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bumming....

Started by Cobber, November 02, 2012, 12:00:12 PM

Cobber

I'm still an ebay newbie when it comes to pulling the trigger and just lost out on what looked like two really nice Astros.  I don't know how much of a difference it would have made but I wish I had set my limit for more than what the two winning bids came in at.
Item: 271090497741
&
Item: 271090515994
:shuc

Both appeared pretty close to NOS I'm guessing due to the protective residue on the case back.  I'm hoping somebody here picked one or both of them up and posts a review.  I'm interested in knowing how my sussing skills are shaping up.

Butch

Saw those. Pretty sure that is a collector selling off his collection.

I use a snipe program. I plug in the auction and my highest price, and then I forget about it. If your price is higher you wanted it more than I did I guess. A case in point, I had a $150 snipe in the second one. That was my max price. It sold for more than twice that, and that was a good price for one in that condition, but it was only worth $150 to me.
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Cobber

Cool.  Thanks for the reply and feedback on price.  I'm going to do a little research on snipe programs.  Don't know if I'll have the guts to try it however.  I get sweaty palms and nervous every time I place a bid the conventional way.  There's a part of me that's worried I'm doing something wrong.  That being said, it's fun as hell. 

Butch

Doing it manually, at first, usually causes people to get caught up in the bidding fever and they bid too much. Trust me, I remember it in '98.  :-[  The snipe programs make you think ahead and keep to your budget as well as pay the price you wanted to pay for it.

Another nice thing is that if you forget to come back at the end of the auction, or are unexpectedly away from a PC or phone and cannot bid, it happens for you. I actually won a SW one week recently for $99 as I had $100 in the snipe program, and I NEVER thought I would win it at that price.
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smithrjd

HA Ebay, I have not been into watches on Ebay for that long, but MG (the car) tought me about Ebay. I now will pick my price before even bidding. Research is very important, know what you are bidding on. You win some and you lose some. Like Butch I have won some at prices I thought were way low, others went to prices I thought were insane. No telling where things will go. I have found that one has a better chanch with the poor ads with bad pictures and little in the discriptions. They do not know what they are selling, it's a crap shoot, but I just got a very nice all original SST for $56. At least the Zodiacs are not near as faked as the Omegas LOL.

Cobber

I hear you on the research. That's a major reason for this website.
It may be these two listings are helping make your point.
For instance, the first one was for a blue dial SST oval shaped Astro.
Basically the same one Butch has pictured in the "original finish" forum.
The seller listed it at 35mm not counting the crown. Now, I don't know
the actual specs for this model but it seems most people list this at aprox.
40mm. I'm not to hung up on size but I'm concerned that I'm dealing
with a seller in Mumbai and he may not know the actual size and or I'm
looking at a ladies watch which has been listed incorrectly as a man's.
Thanks to the pay site I was able to satisfy myself that there was never
a ladies version with that exact dial text print. Regardless of actual or
correct size, I knew I was bidding on a gent's watch. I know this may
seem silly to the more initiated here but I've never seen one of these
in person and there are a distinct lack of Astro pictures that give one a
sense of scale. Long story short, I was grateful for the resources at my
disposal here. Definitely helpful in providing a little bit of confidence in an
unsure situation for myself. I'm sure though that as I hone my attack I'll
get better at it.

smithrjd

Well I went over my price on a Glorious today on Ebay, it was made in the same year as I so.. I am sure many saw this one as well. Will see how it really is in a couple of days. It is hard to find a '55 watch with all of the papers and box. Wrong band, but that is easy to fix as I believe it should be a simple leather band. Not sure of the dial however. 

Butch

I saw that one, was actually the first bidder on it. So you are into it for a buck twenty, not too  bad! I do hope the dial is better than the crappy pictures, that is what kept me from returning on it.
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smithrjd

#8
I had to pay CA taxes, so about a buck thirty. It's the dark area between three and four that could be an issue. Time will tell. The crystal is going to have to be replaced. No idea what would be involved with fixing a dial, not really a fan of a redo on the dial. Perhaps BWG can do something with it. I have heard but not sure that hands sitting in onone spot for a long time can give a Raidium burn and leave a dark spot.

szabgab

Hi Cobber,

The blue astro has been taken by me. Shame you bidding that high, I could have had it for 230 USD :D Just joking, sweaty hands here too, I thought I part with £120 TOPS, instead in the heat of the moment I paid some 160. The watch is far from being NOS, the crystal is scratch (but according to the seller the discs are nice and clear).

Another good trick is to contact the sellers. If they don't bother to reply or beat around the bush I "unwatch" the item straight away. A honest seller, who will be helpful and will not be dodgy trying to hide something will always try to provide you with the answers to the exact questions you asked.


