Why so many vintage Seiko's being sold from Venezuela?

[joshua]

Is it my imagination or is Venezuela a hot spot for vintage Seikos - usually of very questionable authenticity and quality?  Is there a reason why this country is a source like it is?  I'm sure it's unfair, but I'm usually very wary of anything from a country outside the first world.  Having lived and traveled a lot in both Latin America and Asia, I understand that fakes and scams - of literally anything - are the norm.

[rob3rto]

Lot of unnecessary poverty in Venezuela considering the oil they have.
May be what's fueling the stream of dubious watches.

[Fergus]

You don't have to travel that far, there has been a drastic increase in India fakes listed in the UK.  

[donciccio]

Apr 19, 2020 12:02:13 GMT -8 Fergus said:

You don't have to travel that far, there has been a drastic increase in India fakes listed in the UK.  

Some of the shittiest watches I have ever seen come from India sellers.

[suntzu]

Apr 19, 2020 10:15:44 GMT -8 rob3rto said:

Lot of unnecessary poverty in Venezuela considering the oil they have.
May be what's fueling the stream of dubious watches.

You mean Socialism doesn't work?

I thought the same thing with regards to so many vintage Seiko chronographs coming from Venezuela. But with a country in such an apocalyptic state, you'll sell anything that isn't bolted down. eBay provides a great method of hawking your stuff globally. And watches are an easy sell.

If you sift through the used and abused auctions, there's a nice one or two that you can cherry pick. Looks like they really loved their Seikos and wore most of them into the ground. When you do find a decent one you get killed on the shipping charges.

I bought a 6138 Bullhead for $175 that was polished to hell and had a hazy crystal, but it was great for the bezel/insert, dial, hands, pushers, and random movement parts. My original intention was just to plop it into a phenomenal case and install a new crystal. But while I was procrastinating, an insane Bullhead SpeedTimer with bracelet/clasp came up for sale for the right price in minty condition and I bought it I posted it in the "What you have coming in the mail thread" some months ago.

So I have my original "Venezuelan special" sitting here buried in the abyss of the boneyard.

[suntzu]

Apr 20, 2020 9:23:46 GMT -8 donciccio said:

Apr 19, 2020 12:02:13 GMT -8 Fergus said:

You don't have to travel that far, there has been a drastic increase in India fakes listed in the UK.  

Some of the shittiest watches I have ever seen come from India sellers.

Speaking of India, I bought something from Pakistan

It was a 6139-6002/5/9 case with a 6138 Panda case back.

It's unpolished, nice brushing, case edges, and got him to $30 + only $5 shipping.

When I got it, I was convinced I was put on some NSA / Dept. of Homeland Security "no fly" watch list branded as a Taliban agitator or Al Qaeda sympathizer. I got this brown paper envelope with handwritten addresses and like 23 Pakistani stamps inundated with Koranic verses licked and slapped on the front. It looked like a letter bomb sent by a demented sociopath. Next time I go to buy a new handgun I'm gonna be flagged

[donciccio]

Apr 20, 2020 10:08:41 GMT -8 suntzu said:

Apr 20, 2020 9:23:46 GMT -8 donciccio said:

Some of the shittiest watches I have ever seen come from India sellers.

Speaking of India, I bought something from Pakistan

It was a 6139-6002/5/9 case with a 6138 Panda case back.

It's unpolished, nice brushing, case edges, and got him to $30 + only $5 shipping.

When I got it, I was convinced I was put on some NSA / Dept. of Homeland Security "no fly" watch list branded as a Taliban agitator or Al Qaeda sympathizer. I got this brown paper envelope with handwritten addresses and like 23 Pakistani stamps inundated with Koranic verses licked and slapped on the front. It looked like a letter bomb. Next time I go to buy a new handgun I'm gonna be flagged

I've only ever purchased one watch from India. It was a jumbo Heuer diver in very rough condition but at a price too good to pass up. Still have it but other than that the majority of watches I see being sold from there are poo-poo.

[steve855]

Skip to the end if you want a summary.

I bought this 7019 out of Venezuela earlier this year. It's a project and I bid accordingly. It will need a lot of work to be presentable but I knew that from the photos. There wasn't much of a description, but none is needed. Every picture tells a story, don't it? When it arrived it was exactly as I expected. The seller was honest and I have no complaints.

