent watch botcher) is also listing a Yema Spationaute III (he even managed to mis-spell that, with 2 'N's, which is why I'd nearly missed spotting it).  Despite the hideously unsuitable bracelet that he's fitted (which looks similar to those found on some varieties of Pulsar 'Spoon'), the watch is instantly recognisable from the stained 'Mission Flags' dial and the rusty hands. It's the same Spationaute III which sold on eBay France in the first week of November 2016 for 66 Euros (see previous page). He's listed it with an opening bid of 149 Euros, but from his description, hasn't managed to fix it properly, so probably more reason to avoid it this time around.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/22236094931

BONJOUR.

LISEZ BIEN L'ANNONCE ET REGARDEZ BIEN LES PHOTOS ELLES FONT PARTIE DE LA DESCRIPTION.

Montre vintage YEMA SPATIONNAUTE 3 , la MONTRE FONCTIONNE, mais vendue pour pieces ou reparation car depuis quelques jours la trotteuse bouge et reviens en arriere fait du sur place, le chrono et les jours passent sans probleme. pile usagee ? mesure 43 mm.

N'ETANT PAS SPECIALISTE, IL N'Y A AUCUNE GARANTIE D'UN BON FONCTIONNEMENT DANS LE TEMPS.

Un nettoyage / révision est souhaitable pour assurer un bon fonctionnement dans le temps.Vente en l'état tel que sur les photos. ENVOI COLISSIMO 

montres anciennes etancheite non testee donc non garantie attention avant de la metre sous l'eau

non testee sur la tenue de l'heure dans la duree "si vous voulez un objet neuf n'encherissez pas"

merci 

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING! ALL QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME! I DO SHIP WORLD WIDE

That French eBay listing, by seller tombilibom, for the Yema N71Z396 Americas Cup 'spares or repairs' watch ended earlier this evening, selling for 25.50 Euros after 8 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222360914450

That there were no takers for his greedily over-priced botched example of a Spationaute III really was no great surprise. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222360949312

That over-priced two-tone Yema Spationaute III 38mm 'reduced' on a completely unsuitable NATO strap, which failed to sell last year (on a number of occasions) is back again - re-listed, with the same 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of 300 Euros. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262800403601

Seiko7A38 at January 4, 2017 at 1:39 AM

The above re-listing for a Yema Spationaute III failed to attract any bids - as did the subsequent re-listing for another 10 days.

The French seller re-listed it once again a couple of days ago; same 199 Euros opening bid price, but with a new set of photos.

Comparing these with the previous set, it looks like he's cleaned up those spots on the dial (or on the underside of the crystal) ....

Pity he didn't attempt to straighten the tail of the sweep second hand while he had the dial / movement out of the case. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142231559407

The above re-listing (with the new set of photos), which ended on 12th January, also failed to attract any bids. The seller then re-listed it again for another 10 days, but this time it attracted a couple of bidders, who, by the beginning of the week, between them had pushed the bid price up to 256 Euros. That latest re-listed auction ended late yesterday evening at 321 Euros after 18 bids.

Je ne comprends pas. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142248166829

Sacré Bleu !  Incroyable !  

Just checking my eBay watching page and I noticed the re-listing by French eBay seller tombilibom for that tatty Yema Spationate III, fitted with that god-awful bracelet had ended yesterday evening, with two bids placed - selling for 153 Euros !! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222383086031

This Yema N81X26, fitted with a NATO strap was listed less than an hour ago by a French eBay seller, with a typically over-optimistic Buy-it-Now price of 300 Euros. If the seller's eBay user ID watchover15, poor choice of NATO strap, 'Cal 7A38' included in the listing title and 300 Euros asking price all sound vaguely familiar, this is the same French eBay seller who first listed a 38mm 'reduced' Spationaute III fitted with a NATO, back in the first week of November last year. That's still unsold and he's still re-listing it. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262829735941

Montre ancienne YEMA PARIS QUARTZ type 20

Boitier et fond acier en trés belle état couronne vissée et poussoirs d'origines

Lunette fixe

Calibre SEIKO 7A38 jour date d'origine fonctionnement heure jour date et chronomètre au 1/10e de seconde

37MM hors couronne

Bracelet NATO 20MM

cadran et aiguilles d'origine en parfait état

8€ pour la France

13€ pour l’Europe

24€ pour le reste du monde

PS - I've no idea where he gets 'Type 20' from (edit: that's a much older mechanical Yema / Landeron chrono'). This is an N8 1X26.

Despite having been speculatively over-priced, I didn't honestly expect that Yema N81X26 to hang around very long - they're probably one of the most desirable Yema N8's (after the Spationaute III). It sold yesterday evening, not as eBay would have you believe, for the full 300 Euros asking price ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262829735941

.... but for a best offer.

According to Goofbid's eBay Best Offer History tool, the only offer made, which was accepted by the seller was for 209.90 Euros.

It seems a slightly odd number, but that's how the currency converts. Maybe the exchange rate is out and it should really be 210. 

Spotted this Kamatz 517000 listed a few days ago by a US eBay seller. Unlike some previous examples of this dial colour variant I've seen in the past, the Silver paint doesn't appear to be flaking off the sub-dials. However, it suffering from one of the other common malaises of this watch - the black inlay paint is missing from 3 of the 4 quarter markers. Fortunately, the parochially-minded seller doesn't post to the UK. Apart from the grossly over-optimistic opening bid price of $199 - I really don't need another of these ! 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142283391405

Up for auction is a rare Kamatz Paris 517000 watch in excellent condition. It has a new battery and band.

Hang on a minute. You want a good laugh ? 

Note that in the listing screen print above, the item shows as 'Posts to Worldwide', but oddly excludes the United Kingdom. 

Just check out the full list of exclusions. 'Parochially-minded' doesn't even begin to describe the would-be seller's mentality. 

This attractive two-tone panda Jaz N8YZ669, complete with instruction manual (but no box) was listed last week by a German eBay seller. Unusual, because all previous Jaz N8's I'd seen on eBay had been offered by US sellers, so naturally I'd previously drawn the conclusion that these were manufactured by C.G.H. for export to the US market.* I may need to re-think that. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232242372989

This was a(nother) case of 'I really didn't need another', but ....

The opening bid price was 1 Euro and by the time I spotted it, bidding had stalled at 20 Euros, so potentially it might have been a cheap purchase (hence the reason I didn't post about it in this thread while the auction was live, so as not to draw unwanted attention). My initial snipe bid wasn't high enough - and possibly I should have let it go at that point, but then the adrenalin kicked in. I still managed to win the auction for a reasonable 82 Euros, but not exactly what you'd call a bargain. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232242372989

Incidentally, you might have noticed that the German eBay seller didn't accept PayPal - only Bank Transfer as payment. 

Today for the first time, I tried a new solution to this perennial problem. 

*Edit: My earlier assumption was correct - as subsequently confirmed by the Instruction and Warranty booklet, which was printed in only (American) English, referred to U.S. customers and included a list of U.S. Coserve service centers for warranty returns.