Another monopoly by cross-platform YJ profiteering re-seller ?

[Seiko7A38]

You may have already read my diatribe concerning cross-platform profiteering YJ / eBay re-seller jap_t_t_w and the stranglehold they have established on sales of 7A48-7050 Fishing Masters from Yahoo Japan. If not, the thread's here, lower down this forum section. Needless to say, undoubtedly due to their extortionately marked-up asking prices, all three of those 7A48-7050 Fishing Masters not surprisingly remain unsold.

I hadn't mentioned it before, on this new forum, but since last week of July 2020, they've also been listing a similarly ridiculously over-priced titanium 7A38-7030, which they'd purchased off Yahoo Japan, for a considerably lower price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/w511-SEIKO-7 ... 3961524919

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The full story of that still unsold titanium 7A38-7030 can be found here on page 8 of the old forum's 7A38 model thread.

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[Seiko7A38]

To add insult to injury, earlier this morning, they listed another titanium 7A38-7030, in average worn condition, with a typical extortionately marked-up Buy-it-Now price of $1400 !!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/w713-SEIKO-7 ... 4254475999

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rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-april2021-re-seller-7.jpg (81.04 KiB) Viewed 6293 times

rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-april2021-re-seller-11.jpg (102.13 KiB) Viewed 6293 times

I've only uploaded 4 of the seller's 11 photos and shalln't bother with screenshots of their description. It's their standard template format and tells you little more than: The SEIKO logo is a little dirty..

[Seiko7A38]

The same titanium 7A38-7030 was listed on Yahoo Japan last week as a 5-day auction and sold for a mere 52,100 Yen.
At today's exchange rates, that equates to $476.65 USD / £346.25 GBP. Note $476.65 versus their $1400 asking price !

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n502101610

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-April2021-Header.png (2.77 KiB) Viewed 6330 times

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7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-April2021-2.jpg (75.12 KiB) Viewed 6312 times

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7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-April2021-Description.png (27.74 KiB) Viewed 6313 times

Naturally, the case-back serial number 422790 and the tarnished SEIKO dial logo match. What surprised me a bit, with hindsight, was the fact that this auction was only extended by 5 minutes. Here's my Buyee ending soon notification:

7A38-7030-Titanium-YJ-April2021-Buyee-EndingSoon.png (95.43 KiB) Viewed 6304 times

That shows a scheduled finishing time of 21:38 JST, whereas the auction actually ended only 5 minutes later at 21:43. Normally (at least in my experience), when jap_t_t_w is involved in the bidding, these things can sometimes drag on a lot longer, because of their seemingly dogged determination to win at all costs. Evidently nobody else wanted it badly (or dare I posit, thought it was worth any more).

[Seiko7A38]

So is this the start of another attempted monopoly of a desirable 7Axx model by this greedy profiteering re-seller ?

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-April2021-(Re-seller)-Summary-x2.png (105.18 KiB) Viewed 6329 times

[Seiko7A38]

I hadn't mentioned it before, on this new forum, but since last week of July 2020, they've also been listing a similarly ridiculously over-priced titanium 7A38-7030, which they'd purchased off Yahoo Japan, for a considerably lower price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/w511-SEIKO-7 ... 3961524919

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-July2020-(Re-seller)-Listing(Revised).png (202.13 KiB) Viewed 6085 times

The full story of that still unsold titanium 7A38-7030 can be found here on page 8 of the old forum's 7A38 model thread.

7A38-7030-Ti-jap_t_t_w-Post-3.png (10.26 KiB) Viewed 6085 times

It took loathsome Japanese cross-platform eBay re-seller jap_t_t_w nearly a year and a whole slew of revisions ....

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-July2020-(Re-seller)-Revisions-1.png (36.64 KiB) Viewed 6082 times

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-July2020-(Re-seller)-Revisions-2.png (22.84 KiB) Viewed 6082 times

.... which included no less than 11 changes to the Buy-it-Now price, reducing it from their original extortionately marked-up $1600 to $1307.44, before they finally found themselves a mug-punter buyer, early this morning.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283961524919

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkreyFace-July2020-(re-seller)-Ended-Sold-$1307.44.png (59.67 KiB) Viewed 6084 times

WatchCount.com's look-up tool reveals the listing had received nearly 3000 views over the nearly 12 months:

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkreyFace-July2020-(re-seller)-WatchCount.png (76.21 KiB) Viewed 6082 times

All it ever takes is one mug punter, with more money than sense, for them to double their money.

[Seiko7A38]

Loathsome profiteering Japanese eBay cross-platform re-seller jap_t_t_w continues his attempts at monopolizing the lucrative market for the JDM titanium 7A38-7030 SJS018. Earlier today, he listed another average condition example, with a short bracelet; one that I'd been anticipating, with a typical greedily marked-up Buy-it-Now price of $1100.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/[w1012]-SEIK ... 4635942270

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-Feb2022-(Re-seller-jap_t_t_w)-Listing.png (242.23 KiB) Viewed 4851 times

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Whereas he claims it's all original, I strongly suspect that stainless clasp extender may be an aftermarket fitment !

Here's where he bought it in the last week of January, winning the Yahoo Japan auction for ¥55,100 Yen + 10% Sales Tax, making a total of ¥60,610 Yen, which at today's exchange rate, equates to approx. $530 USD (less than half his greedily marked-up asking price).

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/au ... 1033240898

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The stainless clasp extender was more clearly visible in a couple of the YJ seller's photos:

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Jan2022-Another-2.jpg (226.26 KiB) Viewed 4861 times

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Jan2022-Another-3.jpg (220.14 KiB) Viewed 4861 times

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Jan2022-Another-4.jpg (246.67 KiB) Viewed 4861 times

Needless to say, the case-back serial number 456710 matches.

[Seiko7A38]

He's currently listing 3 titanium 7A38-7030 SJS018's (no other 7A38 models) which clearly indicates he's targeting them:

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-Feb2022-jap_t_t_w-Summary-x3.png (133.92 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

In fact, he'd listed another early last Christmas Day morning, but I couldn't be bothered to comment on it at the time. However, I did have the foresight to take a screen print of the listing, as it first appeared, with the intention of doing something with it later. As you can see, it originally had the same extortionately marked-up Buy-it-Now price of $1100, which he's since reduced slightly to $1078 (as shown in the current summary).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/[w987]-SEIKO ... 4582076087

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-eBay-Dec2021-(re-seller-jap_t_t_w)-Listing.jpg (158.65 KiB) Viewed 4850 times

Compared to his most recently listed 7A38-7030, this isn't a particularly good example, even though he's categorised it as 'EX/VG'. The bezel appears to have been crudely sanded, presumably in an effort to remove dings. The once red CHRONOGRAPH dial script is typically faded. The short bracelet is badly stretched and has been fitted with a non-original replacement (externally unsigned) Seiko titanium push-button clasp.

rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-dec2021-re-seller-1.jpg (238.03 KiB) Viewed 4832 times

rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-dec2021-re-seller-3.jpg (242.4 KiB) Viewed 4832 times

rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-dec2021-re-seller-7.jpg (239.59 KiB) Viewed 4832 times

rsz_7a38-7030-titanium-darkgreyface-ebay-dec2021-re-seller-11.jpg (229.84 KiB) Viewed 4832 times

Here's where he bought it, winning the Yahoo Japan auction for ¥53,400 Yen, equivalent today to approx. $467 USD.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/au ... 1025700759

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Here's 4 of the photos from the original YJ seller's listing, naturally including the matching caseback serial # 3D6668:

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7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Dec2021-3.jpg (78.78 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Dec2021-5.jpg (71.1 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

7A38-7030-Titanium-DarkGreyFace-YahooJapan-Dec2021-9.jpg (74.79 KiB) Viewed 4836 times

[BostonMTAF]

Hi,

I am new to the forums but wanted to share my appreciation for this resource. My Seiko Collection is primarily focused on mechanical chronos and divers, but I have recently started researching 7A38s to add one to the collection.

Thank you for the detailed long-term analysis on this profiteering reseller. I have been looking at the 7A38-7030s from their store and also came across this seller before on vintage divers but couldn't figure out what exactly was going on.

It is particularly frustrating because they are not servicing the watches or adding any value whatsoever. Plus, they are obfuscating the actual condition in which the original YJ posts were more accurate.

I can update that watches above are indeed still for sale. The prices are further reduced, but still ~2x what they sold for on YJ. Link here

I will be looking on YJ and avoiding them. Thanks again!

-Alex

[Seiko7A38]

Welcome to the forum Alex, and thanks for heeding my salutary warnings about cross-platform re-seller jap_t_t_w. If more people took notice and eschewed his over-priced offerings, it might eventually force him out of business. Another US eBay re-seller who prays on Yahoo Japan and has established virtual monopolies on other popular JDM 7Axx variants is Ryan Marucheau a.k.a. rtm127. He has his own dedicated thread in this forum section.

If you search for 7A38-7030 on Yahoo Japan auctions, you're likely to find only one listed on there at the moment:

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/c759419658 or https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/c759419658

It may show as 'Newly Listed', but in fact it's been re-listed (ad nauseam on a daily basis) since 18th July 2019 !!
It was first mentioned on page 5 of the old forum's 7A38-7030 SJS018 thread (originally priced @ ¥130,000 Yen).