[peterrizzo]

I propose a new game for any interested in downsizing, which is not easy, and selling,
which is also not easy. The value of an object simply boils down to a consensus of
opinions, though i have also observed that it only takes one buyer to make a deal.

I'd like to start the game with this watch, a rare one, and rare ones are by definition
very hard to evaluate. I am proving the respect that i have for your opinions by asking
for them, and of course, we're all delusional, so perhaps this game/thread can become
something like a true mirror, something that shows us some truth. Here's the watch:

For Sale Only, Seiko 5 40th Anniversary LTD Edition...

I bought this a month ago after being intrigued by it for years, the seller had a "CraZy" price for it that i wouldn't have ever paid, but i finally talked him down on it after watching it for years. i am realizing that i am just not the kind of collector who is going to have one of everything...

www.thewatchsite.com

I don't want to become the guy who just keeps flogging a watch at what really is an arbitrary
price until it sells. i bump my prices down until reality shows me i'm being reasonable. what if
we could begin the selling process this way instead of ending it?

Thanks for your consideration, and i'll be glad to offer my opinions to you, if you ask

Peter

 

[Thesharkman]

not quite sure that I understand your question. I never thought of this watch as "rare"; maybe that is because in the advent of my seiko interest, I saw that model a LOT and was interested in picking one up, but never did for one reason or another.

<* shark >>><

 

[peterrizzo]

not quite sure that I understand your question. I never thought of this watch as "rare"; maybe that is because in the advent of my seiko interest, I saw that model a LOT and was interested in picking one up, but never did for one reason or another.

<* shark >>><

ah,

back in 2003, i was still a timex guy, i liked my watch but it was a utilitarian
thing for me. i never see them for sale, for me, that's the definition of rare.
and my definition of overpriced is something that sits for a long time without
selling, or a price reduction. this watch was both, it was the only one i saw for
sale, ever, and the price was too high and never dropped.

now i'm bumping it down, but it's hard to price a watch with very little of a
track record on pricing. and, it is minty.

when i bought it, one thing i thought was, well, maybe i'll get it to the right
collector if it's nbot for me...and nthat's where it's at right now.

 

[peterrizzo]

lol, reminiscing about 20 years ago, 2003...i'd been living in lower manhattan
for 25 years, i still thought it was affordable, but later in the year i did move out...
i go back to nyc 20 years later, and i find it hard to believe that i lived there for so
long...i imagine the world of vintage Seiko has had commensurate change in the
last 20 years....and a 2003 watch is now vintage. this world has changed so much,
and the people in it.

remember rip van winkle? well, that was in colonial times, and he was only alseep
and out-of-town for 20 years, too...

 

[Grammarofdesign]

I applaud your effort here. Setting a price for a rare watch with practically no comparable sales is a crapshoot. It evolves into a game of who's buying and how motivated might he be / deep are his pockets.

One can hold out asking for the moon for years only to finally find someone willing to blow away the top of market because money is no object to him. That doesn't 'prove it was worth that much.' It means a fool rolled by willing to part with wads of money.

As a parallel, I spent 2+ years hunting down the rarest variation of the SKX007, namely the SKX169. It's just a 7S26 inside so no value in the movement, just a bog standard SKX007/009/011/etc. case so no high dollar value there, using the silver ornate 7002 2nd gen style bezel as used on the SKX171, so again no value in the parts, but there were so few made ardent collectors like me will pay up to $1,000 for it - thus proving it's the rarity and not the underlying cost to manufacture. I got mine at a price multiple of 2 or 3 or even 4 for an SKX009 but frankly I was prepared to go much higher because it was a real journey to find the one I got.

I liken it a bit to those cars on Mecum Auctions on TV, every now and then 2 gentlemen won't be outbid until there is a winner who grossly overpaid and a very happy seller who did not deserve to get that much money for that ride.

 

[Grammarofdesign]

On to the OP's exact watch:

Watch Charts .com shows the only sale in the last 6 months was at $724 (sound familiar Peter?)

