re: #59 wrenchwench

Sorry had to go sell a bike.

Bought for $40 + 10 minute tune up, sold for $150 = profit!

I’ve occasionally thought of buying nonrunning watches on Ebay for cheap, cleaning them up and selling them. Often a nonrunner only needs cleaning to be able to run well, so I figure it would be pure profit!

Then I run across a watch like one I got recently. If I fixed it all up, and got a new quality strap, I could probably sell it for $75-125. The problem is, I’ve already got 8 hours of work in it, and it’s still not behaving. If I check each piece separately, they all check out fine. Groups of components check out fine. It’s only when it’s all together that I run into problems.

You generally can’t tell why a watch isn’t working till it’s on your bench. Often not till you take it apart. Sometimes, not till you put it back together. And occasionally, not even then.