Vintage nightmare

Couple of months ago I posted about an Omega that I bought for my father in law from Ebay. I had heard that vintage watches are a minefield and this Omega proves the point perfectly. 

This watch was advertised as "working" and when I received it I just checked that it ran accurately for an old watch and gave it to my father in law. A week or so later he tells me that it is not running when he is wearing it. I took it to a local Omega watchmaker and he started working on it.

The next day the watchmaker calls me and tells me that movement hasn't seen service in a long time but that is something you can expect. He also tells me that the dial is glued on to the movement and crystal is glued on to the case. He warned me that the dial could be damaged while fixing this botch job. 

Time goes on and we wait for a new crystal and watchmaker goes on a summer vacation. He gets the crystal and starts to put the watch together but there is a problem. The dial is too small for the case so this explains why somebody glued these parts together, because they don't belong together. 

Currently he is trying some magic to fix this without glue. If it is not successful only option is to order a new dial from Omega for a hefty price.

Here comes the kicker: the watchmaker has a really similar watch for sale already serviced and perfect for almost the same money I paid on Ebay. If I had known.

Reply
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Sorry to hear your story. That’s a bummer. Particularly as it was a gift.

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Get it back and return it via eBay. Cite the watchmaker saying it’s a frankenwatch. Buy the good one. 👌

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as they say, buy the seller.

Attractive deals from random sellers coming from the depth of eBay are only attractive to the seller

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The more desirable a watch the more incentive to cobble together a frankenwatch. Maybe you can open a case with eBay and recoup your purchase price. The need for an immediate service is unsurprising. That is always part of the deal.

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im so sorry to hear that, hope the problem will soon get fixed

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Oseberg

as they say, buy the seller.

Attractive deals from random sellers coming from the depth of eBay are only attractive to the seller

The seller had good feedback and sells many other more expensive Omegas. Maybe even he didn't know the state the watch was.

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Oh no that’s awful! I have an Omega just like this one. Mine runs but when you shake it…it rattles (not the auto movement, something else) so I’ll likely have to get it serviced. A local watchmaker told me this is his favorite movement because it’s a dependable workhorse. Such a bummer my friend…I hope it works out!

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Not at all helpful to the OP, right now... A couple of the UK watchmakers who service and sell on Chrono24 advise the watch should come to you via an intermediary who will then check it.  It's a faff but worth it, I think.

Also, eBay in the US and now the UK offer a verification service to anyone selling luxury (and I guess vintage, also) watches but I don't know how hard they would look at a vintage Omega.

Sorry to hear about this but there are a lot of Frankenwatches out there and avoiding them really does look like a minefield.  

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Man that is a bummer.  I'd be furious! (I'm sure you are). Can you open an eBay case?

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Thanks for sharing, it’s good to let potential first time vintage purchasers like myself know of some of the pitfalls.

If I were in your shoes I would probably purchase the other watch from your watchmaker and chase the eBay seller via eBay or PayPal if you used them.

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synaptyx

Get it back and return it via eBay. Cite the watchmaker saying it’s a frankenwatch. Buy the good one. 👌

The seller didn’t offer returns. 

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11SWM11

Man that is a bummer.  I'd be furious! (I'm sure you are). Can you open an eBay case?

It’s already been worked on so it is quite late for it. 

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Sorry Man!  I bought a few Vintage Timex watches and for the most part got lucky, but truthfully, I buy them for display only so even if they don't work, I like to have them as art.  Glad they work, but unless I knew a good watchmaker, I would not get into the vintage game.

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  • avoid if too good to be true
  • avoid certain popular brands and models as easily cloned/frankened 
  • source paperwork or corroborate images before if you must 

I have posted some of these wisdoms many times, and I sympathise as we have all been there.

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I’d open that ebay case, better yet if you paid it with your credit card. Ask your bank to work on the case for you.

i’d also never buy vintage again if you, like me, don’t like to research thoroughly and deeply. Stick to the modern and brand new watches. Theyre more reliable, specs work as what theyre sold and more importantly; they’re truly yours to make your own memories with.

good luck with yours!

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laurik

The seller didn’t offer returns. 

eBay has got your back in situations like this regardless of what the seller says. 

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Sometimes eBay challenges my faith in humanity.

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DariusII

Sometimes eBay challenges my faith in humanity.

It’s not eBay tho, it’s dishonest  sellers. I’ve been an eBay member since 2001 and their customer service has been amazing. I don’t mess around my buyers and when I’ve been screwed over I press until repatriations are satisfactory. OP, don’t take this lying down, eBay will help. 

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synaptyx

It’s not eBay tho, it’s dishonest  sellers. I’ve been an eBay member since 2001 and their customer service has been amazing. I don’t mess around my buyers and when I’ve been screwed over I press until repatriations are satisfactory. OP, don’t take this lying down, eBay will help. 

True that. I suppose there sometimes lurks in an otherwise reputable business a charlatan who evades good commerce. 

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Thats a bummer feeling your pain. I just can't imagine thats why I won't get into vintage watch anybody worst nightmare.

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Simple, if it's not too late try and open an eBay return request stating the watch is not as described, if your unsuccessful then buy the other watch, get him to stick your's back together and sell it on eBay and recoup some of your money while you still can.

eBay is very tricky unless you know what your looking at, asking all the right questions, asking for extra photos and information. If they are a legitimate seller like myself, they will provide you with as much information as you want. Buy the seller and not the item my friend and I'm so sorry you had to find out the hard way 😢

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laurik

The seller didn’t offer returns. 

You can dispute that, eBay has a return policy regardless of what the seller tells you, it's normally 30 days though, so you would have to act fast.

These are the policies in Australia, so they should be universal 💯 I've been selling on eBay since 2008 and have learnt their policies around buying and selling well, in all that time I've only had one return and that was due to a change of mind, which didn't faze me one bit, we all change our minds at some point. 

But I have also purchased and returned many watches also, so contact eBay and if they ask why the watch is at the repairer, all you have to state is, that it is was there for authentication purposes, nothing more. You will of course have to pay the man for services rendered so far but at least you'll get back a large percentage of your money, then buy the other watch.

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I feel so sorry for you. I wanted a vintage Omega Constellation pie pan dial. I looked for over a year and the market is flooded with these bad watches. I eventually gave up looking. 

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I went to see the watchmaker today and he told me that he can't fix the watch with the current parts and he needs to order a new dial from Omega. It will take some time but it doesn't matter.

I decided to buy the better watch from the watchmaker and gave it to my father in law. It looks really nice, with fresh service and an original receipt from 67. At least my father in now has a good watch and the bad watch will be taken care of.

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Vintage watches tend to be a problem especially if they are not bought from a reliable seller who can tell you the history of that watch. I have been in this situation and it is very unpleasant.