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Post by seikoholic on Mar 26, 2015 10:38:22 GMT -8
I drifted across a buy-it-now for a watch model I've wanted for some time, a 7548-700C. The seller was sketchy, a known problem, total_time22. But the price wasn't bad, and his description promised everything I wanted, so I bought.  When it arrived, the watch has the following wrong with it: crystal has been polished (not disclosed), case was far more worn than described (certainly not "very good"), H&M hands were fake, dial & sweep hand lume water damaged and :25 marker stained, dial damaged by tab, bezel insert lume pip relumed, crown seal bad, crown full of water, crown spring / stem rest washer corroded, dial dirty with flakes and small fibers. Also, the hour/minute hands halted moving at the day/date turnover, and thus the cannon pinion is bad. To recap, watch will need the following to get close to the condition described: * original hands * cannon pinion * full servicing (again) * crown seal * stem spring * stem rest washer * dial cleaning * rotating ring seal I laid all this out for the seller, and he had a choice of a case opening and all that entailed, or a partial refund. He gave me back $80, and I'm keeping the watch. So, if you or someone you know has bought or will buy from this guy, be on the lookout for a doctored-up ringer and be prepared to push back on the seller for a refund or a return. |
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sdoocms
Is a Permanent Fixture
Carl
Posts: 5,296 
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Post by sdoocms on Mar 26, 2015 11:19:14 GMT -8
Another seller goes on my "be sure to avoid" list. Thanks for the heads up Spencer!
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Post by toxicavenger on Mar 26, 2015 11:29:24 GMT -8
Cool watch but that suxs about the issues.
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mikeyt
Needs a Life!
Krusty Olde Pharte
Posts: 4,821
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Post by mikeyt on Mar 26, 2015 11:42:17 GMT -8
My experience with him wasn't great, either. He has been on my schidt list for a while now, after two bad deals. He took the first one back, so I gave him a second chance, but he's not getting a third. That second chance wound up needing a service from Spencer. It runs great now, no thanks to totaltime22.
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Post by seikoholic on Mar 26, 2015 11:42:34 GMT -8
Cool watch but that suxs about the issues. I'll fix it all, eventually, and in the end it'll be what he promised, and more. I'm glad (in a way) that it came to me instead of someone else who doesn't have my resources or abilities. They would have been screwed, or wouldn't have figured out until it was too late that there was a huge series of issues. The crown full of water would have destroyed the lume (and possibly the movement) if it had stayed in there for much longer. So the watch was saved, at least. But what a careless thoughtless thing to do - to put a watch with bad seals into a pressure tester. He's lucky he didn't flood the watch. |
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Post by toxicavenger on Mar 26, 2015 11:54:57 GMT -8
Hey if you need any parts I think I have some 7548 things laying around.
So is this seller in the US?
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trandy
Needs a Life!
Posts: 3,274
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Post by trandy on Mar 26, 2015 11:58:24 GMT -8
I know this guy....bought my 7548 from him....it had replaced hands (not disclosed)....and it's been fine since Spencer serviced it.
I may be wrong about this, but I don't think he does his own work....seems I recall him mentioning "his watch guy" during some communications with him.
My point being is that I don't think he's being intentionally misleading.....I think he just doesn't know.
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trandy
Needs a Life!
Posts: 3,274
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Post by trandy on Mar 26, 2015 11:58:52 GMT -8
Hey if you need any parts I think I have some 7548 things laying around. So is this seller in the US? Yes...he located in Michigan IIRC. |
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Post by doomguy10011 on Mar 26, 2015 12:06:55 GMT -8
I've seen this seller before. I think he hopes the large chunks of capitalized text on his listings will somehow help his sales by confusing unsuspecting buyers. Finding a good, unmolested watch on eBay is like finding a needle in a haystack these days.
