Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

.... goes to a relative newcomer to the world of Seiko 7Axx's, would-be profiteering US eBay re-seller Meltzer Trading. They may be relatively new to dabbling in Seiko 7A38's etc., but they've been active on eBay for over 7 years, have a feedback rating of well over 10,000 and are currently listing over 4000 items of mostly estate costume junk jewellery.

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I'd first spotted their re-selling activities when they listed a 7A38-7080, fitted with a familiar non-original replacement bracelet, in early November, which I documented in the relevant thread at the time. Their original absolutely ridiculous Buy-it-Now price was $2000, which they subsequently reduced to $1000. They've since gone on to list another 7A38-7080 (Head Only); a well-worn 7A38-704A, fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet (asking $1200); a couple of 7A48-7000's (asking $1500 apiece) and various other less than average condition 7A38's with completely unrealistic prices.

Here's a link to a search result of their 40 current Seiko eBay listings.

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Apart from all the unscrupulous re-selling activity on eBay, some of you will no doubt have observed that a lot of what I'd class as 'over-priced crap', gets re-listed ad nauseam, sometimes for literally years on end. One such poor condition watch was a well-worn two-tone 7A38-7020, with a misaligned bezel, badly stretched bracelet and degraded lume. According to my photo captions it was first listed by UK eBay seller vintage.watches24 in April 2020.

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I can't remember what his original asking price was, but £389.99 seems to ring a bell. I do know that it was re-listed over and over for 18 months, during which the seller changed the photos twice. Obviously with eBay actively deleting ended items after 60 days, there's not much of an evidence trail left. This was the oldest I could find, when it ended unsold in the first week of October.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-Sports ... 4204559936

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The hapless UK eBay seller re-listed it twice more, before ending it as allegedly no longer available. :roll:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-Sports ... 4229211551

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But of course that wasn't true. He last re-listed it, with another change of photos, on the 30th October as a 10-day auction with a reduced opening bid price of £198, for which it eventually sold.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-Sports ... 4262840319

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Checking the eBay Purchase History shows the encrypted winning bidder ID has a feedback of well over 10,000 ....

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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So it was simply a matter of time, waiting for greedy profiteering US re-seller meltzertrading to list it on eBay, which he eventually got round to yesterday evening - with a typically ludicrous marked-up Buy-it-Now price of $1200 !! :lol: Incidentally, he's offering it to mug punters outside CONUS through eBay's dysfunctional GSP programme, which would potentially add another $300 plus in charges ! :roll:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1985 ... 5200696414

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 amThey've since gone on to list .... a couple of 7A48-7000's (asking $1500 apiece) ....
Oops. My bad - for not paying enough attention to the detail. :oops: Make that a total of FOUR 7A48-7000's and -7009's ! :o

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 amHere's a link to a search result of their 40 current Seiko eBay listings.
In fact that number has increased to over 50 in the last week. :roll:

It would be remiss of me not to mention their current highest and most ridiculously over-priced Seiko 7Axx offering - a used 7A28-7039 SPR015J with box and papers. It's not mint, by any stretch of the imagination. The current Buy-it-Now price is $2500. However, when they first listed it on 8th November, their Buy-it-Now price was originally $5000 !!! :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7a28-7 ... 5153974729

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With hindsight, I'm a little annoyed with myself for not having taken a screen print of the listing as it first appeared. Checking the item revision history, not only has it already been 'On Sale' half a dozen times, but to date there have been no less than 16 changes made to the Buy-it-Now price in less than a month !

It wasn't difficult to uncover where would-be profiteering re-seller meltzertrading bought the exact same 7A28-7039*, with the obvious sole intention, in October, for an undisclosed best offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185122381152

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Checking the eBay Offer / Purchase History, they seem to have been particularly keen to acquire it. Their first three offers were automatically rejected in quick succession. Presumably they later accepted a counter-offer from the seller.

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*Needless to say, the serial number 2D3868 matches.

