Following the posts we discussed last says about a Tri-Compax in ebay (in a very bad condition), tomorrow noon we have another reverse panda Tri for aucion at Auctionata Berlin.

Estimated in 6.000 EUR, starting bid is 3.000 EUR.


Bezel is the strongest point of this watch in my opinion. It has no major nicks or chips, but features a nice patina. Hands seem quite nice, case and crystal are in "good vintage condition". Dial, though in a not very bad condition, has no lume plots, which make it less desiderable (though a reluming could be worse from my point of view).


I think crown is not matching this reference and year. The case shows what seem to be some rust spots. Crystal is described in the condition report as "mineral", but it clearly is not. I cannot asses if it is original to the watch or not.


Movement does not looks very bad, and its condition is reported as "currently working". Nevertheless, the regulator position may indicate problems for adjusting and overhaul need (for sure!).

In my opinion, this watch, with the current trend of the market, should be well over 10K EUR. Let us see where this finishes.

More info here:

https://auctionata.com/o/125994/universal-tri-compax-chronograph-switzerland-c-1965

(all pics taken from Auctionata website)

 

Should be interesting, indeed. I agree that the crown isn't original, but that's not a real source of value for me anyways (as long as it does the job correctly). My guess is 12K EUR. Should we set an O/U?

 

FWIW as a reference, this UG tri sold by Menta watches, sold in under 30 minutes at $14000. Seems like this one is in a bit better shape, and has the red day indicator.

https://instagram.com/mentawatches/

 

Coming up very shortly for anyone that was planning to tune in

 

8500 E

 

$12K Including the Auctionata fee. Got the number right ChicagoFrog.

 

12k $ or EUR?
do they have a 29% buyer's premium?

 

I'm curious where these were trading at a year or two ago and also what was it that caused this spike just recently?

 

Unfortunately, I was estimating 12K EUR, so more like $13K USD. Close though!

The hammer was 8.5K EUR, so it works out to ~$12.2K USD (plus shipping). That includes the premium.

Low $5K range. I always thought it was weird that Compax's shot through the roof and Tri-Compax's stayed put though. Only logical that they'd follow the upward curve eventually. Just never realized it would be this sudden. The $30K Tri-Compax at Phillips got a lot of people talking. Not saying that's the sole reason for it, but I think it played a big part in moving it from the $8-9K range to the $12-20K range (depending on the example).

 

If my memory serves me correctly, I think these were trading at anywhere from 4k - 5k USD two years ago in the states. I passed up a chance to buy a nice example a year and a half ago from a dealer in New York for 5k because I had to buy a cello bow. Been searching for one ever since, but for me this is one watch where my patience in finding the right example for the right price has served me wrong. I don't know if prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, but I have a feeling it will settle at a price point where it will become hard for me to justify buying one.

As to the reason for the spike, it's most likely a confluence of all the factors mentioned in the other threads - brand awareness, Philips Auction, etc.

 

Got this exactly 18 months ago, toward the high end of the price range at the time (though it had recently been overhauled). Prices have approximately doubled in the interim.

 

Better than buying stock, @MMMD! Well done, that one is absolutely gorgeous.

 

I just can't take shopping with Auctionata. Their fees are almost as bad as our income taxes.

 

On the flip side, I've never fully understood why you'd sell through an auction house. Whoever previously owned that Tri-Compax could have achieved an 11-12K EUR price on their own just by taking advantage of the forums or eBay, but will only take 8.5K in this case because of the buyer's premium. If I'm missing something about the benefits (other than the potential for a crazy result, like Phillips), curious to know...

 

For certain pieces, I would use an auction house if i thought I could get more money than ebay or OF. It's a bigger captive audience. i'm an avid ebay'er and could not get the same price for my UG as Phillips did (i have the same watch in better condition). So I'm actually considering Christie's or Phillips.

 

There's the issue of getting paid on eBay since PayPal has a $10k per transaction sending limit. I've seen a number of eBay "sales" fall through when the buyer did not have enough cash in the bank to send a wire payment over $10k.

From the buyer's perspective it is also risky to send someone a wire payment if the transaction is not face to face. Watch purchases with a wire payment are not covered by PayPal or eBay protections. So the alternatives are 1) deal face to face, 2) buy only from trusted sellers, 3) wire money and hope for the best, or 4) pay the outrageous auction fees for the relative convenience and security. Some buyers and sellers opt for 4.

 

Fair, appreciate the insight Memovox and E-diddy.

Let's just agree to keep our rare pieces within the OF family and then you don't have to worry about high fees or payment security.

 

YES. Very much would prefer to buy and sell with you guys. I'm not a huge fan of dealers.

 

The final price has been 10.625 EUR including premium (so not much costs to add to this, shipping, handling, and not much more). So final "delivered at home" price should be around 10.750 EUR, which means 11.800 USD aprox. (if no customs/import duties aplicable, which means the watch remaining in Europe).

I do agree that the seller could have obtained more money selling it privately or in comission through a good dealer. 8.5 K EUR is the hammer price, the seller must also pay a selling comission of 20% on that, so this guy has only got from the Tri... 6.800 EUR, which is not much.

I think the seller has not been very wise and the buyer has obtained a good piece for a fair market price.