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Engee
·I've been reading advice here about buying watches on eBay and observing auctions there for several weeks now. I've been looking for a decent, attractive watch that I can wear on a day to day basis rather than the gold dress watch I've been using. I decided I wanted a stainless steel watch and settled on looking for either a Seamaster, a Cosmic 2000 or a Constellation. I wouldn't describe myself as a collector (yet) and while I thought a pie-pan would be preferable if I were starting a collection, I didn't want to spend the required amount for a decent looking one.
I bid on a few watches but lost out, being quite conservative about how much I would pay. I was careful to only bid on watches where the seller looked trustworthy, and where there were plenty of pictures. I tried to spot fakes but realised that the fakers are probably better at this than me, so I went on instinct as far as dials were concerned. "Does it look right or is there something, anything, about it that seems odd?" If I had any doubts I left it alone.
I also didn't bid on watches that were being re-listed, even if the seller said it was due to a time-wasting buyer. It may have been true but I wasn't to know, and nobody's going to re-list saying the watch was sent back because it's a wrong'un. I was looking for sellers who had sold a good number of watches, preferably high end, with useful feedback (i.e not "Super seller A++++++") and who wrote what I considered to be thoughtful details on their listing.
I didn't bid if there was no other interest in the watch.
In terms of images, I wasn't interested if there were no pictures of the movement.
Then I saw this and I liked it. The listing was, I thought, honest, but there were no images of the inside. I decided to take a risk on the basis that if the watch was wrong the seller would not be difficult if I wanted to send it back. Now I've had it opened up and I think I've got a decent example. I know it's not a super-collectable watch but it will be a nice watch for daily wear. There's a small crack in the lens below the surface which is hardly noticeable. The seller pointed this out. As the lens has the Omega signature I think I shouldn't change it.
Here are some pictures. It's a Constellation "c" 168.017 cal. 564. I'd really appreciate being put right if there's anything wrong about the watch. I paid £500 for it. Is that reasonable?
I bid on a few watches but lost out, being quite conservative about how much I would pay. I was careful to only bid on watches where the seller looked trustworthy, and where there were plenty of pictures. I tried to spot fakes but realised that the fakers are probably better at this than me, so I went on instinct as far as dials were concerned. "Does it look right or is there something, anything, about it that seems odd?" If I had any doubts I left it alone.
I also didn't bid on watches that were being re-listed, even if the seller said it was due to a time-wasting buyer. It may have been true but I wasn't to know, and nobody's going to re-list saying the watch was sent back because it's a wrong'un. I was looking for sellers who had sold a good number of watches, preferably high end, with useful feedback (i.e not "Super seller A++++++") and who wrote what I considered to be thoughtful details on their listing.
I didn't bid if there was no other interest in the watch.
In terms of images, I wasn't interested if there were no pictures of the movement.
Then I saw this and I liked it. The listing was, I thought, honest, but there were no images of the inside. I decided to take a risk on the basis that if the watch was wrong the seller would not be difficult if I wanted to send it back. Now I've had it opened up and I think I've got a decent example. I know it's not a super-collectable watch but it will be a nice watch for daily wear. There's a small crack in the lens below the surface which is hardly noticeable. The seller pointed this out. As the lens has the Omega signature I think I shouldn't change it.
Here are some pictures. It's a Constellation "c" 168.017 cal. 564. I'd really appreciate being put right if there's anything wrong about the watch. I paid £500 for it. Is that reasonable?
