Hi guys,
Just thought I would start a thread about what some of you think of the state of our hobby. I have seen similar threads relating to the escalating prices and fakery of our 3rd Reich counterparts but up until recently I didn't think they applied to our humble Allied minority.
I have seen an alarming rate of price escalation of late with an equally alarming rate of fakes being offered. As I mainly collect Polish and Canadian I can only truly comment accurately on those but would imagine that the effect is across the board. I know that any thing Airborne/SAS/Commando related has always commanded a premuim but of late I have noticed that things that were "run of the mill" 5 years ago have escalated to prices that were undreamed of back then.
Case in point:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=008
Far from a common badge but not so rare as to finish at nearly three times the market value (my opinion of market value anyways). 5 years ago these could have been had for near the $150.00 mark at the low end and maybe $200.00 on a good day. A much nicer example sold a couple of years back on ebay for less than half!!!
Example 2:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=008
Again not terribly uncommon but still shouldn't have sold for more than $200.00 at the highest.
Example 3:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=012
Prof. Wesolowski must have wanted this set real bad. So bad that he even bid against himself! He did end up winning it though. 510 quid for a set with no provenance is absurd!
Lastly:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=020
I can't see what's made this group so valuable. Everything in the group is common save for the reunion medal but surely that can't make it worth the final price.
I've been guilty of overpaying in the past (we all have) but I usually set my mark from 10 to 25% over what I think it's worth depending on how rare it is and on how badly I want it. I don't think I would ever pay the kinds of prices that these are getting though.
That's my rant. I just needed to get that off my chest. Please chime in with your thoughts or examples that you have seen of similar instances.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers,
Greg
Just thought I would start a thread about what some of you think of the state of our hobby. I have seen similar threads relating to the escalating prices and fakery of our 3rd Reich counterparts but up until recently I didn't think they applied to our humble Allied minority.
I have seen an alarming rate of price escalation of late with an equally alarming rate of fakes being offered. As I mainly collect Polish and Canadian I can only truly comment accurately on those but would imagine that the effect is across the board. I know that any thing Airborne/SAS/Commando related has always commanded a premuim but of late I have noticed that things that were "run of the mill" 5 years ago have escalated to prices that were undreamed of back then.
Case in point:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=008
Far from a common badge but not so rare as to finish at nearly three times the market value (my opinion of market value anyways). 5 years ago these could have been had for near the $150.00 mark at the low end and maybe $200.00 on a good day. A much nicer example sold a couple of years back on ebay for less than half!!!
Example 2:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=008
Again not terribly uncommon but still shouldn't have sold for more than $200.00 at the highest.
Example 3:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=012
Prof. