Seiko 7A38 - by the numbers

Seiko7A38 at January 15, 2019 at 4:31 PM

So the long running saga of would-be profiteering US eBay re-seller jtarcheology and his 7A38- 7010, which began at the top of this page drags on ad nauseam. 

Earlier this evening, he ended his most recent re-listing, which lasted all of two days, because of an error - presumably in the over-optimistic pricing strategy.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254067854070

He replaced it less than a minute later, with this one - back to a 5-day auction with a fanciful opening bid price of $225 (still with the pointless $350 Buy-it-Now option).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254074006186

... and so the saga dragged on - indeed to start another page ! 

.... except this time, devious US eBay seller jtarcheology has tried a different tack - listing it with a different set of photos and using his other eBay ID jdmhunter. 

This time around, he listed it (at the beginning of this week) as 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of $200 and without the fanciful Buy-it-Now option.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143098125621

Although he's been clever enough not to post a full photo of the the case-back, the knackered bracelet (which he fitted) and the last two digits 53 of the serial number visible were the giveaway clues. The description also appears identical to the last version he used, when listing it using his other ID jtarcheology:-.

Selling this rare variant of 7A38 series. This specific model really don’t come up that often. The bracelet is not original to this watch but is a perfect fit, correct period, and really close to the straight links of the original. Look it up and you will know what I mean. The case, bracelet, and crystal are in original condition and shows signs of normal wear for its age. There are NO aftermarket parts on this watch so please buy with confidence. Everything works as it should. The chronograph works and resets back to zero. I am not aware of the service history of the watch so please have it serviced before using in water. Otherwise, the watch is fully functional and keeping accurate time for daily use. I have excellent feedback and I always do right with my buyers. Please buy with confidence.

The above 7-day auction for a 7A38-7010 fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet (by the re-seller - jtarcheology / jdmhunter) ended a couple of hours ago, selling for $240.40 after 9 bids. So after all that he finally managed to make $100 profit for doing no more than fitting a knackered old bracelet worth maybe  $10. It only took him 4 months. Let's hope that's the last we've seen of it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143098125621

Subtitled: The Prince of Darkness returns (shades of eBay seller Timely_Classic).

Excuse the partial copy and paste, but ....

I sometimes find it difficult to express my utter contempt for would-be profiteering eBay re-sellers in polite terms. The word Scumbag immediately springs to mind. A rather familiar looking well-wabi'd 7A38-7010 fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet was listed yesterday by UK eBay seller times2go, as a 10-day auction, with an absolutely ludicrous opening bid price of £274.99.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372584239720

VINTAGE TIMES 2GO

Modern Watches Are A Thing Of The Past!

Vintage Seiko 7A38 - 7010

Description

Vintage SEIKO Chronograph

Age

1983

Movement

Cal : 7A38

Measurements

Diameter mm - Lug to Lug mm

Dial

Nice and Clean, please see pics

Crystal

Clean/Clear

Case

Very nice and clean condition, cleaned but NOT Polished, please see pics

Crown

Original Seiko, Good Condition

Bracelet

Seiko Bracelet

Overall Condition

Lovely clean condition, ready for you to wear.

Running Perfect,tested for time keeping and day/date changing as it should.

serial number: 395994.

I try my best to describe my items, anything missed out due to human error is to be considered covered by the pictures.

I do not guarantee time keeping on any of my vintage watches even if the time keeping is perfect. Adjustments of some sort is generally the norm with vintage watches. Please understand this and keep this in mind especially if you are new to handling vintage watches.

I am not a dealer and this is a hobby, therefore I'm only able to check messages once every couple of days. REMEMBER ask Questions first and then bid, this will save time and money for both parties.

I expect bidders to have prior knowledge of the vintage items they are bidding on and I do not encourage novice bidders.

Please note, For Some Identical items, stock pictures may be used.

BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!

This is a private eBay listing targeted at fellow collectors, not a rental service for those seeking a vintage watch for that one- off occasion to then demand refunds because 'the item is not as described' or 'I didn't realise the colour doesn't match my curtains' or' sorry, my dog placed the bid!'. These types of excuses will not be entertained so no time wasters please!

