Best way to source specific parts for seikos?

[Birbdad]

9 minutes ago, jdm said:

Surely not when considering that they apply the exact actual shipping cost, and give the option to ship untracked up to a value of GBP 30. Very unlike many US sellers that don't even ship internationally, at all.

Ok well that's good to know. Best i can tell the only places that have EVERYTHING else i need in one order are cousins and esslinger, the latter of which has weirdly high prices on some of the items.

11 minutes ago, Shane said:

You get to decide whether or not to buy and what to pay for.  England is a long ways away and things happen, both intentionally and unintentionally at every point.

 

 

This is really my main concern. I have clients all over the place and i used to ship lots of original artwork. Going overseas always seemed to drastically raise the likelihood of a parcel vanishing. God if i ordered ALL my lubricants from cousins and it disappeared between here and the uk that would be very very irritating.
 

5 minutes ago, aac58 said:

I looked it up at Boley. You just type your movement-case number in the search field and there you go: https://boley.de/en/case-parts/seiko/8239.7s26-02w0?q=7S26-02W0&p=0&s=10

Ah hah! brilliant! Exactly what I've been looking for!

[gbyleveldt]

I order from Cousins almost every month (so around 6 orders this year) and I've never had anything disappear. Granted, I'm forced to use UPS because of where I am but otherwise I've not had issues. Their customer service is a mixed bag but I've made peace with that a long time ago

[tomh207]

I seem to have become a regular with cousinsuk and have no complaints so far, always going to a first sometime I suppose.

 

Tom

 

p.s. Mind you I am in the UK

[spectre6000]

I also avoided Cousins for a while thinking shipping would kill. What I ended up doing was setting up duplicate orders between various supply houses, and seeing who ended up being cheapest all in. Cousins comes out ahead a surprising percentage of the time. The time and lack of tracking for the cheap shipping (this is just a hobby after all) is a bit annoying, but I have plenty else to keep me busy while the mailman hikes it over. 

Boley search bookmarked! I had never seen that search tool before somehow! Looks pretty comprehensive. I will be testing it out soon!

[dadistic]

4 hours ago, Birbdad said:

Do any us people order from cousins here? Their retailer review in the us seems abysmal.  

I have ordered from Cousins many times over the years, and have always been satisfied. It takes a little while for things to get here, but I'm not usually in a hurry.  They also carry some items that I have not been able to find elsewhere. They are often the go to source when I need a mainspring, as they carry Generale Ressorts mainsprings and have a very good selection with easy lookup.

[tomh207]

13 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

I also avoided Cousins for a while thinking shipping would kill. What I ended up doing was setting up duplicate orders between various supply houses, and seeing who ended up being cheapest all in. Cousins comes out ahead a surprising percentage of the time. The time and lack of tracking for the cheap shipping (this is just a hobby after all) is a bit annoying, but I have plenty else to keep me busy while the mailman hikes it over. 

Boley search bookmarked! I had never seen that search tool before somehow! Looks pretty comprehensive. I will be testing it out soon!

When I have been building watches over the past year with NH3X movements cousinsuk have been a lot cheaper than elsewhere and have delivered to me very quickly. I am in the UK so ymmv.

 

Tom

[clockboy]

Another useful site for Seiko parts and donor movements is

https://speedtimerkollektion.com

I have used them many times a bit slow with delivery thou.

 

 

[Shane]

5 hours ago, Birbdad said:

that would be very very irritating.

Yes, I'm sure it is (I have experienced it myself) but the blame should fall at the feet of those responsible for causing your pain not just the people you placed your orders with.  You may need those people to be on your side at some point and your wrath will never find those truly responsible.

Dealing with people has made me into such a better customer.

Shane

[MechanicMike]

8 hours ago, Birbdad said:

Do any us people order from cousins here? Their retailer review in the us seems abysmal.  

I did once and it was fine. I did find out later that i could have gotten the same item over here tho.. cousins does have stuff that we don't have over here. 

[JohnFrum]

11 hours ago, clockboy said:

Another useful site for Seiko parts and donor movements is

https://speedtimerkollektion.com

I have used them many times a bit slow with delivery thou.

