Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Seiko7A38 at May 18, 2020 at 2:03 AM

I'm not sure why, but the YJ 'Store' seller appears to have ended that 7-day auction for a well-worn JDM 7A38-7110 after only 2 days, cancelling all bids in the process. He's since re-listed it, looking exactly the same as before.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t725123214

Earlier this morning, regular would-be profiteering Japanese eBay (ex-YJ) re-seller japan_pre-owned_vintage listed what is obviously the same well-worn 7A38-7110 with a ludicrously marked-up 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now price of $938 - more than double the $408.80 equivalent USD price he'd paid for it only a week ago.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324184574324

Here's an intriguing instance of Double Déjà Vu. Or perhaps I should say 'triple'. 

Earlier today, Yahoo Japan 'Store' seller okatazukeansinhonpo re-listed that same well-worn 7A38-7110, case-back serial # 497842, as another 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of 1 Yen. The 5 photos are new for this listing.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r415957465

Google translates the formatted Japanese description as follows:

The above re-listed 7-day Yahoo Japan 'Store' auction for a well-worn 7A38-7110 ended a few moments ago. with bidding @ ¥39,500 Yen after 25 bids. Adding the applicable 10% Japanese Sales Tax gives a total of  ¥43,450 Yen, equivalent to approx. $404.50 USD / £324 GBP.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r415957465

I'm still not quite sure what his involvement was (or for that matter, if he actually ever had possession of the watch), but early this morning, would-be profiteering Japanese re-seller japan_pre-owned_vintage rightly ended his ludicrously over-priced eBay listing for the same well-worn JDM 7A38-7110 as no longer available.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324184574324

That same ex-Yahoo Japan 7A38-7110, instantly recognisable from the graze on the top right hand of the case's bezel area, rocked up yesterday in sunny Southern California, on the wrist of collector power90801, a.k.a. Robert Lambert. As is fairly obvious from his photos and as stated in his post in a WRUW thread on SCWF, he's fitted a flat replacement crystal, rather than the correct domed flat bottomed profile.

I'll admit it's becoming mildly addictive, but I'm wasting far too much valuable time idly browsing Instagram lately. I had to do a quick double take this morning. This well-worn 7A38-7110, typically suffering from a badly scratched domed crystal was posted earlier today. Why don't these owners replace the crystals ?

Less than a week ago, I'd commented on forum member Hanson's latest photo of his 7A38-7110, that he'd posted here on Instagram - again, with a badly scratched domed crystal in dire need of replacement.

It's still just possible to find the original Seiko p/n 320W46GN00 crystal on eBay, but usually only available from certain profiteering re-sellers, notably ljmdirect, who are currently listing their 'last one' with a Buy-it-Now price of £34.99.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192452929837

Thanks to their efforts, the stock once held by Cousins UK has been exhausted.

However, there is also a cheaper alternative crystal available from Cousins UK.

I shared this little tip with Hanson on Instagram, so I may as well re-post it here.

Here follows a copy and paste of a post I made in the Crystals and Gaskets thread over 6 years ago. (Originally posted by myself on May 18, 2014 at 11:33 AM):

Well, my experiment using a Cousin's 'cheap substitute' domed flat-bottom crystal on a Yema Spationaute III may not have entirely worked as well as I'd hoped, but I'm pleased to announce another application where they do work perfectly.

Probably one of the most vulnerable domed crystals found in any Seiko 7Axx is p/n 320W46GN00 used in the 7A38-704x range (and also its JDM 7A38-7110 sibling). It's rare to buy a used watch that hasn't got at least a small scratch on the crystal - and sometimes they're almost opaque, like this:

Simon recently refurbished a 7A38-704A, he wrote: (I) fitted a new crystal (I'd bought two when I did the -704C). I thought Simon may have bought the last - but they're still available from Cousins UK - but their price is now up to £11.50 + VAT.

Not that I needed one myself, but when I placed my most recent order, I tacked on one of their p/n DF300CMH320 crystals - on spec.

This Q&D side-by-side shot doesn't really show much, but ....

Both are (obviously) 32.0mm diameter, 1.0mm high at the sidewall. The amount of doming is virtually identical. The only imperceptible difference is the overall height - Cousin's 'cheapie' substitute is exactly 3.00mm overall height; the genuine Seiko p/n 320W46GN00 is 3.05mm.

The Cousins 'cheapie' crystal even has a tiny polished bevelled rim. Unlike the Yema Spationaute III's, the original Seiko crystal is flat bottomed, so the amount of distortion when the watch is viewed side-on will very likely be the same. The big difference is in the price. The Cousins substitute crystal costs £0.95 + VAT.

This JDM 7A38-7110 in average worn condition, with a bracelet connecting flange in need of repair, was listed earlier this evening by a Hawaiian eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of $100, or the option to make an offer. The less said about eBay's dysfunctional GSP programme, the better. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402457666556

VINTAGE SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH RARE 7A38-7110. Condition is Pre-owned.the crystal needs replaced and the band has a kink which can be fixed new battery installed.