THANK YOU

Times2Go

This is of course, the very same well-wabi'd 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement Seiko bracelet, sold by Filipino seller badingski on 14th January for $114.50, per my post from the previous page quoted below.

Seiko7A38 at January 14, 2019 at 2:49 PM

Filipino eBay seller badingski's 7-day auction for a wabi'd 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement Seiko bracelet, ended in the early hours of this morning, selling for $114.50 after 31 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302998675012

Needless to say the case-back serial # 395994 matches that in badingski's photo.

This 7A38-7010 head only was listed earlier this afternoon, as supposedly working, but 'only for parts' by an Italian eBay seller, as a 10-day auction, with a wishful opening bid price of 99 Euros. Apart from the missing crown and stem, note the deftly deflected finger tension spring, rubbing on the chrono' centre seconds shaft - which can't be helping matters. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153362151580

Vintage SEIKO 7A38-7010. Working, but I sell only for parts! Look the photos! Oggetto visto e piaciuto, restituzione non accettata.

This well-worn, partially working 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet was listed on Monday evening by a UK eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of £90. It comes supplied with its detatched 8 o'clock pusher button. Hard to credit the would-be seller's naïve sounding description. Hardly surprising really, but with three days of the auction still left to run, no bids have been placed yet. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202587447538

For Sale: Rare Seiko 7A38-7010 Speedmaster Chronograph - Nov 1983 - Working - Needs Repair

In working condition (time and date) however the chronograph function is not working - unsure what the issue is so needs a repair/service. Also it needs the pusher fitting (comes supplied with the watch). In good cosmetic condition although strap is non original.

Any questions please ask.

Item will be professionally packaged and shipped via Royal Mail signed for.

This non-running 7A38-7010 head only, which may just need a new battery, was listed earlier this afternoon by a German eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of 10 Euros. The seller has just uploaded the one small photo.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123639003355

Seiko Quartz Chronograph Titanium Sports 100 7A38-7010, nur Gehäuse. Bis vor einem Jahr lief die Uhr noch, jetzt ist die Batterie verbraucht und nicht entnommen. Bin kein Uhrenfachmann und auch als Laie kann ich nicht sagen, ob sie noch läuft, da ich es nicht ausprobiert habe.

Altersübliche Gebrauchsspuren vorhanden, Glas kratzerfrei.

The above non-running 7A38-7010 has already sold - just an hour after being listed.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123639003355

The WatchCount.com search result reveals it sold for a Best Offer of 80 Euros.

Seiko7A38 at February 2, 2019 at 12:43 PM

This 7A38-7010 head only was listed earlier this afternoon, as supposedly working, but 'only for parts' by an Italian eBay seller, as a 10-day auction, with a wishful opening bid price of 99 Euros. Apart from the missing crown and stem, note the deftly deflected finger tension spring, rubbing on the chrono' centre seconds shaft - which can't be helping matters. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153362151580

The above 10-day Italian eBay auction for a partially working 7A38-7010 head only ended about 10 minutes ago, selling for 127.56 Euros after 2 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153362151580

Seiko7A38 at February 8, 2019 at 1:20 PM

This well-worn, partially working 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet was listed on Monday evening by a UK eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of £90. It comes supplied with its detatched 8 o'clock pusher button. Hard to credit the would-be seller's naïve sounding description. Hardly surprising really, but with three days of the auction still left to run, no bids have been placed yet. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202587447538

Indeed, that first auction failed to attract any bids. The UK eBay seller re-listed it - again for 7 days, with the same opening bid price. The re-listed auction ended earlier this evening, with the 7A38-7010 selling for £126 after 7 bids, In fact, 4 of those were placed by the winning bidder, who seemed determined to win it. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202594540486

Another well-worn 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet, was listed yesterday evening by a UK eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with an opening bid price of £39.99. This one is suffering from a defaced / obliterated case-back and a vendor with a stuck CAPS LOCK key. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143145267249