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Post by seikoholic on Mar 26, 2015 12:50:51 GMT -8
I know this guy....bought my 7548 from him....it had replaced hands (not disclosed)....and it's been fine since Spencer serviced it. I may be wrong about this, but I don't think he does his own work....seems I recall him mentioning "his watch guy" during some communications with him. My point being is that I don't think he's being intentionally misleading.....I think he just doesn't know. I got the same impression, but he was also pretty clear with me that he didn't care that much. I clearly laid out how the watch differed from his description, and his feeling was that I was the problem, not the watch. If it was just the hands, I might not have been so firm about it, but the fact that so much else was wrong made it a serious issue. If his "watch guy" is pressure-testing watches that have bad seals, the guy shouldn't take work to him anymore. If he can't trust his watch guy to do decent work, he should either stop working with him, stop trusting him, or do a better job of understanding the watches he is selling. I'd bet his watch guy doesn't charge a whole lot. I'd also bet that his "watch guy" is in the Philippines. The polished Hardlex crystal is a potential sign of this. |
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Post by toxicavenger on Mar 26, 2015 13:16:46 GMT -8
^^^Your probably right Spencer, he might get his watches from the Philippines and resells them at a profit.
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Post by saul on Mar 26, 2015 13:41:36 GMT -8
Caveat Emptor. I bought a 6117-6410 from him in 2010. Watch was as described and really quite nice for the price. He stated that his supplier in Japan said it was recently serviced and that he believed him. It ran fine but I knew I would be servicing it eventually on principal. The crystal had been buffed and rounded within an inch of its life but who knows when.
Fast forward three years and after Spencer worked on it I dropped TT22 a friendly note. Not carping at all, I sincerely wanted him to know just how much he should trust the word of his supplier. He never wrote back. Probably didn’t care.
…snip “I know it has been three years since I bought this watch but I thought you might be interested in a follow up. I have only worn it sporadically as the worn crown gasket that allows the 24hr indicator ring to move with the slightest touch would always make me nuts. Plus the crystal had been so heavily buffed that it had no proper edge to it at all. I gathered a number of nos and replacement parts over time (hands, 24hr ring, crystal, gaskets) and have finally sent it out to one of my trusted Seiko experts. The watch has always run pretty well but I had my doubts about service history. Before he got deep into it he observed that the amplitude was a bit low and the movement looked hazy (not sure what he meant except maybe filmy?). I honestly didn’t think this was interesting enough to pass back to you and it’s not as I hadn’t planned on having a full movement service eventually but…now that he has it all torn down he sent me this…
Your movement is apart - the usual stuff. Dirty, hazy, etc. The mainspring barrel is heavily scored and worn, so that's a goner. Center wheel / canon pinion seem fine. I saw something interesting when I lifted off the dial - there's supposed to be a copper flex washer there to keep the hour / minute wheels in place. Instead, I found a home-made item cut out of orange plastic (I have a replacement, no worries).
I don’t know if your Japan supplier is/was a regular source for you but I would say take anything they tell you about service history with a grain of salt…a big grain of salt. “…snip
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Post by daftknight on Mar 26, 2015 15:38:21 GMT -8
another Seiko saved by Spencer  |
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Post by Benchdweller on Mar 26, 2015 18:10:50 GMT -8
I may be wrong about this, but I don't think he does his own work....seems I recall him mentioning "his watch guy" during some communications with him. When I see this in an ad I assume the seller is a flipper and his "watch guy" is the bloke he bought it off on ebay who claimed it was serviced. There are plenty of Loys unique creations popping up all over the world asking 2 or 3x what they probably cost, all recently serviced / refurbished by their "watch guy" and some are even so lazy to use Loys pics from the original ad. If the seller is claiming that it recently had the attention of a watchmaker then I'd expect to see a receipt for the work done, otherwise the claims are worth nothing to me. |
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cobrajet25
Needs a Life!
"Underweared curmudgeon!"
Posts: 3,357
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Post by cobrajet25 on Mar 26, 2015 22:12:07 GMT -8
I bought a 6309-7290, one with the "JAPAN" caseback markings and "17 Jewel" dial, from him years ago, and had similar issues with it. It had been tarted-up and oversold. I can't remember exactly what problems it had, but they were numerous and similar to what you had to deal with. This guy has been around forever, and really doesn't sell what I would call "enthusiast grade" watches. He sells watches that most non-enthusiasts might generally be satisfied with.
A step up from the Philippine "puppy mills", but not a big step up.
I told him I wanted to return the 6309, did so, and he quietly refunded me. No harm, no foul. Then the watch was right back up on Ebay the next day...with the exact same description. Though tempted, I never bought anything else from him again.
Caveat emptor!
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