Chuck,

Well put Sir.

For anyone concerned Chuck IMHO is "The Master" for watches so ask for his advice !! ;>)

Good hunting.

Cheers
Tim

:

: Actually if you collected Heuer Monaco, which
: you don't and you have also made it
: perfectly plain that you don't care for
: them, I don't usually get very excited
: about Monaco's... I find Carrera's or
: Pasadena cased models to be more my cup of
: tea. I haven't ruled out ever considering
: one or buying/owning one. I kinda like the
: Slate Gray Dialed 7736's. And I certainly
: cast my net far further afield currently
: than I did three or four years ago... No one
: knows what the future may bring... In a
: couple of years, who knows?
:

: then you wouldn't consider it a good buy.
: No, that is not entirely correct.

: I would not consider it a good buy for me ,
: at this time .

: For all I know, it may been a good or even a
: great buy for someone else, perhaps even as
: far as what the market will bear on resale.
: I grant that I am not particularly
: knowledgeable about the complexities of
: market price ranges on Monaco's at the
: moment. So I don't consider it any flavor of
: a buy. I do not follow the going rate for
: Monaco's anywhere near closely enough to
: make a value judgement on if it was a
: awful/poor/fair/good/great deal.

: My only real thoughts with regards to this
: specific Monaco was that by in large the
: Valjoux 7740 and 7741 are pretty much
: forgotten calibres these days when compared
: to the 773x series. And that may have had an
: effect as to why this Monaco went for the
: bid it did and not higher. This one didn't
: make a strong impression on me enough to
: make me feel it should have commanded quite
: so high of a price and still be considered a
: good/great deal... Others seem to have felt
: similarly.

: I have "watched" some of the Monaco
: Automatic Blue Dial goes for over $5,000.00
: lately. This was a rare Monaco which brought
: a reasonable price and I am sure the
: purchaser can make money on it if he decides
: to sell. Once again a watch is worth what
: someone is willing to pay for it and not
: what someone says that it is worth. I
: don't follow Monaco's to be able to say I've
: seen Monaco's selling $5k+ lately.

: As for if the 7740 Monaco in question was
: obtained at a reasonable enough price to
: sell at a profit, time will tell. I just
: hope the watch finds a good home and I hope
: the eventual owner gets many years of
: service and enjoyment out of ownership. I
: think that is a sentiment we all share here
: in the forum.

: I may not bid on more Heuer on eBay than some
: other collectors but I most definely would
: think that I am in the top five bidder on
: vintage Heuer and I would put my collection
: of 250+ Heuer watches and timer up against
: anyones Heuer Collection. The reason I
: mention this is not to brag but to make a
: point. Uh-huh... Speaking for myself
: when it comes to collections (of watches or
: anything else), The items I pursue in order
: to add to my collection I do so for my
: collection, not to compete with any one
: else, their collection or to be on some top
: five bidder list.

: A person's collection should reflect one's
: personal tastes and interests. My collection
: hopefully reflects mine, your collection
: reflects yours, and everyone else's reflects
: theirs.

: I am not afraid to bid before the last minute
: because someone might think that I am a
: "so called expert", therefore they
: would intentional bid against me thinking
: that I knew something that they didn't or
: that it was a bargain. Nor am I afraid to
: bid prior to the last minute. However for me
: it is a better strategy not to bid early
: and often, regardless of what anyone else
: thinks about me. I'm not typically going to
: bid in a manner that is disadvantageous to
: my chances to prevail. That's common sense.
: I wouldn't expect anyone else to bid in a
: disadvantageous manner either.

: Even if I bid at the last minute I have
: already put in a previous bid. If you wait
: until the last second it is nothing more
: than sniping. Sniping is perfectly legal and
: there is nothing wrong with it, Good to
: hear you say that.

: but don't claim that you are an expert and
: top gun collector (which you may very well
: be), I do not believe I said I was an
: expert. In fact I didn't. What I said was
: " I have a fairly high profile in
: watch forums ".

: Nor did I say anything about collecting guns,
: much less my prowess (or lack there of) in
: collecting firearms. Neither of which is
: really germane to the discussion in this
: forum. (anyone who wishes to discuss
: firearms, there are plenty of firearm
: discussion forums out there, or if you wish
: to discuss firearms with me personally, my
: email is easy enough to find! =) )

: which can only bid at the last second because
: you are afraid of the competition taking
: advantage of your knowledge and expertise.
: People have bid on items I'd bid on in
: the past after reading articles I've written
: and searching eBay for what I was bidding
: on. That hasn't happened recently, as I
: rarely bid on anything prior to the last
: moments of an auction. I'm not in a habit of
: making it easy for people to know what
: specific eBay items I am currently seeking
: or interested in. Nor would I recommend it
: to anyone else.

: I have no problems with people availing
: themselves of my articles or posts. If I did
: I would have password protected my web pages
: long ago and/or not posted 'em in the first
: place. People query me all the time... I've
: received and cheerfully replied to hundreds
: if not thousands of requests for information
: over the years... My eMail boxes are
: chock-a-brock full of watch related queries
: and replies.

: Nor am I " afraid " or ,,scared,,
: of people reading my articles/posts to make
: themselves a better consumer. I have a
: standing policy of allowing and encouraging
: eBay and Web sellers to link to my
: articles (rather than copy and paste them)
: so that their potential buyers know as much
: about the item as possible.

: On the other hand I see no need to bid on an
: item driving up the price for myself/someone
: else on unless I'm committed to a serious
: attempt at the end of an auction. At which
: point I will place my bid.

: The really easy way to avoid/minimize price
: escalation in an eBay bidding war is to not
: start or get entangled in one in the first
: place.

: On more than one occasion I have not bid
: because I have noticed that Jeff Stein was
: the high bidder (I would consider him an
: expert and top gun collector) on a auction
: and to offer my respect for him I did not
: bid. I've done the same on dozens of
: occasions... For Jeff and an number of other
: friends who I've been in contact with in my
: travels over the years...

: I know for a fact that he has done the same
: for me (he told me he did). I'm sure
: I've mentioned items I was serious about to
: Jeff (among others) and I'm sure he (they)
: have reciprocated in kind.

: If Jeff had not bid early and often I would
: not have known that he was after the Heuer
: he was bidding on. Most times, I mention
: what I'm interested in to Jeff or other
: friends I talk with regularly via email,
: AOL-IM, phone or via other means. Or if the
: friend was someone I was/am not currently in
: regular contact with but knew in the past, I
: would contact them directly if I was serious
: about an item and let them know. I also have
: directed friends and acquaintances to items
: that I'm not interested in but thought they
: might be.

: I have also done this to other Heuer
: Collectors that I had previously sold to or
: had previously purchased from. The majority
: of them never knew that I passed on raising
: the bid on which they were the high bidder.
: As far as I was concerned the only person
: who needed to know was me. I have done
: the same in consideration for other friends
: and acquantances as well. Not limited to
: Heuer, Omega or any specific brand either.

: Good collecting to all fellow Heuer
: Collectors, Charles. eBay isn't entirely
: unlike many other pursuits.

: In sports (Fencing, Football, Golf or Racing
: among others) or games (Chess, Monopoly,
: Bridge or Poker among others) different
: competitors have different approaches,
: styles, strategies, techniques, etc. they
: fashion in an effort to maximize their
: efforts and results.

: In the competitive arena that eBay is... use
: the combination(s) of those approaches,
: styles, strategies and techniques that are
: best suited to you in order maximize your
: results.

: Good Hunting Everyone!

: -- Chuck

: Chuck Maddox ( Article index @
:
: http://www.xnet.com/~cmaddox/cm3articles.html
: )