Quartz accuracy expectations

[xx]

Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?

I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.

Thanks...

[Jack Denver]

"Normal" is 15 seconds/ month. 25 is a little high but not enough to warrant
service. If you want better than normal there are ultra-accurate watches
available, as well as radio controlled, but frankly most people don't have
any need for that kind of accuracy - have you been accused of being 25
seconds late for a meeting?

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

[Bob Fry]

JD> "Normal" is 15 seconds/ month. 25 is a little high but not
JD> enough to warrant service. If you want better than normal
JD> there are ultra-accurate watches available, as well as radio
JD> controlled, but frankly most people don't have any need for
JD> that kind of accuracy - have you been accused of being 25
JD> seconds late for a meeting?

All watches and clocks must be reset periodically by referring to a
more accurate source. Most are reset by hand, but the R/C watches do
it automatically, that's all. If you get one, and check it a few
times to see it's getting its signal, then you have confidence it's
always correct and you don't wonder any more.

Casio has a wide variety of R/C watches, and Junghans and others have
good looking analog ones that are arguably a little pricey.

[John S.]

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

Typically the accuracy of +- 15 seconds per month seen in most owners
manuals assumes you wear the watch at least 8 hours per day. If it is
just sitting on a nightstand most of the time, results will probably
differ.

[xx]

Thank you, Jack and John, for responding.

Nope, I haven't been 25 seconds late for a meeting. But when I bought it, I
used the hacking feature to set the seconds right. A month later I missed
my bid on an Ebay auction by about ten seconds, and quickly learned not to
rely upon the watch for that purpose. (I have now installed into my
computer a utility that synchronizes it to a time server.)

Many years ago, (perhaps 20!) I had a quartz digital that came with a box
of cereal of all things. By luck, it was amazingly accurate. Over the
course of a year, it would gain less then 30 seconds. As I was catching the
trains out of Penn Station in New York, I set it to their clock and then
knew whether I could meander or whether I had to run. With this new
hundred dollar Swiss Army quartz, I'd have to reset it monthly to achieve a
similar level of confidence.

Given the passage of 20 or so years, and the fact this watch didn't come in
a box of cereal, I had hoped to do as well as that old cheapie - to be
compensated within a few seconds each month. Guess my expectations were a
bit off!

Thanks again - I always enjoy the posts on this forum...

Post by John S.

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

Typically the accuracy of +- 15 seconds per month seen in most owners
manuals assumes you wear the watch at least 8 hours per day. If it is
just sitting on a nightstand most of the time, results will probably
differ.

[Bob Fry]

xx> I missed my bid on an Ebay auction by about ten seconds,

I like Ebay but this "feature" really irritates. Ubid or some other
auction sites have a rule that an auction closes when its deadline
arrives AND when no bids have been posted in the last few (~ 15)
minutes. Makes sense.

[Jack Denver]

That's because ubid is selling their own inventory. Ebay doesn't really care
whether you get top dollar or not. On the buyer side, "sniping" makes it a
little bit more exciting and ocassionally you save money that way. It's
pretty trivial to synchronize your clock with ebays and there are also lots
of programs and web services that do ebay sniping (last minute bidding).

Post by Bob Fry
xx> I missed my bid on an Ebay auction by about ten seconds,
I like Ebay but this "feature" really irritates. Ubid or some other
auction sites have a rule that an auction closes when its deadline
arrives AND when no bids have been posted in the last few (~ 15)
minutes. Makes sense.

[Frank Adam]

Post by Bob Fry
xx> I missed my bid on an Ebay auction by about ten seconds,
I like Ebay but this "feature" really irritates. Ubid or some other
auction sites have a rule that an auction closes when its deadline
arrives AND when no bids have been posted in the last few (~ 15)
minutes. Makes sense.

I have mixed feelings about Ebay and i only use it when i can buy
something straight off the shelf(as in the ones with "buy now").

I've bid on a number of items from one mob, where we set up automatic
bidding and magically got out bid in the last minutes of the auction
each time by 1 single dollar. Now if i was skeptical, and if you know
me i'm far from it<g>, i'd say that the owner of the items didn't want
to sell at that price and had a bot thing going.
So why not set a damn reserve or starting bid ? At first i thought it
was just bad luck, but later i've made it my hobby to bid just to see
what will happen and the same thing did happen 8 times.