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 amThey've since gone on to list .... various other less than average condition 7A38's with completely unrealistic prices.
WRT their 6 current listings for Seiko 7A38's - and particularly their most recent ludicrously over-priced clapped out offering, I don't think there's the slightest danger of even the most desperate / gullible mug punter falling for them. That said, it doesn't appear to deterring meltzertrading from acquiring more stock in trade.

I spotted this 7A38-7070, which was listed albeit briefly on Saturday evening by a UK eBay seller, as a 5-day auction with an opening bid price of £320. It sold after a couple of hours for an undisclosed best offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7a38-7 ... 4934756050

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Checking the eBay Bidding History reveals an encrypted eBay ID of n***0, which in itself provides no clue, but their current feedback of 10909 just happens to match that of meltzertrading. Too much of a coincidence methinks. ;)

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Given the postage delays at this busy time of year, I suspect it's unlikely to arrive at meltzertrading's warehouse before Christmas. So it'll probably be the New Year before they list it on eBay. Anybody like to take a wild guess at their initial grossly marked-up Buy-it-Now price ? Me - I reckon it'll be at least $2500 !! :lol:

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:20 am
Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 amThey've since gone on to list .... a couple of 7A48-7000's (asking $1500 apiece) ....
Oops. My bad - for not paying enough attention to the detail. :oops: Make that a total of FOUR 7A48-7000's and -7009's ! :o

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This is getting VERY silly ! Yesterday evening, would-be profiteering US eBay re-seller meltzertrading listed ANOTHER 6 7A48-7000 / -7009's, in addition to the previous 4, bringing their current tally to 10 !! (Plus one odd 7A48-7010).

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One can only assume they are attempting to corner the market by establishing a monopoly on eBay, thereby driving up the prices for this relatively common 7A48 variant. They may need to buy a few more yet !! :lol:

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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They also listed a couple more typically stupidly over-priced 7A38's, both of which are currently on 'special offer'. :roll:

Firstly there's this non-running 7A38-7080 head only, supposedly discounted by 25% from $800 to $600. :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-7a38 ... 5068136488

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The description is nothing short of a clear admission of the would-be re-sellers' complete and utter incompetence:

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This is now the third 7A38-7080 they've listed and their second head only (the other is fitted with a short non-original replacement bracelet). Note that they've since further reduced the Buy-it-Now prices of the other two (which were originally listed @ a totally ludicrous $2000). Still a LONG way to go before they get even close to reality ! :roll:

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Not sure where this one's been all this time. It was originally listed by another US eBay seller early in June this year and eventually subsequently purchased by meltzertrading for an undisclosed best offer (the sole offer) in October.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-Quartz ... 4479252042

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Naturally the case-back serial number 468305 matches.

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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The second, a well-worn and non-functional two-tone 7A38-7190, fitted with a generic replacement two-tone Speidel Fix-o-Flex expanding bracelet, is best described as a complete and utter joke ! They're asking an absolutely ludicrous $450, which is supposedly discounted by 25% from their original marked-up Buy-it-Now price of $600 !! :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-7a38 ... 5217344443

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Note the grubby fingerprints all over the case-back. :roll: Here's where they bought it from another US eBay seller a month ago (in exactly the same condition), winning the auction for $84 (which was more than it was worth then) !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1983-Seiko-7 ... 4871459372

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I checked as a matter of course and needless to say, the case-back serial number 750245 matches:

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

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Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 am .... goes to a relative newcomer to the world of Seiko 7Axx's, would-be profiteering US eBay re-seller Meltzer Trading. They may be relatively new to dabbling in Seiko 7A38's etc., but they've been active on eBay for over 7 years, have a feedback rating of well over 10,000 and are currently listing over 4000 items of mostly estate costume junk jewellery.

eBay-MeltzerTrading-Profile.png
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In the first of two shock developments, meltzertrading have changed their eBay user ID to millauctionhouse overnight.

eBay-millauctionhouse-Profile.png
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Fortunately all of the earlier links I've embedded still work at the time of writing, but just to recap a few more of them:
Their current tally of all Seiko watches listed for sale is 66, which includes:

7 x 7A28's, 7 x 7A38's, 11 x 7A48's and 10 x 7T34 Flightmasters (something else they're been surreptitiously buying up).

