A mate at work has offered me this, it was gifted to his father in law who has no interest and wants to sell it. He has no idea of how much he wants for it, until I make my offer of course But what offer would be fair? No history to offer either and on a cheap strap.

 

Searching eBay and filtering sold/completed would be a good place to start.

 

I would recommend to search on ebay for sold listings of this reference to get an idea of a suitable price.

 

The condition looks good at first glance. Not sure where you're located, but I'd say $400-$500.

 

Is it running and keeping time?
When was it last serviced?
Is the crystal original (does it have an Omega logo in the centre)?
Does the crown have th omega logo?

 

No known history as stated in op, no etch in crystal, no symbol on crown. Kept time for the half day it was with me. Ebay numbers were vary varied so why I asked on here.

 

Original crystal and crown knock down the collector value but doesn’t keep it from being fine for daily wear. Original crowns and crystals can be had for a price. Case and dial are in nice shape which are the most import things anyway.
Figure it’s going to need a service since you don’t know when it was last cleaned and oiled- that could run around $2-300 depending on where you are located and who you take it to.
These aren’t rare watches, but finding them in all original clean shape has gotten harder over the years. I agree with Dan’s value but closer to $350-400 since service history is unknown and the crown and crystal are generic replacements.
These are lovely classic Seamasters- if you want it for you, then make a fair offer. If you want it to flip- you won’t make any money on this one.

 

I’m in the UK where values are slightly different. In private sale, with non original crown, generic crystal, no service history and you doing all the leg work to find a fair price, I’d say £300 is fair for both of you.

On eBay the seller may get £300-350. Possibly even close to £400 on a good day but they have eBay fees to pay, the hassle of listing and buyers who may mess them around.

 

To be honest I would take about 25% off ebay sales as a starting figure, since the seller has to pay fees on the taxes, shipping, etc. Their net profit is significantly less than the sale price. Example - recently sold an item for $555 + $20 shipping. Ebay tacked on $34 in tax to the buyer, so total cost was around $610. From that my net amount I got was $475.

Here was the breakdown:

Fees based on
$609.50
Item price$555.00
Shipping and handling $20.00
Sales tax$34.50


Final Value Fee Variable percentage · Toys & Hobbies category -$78.63
$609.50x12.9% = -$78.63

Final Value FeePer order fixed amount -$0.30
Fixed amount -$0.30
Total fees -$78.93

So ebay charged me almost 13% on the SALES TAX being paid by the buyer, which is absolutely insane.

To make a long story short, I'd offer your coworker 250 for it - saves him the headache of trying to list it, deal with buyers, possible returns, fees, etc.

 

I would have had it to keep not flip but it seems the blokes daughter has now been on Ebay, seen the highest BIN and expects that and more! Where I was trying to help if I offer a price now I'd guess she'd think I was trying to rob them because it would have to be far less than their search has put in their mind and any justification I give may be seen in the wrong way so I'll be keeping out of it now.

 

Best course of action since you know the person. Once someone gets $$€€££¥¥ in their eyes, just politely thank them for the opportunity and wish them luck.

 

This happens all the time. An inexperienced seller looks on Chrono24 and gets an unrealistic idea of value, then gets angry when you make a fair offer. Sometimes deals just get soured and you have to walk away.

Funny story. There is a watch I tried to buy locally in late 2019, the seller was originally asking $1900 and I told him I'd buy it. Somehow, before we closed the deal, he started looking around and got the idea that it was worth more because he was looking at the highest asking prices and also didn't understand the impact of some flaws in condition. He contacted Christies and they told him they would put a $4k estimate on it, so he upped his asking price to $4k. I offered $2500, but he turned it down. The he tried to sell it in a Christie's auction, but it didn't reach the reserve. Now he has it back again and has been listing it on Craigslist for months. He started at $6k and reduces the price each week, he's now down to $4200. This is almost three years later. I still like the watch, but I still think we're too far apart so I haven't contacted him. Maybe a few months from now he will be ready.

 

20+ years ago I was shopping for my BMW 3.0cs. I looked at many, and a decent looking one popped up locally. I checked it out, it had some issues but was in fairly good shape. Seller wanted $20k which was rediculous at the time. I thanked him for his time and was going to leave and he pressed me on what I thought it was worth. I said $13k is about what I would be willing to pay for it. He laughed and said “stop wasting my time”.
4 months later I found my 3.0cs while on business in San Francisco- it was 10x the previous car in terms of options, conditions, creature comfort modifications (5- speed, modern A/C upgrade, etc). I paid $12k for that one. 6 months later the same dude that told me to stop wasting his time called me and said he was willing to “entertain” my offer. I told him I didn’t make an offer, I just told him what I thought it was worth- and that I had already bought another for less money. That car sat for sale for another year in the classifieds.
Sometimes it’s fun to watch greedy folks get what’s coming.

 

Although I'll not be able to have this one I found the crown does have the Omega symbol on it and searches of many pics of the seamaster 600 611 model none have the symbol in the crystal, so to ad to the pain it does seem a fairly good example, oh well if it's not to be.

 

You could decline their offer, and point them to the sold section of eBay. Sometimes people understand that is reality and others not. Worth a try, it may temper their expectations at any rate.

 

I’d simply leave your offer with them. More than once I’ve left matters like this when we couldn’t agree on a price then had a call/email several weeks down the line asking if I was still interested.

 

Don't worry too much, it's quite a common reference.

 

smart move, best to stay out of it for now and let reality do it’s work.