Going farther back sales in 2019 at $800-$900 and some unsold ones too, no telling if that was the same watch or up to 4 unique examples, and condition is unknown.

https://watchcharts.com/watch_model/19846-seiko-5-skz205/overview

I would think the one you are selling, pristine if not immaculate, full kit, all links included, etc makes it a top of market value. Then the question becomes 'how many guys are interested in adding it to their collection? Not so much for the price point, just in general, how many collectors want one ? Seiko made a lot of these 7S36 oddities, limited editions and such, I love the 7S36 sushi roll family of reissues, I have no clue if this is highly desirable or not.

To me the question is not 'what is the right price?' but rather the right price is shown above, so the question is 'who is interested in owning this unique Limited Edition?"

 

[Thesharkman]

ah,

back in 2003, i was still a timex guy, i liked my watch but it was a utilitarian
thing for me. i never see them for sale, for me, that's the definition of rare.
and my definition of overpriced is something that sits for a long time without
selling, or a price reduction. this watch was both, it was the only one i saw for
sale, ever, and the price was too high and never dropped.

now i'm bumping it down, but it's hard to price a watch with very little of a
track record on pricing. and, it is minty.

Here's my "rare" story. I think I came into Seikos when the first gen orange and black monsters came out or close to it. When the yellow monster came out (only 300 units), I HAD to have one and spent $600-700 for it, after shipping from a guy in Thailand. That was an ungodly amount for a monster back then. I liked it a lot, but didn't wear it that much; so, off it went. I believe that I sold it for $1,500 and felt pretty darn good about it...LOL. Now, I'm kicking myself, of course. Those things sell for $4-5k EASY. There's one on ePay now for $10k. =\

<* shark >>><

 

[peterrizzo]

Here's my "rare" story. I think I came into Seikos when the first gen orange and black monsters came out or close to it. When the yellow monster came out (only 300 units), I HAD to have one and spent $600-700 for it, after shipping from a guy in Thailand. That was an ungodly amount for a monster back then. I liked it a lot, but didn't wear it that much; so, off it went. I believe that I sold it for $1,500 and felt pretty darn good about it...LOL. Now, I'm kicking myself, of course. Those things sell for $4-5k EASY. There's one on ePay now for $10k. =\

<* shark >>><

wow, ten grand for a monster? of course that sounds ludicrous, maybe another 20 years and it sounds cheap
to some....

 

[peterrizzo]

On to the OP's exact watch:

Watch Charts .com shows the only sale in the last 6 months was at $724 (sound familiar Peter?)

View attachment 511929

Going farther back sales in 2019 at $800-$900 and some unsold ones too, no telling if that was the same watch or up to 4 unique examples, and condition is unknown.

https://watchcharts.com/watch_model/19846-seiko-5-skz205/overview

View attachment 511928

I would think the one you are selling, pristine if not immaculate, full kit, all links included, etc makes it a top of market value. Then the question becomes 'how many guys are interested in adding it to their collection? Not so much for the price point, just in general, how many collectors want one ? Seiko made a lot of these 7S36 oddities, limited editions and such, I love the 7S36 sushi roll family of reissues, I have no clue if this is highly desirable or not.

To me the question is not 'what is the right price?' but rather the right price is shown above, and the question is 'who is interested in owning this unique Limited Edition?"

hi jon,

yup, the guy was asking $1,250 for it and i got him to $725, i guess give or take a
dollar, but given the condition of the watch, i thought that was not a bad price,
and, i had a genuine curiosity about the watch. and it's one of those minty/nos
situations where i'll put it on my wrist for a careful hour or two around the house,
but i don't want to put wear and tear on it, it really is a beauty. it fits me well, but
i think it would better fit a guy who's at 7.5-7.75. it's a manly man's watch, i'm
just a regular guy, 7" after a workout.

i had no idea i was so influential. see what i mean about rare? * one * sale and
that defines the market for the watch in general? does that mean i have to sell
it for $724 ? i am not gonna bump it for 7 years like the last guy, sounds like
a mythological curse.

so, are any collectors out there seriously interested in owning a watch such as
this? if so, i am certainly happy to negotiate, and i would also be happy to get
this particular watch to the exact right guy.

sincerely, and with best regards,

peter

 

[peterrizzo]

also, this thread is an invitation to anyone to post a watch and ask us here what we think it's worth.
i'd be curious to see a bunch of people throw out a price they think is reasonable for the above watch...