VINTAGE SEIKO QUARTZ CHRONOGRAPH 7A38 702L GENTS WRISTWATCH.THE WATCH HAS JUST HAD A NEW BATTERY FITTED IN A JEWELLERS.ALL THE BUTTONS APPEAR TO FUNCTION.I DON'T HAVE A BOOKLET TO SHOW HOW IT OPERATES BUT I AM SURE IT WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE.THE WATCH FRONT IS NOT BAD IT HAS A FEW TINY DINGS MORE NOTICEABLE UNDER A GLASS.THE CRYSTAL IS GOOD IT DOES HAVE A FEW SCRATCHES BUT NOTHING I WOULD CLASS AS SERIOUS AND TO MY NAKED EYE IT IS VERY WEARABLE AND ACCEPTABLE.THE STRAP IS STAINLESS STEEL NOT A SEIKO AND A LATER ADDITION. THE PART THAT ISN'T TOO GOOD IS THE REAR CASE WHICH SOMEONE HAS GONE TO TOWN WITH AND IMPLEMENT TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE.THIS IS A SHAME BUT AT LEAST ITS ON THE REAR.I AM UNSURE OF AGE BUT I BELIEVE THIS MODEL IS QUITE SOUGHT AFTER.PLEASE JUDGE BY THE PHOTOGRAPHS.THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE OF INTEREST

Finally, after all those recent less than ideal examples, a decent looking 7A38-7010 (still fitted with its original Seiko p/n Z1118S bracelet) was listed earlier this evening by an Italian eBay seller, with a sensible Buy-it-Now price of 279 Euros.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264212481316

////Come da titolo vendo:::: Vintage cronografo Seiko 7A38-7010 original. L’orologio e’ in ottime condizioni , come potete notare dalle , ottimo il funzionamento . Vendo come da foto e descrizione, fate offerte solo se interessati.

The above 7A38-7010, listed by an Italian eBay seller, yesterday evening, sold in the early hours of this morning for his not unreasonable 279 Euros Buy-it-Now price. I'm only surprised it took quite so long to sell. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264212481316

If you check the eBay Purchase / Offer history, the seller declined a number of offers, before someone sensibly hit the Buy-it-Now button.

Seiko7A38 at January 27, 2019 at 7:13 PM

The above 7-day auction for a 7A38-7010 fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet (by the re-seller - jtarcheology / jdmjunter) ended a couple of hours ago, selling for $240.40 after 9 bids. So after all that he finally managed to make $100 profit for doing no more than fitting a knackered old bracelet worth maybe  $10. It only took him 4 months. Let's hope that's the last we've seen of it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143098125621

Let's hope that's the last we've seen of it.  Famous last words, it transpires. 

Like a bad penny found on Groundhog Day, it's turned up again ! 

This well-worn 7A38-7010, fitted with a knackered incorrect replacement bracelet (by the current would-be re-seller), reappeared, re-listed on eBay in the early hours of this morning, by a third different eBay user ID vintagehunt09 - who is clearly the same person as jtarcheology / jdmhunter. Indeed, confirmation provided below ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254139341111

Presumably intended to add to the subterfuge, he's reverted to using the same set of photos / listing format / Item location (Delray Beach) and description, as his earlier efforts from January. See top of this page and most of the previous. 

If you check the eBay user ID history for vintagehunt09, you'll see that they were previously jtarcheology. He changed that user ID, on 28th January, the day after the previous auction (by jdmhunter) ended.

The 7-day UK eBay auction for a well-worn 7A38-7010, fitted with a non-original replacement bracelet, which also suffered from a mutilated case-back, ended yesterday evening, selling for £170 after 26 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143145267249

A familiar looking well-worn 7A38-7010 was listed by a US eBay seller earlier this afternoon as a 7-day auction with an opening bid price of $155. FWIW, it's being offered through eBay's dysfunctional GSP programme.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264273238763

Comes with original bracelet. It wears slightly loose for me with a 6.75 inch wrist. Works great and no issues since I bought it. Great piece of Seiko history. No box or papers, but it will ship in an aftermarket box and cushion. These are getting harder to find. Good luck and happy bidding.

Note the 'since I bought it' in the seller's description. It was that phrase, the shiny appearance and the manky lume, which flagged it as yet another case of Déjà Vu. The current US re-seller bought it in September last year from Filipino eBay seller what_more, rather foolishly paying the $375 Buy-it-Now price. I do hope he's not expecting to recoup his outlay. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153175768771

See my comments (and photos from the previous listing) at the bottom of page 7.