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Famous last words. :roll:
Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:32 amWRT their 6 current listings for Seiko 7A38's - and particularly their most recent ludicrously over-priced clapped out offering, I don't think there's the slightest danger of even the most desperate / gullible mug punter falling for them.
The other surprise development is that they appear to have finally broken their 'rookie duck' and sold their first grossly over-priced Seiko earlier this morning. Ignoring their ludicrous pricing, given all the choices available, to my disbelief, it's actually the well-worn (read clapped-out) two-tone 7A38-7020, which I detailed in my second and third posts above.
It appears to have sold for either a 'reduced' Buy-it-Now price of $800 or possibly another undisclosed best offer ! :o

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185200696414

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The buyer's crass stupidity is confirmed by the eBay Purchase History:

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Appearances can sometimes be deceptive. :? This time common sense appears to have prevailed - at least on the part of the potential buyer. :roll: That well-worn clapped out two-tone 7A38-7020 is back on eBay, re-listed yesterday evening.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintag-1985- ... 5222841399

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This time, their 'think of a number' Buy-it-Now price has crept up to $1299 - an increase of $99 on their previous ludicrous price, which incidentally is now over $1000 more than they paid for it six weeks ago (as meltzertrading).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234262840319

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 7:27 amThis time, their 'think of a number' Buy-it-Now price has crept up to $1299 ....
My bad. :oops: I should more correctly have written: 'think of a number', double it and then offer a 50% discount sale on it.
Yesterday evening, deluded and deceitful would-be profiteering US eBay seller millauctionhouse (alias meltzertrading) revised their re-listing, doing exactly that:

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So that now the listing looks like this; with the same ludicrous Buy-it-now price of $1299, but a less than subtle twist:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintag-1985- ... 5222841399

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I really don't know who these people think they're fooling, except themselves. :roll: What happens when the sale ends ? :lol:

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:33 amMy bad. :oops: I should more correctly have written: 'think of a number', double it and then offer a 50% discount sale on it.
In fact, scrolling through their 67 unsold Seikos, it looks like they've retrospectively applied this fraudulent 50% discount 'Sale' factor to all of them in an identical manner, most noticeably with their already ludicrously over-priced 7A28-7039.
Seiko7A38 wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:55 amIt would be remiss of me not to mention their current highest and most ridiculously over-priced Seiko 7Axx offering - a used 7A28-7039 SPR015J with box and papers. It's not mint, by any stretch of the imagination. The current Buy-it-Now price is $2500. However, when they first listed it on 8th November, their Buy-it-Now price was originally $5000 !!! :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7a28-7 ... 5153974729

7A28-7039-Stainless+Black-eBay-Nov2021-MeltzerTrading-Listing-Revised.jpg
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With hindsight, I'm a little annoyed with myself for not having taken a screen print of the listing as it first appeared. Checking the item revision history, not only has it already been 'On Sale' half a dozen times, but to date there have been no less than 16 changes made to the Buy-it-Now price in less than a month !
So here's how this one looks today, after their latest swathe of revisions, with a Buy-it-Now 'Sale' price of $2499 (which has supposedly been discounted by 50% from $4998).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7a28-7 ... 5153974729

7A28-7039-Stainless+Black-eBay-Nov2021-Millauctionhouse-Listing-Revised-Again.jpg
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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

I quickly browsed WatchUseek earlier this morning and habitually ran a search on '7A38' to see if anything of interest had been posted since my last visit. This thread was started a couple of days ago, by a comparatively new member:

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/how- ... ko.5365794

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What should be the cause of his bewilderment, but millauctionhouse's well-worn clapped out two-tone 7A38-7020 !! :lol:

7A38-7020-Stainless+Gold-GreyFace-eBay-Dec2021-(re-listed-millauctionhouse)-WatchUseek-MobileVersion.jpg
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Naturally, I've posted a couple of replies, but given how remarkably easy it is to get yourself banned from WatchUseek for being even mildly contentious (let alone publicly accusing someone of borderline fraudulent eBay activity), I had to be a little circumspect in my choice of wording.