Seller's photo

I don't typically go for dials with Arabic numerals but there's something about this dial that I like. It reminds me of the dash gauges on my old Datsun Z car, or maybe early 70s Japanese motorcycles. Nippon Seiki. It's just cool. Not "super rare!!" Or valuable but they don't come up for sale that often.


Cliff's notes- I bought a project watch from Venezuela and didn't get ripped off.

[suntzu]

Apr 20, 2020 16:17:55 GMT -8 steve855 said:

It reminds me of the dash gauges on my old Datsun Z car, or maybe early 70s Japanese motorcycles. Nippon Seiki. It's just cool.

Yes!

Or even a speedometer on the Mustang.

Very cool.

[steve855]

Apr 20, 2020 16:29:43 GMT -8 suntzu said:

Apr 20, 2020 16:17:55 GMT -8 steve855 said:

It reminds me of the dash gauges on my old Datsun Z car, or maybe early 70s Japanese motorcycles. Nippon Seiki. It's just cool.

Yes!

Or even a speedometer on the Mustang.

Very cool.

Thanks! When I finally get around to working on it I'll try to post up some details. I'd like to have it done by summer but I'm not sure that will happen. Dial is in decent condition, that's the main thing.

[jay48]

Nice catch and I believe that is a sought after model. Looking forward to a documentation thread!

[eeki]

I bought an “Aussie pogue” from Venezuela some time ago, tempted by the cheap price. It wasn’t too bad cosmetically, but had clearly had some work done - slight polishing on the side of the case and the non-standard crystal were obvious from the photos. This was not too bad, if it wasn’t for the fact that the chrono seconds hand hit the crystal, stopping the watch.. During the service the watchmaker also found out that the dial had been swapped as even though it was an original dial, it was a bit later than the watch itself. In the end I sold it as I didn’t really enjoy it and got back roughly what I had in the watch, including the service, so I wasn’t too unhappy, but I don’t think I’ll repeat the exercise any time soon.

[datilderek]

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to hear other experiences.
I have seen several good deals on a few 7548-700* watches from South America, but am hesitant to purchase from outside the United States. I don't want to end up with another mess like I received from India. While I scored a nice Orient quartz railroad watch from India, a Seiko 6309 that I got at the same time has a movement that is probably beyond repair. I'd rather pay a little more for a watch that is more original, than get something that was cobbled together from spare parts.

[suntzu]

Here's a Venezuelan beauty. Don't let her good looks fool ya. She's as nasty as you wanna her to be. She walks on a peg leg if you're into that.

[cobrajet25]

It has already been alluded to, but the reason we have seen an uptick in the number of watches coming out of Venezuela is simple.

It is easier to sell an old watch you found while digging for food at the city dump than try to sell your wife's hair.  Sad, but true.

[chafouin]

Is there any similar phenomenon going on in Spain and / or Eastern Europe ? 
I see some listings at below the market prices on some Spanish websites for instance, and the watches do seem legit on first look but I'm no expert by any means, and so far I've always refrained from pulling the trigger even though it's more than tempting !

[joshua]

Personally I always ask for references.  I try to build a good reputation within the community, and I stick with others who have as well.  I have found a few sellers who seem to avoid the more respected, vetted boards for this hobby.  Not exactly sure why, but it raises doubts in my mind.

[suntzu]

I almost pulled the trigger on a Venezuelan Kakume. He has like 10 of them all the same price but one was very nice and original. Tagged it. 2 days later it was gone and all the others remain.

[byscott]

Apr 27, 2020 13:18:38 GMT -8 suntzu said:

Here's a Venezuelan beauty. Don't let her good looks fool ya. She's as nasty as you wanna her to be. She walks on a peg leg if you're into that.

I bought that watch. It was a 6139-6013 with a not-great-but-usable yellow Pogue dial. The movement is dirty but complete and running.  Not a bad parts buy for ~150 shipped. IMO the key to buying watches or parts from Venezuela is to offer 40 - 50% of the asking price. 

[itsdannym]

I haven't been able to figure out why there are so many. I've bought a LOT of them to resell stateside (a couple hundred, most yet to be sold) and I find that they've almost inevitably been screwed with. Sellers in Venezuela are not overly honest, and I've definitely gotten soaked a couple of times, but there are some great deals to be had (6105-8110, all-original and running, for $600...in need of a service, but still!).