Hello,
I recently came across this Seamaster 60 at a yard sale and wondering what I can expect to get for it on ebay. Its not running, a little scratched up, crown is missing, and there is water damage and rust on the inside. The weight still glides smoothly and I can see it winding it but nothings moving. Also what a full restoration would run me?

Thanks
-S

 

It’s kind of a stealth sales post, isn’t it? I mean it’s already on the Bay so just leave it there and you will soon find out what it’s worth...

 

Are you selling or restoring it?

 

Well I'm going to sell it, not trying to be tricky I've just been debating wether to take it down or not for fear the auction will end with it underpriced. My issue is I have had gotten messages for offers and I don't know if I should accept them or if the auction will jump up at the end. I suppose thats the whole purpose of Ebay though, its a bit of a gamble.

 

Do your own research, this is an Omega collector's forum. You're asking your potential customers to do your work for you in a valuation before you decide whether or not to sell It to them for the biggest $

That's not what OF is for

 

As already said. Decline offers. When the auction ends you have the right value

 

There I removed the ebay link from the original post to seem less shiesty. I am a young watch enthusiast myself just trying to learn more. Isn't asking a Omega forum doing research? In fact I took it to a repair place and the estimate was $800-900 to fix it but I wondered what the community thought. I either want to hang onto it and restore it or sell it for what its worth in this condition to invest in something better.

 

Repair quote is ridiculous and I’m pretty sure wouldn’t pay for itself. If you’re happy to just get it running why not buy a working cal. 563 from eBay and transplant it across. You could get a good movement for under $250. Then all you need is a crown, perhaps a longer stem, and a friendly watchmaker. Should be possible for $450 all in and you could sell the bits left after.

But if you just want money I’d avoid all the hassle and let your current auction run.

 

Given your research of sales prices on eBay, C24, this forum etc, what do you think is a reasonable selling price in that condition?

 

I don't know where you live, but where i am, for the equivalent of 200$ (work + omega parts like crown and crystal), you may just get substandard work like a barely clean movement and generic parts, or plain shitty work, depending on where you go. And also, you may end up with a non matching S/N...

 

Depends what you are asking. In the first place you are asking us to value your EBay listing, so the answer would then be no, that's not research, that's asking for a valuation.

I'm not sure I can believe that as you already have it up for sale on EBay

 

"Too lazy to do your homework? Use the Omegaforum price Calculator, first you need to take some pictures. Second add a link to an auction, so that the Members can adjust the price to their recommendations. Third profit."

 

In your situation I'd get that watch repaired and serviced and keep it. Apart from the movement it's not in bad condition and you can still get a replacement crown close to the original style. I agree more or less with @w154's estimate of costs, so you could end up with a nice collector's watch on the cheap and get that little glow of satisfaction at what a bargain you got every time it goes onto your wrist. Or you could sell it, see the money evaporate on nothing in particular and end up with no glow, no watch and no extra money. Your call.

Googling the model number and checking out ebay is hardly a challenging task and coming on here just to ask outright is plain lazy. The advice you're getting on doing your own research is more helpful than you probably realise. As a student / young person, take this lesson away from your visit to this board: lazy people don't get any respect or achieve much. Proactive people who use their own initiative do. I can tell you from personal experience that it's much harder to get into those habits when you're older.

I'm aware that you didn't come here for a patronising and ageist life lecture but have this one on me anyway.

 

Sorry, but the repair quote is not likely "ridiculous" as there are clearly going to be a lot of parts needed to get this watch running right. The movement appears to have had some serious water damage, and the parts for these movements are not cheap.

The cost to repair is certainly high compared to the value of the watch, but the cost is the cost no matter what the value of the watch is. It's up to the watch owner to decide if they want to put the money required into something, not up to the watchmaker to undervalue their work because the watch isn't worth much.

Certainly transplanting a new movement, and creating a franken would be cheaper, but I'm a little surprised to see that sort of advice being given here where collectors value originality.

Cheers, Al

 

Well, I am one of the people watching this watch and planning on bidding towards the end if it's cheap enough- and I know I'm not the only one here. So asking us is kind of like a chicken walking into a fox den. I say it's worth $12.95...that's what I would like to pay for it, then dump the $800 into the restoration. But you already have several bidders (some on this forum I bet) so taking it down now would not only run foul with Ebay rules but then piss off anyone here who was bidding and if you did decide to sell it down the line, you will have lost some credibility.

This should have been a question you asked here before you put it up on ebay. We would have been much more helpful in trying to steer you towards someone who could help you restore it properly.

As said above, let it ride and you will get what you get and that will be market rate. And you posting it here just increased the awareness to those who don't check ebay everyday so mission accomplished if that was your goal.

 

I am just letting the auction run I just removed the link from the original post. I admit it was dumb to post here after already listing it but I just had a moment of panic after receiving offers via message when I hadn't put the ‘Or Best Offer’ opotion (cuz then i would have to cancel the auction to give it to them). Also bit of an Ebay noob. Oh well its up there still. I was more just curious about a restoration price because the quote I got seemed overpriced.

 

I guess you've already decided what to do and I think it was the right decision financially. The seller doing work right before sale hardly ever pays for itself in the sale price.

 

Noob or not, if you sell something at an auction site you simply have to accept that you get what buyers are prepared to pay and not what you wish. At the end of the day the buyers are almost always right and wishes wrong

 

Totally understand. Sorry to sound like a hard-ass. You will get good money for it. Stick around and do some reading and join in on the conversations. You will learn lots and maybe find a great vintage Omega ready to roll that you like.

 

Yes I’m sure new replacement components would very quickly add up to a tidy sum, so in my mind the viable solution here is a complete donor movement. I had a look on eBay and I reckon $250 should get something suitable.

I use a few watchmakers and trust their work in all cases. Here in Germany I would pay my local guy around $100-120 for a service of a time-only movement. For more important work I prefer to use a guy in the UK. He runs to around $150-200 for a full service of a time-only watch. I don’t think they’re undervaluing their work as they both choose what to charge.

So yes the cost is the cost, but the cost varies from watchmaker to watchmaker, and probably more so from region to region. I’ve had huge remedial work done on a nightmare flooded chronograph movement and paid around $500. Never paid more for anything.

I’m not sure it would really be a Franken, at least in my eyes it wouldn’t be. It would be a genuine Omega with a replacement Omega movement. If you flood a modern watch and send it back to Omega and they replace the whole movement does it become a Franken ? And whilst many collectors here value originality (me included), I wouldn’t want to presume that the OP would value maximizing the originality over the cost. That’s a choice for them, and the only obligation to the collecting community is disclosure if they later decide to sell.