Currently on the hunt for a more modern styled Seamaster and I am seeing quite a few watches from Japan on eBay. Other than smaller bracelet sizes in most of them, Is there anything out of the ordinary with these?

 

Some are over polished. Take a good look at the case. I have bought many watches from Japan and have had good luck.

 

There doesn’t tend to be a great variety of references coming out of Japan, but if you like the ones that are popular there, like 166.010, you are in luck. I agree about checking the case and back carefully for polishing.

 

I've noticed that too and was wondering the same. Given the number of sellers that seem to be located in Japan. I'm looking for a 212.30.41.20.03.001 reference, which shouldn't be a tough find but I haven't seen one posted here in a while either, so considering some of the Japanese retailers.

 

Bought my Planet Ocean 2201 from Japan.

 

You will also pay import tax over $800 USD which varies on value of the 3 major components (case, movement, and strap) but typically seems to run around 4-10%.

 

Agreed with this. I do find used watches from Japan overpolished often. Maybe that's the obsession there, hence zaratsu

They tend to have really good prices though, even on Chrono

 

It's not a pain to figure out, the shipper puts down the values for the movement, strap/bracelet, case on a one page worksheet. Easy peezy. The movement attracts duty of almost nothing so that is where most of the value is declared, the case and bracelet have their own rates. The net duty is pretty small, about $100 or so on a stainless steel watch with bracelet in the US$7,000 range. $5600 mvmt, $700 case, $700 bracelet for a Speedmaster I bought from Japan earlier this year. Far preferable to getting hit with a set percentage on the total value of the watch.

 

Be aware of the insane amount of resellers here posting watches with a mark up on ebay. Feel free to DM if you want a hand finding the actual shop selling a particular watch.

 

How worried would you say I should be regarding overpolishing? I'm thinking of buying a seamaster from a Japanese reseller on eBay that has very solid feedback history. The watch looks very unused (which it probably is) but just wondering if that should be a point of concern? The watch isn't more than 10 years old so maybe this is a bigger concern for vintages?

 

More for vintage as vintage usually see a few owners and a dealer or two…the used watch market in Japan is huge…no massive.

 

I think I am going to avoid eBay and just use Sendico to buy directly from the auction sites in Japan. It does appear that most things are considerably cheaper this way. The only downside is shipping will take a little longer.

 

If you are seeing the same watch on Yahoo Japan, the eBay seller may not actually have the watch in hand. Many eBay sellers from Japan put a high BIN price on a watch, and if someone buys it, they buy the watch from the actual seller, then ship it. That's why you will often see the same watch listed by multiple eBay sellers. The proxy services charge much lower fees. Be aware, however, that if you use a proxy service, you cannot return an item under any circumstances. Even if it is counterfeit or you don't receive the item listed, you are totally out of luck. It is a real risk.

 

And for reference, here is a section of the customs form, filled out by the seller, showing the breakdown of values on a watch I imported into the US.

 

Imo the best way to buy a watch from Japan is in person. Can’t beat it.

 

How much was the total tax for this receipt?

 

I paid $52 for DHL to import it and at the end of the tax year, I received an invoice from the state (Ca) for ~$400 Use Tax, which I was prepared for/expecting.

 

Got it thanks. So a bit over 10%. eBay right now runs a 10% discount program on watches so the tax mostly offsets that. Debating whether to buy one tonight and I'm a bit torn