 

[vincentg]

Not to be blunt, but it does not have a lot going for it compared to say an ash tray or a tuna, it is also a bit fugly, I cannot see it more than a $500 Seiko, look at what $500 will buy you in a Seiko and compare. That is just my two cents.
PS I wish to add that rarity does not necessarily lead to increased value and extreme rarity can often lead to a small marketability.

 

[peterrizzo]

agreed about the rarity factor. aesthetics are very personal and subjective,
i think the case architecture is brilliant, and i happen to really like knurling,
and the way the case is fitted to the bracelet is very unusual and very well
done. so, maybe i should keep it, but i am downsizing, still, and selling
what i don't wear, that's the nos factor...

i should add, i'm selling my ashtray, and i have sold my tunas, too...those
watches are what the french would call jolie laide...attractive but not pretty.
i think this falls into the same camp.

 

[Grammarofdesign]

Let me add that in the case of the SKX169 commanding a high price due to their rarity, I should add that there are precious few of us who would pay the premium just to have it. The black dial variant is not that hard to find and many guys switched off the OEM bezel because it's too 'out there' for their eye.

What I am saying is that the price is high but the subset of collectors who would pay for it is small.

 

[casiojem]

So, here's a watch I just sold a week or two back. I wasn't sure how to price it , but let's put it this way, I didn't want to give it away.
I'd class it as fairly rare as it's JDM and I couldn't find another for sale at that particular time when I was selling.
It's a SARG 007 6r15 02N0, very good condition, perfect time keeper and box , papers and original strap
So, what do you think it eventually sold for?

 

[peterrizzo]

I'm just going to throw a # out, but i have no idea what these cost when new, i also
don't know how old it is/year made....seems pretty current though. Looks like the numbers
on the dial are lumed. I think it's an improvement on an alpinist, the only alpinist i ever bit at
was the black dialled one in the SKX case, so, this is right up my alley. $525 U.S.?

 

[casiojem]

I'm just going to throw a # out, but i have no idea what these cost when new, i also
don't know how old it is/year made....seems pretty current though. Looks like the numbers
on the dial are lumed. I think it's an improvement on an alpinist, the only alpinist i ever bit at
was the black dialled one in the SKX case, so, this is right up my alley. $525 U.S.?

I'll just see if any others want to have a guess, before I say

 

[peterrizzo]

people don't seem as interested as i'd hoped. what i notice about getting older
is that prices continuously shock me, and i'd rather have some idea of what's
going on than be continuously shocked....am i under on the sale price? i can wait
to find out, but i do want to know

 

[casiojem]

people don't seem as interested as i'd hoped. what i notice about getting older
is that prices continuously shock me, and i'd rather have some idea of what's
going on than be continuously shocked....am i under on the sale price? i can wait
to find out, but i do want to know

I totally understand that. It's some bizarre art that is known to a few

 

[peterrizzo]

maybe very few this aging thing is tricky indeed....

 

[casiojem]

So, here's a watch I just sold a week or two back. I wasn't sure how to price it , but let's put it this way, I didn't want to give it away.
I'd class it as fairly rare as it's JDM and I couldn't find another for sale at that particular time when I was selling.
It's a SARG 007 6r15 02N0, very good condition, perfect time keeper and box , papers and original strap
So, what do you think it eventually sold for?
View attachment 512088

So, I bought this a good few years ago for approx £350 I think - and then when I researched a price to sell it on here last year , I put £525 thinking it was rare and I couldn't find a better example anywhere with box and papers. I also thought, it might then draw an offer of £500 which I'd be happy with.

I didn't get a single reply to the ad until a month or two back, from a member who just joined with zero feedback or postings, so I wasn't going to risk a sale.

So, I put it on eBay for £425 buy it now , for 7 days and got one show of interest but a low £300's offer. I knocked that back and they kept going up to £375 eventually. I was sure that if I left it up at £400 on ebay then it would sell for that.

Had one more go on eBay but nothing and eventually I sold to the guy from eBay for £375 but off ebay , which saved my fees, and I paid postage.

So this 'game' of pricing up your watches is a complex thing I think.

But, all in all, I was happy to sell, happy with price, and also it's worth it when things go smoothly.