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:52 amThis is getting VERY silly ! Yesterday evening, would-be profiteering US eBay re-seller meltzertrading listed ANOTHER 6 7A48-7000 / -7009's, in addition to the previous 4, bringing their current tally to 10 !! (Plus one odd 7A48-7010).

One can only assume they are attempting to corner the market by establishing a monopoly on eBay, thereby driving up the prices for this relatively common 7A48 variant. They may need to buy a few more yet !! :lol:
Before anybody else comments on my work ethic, I can't believe I'm writing this on Christmas morning, either. :roll:

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, millauctionhouse listed another 7A48-7000 and 7A48-7009 bringing their current tally to 12 !

7A48-7000-7009-eBay-Dec2021-millauctionhouse-Summary-x12-New.png
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As currently listed, neither have yet had a 'sale' discount applied to their ludicrous Buy-it-Now prices of $3998 each ! :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980s-Vintag ... 5080151906

7A48-7000-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-millauctionhouse-Another-Listing.jpg
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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980s-Vintag ... 5228485566

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-millauctionhouse-Another-Listing.jpg
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PS - I don't think they've quite finished 'stocking up' yet. I believe there may still be a couple more in the pipeline. :?

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Obviously their ludicrously marked-up asking prices are completely off the wall (discounted or not), so to an extent, it's academic what they actually paid for them. Generally speaking, around $400 is the absolute top dollar price for decent examples, like this one, which sold (twice) a week or so ago. Or was it two for the price of one ? :?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seiko-7A48-7 ... 5049797518

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-(x2)-Ended-Sold-$400.png
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Whereas I've kept track of most of the 7A38's they've purchased, I hadn't bothered with the 7A48-7000's and 7A48-7009's and I'm not about to start doing a retrospective 'drains up' now. That said, I'd started making a list of their case-back serial numbers and by what can only be described as a remarkable fluke, I found a match on the first one I looked at.

It was the first 7A48-7000 that they listed on 8th November - currently asking $1499 in their '50% discount sale':

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vtg-Seiko-7A ... 5014709247

7A48-7000-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Nov2021-(re-seller)-Listing.jpg
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Here's where they purchased it from a familiar German eBay seller on 17th October, for a relatively cheap 175 Euros:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265354874084

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At today's exchange rate that equates to approx. $198. Needless to say, the case-back serial numbers 462018 match. 8-)

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:23 amYesterday, Christmas Eve, millauctionhouse listed another 7A48-7000 and 7A48-7009 bringing their current tally to 12 !

7A48-7000-7009-eBay-Dec2021-millauctionhouse-Summary-x12-New.png
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As currently listed, neither have yet had a 'sale' discount applied to their ludicrous Buy-it-Now prices of $3998 each ! :lol:
Looks like I caught millauctionhouse napping. :lol: Since I started writing this sequence of posts this morning, they've revised both those new listings, belatedly applying their contrived 50% 'Sale' discount, reducing both to $1999 each. :roll:

7A48-7000-7009-eBay-Dec2021-millauctionhouse-Summary-x12-New-Discounted.png
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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Just a couple of quick interim status updates on the latest antics of profiteering US eBay re-seller millauctionhouse (a.k.a. MeltzerUS, previously meltzertrading). On Boxing Day morning, they once again revised all their 68 Seiko listings rounding up the Buy-it-Now prices by $1, to end in $xx00, from their previous customary $xx99 (per the screen prints I'd embedded in my post above) and then re-applied their contrived 50% 'sale' discount right across the board. This morning it appears they've further increased their 'sale' discount to 60%. :roll:

Yesterday, their feedback climbed past 11,000. :o This is due almost solely to the sheer volume of estate costume junk jewellery (their primary stock in trade - over 4000 items) they are shifting. Last night alone they listed another 120 and more items of similarly cheap (but typically over-priced) tat: mostly cameos, pendants and silver bracelet charms, etc.

