I tried to buy three different Omegas this week and was only successful in completing one deal. I thought I'd share my grief for the amusement of you all, but mainly to vent my frustrations.

-One was from a foreign seller and the deal was simple and easy, watch should be arriving here later today.

-Another was a US seller who I inquired as to their best price, they came down $20 which wasn't enough for me to pull the trigger. I then noticed that a few hours later they reduced the cost by $70 on the listing. The next morning I saw the same listing was then adjusted UP at a cost of $1,000 more than the price the day before. Then the seller listed the same watch as an auction while keeping the other BIN listing active. Two concurrent listings for the same watch. What a mess, and not confidence inspiring, as it feels like weird dealer games that I don't like to play.

-Another seller had an auction that showed pics of two different watches. I inquired which was the correct one and at first he didn't realize, then understood his mistake. I asked several times which watch he was actually selling and he was not able to articulate it, and said he couldn't update the listing. The next day he messaged me back to say he ended the auction because of this problem, but when I went to look he ended another auction that appeared ok, and let this one run to the end with a successful bidder. I asked if he would be relisting it or working it out with the bidder and he stopped responding. It sold for less than I was going to bid so we both lost out there. Also, who knows if that bidder will even know hey are getting a different watch than they bid on.

As a special bonus, I'll tell the story of my friend who was watch shopping the same day and went into a store near him and tried on an older Seiko. He sent me pics, as his "watch buddy" to look it over, and when I checked ebay for values I saw the same watch was listed there. The asking price was $380 but in the store they told him they could take $550 for it. I suggested he buy it on ebay instead, pay with paypal from his phone, selected "local pick up" and just walk back over to the counter and say "i'll take it, I already paid." I get that many brick and mortar shops have higher prices in store, but this turned him off completely and he left empty handed.

 

Caveat emptor......it's always been true, and even more so with the internet. Buyers of any product have to do their due diligence, many businesses run on the idea that many buyers are clueless or confused about pricing, and there is truth in that.

 

Last week was that week for me-some real pricks with ridiculous issues. This week seems to be going well so far, very nice sellers going above and beyond.

There are still some good ones out there...but they generally are not regular watch sellers....hmmm

 

I got a KO 2627 off eBay for what I thought was a good price and the movement pic was astonishing.

I keep expecting a disaster to arrive in the mail.

 

Sounds like we maybe dealt with the same a-holes. lol
You're right, like the one we're discussing over on this thread! I love these kinds of sellers! https://omegaforums.net/threads/vintage-ebay-speedmaster-arrived.116723/

This is an incoming piece? Please update when you can!

To close the loop on mine, heres the thread I made since it just arrived: https://omegaforums.net/threads/my-first-speedy-mkii-just-arrived.117126/