Good condition 7A38-701B 'Vulcan' sold in eBay auction

[Seiko7A38]

Although I still regularly review my search result notifications, lately I've come to despise eBay. It's nothing like it was 10 years ago. There are so many greedy chancers and speculators trying to make a fast buck selling Seiko 7Axx's nowadays. Watches are frequently listed with ridiculous 'pie-in-the-sky' Buy-it-Now prices, regardless of their condition and even whether they're actually working or not. Then when they do actually sell, usually against a lower 'Best Offer', sometimes months or even years later, eBay deliberately withholds the actual selling price, which makes it difficult to gauge the market. The most recent 'enhancement' of inappropriate AI generated descriptions is yet another retrograde step.

So it makes a refreshing change to see a desirable 7A38 in nice condition, honestly described, sold in an eBay auction for a good price. This 7A38-701B SAA005J 'Vulcan' was listed by a UK seller on the evening of 15th August as a 10-day auction, with an opening bid price of £99 and no reserve. It ended yesterday evening, selling for a reassuringly expensive £1220 after 26 bids. I'm not sure how many views the listing received, but it had 45 watchers by the final day.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226295344027

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The seller only uploaded the 5 photos above. Note the description stated that the watch was purchased from Anchor Supplies (originators of the 'Vulcan' myth), but their Nottingham outlet, rather than Ripley, Yorks.. I wonder it it came supplied in a waxed cardboard box.

I'm pleased for the seller that it achieved the price it did. I was watching the auction closely myself, because this watch is in almost as good condition as the last example I bought in December 2018.

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[Seiko7A38]

Belated update: Evidently the 'Vulcan' which sold on eBay in August 2024 for £1220 was purchased by one Alan Maclean, a Scottish collector, who posted half a dozen photos of it, here on the Facebook Vintage Seiko Watches group page.

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At the end of September 2024, he subsequently uploaded this wrist shot to another post:

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[Seiko7A38]

At the other end of the pricing scale, another 7A38-701B 'Vulcan', which the Italian seller described as 'perfect', sold last night in an eBay auction for a comparatively cheap €700 Euros. Only one 'snipe' bid was placed in the closing seconds.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127023543849

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The reason for the lack of bids during the 10-day auction is probably attributable to a combination of the high opening bid price and the frankly lacklustre photos, only one of which (below) showed the watch face clearly. Evidently it was far from 'perfect' and certainly not in 'New without tags' condition, with one clearly visible scratch on the bezel inlay.

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[kernel nut]

Hi there,
Yes I'm the one who sniped this one, got one after a 10 year wait.
UPS went and lost it for two months. Turned up out of the blue on the 19 June 2025.

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[Seiko7A38]

Thanks for the update. The temporary loss must have been worrying. Funnily enough, I saw the Italian seller re-listed it on 28th June, but then he updated the listing as 'item out of stock'. So I suspected something fishy might be going on. The eBay seller's name 'FENCE SHOP' doesn't exactly inspire confidence, given the connotations - see Google AI results.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127194233271

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