It turned me right off Ebay bidding. If i want dishonesty, i'll go to
a damn watchmaker. ;-))

[St. John Smythe]

Post by Frank Adam
I've bid on a number of items from one mob, where we set up automatic
bidding and magically got out bid in the last minutes of the auction
each time by 1 single dollar. Now if i was skeptical, and if you know
me i'm far from it<g>, i'd say that the owner of the items didn't want
to sell at that price and had a bot thing going.

If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very susceptible
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

[dAz]

Post by St. John Smythe
If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very susceptible
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

thats what I did the other day, I bid twice for the same type of item,
in spite of the fact there were 8 others exactly the same listed by the
same vendor with no bids I got sniped twice instead of just leaving it
alone and bidding on the next one grrrr!, anyway I watched the next
item, waited until the last 20seconds snipe and won the item :)

[Anthony Fremont]

Post by dAz

Post by St. John Smythe
If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very

susceptible

Post by dAz

Post by St. John Smythe
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

thats what I did the other day, I bid twice for the same type of item,
in spite of the fact there were 8 others exactly the same listed by the
same vendor with no bids I got sniped twice instead of just leaving it
alone and bidding on the next one grrrr!, anyway I watched the next
item, waited until the last 20seconds snipe and won the item :)

Is there really any other way....... IMO, all auctions should end in 48
hours or less.

[dAz]

Post by Anthony Fremont
Is there really any other way....... IMO, all auctions should end in 48
hours or less.

depends on what is being sold, most items a 3day sale seems to work
best, stuff like computer gear, cameras etc, but items like cars should
be longer, 10days or so to get the best exposure.

I was after an external hard drive, but the one with the best price and
size was on a 8day post, frustrating, I passed a couple of times because
of zero or low bidders pushing the price too high, but got one in the
end after two weeks and at a low price :)

[Frank Adam]

Post by St. John Smythe

Post by Frank Adam
I've bid on a number of items from one mob, where we set up automatic
bidding and magically got out bid in the last minutes of the auction
each time by 1 single dollar. Now if i was skeptical, and if you know
me i'm far from it<g>, i'd say that the owner of the items didn't want
to sell at that price and had a bot thing going.

If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very susceptible
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

I take it "sniping" refers to hitting it right on the end of the
auction ? So the idea is to sit there and hope to be the last bid in,
or is there some trick to it ?
Hell, when i did those bids, i actually wrote a small piece of code to
keep refreshing the page and display it in a small window. I can
always add to that so i'll scrape the page, read the highest bid, then
just increase it by a dollar.
Maybe that's the ticket, as far as i could tell, bidding takes quite a
few seconds, but if i were to do it via code, the time should be
reduced to be as fast as the pages can load.
Hmng... nasty thoughts. :)

[Jack Denver]

There is software that does this already.. you specify how many seconds
before the end of the auction you want the bid to go in.

This is the one I use, but there are many others:
http://www.auction-sentry.com/

There are also web based services that do the same thing, so you don't have
to have a live connection going at the moment of the bid.

The software defaults to putting in your bid 10 seconds before the end of
the auction but if you have a high speed connection and good time synch you
can cut a few seconds off of this --- it makes it almost impossible for
someone who does not have a proxy bid in already to respond in time to
outbid you.

This is all apparently permitted by the ebay rules. While it may not be
"sporting" I got sick of losing auctions at the last second - if you can't
beat 'em, join 'em.

Post by Frank Adam

Post by St. John Smythe

Post by Frank Adam
I've bid on a number of items from one mob, where we set up automatic
bidding and magically got out bid in the last minutes of the auction
each time by 1 single dollar. Now if i was skeptical, and if you know
me i'm far from it<g>, i'd say that the owner of the items didn't want
to sell at that price and had a bot thing going.

