Lew Brown's modded 7A38-6000 sold on eBay yesterday

[Seiko7A38]

Although I'm no longer actively seriously collecting (the way I was), I still check eBay.com ended listings, almost daily, just to see if there's anything I may have missed. Yesterday, there was a watch that was significant to me, although not something I would realistically have purchased back in the day, nor even out of nostalgia. It was a modded 7A38-6000, fitted with an aftermarket pepsi bezel insert, which I instantly recognised as belonging to US Seiko expert Lew Brown.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175967743456

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In fact it appears to have sold twice, in quick succession, yesterday afternoon:

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WatchCount.com's look-up tool shows the two listings were live for a total of less than 20 minutes:

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[Seiko7A38]

Apart from the non-original bezel insert, the reason I remember Lew Brown's 7A38-6000 so well, is that it I used it to start off the 7A38-6000 SAA039J - Stainless small size 'Diver / Panda' model thread on the old archived forum.

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7A38-6000-(Divers)-Stainless-WhitePandaFace-(ModdedPepsiBezel)-LewBrown-SCWF-1.jpg (112.44 KiB) Viewed 685 times

7A38-6000-(Divers)-Stainless-WhitePandaFace-(ModdedPepsiBezel)-LewBrown-SCWF-2.jpg (88.12 KiB) Viewed 685 times

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Just to confirm this most definitely is the same modded 7A38-6000, I'd saved this other photo of the watch's case-back, from the old Network54 SCWF, showing the same serial number 4N1839.

7A38-6000-(Divers)-Stainless-WhitePandaFace-(ModdedPepsiBezel)-LewBrown-SCWF-6.jpg (155.33 KiB) Viewed 685 times

[Seiko7A38]

Although it was a modded 'beater', I can't help feeling that Lew almost 'gave it away' in the light of today's asking prices. It'll be interesting to see whether it's gone to a genuine collector or fallen into the hands of a profiteering re-seller.

[Seiko7A38]

Naturally, I took the opportunity to send Lew a message through eBay. This is the first reply I received back from him:

LewBrown-eBay-message.png (23.29 KiB) Viewed 676 times

[Seiko7A38]

It'll be interesting to see whether it's gone to a genuine collector or fallen into the hands of a profiteering re-seller.

In fact, I knew the answer just minutes later, because in my next message I'd asked Lew who he'd sold it to. He replied:

eBay-message-LewBrown-KurtPA.png (9.27 KiB) Viewed 669 times

Transpires that Lew not only sold his modded 7A38-6000 to Kurt Bachmann, but also a decent 7A28-7039 and a well-worn 7A28-7049, both fitted with non-original replacement bracelets, for $320 and $150, respectively.

[Seiko7A38]

Obviously Bachmann is a dealer, who has no interest in doing anything with them, other than making a quick profit. All three appeared on eBay overnight, listed as 10-day auctions. Lew's modded 7A38-6000 has an opening bid price of $150.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Seik ... 5837835843

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[Seiko7A38]

By the end of the 10-day period, the listing had managed to attract a hundred bemused watchers. However, that wasn't really reflected in the bidding, which struggled all week just to make $200. The auction ended late yesterday evening, with Lew Brown's modded 7A38-6000 eventually re-selling for $310 after 19 bids.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Seik ... 5837835843

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Checking the eBay Bidding History, 12 of those 19 bids, including 3 stacked 'safety' bids were placed by the determined winning bidder, whom I suspect may be Italian. It'll be interesting to see if it re-appears on eBay again in due course.

[Seiko7A38]

Lew Brown's modded 7A38-6000 rocked up on Instagram yesterday, posted in a hand held video by a Spanish poster (from Barcelona) - thetimeisgoldwatches. They may possibly be a dealer, but there's no indication it's for sale (yet).