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Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Discussion area for watches, clocks and all other timekeepers.
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Boourns
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Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by Boourns »

Lately I've been hooked on perusing Goodwill's online auction site, shopgoodwill.com. I thought I'd start a thread on it to share experiences. If you are interested in repairing vintage watches, low risk fliers on unique watches/clocks, or flipping I'd suggest giving it a look. The key to keep in mind, though, is most of the time you have NO IDEA whether what you're bidding on works or not.

I've made two purchases in the last ~45 days: A little Seiko quartz world time desk clock and a Schatz 1000 day mantle clock. Both actually work! I paid about $55 shipped for the Seiko, which was probably a tad too much.
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I paid $60 shipped for the Schatz, is at least $30 below what a working one costs on ebay before shipping and tax. I just got it yesterday and before regulation it's running about 2 minutes slow per day.
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While actually buying stuff is fun, the real entertainment value comes from looking at interesting stuff. One auction I watched with interest was the "vomit clock"

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/139283017
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Also interesting is that in the ~45 days I have been regularly looking, no fewer than 7 LeCoultre Atmos clocks have been posted. They mostly sell for $450 to $700, which is a great price if they work. If not... who knows.

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One thing I have noticed are consistently not deals are Seiko watches. Recently a current version Samurai and women's Seiko 5 sold for $450, which is steep. There are also lots of older Seikos, which seem to all go for too much (IMO) given that functionality is unknown. For instance this 6139 Pogue ends tomorrow. It's already at $550. A very good example of this watch in working order might fetch $750. But this one looks rough, and if you have to service it, you'd be better of buying a working one elsewhere.
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Here's a gen 1 Monster for nearly $300: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/139519285. That's at least $100 too high.

And here's an original 62MAS 6217-8000. If it works, this might be worth $3k. But the condition does not look good, so I'd bet against it actually ticking. Check these indices:
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Anyway, this ended up longer than I wanted. Just thought I'd share this as a resource for those who may find it interesting. Feel free to post up anything cool you find!
I wish that watch were 38mm?
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by Stretch44 »

Good idea! I've done a few Goodwill auctions. I picked up an Accutron in great condition for a fraction of the cost in a vintage lot. I had no idea if it was going to work
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by Miggyd87 »

I love the Atmos clocks!
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by Boourns »

Guys.

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/139867916
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Condition:

Tested and is fully functional

Overall in very good cosmetic condition
I wish that watch were 38mm?
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by MoT »

Boourns wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 5:16 pm Guys.

https://shopgoodwill.com/item/139867916
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Condition:

Tested and is fully functional

Overall in very good cosmetic condition
That is awesome!
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by rich_in_the_lou »

I wonder if ths Vintage Nautical Clock- Germany actually works (tells time like any good clock does) since it isn't a clock but a barometer Image :D :) :D :)
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by MoT »

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Thanks to a hot tip from @kl884347, I was able to snag this Timex Speed + Distance System for $12.99.

The grey box is a GPS receiver and it clips to your belt, or straps to your arm, or wherever, and it sends data to the watch via low-power FM. Retro-kitsch tech now, but pretty sophisticated for ~2002 when these were new.
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by kl884347 »

Wow, how did I not know about this thread??
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by Robotaz »

ManOnTime wrote:Image

Thanks to a hot tip from [mention]kl884347[/mention], I was able to snag this Timex Speed + Distance System for $12.99.

The grey box is a GPS receiver and it clips to your belt, or straps to your arm, or wherever, and it sends data to the watch via low-power FM. Retro-kitsch tech now, but pretty sophisticated for ~2002 when these were new.
I have this anti-hoarding thing where anything not used I want gone from my presence, but I’m glad someone saved that because it’s timekeeping history and worth every penny.
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Re: Adventures on Goodwill's online auctions

Post by kl884347 »

StarFox watch. in the same vein as the Tetrs
https://shopgoodwill.com/item/143953666
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