The COVID-19 discount? Scubapro 450 Content

[bbilford83]

All,

The Scubapro 450 6306-7001 is a watch I've always found interesting, but never felt reasonable to pursue, for two main reasons: 1) the insane premium you pay for one over a standard 6306-7001, and 2) how difficult it seemed to properly identify the good fakes that are out there. I've gotten familiar enough with them to get past 2) over the years, but my hangup on 1) has only gotten stronger, especially since I have a really gorgeous standard 6306-7001 and a near-NOS 6309-7049 too. But that hasn't stopped me from putting in "yeah right" snipes - that is, snipes I thought were way less than what the watches were worth - on really nice Scubapros I've seen on Yahoo Japan over the past few years.

Fast forward to the COVID-19 era, where I find myself suddenly winning lots of "yeah right" bids on cheaper watches, presumably as others are being more responsible than I am in pulling back from frivolous purchases during these scary times. Well, two weeks ago I put in such a "yeah right" bid on a poorly-described listing - it said Scubapro in the body but not the title - with pretty mediocre, dark photos. But the target watch looked gorgeous and had every indication of authenticity, including the original Scubapro band, of which I've only seen a few even in photos. Alas, it was missing its Scubapro-stamped keeper, but the band had all the right stamping otherwise too. Which is all lead up to saying I did win it, for far less than I would expect - even after getting dinged by customs, I was out of pocket a good chunk less than $2K. My rushed poorly-lit photos don't do it justice, but here they are nonetheless:















If you're still with me, thanks for reading!

[phil]

Great score! Congratulations to this beauty.

[raz]

Amazing! I’ve also seen some effects of the covid19 on some pieces I have been secretly lurking

[camrok]

Wow. That is super impressive.

[eeki]

Oh wow, congratulations! I didn't know they came with their own Scubapro-banded strap, that's very cool - and the condition on the whole is just amazing. A great addition to any collection. 

On the covid-19 discount, that's an interesting discussion. I also thought that this pandemic would lower the prices as the future can seem a bit uncertain, so something like wristwatches would be one of the first things people stop spending their hard earned money on. Some might have to sell watches, as priorities change. I don't know if this was confirmation-bias or what, but also on some local (Finnish) facebook groups I did notice that some expensive watches were put on sale for surprisingly realistic prices. However, on Omegaforums there was a thread saying that people have actually noticed prices rising, and many expensive watches have sold very quickly. Perhaps things are a bit different with different markets, like in Japan as opposed to USA or Europe, and with Omega/Rolex and Seiko?

[tritto]

Fantastic score. Well done picking it as legit.

[cobrajet25]

That is one of the most drool-worthy ScubaPros I have ever seen, and more so if it came at a discount.   As the eminent Dr. Indiana Jones would say, "That belongs in a museum!"

As to the idea of a "COVID-19 discount"?  Yep...I believe this phenomenon exists. 

I need this 2018 SBBN035 like a need a hole in my head.  I won't get it for a couple months...if I get it at all.  It comes with boxes, papers, tags, and dual deep scratches on the crystal that transition into twin nicks on both the bezel and shroud.

But it was $435.

[russtmurray]

Good things come to those that wait. Congratulations and very well played!

[bombora]

That bright red water resist text is so attractive.   Congrats.

[scubarob99]

It's a spectacular example. Sellers pics didn't do it justice. Well done! Great buy, too. 

Rob

[seiko2019]

Very nice example at a super price.
Congrats on the purchase.

[donciccio]

May 15, 2020 21:20:10 GMT -8 bbilford83 said:

All,

The Scubapro 450 6306-7001 is a watch I've always found interesting, but never felt reasonable to pursue, for two main reasons: 1) the insane premium you pay for one over a standard 6306-7001, and 2) how difficult it seemed to properly identify the good fakes that are out there. I've gotten familiar enough with them to get past 2) over the years, but my hangup on 1) has only gotten stronger, especially since I have a really gorgeous standard 6306-7001 and a near-NOS 6309-7049 too. But that hasn't stopped me from putting in "yeah right" snipes - that is, snipes I thought were way less than what the watches were worth - on really nice Scubapros I've seen on Yahoo Japan over the past few years.

Fast forward to the COVID-19 era, where I find myself suddenly winning lots of "yeah right" bids on cheaper watches, presumably as others are being more responsible than I am in pulling back from frivolous purchases during these scary times. Well, two weeks ago I put in such a "yeah right" bid on a poorly-described listing - it said Scubapro in the body but not the title - with pretty mediocre, dark photos. But the target watch looked gorgeous and had every indication of authenticity, including the original Scubapro band, of which I've only seen a few even in photos. Alas, it was missing its Scubapro-stamped keeper, but the band had all the right stamping otherwise too. Which is all lead up to saying I did win it, for far less than I would expect - even after getting dinged by customs, I was out of pocket a good chunk less than $2K. My rushed poorly-lit photos don't do it justice, but here they are nonetheless:



If you're still with me, thanks for reading!

[bbilford83]

Thanks all! There is one interesting functional difference with the Scubapro strap - it's far shorter than the standard XGL-831 that comes on the 6306. I wore my 6306 on the 3rd or 4th from last hole, but on the Scubapro I'm on the very last one (I have a 7.75" wrist).

[HiBeat]

May 16, 2020 18:33:53 GMT -8 bbilford83 said:

Thanks all! There is one interesting functional difference with the Scubapro strap - it's far shorter than the standard XGL-831 that comes on the 6306. I wore my 6306 on the 3rd or 4th from last hole, but on the Scubapro I'm on the very last one (I have a 7.75" wrist).

Glad you didn't go with the "admittedly......" reference.

Brian I have never had the pleasure to hold a ScubaPro 450 6306-7000 in my hand but I have seen a lot and tried to bargain at prices way higher than you paid for much lesser pieces without the super cool SP strap.

Major Congratulations are in order !

[cd_god]

Nice score

Coming from a coin collecting background and unfortunately I started back up late in the game a year or 2 after the Great Recession coin roll hunting back when a lot of people had to dump their silver stash at face value at banks to pay the bills this time I think there were a lot of silver coins dumped back into circulation since most banks showroom walk up counters were closed and compound that with most banks pulled their coin counting machines 3 years ago.

There are deals to be had and treasures to be found if you put in the work.

[bombora]

Is the diameter of the raised section on the caseback slightly larger than regular 6306's ?

I don't have one to measure yet.  

[japroe]

Beautiful watch! I've been patiently waiting on a 6306 and just starting to get my hands around pricing of these currently. I just have one question and if there's s better thread, please direct me, but could you explain how you use the 'Sniper Bid' on YJ? Why use Sniper Bid vs. putting a normal bid in for the max amount you're willing to spend? Looks like it paid off here, I'm just looking to learn a little!

Derek

[bbilford83]

Thanks again, all.

May 17, 2020 4:49:33 GMT -8 bombora said:

Is the diameter of the raised section on the caseback slightly larger than regular 6306's ?

I don't have one to measure yet.  

I just measured and I don't think so - at least not to my eyes.

[bbilford83]

May 17, 2020 8:01:54 GMT -8 japroe said:

Beautiful watch! I've been patiently waiting on a 6306 and just starting to get my hands around pricing of these currently. I just have one question and if there's s better thread, please direct me, but could you explain how you use the 'Sniper Bid' on YJ? Why use Sniper Bid vs. putting a normal bid in for the max amount you're willing to spend? Looks like it paid off here, I'm just looking to learn a little!

Derek

I'm in the U.S. so the only way I can bid on YJ auctions is via a proxy service - I use Jauce.  They have the choice to either bid or snipe, meaning you can bid instantly or just right near the end of the auction (I forget the lead-up, but it's a matter of seconds, I think).  The benefit over bidding early is that you might get it for less than if someone else sees your bid well before the auction ends and bids over yours, whereas they wouldn't have time to decide "ok, I will go a little higher than I planned to beat the current high bid."  But, and you might already know this, on YJ they approach auctions differently than eBay, in that whenever a bid is placed within the last 5 minutes of an auction, it extends the time left to 5 minutes total.  So an auction can be scheduled to end at midnight, say, and actually end at 2 or 3 AM if people keep bidding right near the end.  So a "snipe" isn't really as big of a deal on YJ as it might be on eBay.  I think I just got lucky here because of the poor listing and the economic crisis.

[japroe]

Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense!

Cheers,
Derek