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A newbie considering a 501. Any advice gratefully received

  1. doggles

    doggles Aug 11, 2013

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  2. ulackfocus

    ulackfocus Aug 11, 2013

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    Dial looks nice. Price isn't terrible. For that many bumps, I'd make an offer a little lower than the current asking price.
     
  3. MSNWatch Ω 2

    MSNWatch Vintage Omega Aficionado Staff Member Aug 11, 2013

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  4. gatorcpa Ω 2

    gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Aug 11, 2013

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    I think that's about the correct market value. Maybe a little more for an example without the crude engraving on the back.

    $600? No way! :eek:
    gatorcpa
     
  5. John R Smith

    John R Smith Aug 12, 2013

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    I may be missing something here, but I just don't see how you can compare the two watches. One is actually much nicer than the other (and sold by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic owner), and one is in the USA and the other is in Europe. If you were to buy the one in Florida and ship it back to Europe, you would pay an extra $50 shipping, and 20% VAT (on the whole cost - yes they tax you on your shipping costs as well) plus the cost of a service. If you work all that out you aren't saving much.

    John
     
  6. gatorcpa Ω 2

    gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Aug 12, 2013

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    All good points. I'm not looking at it the same way.

    1. Generally there's no sales tax on US interstate sales. I'm not going to go into technicalities here.
    2. You are correct on the service, so long as you trust the other person's watchmaker. I've seen watches listed as "serviced" which were far from it.
    3. We in the US almost never consider customs charges, as they are rarely enforced if you use postal mail (even EMS). FedEx and UPS are different, since it is a profit center for them.
    4. I'm not recommending the purchase of the other watch for $220 (in fact, I think it's already sold). I think a nicer one may be had for a little more.

    I would never pay $600 for the Italian watch given the spotty record of shipping in and out of Italy (even with FedEx), the $50+ inbound shipping charges plus customs if a private carrier is used. That means it would likely cost me about $800 to get that watch into the USA, and even that assumes that I don't have to put more money into another service.

    It's all a matter of perspective.
    gatorcpa
     
  7. John R Smith

    John R Smith Aug 13, 2013

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    Gator

    You are absolutely correct. I just assumed that the OP was based in Europe, in which case my perspective makes sense ;)

    But from a USA point of view, the opposite is true, as you say.