Cobber

#10
szabgab

Awesome! :wehe  Have you actually received the watch yet?  I was aware of the scratches in the crystal.  That actually means very little to me as they can easily be removed.  Looked like there may be a slight mark on the side of the case in the 3 o'clock area.  Also, the bracelet clasp looked defect free for the most part.  I couldn't make out any swirls and only the slightest of wear (easily attainable from sitting in a drawer).  The bracelet along with the remnants of what looks like factory installed protective coating on the case back and a lack of any visible corrosion interior or exterior are what indicated to me this may not have been hardly ever worn. 
I get paranoid about asking questions on something that I believe is possibly going to sell for far below it's actual value.  I'm worried I'm going to tip off other bidders if the question gets posted.  I try to figure out the answer to my questions without tipping off someone that has the same question.  This is probably not a sound strategy but I'm freaky/sneaky like that when it comes to ebay so far.
In any case, it looks to me like you got a smoking deal and would love to know what you think once you receive the watch, if you haven't already.  I've seen the bracelet alone sell for 3/4 of the price you paid which is why I think it was naive of me to not set a higher max bid. 
Forget sweaty palms, I think I aggravated a nerve in my back leaning over the computer the last five minutes of the auction.  Didn't realize it till Saturday morning.

Hopefully congratulations are in order.  I've seen some of your other posts and you've got a good eye for this and have made a pretty good score or two in the past.  Looks like I was in good company bidding on both these watches.

@ smithrjd,
nice score on the glorious.  Regardless of the watch condition you didn't pay to much and you're getting some really fun complimentary supplements. 8)
I don't remember coming across that listing and I've been routinely searching "zodiac glorious" as well as goldenline and kingline.



smithrjd

Often they are not listed by the model names. The Glorious I bought was only a "Zodiac" watch. Makes the list longer, but that is where they are often found.

Cobber

Ha, looks like I'm getting schooled by everyone here.  That's okay, seems I may have another line in the water already.

szabgab

Cobber -> never mind schooling, I'm always eager to hear other people's experience with bidding sites. Once you go to the other side - e.g. trying to sell something it's even more nerve wracking, as you have 7 whole days to second guess why people are not bidding :)

Thank you for the kind words and making the pill a bit less bitter I was feeling guilty but now I know I didn't make such a bad decision ;} The case is not an issue for me as long as it is dent free, re-grinding is sort of simple (but requires a lot of patience using my stone-age technique). How do you sort out the glass? I tried last time and I made matters only worse, I bought fine grit papers, Cerium-oxide, the lot and could not make the bloody crystal presentable. At the end I just simply printed a plain crystal and that was it, but obviously you can spot the difference under the loupe.

szabgab

Cobber ->
The watch is not even posted so it will take it a while. It is a long trip from India  :shuc

Your line in the water is not yellow (gold) and a variation on the original Astro by any chance?  ;)

I do understand your paranoia, I'm just as concerned as you are. Having said that, I'm sure half of the people around here has got saved search words with daily updates from ebay anyway :) 

Cobber

Hey Szab,
as far as the crystal is concerned I don't have a strong answer for you.  I've never tried polishing my own crystal.  I have had several watches restored and neither of the two watchmakers I use in town ever have any trouble taking out scratches.  That being said, all the watches I've had restored had acrylic crystals.  Do the Astros have mineral or sapphire ones?  Like I said I've never seen one in person let alone owned one.  Maybe more of an issue than I'm aware.  However, I have seen NOS crystals come up from time to time.

Regarding selling on the 'bay, that's hilarious.  I was pondering what the seller of a "poor man's Heuer" was thinking yesterday as I watched the final seconds of his auction tick by.  Price did shoot up a bit at the end but had lingered relatively low for awhile before that.

I would like to answer your question about the line in the water but I think I'll sit on that for awhile. ;D
However, I will say it's not an Astro.

Good luck on the waiting.  Every time I buy something off the internet I'm reminded of the first quality bike I saved for and ordered from a local bike shop as a kid.  Took forever to show up, then it took days for the shop to get time to assemble it and when it was finally ready the car drive seemed to never end.  I wanted to get out and run. The anticipation was making me dizzy:-\

szabgab

I still haven't received my watch and the guy is taking his time by posting it yesterday, 18 days after paying... Now that is bumming :)

Butch

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Cobber

Good God,....that would drive me freaking nuts.  Hope it works out.

szabgab

Well I do hope, as he was constantly avoiding my questions about delivery and the likes... and people are leaving feedback on items they won on his auctions couple of days ago