If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very susceptible
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

I take it "sniping" refers to hitting it right on the end of the
auction ? So the idea is to sit there and hope to be the last bid in,
or is there some trick to it ?
Hell, when i did those bids, i actually wrote a small piece of code to
keep refreshing the page and display it in a small window. I can
always add to that so i'll scrape the page, read the highest bid, then
just increase it by a dollar.
Maybe that's the ticket, as far as i could tell, bidding takes quite a
few seconds, but if i were to do it via code, the time should be
reduced to be as fast as the pages can load.
Hmng... nasty thoughts. :)
--
Regards, Frank

[St. John Smythe]

Post by Frank Adam
I take it "sniping" refers to hitting it right on the end of the
auction ?

Yes, and *only* at the end of the auction.

Post by Frank Adam
So the idea is to sit there and hope to be the last bid in,
or is there some trick to it ?

No real trick -- just decide the max you're willing to pay, then enter
it with two or three seconds to go. The principle is, you're not
contributing to the ongoing pumping up of the ending price, compared
with putting a proxy bid in early.

I've got an RC clock on the wall, and it's usually within a second or so
of eBay. One page refresh at ~3 seconds until the ending seconds
(disregarding minutes), then note the time on the wall and the seconds
that eBay says are left (in addition to however many minutes), and
you're good to go, that is, you then know the wall clock seconds at
which you need to push the button.

Post by Frank Adam
...as far as i could tell, bidding takes quite a
few seconds,

Less than a second, really, for the final button push to place a bid.

[unknown]

Every time a discussion about eBay bidding strategies pops up, various
bits of false information and bubious advice are posted. This one is
no exception.

Here is some good info on the basics:
http://members.cox.net/cruentidei/ebay/terms.html
http://www.ebayjournal.com/podcast/notes/RGEJ-011.html

And here is some good info on bidding strategies:
http://www.ebayjournal.com/podcast/notes/RGEJ-011-2.html
http://www.ebayjournal.com/podcast/notes/MaximumIsJustaTheory.html
http://barrygoldberg.net/newbidders.htm
http://www.tinaja.com/glib/myebays.pdf

[St. John Smythe]

Post by unknown
Every time a discussion about eBay bidding strategies pops up, various
bits of false information and bubious advice are posted. This one is
no exception.

Which one? Without a bit of a quote, we're left to the mercy of the
newsreader threads, which suggest that you are referring to something
Frank Adam said. But what?

[Frank Adam]

Post by St. John Smythe

Post by unknown
Every time a discussion about eBay bidding strategies pops up, various
bits of false information and bubious advice are posted. This one is
no exception.

Which one? Without a bit of a quote, we're left to the mercy of the
newsreader threads, which suggest that you are referring to something
Frank Adam said. But what?

Take your pick, i'm a clueless newb when it comes to Ebay, if it
wasn't too apparent in that thread.
Although i certainly didn't think i made any recommendations.. So it
had to be you. ;-p

ps: If i forgot, thanks for the tips. If i didn't forget, forget it.
:)

[David Kohli]

Make eBay simple. What I do is see what price similar items are going
for. When I first started watching Illinois Pocket Watches, I opened
a database and put in the price at which it sold, my grade, and type
of dial, et cetra.

Now, I just watch Bunn Specials. DB has over one thousand Bunn
Specials in it.

When I see a watch listed I put it a low bid just to get it on my bid
list. I watch it in My eBay, but don't bid on it again untill the last
two minutes. I don't wait until the last few seconds, because it
seems that is when their server slows.

Sure I get sniped, but there is so much stuff on eBay, that I just
keep looking. To me looking is just as much fun.



On Mon, 08 May 2006 08:07:30 +1000, Frank Adam

Post by Frank Adam

Post by St. John Smythe

Post by unknown
Every time a discussion about eBay bidding strategies pops up, various
bits of false information and bubious advice are posted. This one is
no exception.

Which one? Without a bit of a quote, we're left to the mercy of the
newsreader threads, which suggest that you are referring to something
Frank Adam said. But what?

Take your pick, i'm a clueless newb when it comes to Ebay, if it
wasn't too apparent in that thread.
Although i certainly didn't think i made any recommendations.. So it
had to be you. ;-p
ps: If i forgot, thanks for the tips. If i didn't forget, forget it.
:)

[SWG]

Post by David Kohli
Sure I get sniped, but there is so much stuff on eBay, that I just
keep looking.