The above 7-day auction for a well-worn 7A38-7010 ended a few moments ago, selling for $197.50 after 8 bids. Not such a bad price for such an example, but considerably less than the $375 which the seller paid for it last September.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264273238763

This 7A38-7010, fitted with the wrong bracelet (a Seiko p/n B1241S, normally found on the 7A38-7070 'Diver'), was listed late last night by a Bulgarian eBay seller, as a 3-day auction, with an opening bid price of $137.99. There was something about the photos that looked vaguely familiar. I knew we'd seen at least one other 7A38-7010 fitted with a B1241S bracelet before, so I scrolled back through the previous pages of the thread and found one such, half-way down page 3, which was listed by a UK eBay seller in January 2016. But this isn't the same watch - this one's head is in much better condition. Oh - and in copying and pasting the seller's well spaced lengthy description I've condensed it somewhat. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153451813862

Rare! Authentic Collectible Vintage SEIKO Speedmaster 7A38-7010 SQ Luhury BLACK Dial Japan Meca-Quartz (Quartz) Mens Day & Date Tachymeter Chronograph 39,5 mm Wristwatch with Original Bracelet All Solid Stainless Steel circa 1980s.

Dear buyers, You are watching this

ORIGINAL WATCH BRAND: “SEIKO”

By SEIKO HOLDING CORPORATION since 1881

MADE IN JAPAN

MODEL - Speedmaster 7A38-7010 SQ

JAPAN “S”

Serial (Ref.) Number is # 3N1363

GENDER - MENS

MOVEMENT - JAPAN SEIKO QUARTZ

SOLID STAINLESS STEE DUST-PROOF & WATERPROOF CASE with NO ROTAING BEZEL

STAINLESS STEEL SCREW COVER /MARKED/

VERY CLEAN BLACK COLOR TWO-LINE DIAL with WHITE COLOR ARABIC NUMERALS and ARROWS

COMES with ORIGINAL SEIKO SQ BRACELET - Serial Number is # B1241-I

All parts of the watch are original.

The watch is tested! Keeps good time.

The watch comes with Battery

CONDITION - please see the photos

with small scratches on the case, lid, chain and glass

the watch is in pretty good cosmetic condition,

I think it was not used much

You will receive what you see

IT IS WORKING VERY WELL

Measures:

LENGTH /LUG TO LUG/ 44 mm.

CASE WIDTH 39,5 mm.

CASE THICKNESS 11 mm.

BRACELET WIDTH - parts/elements/ from 16 - to 24 mm. with a transition from thin to thick

This is original quality Japan MENS «SEIKO» SPEEDMASTER All SOLID Stainless Steel Chronograph Meca-Quartz Watch!

We guarantee!

Great opportunity for collectors!

When purchasing multiple items we combine SHIPPING!!!

Thank you for bidding and GOOD LUCK!!!

The above 3-day eBay auction for a 7A38-7010, fitted with the wrong bracelet, listed by a Bulgarian seller, ended late last night, selling for a strong $378 after 20 bids.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153451813862

This 7A38-7010, which from what you can discern from the two photos, appears to be in pretty decent well cared for condition, was listed mid-week by a UK eBay seller, as a 7-day auction, with a low start opening bid price of £0.99. He evidently doesn't realize what he's got, nor has any idea how to sell it. It's in a job lot pairing with a well-worn gold-tone Avia dress 'Diver'. Both are described as non-runners, but it may just need a new battery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293062950815

SEIKO Quartz Chronograph needs a clean. Avia Quartz 50m, strap on this one needs replacing as plating has gone. Both have not been tested and so are sold as "Spares or Repair" Came in as part of a large collection.Both are handsome watches and must be worth saving.

Check out my feedback.

On 24-Apr-19 at 20:28:15 BST, seller added the following information:

I was sent this question which was not added as it should have been.

On 24-Apr-19 at 20:55:10 BST, seller added the following information:

Both watches are not running. I have not attempted to fiddle with them as I know nothing about them. So buyers must assume they are not working.