Anyway he has gpot couple more days to deliver or I will have to report it unfortunately

jon p

 :shuc :yeller  i would go ahead and file a complaint with ebay, they usually can get the ball rolling for sure!! 18 days after he received your payment--i dont think so!!!!! he should have mailed it within 2 days in my opinion.

szabgab

jon p -> The trouble is, the guy is saying, he posted the watch long time ago, but because of public holidays blahblah. He always maintained this, as I started to be suspicious after him avoiding the question about delivery times some two weeks ago. Also he says, he can prove he's right with a slip from the post office. Well, he could show me a parking ticket as far as I'm concerned, as I wouldn't know what a scan of a piece of paper with Mumbai written on it means. It is very frustrating but I've been told to be patient, on the Indian subcontinent things are slower. Once we reached the one month since the purchase and I still not have the item I will start the complaint procedure. Ebay is sticking to that anyway. Also I do not like to have negative feedback on my profile, I'm sure as an act of retaliation he would leave me with one after I did it on his (although hopefully ebay would remove it as they did it once in the past).

Butch -> Once I received the item you can rest assured I will write something about the seller. Till then I hold my fire ;)

Butch

Sellers cannot leave buyers negative feedback. Even when justified. But don't get me going on my eBay rant.
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pknopp

 Butch is correct. I will leave my opinion out of this also but he can not leave you negative feedback. If he even writes something negative, eBay will remove it.

smithrjd

Rust in any movement is a bad thing. Triple dates are expensive to service, and rust makes it much worse.
Typically one needs to avoid listings from India, Central America, some spots in Asia, and our Frankenmaster friends in the Ukraine. There are exceptions, but in general these areas spell trouble, either with the watch or shipping and receiving.

Butch

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szabgab

Butch -> Last time I had this issue was some years ago. Back then you could (and sellers did) leave negative feedback for buyers. Although in many instances this is a good thing, but there are some idiots out there, who crank up prices and never pay (I had a car bought by a newbie, ebay charged me and I have never seen a penny from her).

pknopp -> Well, I would normally avoid these guys, but this seller seemed to be a genuine guy selling proper stuff with loads of positive feedback. I assumed him being over board :(

szabgab

Hm, the watch arrived.

What a mess. First it took nearly a month to do so and it is in very bad state. the dial is scratched by some idiot who tried to force the discs off the discs themselves are scratched there is rust inside the case and most importantly the watch stops straight after starting. Obviously I don't hope match to get any proper reply from the guy and he is not excepting returns.

What's the case if somebody mis-represented a product? Am I anyhow protected by ebay?

I would send pictures but not now. I waited 20odd days for this. Great.

Butch

Go to myeBay, click on purchase history and find this item. Then under More Actions pick Resolve a Problem.

I also found this:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/buyer-protection.html

Good luck!
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Cobber

What a scum bag!  So much for "excellent condition".
I'm really sorry to hear this.  There's no signs of rust in the pictures.  Sounds like he really went out of his way to misrepresent this.  I hope you get some satisfaction after taking up issue with this. :yeller

szabgab

On further examination the dial is bubbling up, most likely from rust. Also there is rust inside the movement, without dismantling it I had a look from the side. There it is, ugly brown sticky residue. No wonder the watch is playing up.

The guy replied to me very quickly. That's good. His relpy was

"Gabriel
I can offer you following solution to correct myself;
1. I have two same models with me I will send you another watch by Express Post (before checking its timing & cosmetic condition. After you receive the watch & if you are completely satisfied with this new watch, you send me the first watch by the same method (Express Post with tracking) & we can call it square. (please allow 48 hrs at least for my satisfaction with the second watch)
2. I can send you full refund.
If you have any other ideas please share with me we can always work things out. As a felow collector I find the matter serious since you are satisfied with the item.
Take care
Sachin"


Now, I don't know how much I can trust him after describing the previous watch as excellent. I still wrote him back asking for some photos and detailed information. Will see, how I'll get on.

Why can I not get a straight deal without hassle, dismantling, the lots?

jon p

 :shuc :shuc :shuc   i would go for the refund and RUN AWAY QUICKLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just chalk it up to experience and be VERY HAPPY it worked out very well FOR YOU!!  we have ALL been through this at least once, be happy you arent stuck with a worthless watch.

szabgab

-> jon p Hm I hear you... Might change my pledge to "give me my money back" :)

-> Cobber I'm not sure if he knew about the rust as it is not obvious, you have to take the movement out. But the watch was never keeping good time, it is a start and stop affair. Also I'm somewhat suspect of him photographing one watch and sending an another one. The one on the pictures is definitely in a better shape than this one.

-> Butch Hopefully I don't have to have ebay involved with their slow moving admin machine and sort it out sooner than later.

By the way, does anybody has got a blue Astro for sale in good condition? ;)

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