Edit: Before I'd even finished composing and editing this post, it had already been sold for an undisclosed best offer. The listing was live for just under 30 minutes, during which it received 38 views.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402457666556

Just registered to put my hand up and say that I had an offer accepted on the 7110 in the previous post. Just loved the look of it and post purchase research brought me here. Hope that Cousins still have those alternative crystals in stock. I'll have to figure out what's possible with that dodgy endlink too.

Cousins are currently showing 80 of the p/n DF300CMH320 crystal in stock. Sorting out that bracelet problem may be a little trickier. You'll need to reform that opened out section into a tube of approx. 2.0mm I.D., then re-attach the errant tab to the bracelet, ideally by laser or spot welding. The pin will also need straightening.

Thanks. I've got a friend who occasionally orders from Cousins so I've asked him to add a crystal next time he places one. And yes the bracelet is likely to be tricky. I expect I'll be able to fairly neatly reform the loop, but reattaching the tab isn't going to be easy and will have to be outsourced. Hopefully I can find a cost effective solution. I'll come back and post pics when it's done.

This 'JUNK' 7A38-7110 in average worn condition, was listed earlier this morning by a Japanese eBay seller, with a Buy-it-Now price of $326.90, with the option to make an offer. For a refreshing change, this doesn't appear to be yet another instance of cross-platform re-selling (from Yahoo Japan). Unless I've missed one. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124467780041

JUNK Rare Seiko 7A38-7110 Men's Watch From Japan EXPEDITED SHIPPING

Brand: Seiko 

Model: 7A38-7110 (Quartz) 

Condition: JUNK!!!Overall condition is bad (Please feel conform with photos). 

Notes: Operation is not confirmed. It is considered as a junk item. There are many scratches and dirt!. Maintenance history, parts replacement history is unknown, please purchase with premise of general overhaul especially for daily use. Waterproof hasn't been verified. There is a feeling of use with some scratches and dirt but the overall vintage appearance is beautiful. The box is not available, it will carefully packaged and ship. 

Please note: 

**there might be some color difference due to shooting/viewing environment 

**Slight size errors might be possible due to amateur measurements 

STATUS: 

EXCELLENT overall Conditions!!!No noticeable scratches and stain. 

VERY GOOD overall Conditions!!There are some scratches and dirt of normal use. 

JUNK!!!Overall condition is bad (Please feel conform with photos). 

ITEM LOCATION: JAPAN

Please note: Handling time before the shipping might be around 3-5 business days.

Disregard what I wrote in my previous post about: For a refreshing change .... 

This almost identical (bar the description) listing for the same 7A38-7110 came up in my eBay saved search notifications this morning. I'm not sure whether ys-variety is an alter ego of oriental-vintage-modern, but they're another regular cross-platform Japanese eBay re-seller.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264967562787

I hadn't bothered adding an update before, but at the beginning of this week, that second Japanese eBay wannabe re-seller ended his listing as no longer available.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264967562787

Belated Update: 10-days later on 17th December, the original Japanese eBay seller, oriental-vintage-modern, who'd first listed it a fortnight earlier, followed suit.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124467780041

There was a well-worn 7A38-7110 listed on Yahoo Japan this morning, albeit rather breifly, first time around. It's a 7-day auction by a 'Store' seller, with an opening bid price of 1000 Yen (subject to 10% Japanese sales tax).

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e477301428

I'd started to take screen prints, but before I could finish, the seller ended the listing.

The YJ seller re-listed it about 10 minutes later, retaining the same item number.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e477301428

Google translates the Japanese seller's description as follows:

●SEIKO 7A38-7110 腕時計 CHRONOGRAPH SPEEDMASTER クォーツ デイデイト セイコー クロノグラフ スピードマスター 電池交換済 23814●！！

The above 7-day Yahoo Japan auction for a well-worn JDM 7A38-7110 ended a few moments ago, the finishing time having been automatically extended by 10 minutes due to late placed bids. It sold for ¥27,500 Yen after 51 bids, equivalent to approx. $266.10 USD / £196.82 GBP.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e477301428

This well-worn 7A38-7110, fitted with a non-original generic replacement stainless bracelet and also the wrong case-back off a 7A48-7000 (hence the title) was listed yesterday on Yahoo Japan as a 4-day auction with an opening bid price of 100 Yen.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t783572059

Google translates the Japanese seller's description as follows:

That's followed by the usual raft of T's & C's, caveats, etc. ....

The above 4-day Yahoo Japan auction for a well-worn 7A38-7110, which was fitted with a non-original generic replacement stainless bracelet and the wrong case-back (off a 7A48-7000), ended earlier this afternoon, selling for ¥12,501 Yen after 32 bids equivalent to approx. $120.28 USD / £88.65 GBP.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t783572059