Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

I'll not bid on this one

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330749849644

Hi gentlemen. It worked for me in the past, or, well, it did work for a fellow collector at least who now owns a 7100 I hope I will get myself sooner or later. I just knew back then I would not bid too tough. So knowing we would be going for it, I simply stepped back. I think it can work at least whenever bidders know beforehand where one's financial limits will be. The same way I would share the heads up if I know somebody is going for a watch I could not afford anyway.

Either way, it will always be for the best it it works on a "gentlemen's code" basis, namely:

-If one is determined to go all the way, and the other knows there's no way he/she would go that far, why not letting the highest bidder go for it.

-If both would go for more or less the same price, they'd rather throw a coin in the air than bleed to death bidding unnecessarily to the same limits.

-if both would go all the way, no matter what, then it would be at least an honorable duel. 

Richer vs. poorer would be rearing its ugly face anyway, right?

I think it is a good idea, Paul.

PS: That said, i would not be expecting each one of you to come check the post everytime. I would take no offense for last minute enthusiasts or latercomers. 

nova at June 18, 2012 at 10:42 AM

I'll not bid on this one

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330749849644

I already have bid (low) on it once, but don't intend to again - so if somebody else wants to go the distance, stake your claim ! 

Mmmm . . . as a new boy this is a bit worrying.  It seems I've just won the last two items by sniping.  I'd kind of given the game away by my posts about the salesman's case question.  Well, in fact I showed the rough one that I thought might meld with it.  But I did wait until the last moment to press the button. Part of this is learning just how long the process takes.  With my modest line to the end of Texas, I have to be pretty sure I'm not too late. 

Right now I'm willing to pay more for things than folk with experience.  It's a learning curve - quite a costly one with the $60 odd I paid for a rather basic 7A38-728A    In fact, I got a fleeting message that someone was hot on my tail, but it was in the hands of the automaton at that stage.  Indeed, I 'won' by very little.   (It was this desire to gold plate something that drove me on.)

Reading though, I think bidding against forum members has to happen sometimes, but it would be a shame for example, to have lost a case needed for a project, to someone who would put it in a box of bits that just might be needed one day.   A huge difference, but it would almost require a notice board of urgent need, and a flag that members understood.  Difficult procedure to operate.  I rather think, Paul, that you could be in for a lot of work.

This is an old thread, previously dating back to June 2012 (when anyone last posted), Rob. 

As James wrote in one of his posts on the first page: This is unworkable, though an honourable attempt to set something up.

So it proved. We've all given up on the idea a long time ago. 

7ARCool © at June 12, 2012 at 4:34 PM

I am not always moaning Paul, as you are aware I have tried to play fair with you concerning ebay bidding. 

I have even considered selling off my collection through another ebay account and watching other members outbidding each other to stratospheric heights.

I also have asked if other users would leave a nice condition 7Axx to us poorer collectors, but to no avail. 

I think a simple thread where members list their ebay intentions could work, with plenty of advance notice.

Otherwise the future will be an outbidding frenzy of crazed 7Axx collectors pushing prices up.......or are we already in that situation? 

Funny thing, that. 

I just read back through this thread again. Chris was always moaning about getting outbid on eBay - particularly by Simon.

In case you're wondering what became of him, he threw his toys out of the pram once again, back in August last year 

and in a fit of pique, asked for his member ID to be deleted - but not before he'd changed his username from 7Arcool to ! 

Guess who I out-sniped in the final seconds, to win that mint-ish 7A38-704C on eBay Germany just before Christmas ? - Chris ! 

Though his unusually high snipe bid (by his standards) effectively cost me 90 Euros ! 

Makes me wonder what might have been the outcome, if he'd still been a member and I'd tried to arrange a Gentlemen's Agreement.

Probably another bitching session. 

By the way, Rob ....

If by: 'It's a learning curve - quite a costly one with the $60 odd I paid for a rather basic 7A38-728A'. you were referring to this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seiko-Quartz-Chronograph-Tachymeter-Japan-7A38-728A-Wrist-Watch-E-2347-/370977149817

That was quite a nice buy for that price ($61). 

(It was this desire to gold plate something that drove me on.)

FAR too nice an example to experiment with DIY gold plating on - it's supposed to be two-tone stainless / partially plated like that !! 

I think I may have confused it with another recent purchase.  I'm losing count.  The reasoning behind all this was just mentioned in the ebay thread, but thinking about it, this thread would have been a better place to air such logic.  Frustratingly, as the purchases are arriving, I have to make a 700 mile drive to see number-one grandchild in a play.  Still, Americans seem to drive half that distance for a hamburger.

I'm supposed to be clearing the house of anything we don't need as it's on the market.  I'll put the sale of my Tektronix scope on hold just in case I need to see the signal from the oscillator crystal.  Do we have an electronics expert on the forum?

Again, I've gone right off topic.  How can I see if fellow forum members are bidding since so many are ?*** etc.  I notice mine is showing in full, but I don't know if that's because it knows it's me.

I've only just read this thread Paul knows how slow I am, there are only a couple or three more of 38's & 28's that I would really like to own and I would be happy to declare my interests in bidding once they come up. I'm not in any rush to own any watch and do not want to step on anyones toes. So on that note I am currently the highest bidder on this one,161472090460 (no I'm not  I've just checked, I'm the 2nd !!! bugger) This chaps ahead of me 

u***l ( private ) EUR 241

This is one of my favourites so I may have to push him

I think you may get a bit of competition on that Titanium 7A28-7080, Phil - though not from me. 

This thread - and the 'Gentlemen's Agreements' concept in general was a nice idea, in principle ....

But it's already been demonstrated that it's unworkable - long ago. 

See my post above dated: January 14, 2014 at 8:46 AM

Better to keep schtum and just go in there and nail it.