They haven't listed any more 7Axx's since Christmas, nor have they actually managed to sell one yet, which is hardly surprising given their ludicrously marked up Buy-it-Now prices. Despite this however, they are still buying more stock !

I spotted another 7A48-7009 which sold yesterday for $400.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175076480699

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-Ended-Sold-$400-(175076480699).png
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The eBay Purchase History reveals the encrypted winning bidder has a feedback of over 11,000. You only get one guess.

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-PurchaseHistory.png
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Incidentally, that isn't the first 7A48-7000 / -7009 which they've paid a $400 'top dollar' price for, but there's absolutely no justification for their ludicrously marked-up pricing, especially in view of some of the lower prices they've paid.

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Re: Rookie of the Year award for Greed and Stupidity ....

Post by Seiko7A38 »

Seiko7A38 wrote: Sat Dec 25, 2021 10:41 amWhereas I've kept track of most of the 7A38's they've purchased, I hadn't bothered with the 7A48-7000's and 7A48-7009's and I'm not about to start doing a retrospective 'drains up' now. That said, I'd started making a list of their case-back serial numbers ....
Yeah OK, I know what I wrote a few days ago, but curiosity eventually got the better of me. :oops: In a moment of boredom over the holiday weekend, I tried looking up a couple more and found another 7A48-7009 which (then meltzertrading) had acquired earlier for a somewhat lower price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165137258620

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Yet again, albeit retrospectively, the eBay Purchase History reveals an encrypted buyer ID with a feedback over 11,000.

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Oct2021-PurchaseHistory.png
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WatchCount.com's Look-up tool shows it to have been a classic case of 'snatch and grab' - probably an unwise one. :lol:

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Oct2021-WatchCount.png
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Note the sale date of 19th October. Interestingly this demonstrates again that meltzertrading / millauctionhouse don't always necessarily list items in order of acquisition. This particular 7A48-7009, case-back serial number 460905 ....

rsz_7a48-7009-stainless-gold-whiteface-ebay-dect2021-re-seller-millauctionhouse-7.jpg
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.... was amongst the batch of six 7A48-7000 / -7009's they listed on 16th December, specifically item # 175068146564 which is currently ridiculously priced @ $800 (supposedly discounted by 60% from $2000), given that it's a non-runner. :roll: The description is a prime example of the seller's ignorance and incompetence:

7A48-7009-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-ClassicDescription.png
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Oh and before I forget ....
Seiko7A38 wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 9:20 amLast night alone they listed another 120 and more items of similarly cheap (but typically over-priced) tat ....
Amongst all that newly listed junk jewellery, there was actually one Seiko 7Axx related item - a dog-eared copy of the Seiko 7A48 User Instruction Manual, which undoubtedly came their way, gratis, included with one of the 7A48's they've purchased. As first listed late last night, their initial ludicrous Buy-it-Now asking price was $120 ! :lol:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-orig ... 5233010707

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Needless to say, the obligatory 'sale' discount was applied soon afterwards ....

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.... and by this morning, it had been 'reduced' down to 'only' $48. :roll:

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It's worth scrolling through the rest of the seven photos - if only for a good laugh at what he classes as 'good' condition.

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Ironically, his admissions in the descriptions of a couple of his recent 7A48 listings ( 175068168259 and 185217393074) would strongly suggest that rather than attempting to sell the manual, he might be well advised to keep it and actually take the trouble to read it ! :lol:

7A48-7000-Stainless+Gold-WhiteFace-eBay-Dec2021-AnotherClassicDescription.png
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