 

 

Extremely useful site. Lots of reasonably priced spares and used movements for parts. Brand new NH36 parts too. Perfect.  
Have been looking on Ebay but all the Seiko used and broken movements there are way overpriced when you consider what a brand new NH36 sells for from Cousins 
 

I have bought from Cousins with no problems. They complete orders quite rapidly. I have used the cheaper option of registered Royal Mail and also UPS shipping. No issue with either except that the mail packages take a while to clear local Customs. There is tracking and insurance so a lost package will be reimbursed. Have not yet tried the standard Royal mail (no tracking or insurance) which is a good option for low value and low weight items. Right now I have a package yet to arrive at my local post office for collection and payment of VAT/Duty. It has been stuck at the Postal Service Customs bond for three weeks now. Not a Cousins issue though. Just a typical Trinidad Customs issue. 

 

[Birbdad]

13 hours ago, clockboy said:

Another useful site for Seiko parts and donor movements is

https://speedtimerkollektion.com

I have used them many times a bit slow with delivery thou.

 

 

Ooh this site is fantastic.  bookmarked!

13 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

I also avoided Cousins for a while thinking shipping would kill. What I ended up doing was setting up duplicate orders between various supply houses, and seeing who ended up being cheapest all in. Cousins comes out ahead a surprising percentage of the time. The time and lack of tracking for the cheap shipping (this is just a hobby after all) is a bit annoying, but I have plenty else to keep me busy while the mailman hikes it over. 

Boley search bookmarked! I had never seen that search tool before somehow! Looks pretty comprehensive. I will be testing it out soon!

What was the turnaround time from cousins usually from ordering to on your door?

I might get my lubricants and oilers and the rest of my stuff from there, i won't need them for awhile because i'm not ready to attempt a full service yet but there's little odds and ends i need like peg and pithwood that i will need fairly soon. Would be lovely to get everything in one order.

Edited July 27, 2022 by Birbdad

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, Birbdad said:

Ooh this site is fantastic.  bookmarked!

What was the turnaround time from cousins usually from ordering to on your door?

I might get my lubricants and oilers and the rest of my stuff from there, i won't need them for awhile because i'm not ready to attempt a full service yet but there's little odds and ends i need like peg and pithwood that i will need fairly soon. Would be lovely to get everything in one order.

Cousins are good to deal with here in the UK, fast delivery service and choice of delivery options. I would expect similar from them for an international order.

[quantieme]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:24 AM, Birbdad said:

I feel like i'm missing something here and this is harder than it should be. Seiko has no parts search, the spare parts companies sell seiko case back gaskets but no list of which case codes they fit, it's juts a parts number. 

I have a seiko with an 02W0 case code and after checking the like 9 pdfs in another thread here of case codes and parts i couldn't find that case code listed and no combination of google search terms really seems to turn up anything. No site seems to have the ability to search for parts by model or case code.

I just need a case back gasket for an 02W0 case but seem to be coming up with nothing. This is so bizarrely obtuse considering this is a sacrificial part that's gotta be replaced regularly i feel like i'm missing something..

I have just ordered a generic set of flat case back gaskets from cousins code G0678 £13 as i needed some for a bellmatic, it has 30 gaskets in 15 sizes so should cover most sizes.

[spectre6000]

9 hours ago, Birbdad said:

What was the turnaround time from cousins usually from ordering to on your door?

I never paid that close attention to be honest. I get multiple deliveries daily, and unless it takes much longer than expected or is holding something up, it doesn't stand out. Watches are third tier priority lately, so shipping is never the hold up so much as just finding time to work on them in the first place. The Cousins shipments arrive in a reasonable enough time to not ping the radar. I initially expected a long shipping time, and was surprised that it wasn't long. I'm afraid I can't be much more specific than that.

[JohnFrum]

11 hours ago, Birbdad said:

What was the turnaround time from cousins usually from ordering to on your door?

Placed an order Sunday, Cousins shipped Monday morning by UPS. Expecting delivery here in the Caribbean on Friday. 

[Birbdad]

Ok. I've been convinced. If i order my lubes and the last odds and ends i need from cousins i'm saving roughly 50% if i use just the basic royal mail. That's amazing.

[JohnFrum]

25 minutes ago, Birbdad said:

Ok. I've been convinced. If i order my lubes and the last odds and ends i need from cousins i'm saving roughly 50% if i use just the basic royal mail. That's amazing.

My last order that used Royal Mail took 8 days from Cousins to the post office airport facility in my country.