Decent 7A38-705A SAA027J on eBay Italy gets back-doored ?

[Seiko7A38]

This 7A38-705A SAA027J - a sought after 'Diver' variant, in rather better than average used condition, was listed on eBay Italy on Monday afternoon, as a 7-day auction with an opening bid price of 69 Euros.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEIKO-VINTAG ... 4456900539

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As can be seen in the 4 (of 7) photos uploaded by the seller, the watch generally looked very fresh, with no sign of fading of bezel inlay numbering or dial printing, etc. It did however suffer from the usual malaise that afflicts this model (and its 7A38-7050 SAA025J sibling) - loss of matt black paint from the bracelet's small interconnecting links. There appeared to be some light tarnishing of the silvered finish of the minute hand, but the lume was unaffected.

Although I was almost certain of the outcome in such situations, I thought I'd play the game and placed a bid on it. The almost inevitable eBay Bid Cancellation notification email arrived in my inbox overnight:

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The seller had ended the listing as no longer available, cancelling all bids in the process. The high bid was at 123 Euros.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224456900539

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[Seiko7A38]

So naturally, out of curiosity, I asked the seller the obvious question - and have just received a slightly confusing reply.

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That translates literally as: "Hello, I'm sorry but I withdrew the sale even though they offered me 500 euros".

So I asked for clarification and just received it:

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The subsequent reply translates as: "I decided not to sell it again despite the generous offer they had offered me".

[Seiko7A38]

Given the desirability of the 7A38-705A SAA027J, the condition of this particular example and the current marketplace, I'd opine that an offer of 500 Euros was reasonable. Thankfully, I'm in the fortunate position of not needing another.
Acquired mine off eBay Italy, as an 'spur of the moment' mad panic impulse Buy-it-Now, late one night, 5 years ago:

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Paid 120 Euros + 10 Euros shipping. Probably one of my best bargain buys ever.

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[Seiko7A38]

I've observed, on a few previous occasions, sometimes to my amusement or annoyance, that watches which 'disappear' off eBay will subsequently reappear on Instagram. As it transpires, that decent example of the 7A38-705A SAA027J did, a fortnight after the Italian eBay seller had ended the listing.

Yesterday evening, I checked my instagram account to find that I'd gained another follower valentino.minucci. I had a quick scroll through his Instagram feed. He's an Italian collector who's posted half a dozen wrist shots of his 7A38's. The most recent of which happened to be a rather familiar looking 7A38-705A in decent condition.

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The reason I hadn't spotted it before, is that Valentino hadn't added any hashtags to his post (hence why it's attracted only 7 likes (including mine). If he hadn't started following me, I'd never have seen it. How can I be so certain that it's the same 7A38-705A, without seeing the case-back serial number (438971) ?

It did however suffer from the usual malaise that afflicts this model (and its 7A38-7050 SAA025J sibling) - loss of matt black paint from the bracelet's small interconnecting links.

Easy. Just by comparing the wear / missing matt black paint from the bracelet's small interconnecting links.

[Seiko7A38]

I had a couple of pleasant Instagram DM conversations with Valentino yesterday (albeit in Italian, which isn't my forté). He admitted that he'd made the Italian eBay seller an offer outside eBay, so it was 'back-doored' as I'd suspected from the outset. While I was browsing his Instagram feed, I'd noticed another 7A38-705A that he'd posted back in February.

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I commented on it, to which Valentino replied that he actually owned four of them ! A man after my own heart ! He followed that by saying he hadn't posted photos of the others, because he didn't want to publicize his collection. Hence presumably the reason for the lack of hashtags on his posts. But then again, why not just make his Instagram account private (or not post photos on Instagram at all) ?