Anyone have any experience with this guy he seems to have some nice stuff

 

Avoid him mostly. If you do buy, know that you're rolling a set of loaded dice that often crap out.

One example: do you think that repairs like super gluing a second hand on a watch is acceptable? If so, make him an offer on one of his watches! If not (like most of us wouldn't accept) run away from his listings.

 

Yes. I bought a watch from Frank once...... just once.

 

Good to know this. Have to remove him from my saved seller. Thanks a lot.

 

Can we move this thread to Recommended seller section so it will be sticky?
He got some interesting stuff (like Omega FIFA soccer) but mostly overpricing and not in good condition.

 

Thanks for helping a newbie avoid !

 

To be fair, if you're buying vintage watches on eBay it usually is a crap shoot regardless of the seller. Unless you are buying from someone who is also a well known community member from the forums (and sometimes even then), you are probably going to have to put some money into the watch. I always assume that they will need at least an overhaul and am pleasantly surprised when they don't --and the same goes for the big vintage web dealers. You'd be surprised how many "just serviced!" watches are dry as a bone or their hands fall off in transit.
Obviously, frankens are a different story. But even when you get a "bargain" on eBay on a really nice watch, it will usually cost about $200 minimum to bring it up to par...if you're lucky!
Best,
T.

 

Most of us think exactly like you, especially the "just serviced" bull, and count an additional $200 into the price. But supergluing a second hand on?

 

Well 2 of the last 4 'Bay watches I got came to me with the hands floating around on top of the dial so maybe superglue is preferable???

One thing's for sure--pays to know a good watchmaker if you want to enjoy your impulse purchases. Either that or just buy from reliable folks on the forums--you will likely save more money by paying a bit more upfront to someone who backs what they're selling 100%!
Best,
T.

 

Can you explain what you mean by the hand being glued on? Has glue been applied to the post and the tube, or is this glue on the top of the hand at the rivet? If it's the former, then that is pretty bad, but the latter I see quite often. It's not usually an attempt to glue the hand on, but to fix a loose rivet. The flat portion of the hand is held on the tube by a rivet, and sometimes the rivet gets loose, and the hand will flop around a lot.

I certainly don't advocate using glue to fix it, as you should mechanically tighten the rivet with a very sharp tool and a very light tap with tweezers. Either way it's not good, but if it's an attempt to fix the rivet, I don't hold that is as much contempt as I would someone actually gluing a hand on....

Cheers, Al

 

Amen to that. I feel lucky I have known a local watchmaker with goodwork and could be trusted. He is 'gentle' with vintage watch and willing to make difficult to find part if situation permitted. He lives 3 hour drive from my house (about 180km), but that's enjoyable 3 hours.

 

I can't elaborate much more Al because Sam never told me the specifics except that he couldn't remove the hand without damaging both it and the pinion.

 

Great advice, heavily appreciated. I'm just starting a collection