I have a bit of a thing for old Seiko watches and so often I’ll have a scroll though the offerings on eBay to see if anything catches my eye.

I’ve just been doing that, and for whatever reason though I’d sort by ‘ending soonest’. Up came hundreds of watches ending in the next two or three hours, all of which were about £15-£30ish, and all offered free postage from India.

I assume they’re all fake (or, indeed, non-existent) would I be right? The sellers seems to have decent feedback though.

Sounds legit

There are quite a few Seiko’s that are pretty cheap anyway, without knowing model numbers and doing a direct comparison with the same on known legit retailers sites, it’s difficult to say.
It’s the higher end models up around the £2-300 mark that would/should ring alarm bells.

Bought a Five for my son from Creation for £63 so Ebay at £30 doesn’t sound outrageous.

Often they are for ‘smaller wrists’ – so check lug widths.

Have a nice 1976 Seiko Bellmatic, boxed etc if you’re interested 🙂

A lot of Seiko’s from India / SE Asia – Well off working man’s equivalent of a Rolex in that region. Not fake but they will have been saved for and worn with pride everyday for a long time, often by people in manual trades. As a result they may have had a hard life.

Watch for badly reconditioned faces / frankenwatches but don’t be put off – there are some bargains / interesting examples to be found.

Frankenstein – nearly all are shit, you might get a Seiko case and a 7s26 if v lucky, but needing a service so not worth it. Casebacks and dials regularly fake and never matching, sometimes with cheap quartz movement. Leather straps are really poor quality and bracelet even worse.

Most legit sellers will show you the watch open so you can see the movement. Just make sure you know what insides should be in place for the case you are buying, check forums etc before you bid. The diving watches seem to be messed around with a lot but if you know what you are looking for you can get some nice finds for many other models. Got myself a nice 70’s piece that was unfrankened recently from overseas. If you’re worried just get a cheap 5 in the U.K – best value mechanical ever 🙂

Cheers all, good info

get a cheap 5 in the U.K – best value mechanical ever

Tell me about it, a 5 is what started my mild love affair with Seikos, I bought one with some money my parents gave me when I graduated 18 (blimey) years ago. I’m wearing it now 🙂

Have a nice 1976 Seiko Bellmatic, boxed etc if you’re interested

Maaaaybeeeee? Whaddyagot (the wife will kill me)? 😉