Following Baron de Cobertin's maxim: participating is more important
than winning!

Post by David Kohli
To me looking is just as much fun.

This is what my wife keeps telling me, especially in spring, when young
females blossom, in a mix of colours, nice shapes and attractive
scents, under the nose & eyesight of my old lecherous self: take a good
look, but don't touch nor get mixed up! :-)

[unknown]

Post by Frank Adam

Post by St. John Smythe

Post by Frank Adam
I've bid on a number of items from one mob, where we set up automatic
bidding and magically got out bid in the last minutes of the auction
each time by 1 single dollar. Now if i was skeptical, and if you know
me i'm far from it<g>, i'd say that the owner of the items didn't want
to sell at that price and had a bot thing going.

If you're were using proxy bidding, just know that it's very susceptible
to sniping, or last-minute bidding. Matter of fact, if you underbid
somewhat using proxy bidding, there is a very high likelihood that you
will be sniped. Sad but true, to have the best chance of winning, you
need to be the sniper.

I take it "sniping" refers to hitting it right on the end of the
auction ? So the idea is to sit there and hope to be the last bid in,
or is there some trick to it ?
Hell, when i did those bids, i actually wrote a small piece of code to
keep refreshing the page and display it in a small window. I can
always add to that so i'll scrape the page, read the highest bid, then
just increase it by a dollar.
Maybe that's the ticket, as far as i could tell, bidding takes quite a
few seconds, but if i were to do it via code, the time should be
reduced to be as fast as the pages can load.
Hmng... nasty thoughts. :)

I just posted an answer to the above in a new thread titled "eBay
bidding strategies."

[Bob Fry]

SJS> -- St. John Carmel, New York, has an ordinance forbidding men
SJS> to wear coats and trousers that don't match.

Gee, at work today we were just saying that some women should be
prohibited from wearing pants or shorts, and some women should be
required to do so.

[John S.]

Post by Bob Fry
xx> I missed my bid on an Ebay auction by about ten seconds,
I like Ebay but this "feature" really irritates. Ubid or some other
auction sites have a rule that an auction closes when its deadline
arrives AND when no bids have been posted in the last few (~ 15)
minutes. Makes sense.

If you are going to snipe then synchronize your computer clock to Ebay.


Or better yet, just use the proxy bidding system to enter the maximum
amount you are willing to pay and go about your daily business. I
guarantee that you will win if you put in a high enough bid. I'm
watching a watch auction now where the first bidder did that. On an 8
day auction the first bidder put in a pre-emptive bid and 12 others
have entered their bids and walked away. It helps to know what an item
is worth to you.

[germ]

Post by John S.

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

Typically the accuracy of +- 15 seconds per month seen in most owners
manuals assumes you wear the watch at least 8 hours per day. If it is
just sitting on a nightstand most of the time, results will probably
differ.

Yes, it should be more accurate as temperature variations are likely
smaller.

[Dennis Marks]

I have a Wenger Swiss Military watch that I purchased at Costco for about
$120 in December. It states that the accuracy 1/10 second/day. I can attest
that this is true. I last set it on April 10 and it is now 2 seconds slow
(May 4). Between December and April the accuracy was about the same.
--
Dennis

Disclaimer: The above is my opinion. I do not guarantee it. Be sure to back
up any files involved and use at your own risk. Batteries not included. Not
for internal use. Don't run with knives.

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

[b***@gmail.com]

Post by xx
Just wondering what a reasonable expectation is for accuracy on current
mid-price quartz watches. Are they any better corrected then they used to
be?
I recently purchased Swiss Army brand quartz for about $100 and was a bit
surprised that it is off by about 25 seconds a month. I'd expected to do
better then 10 seconds / month.
Thanks...

I think that is excessive, I have a vintage quartz Luch more accurate than that and my 20 year old Swatch Irony is more accurate than that per year. I would not be very pleased if that were me.

Your response about trains rings true with me and my days commuting into London to attend school and then work. Trains get missed by seconds and I have done it.

You could try having it adjusted if its a new purchase - some have a trimmer screw but really these movements should be accurately regulated before sale. This all depends on the manufacturer of the movement.

Good luck

Barry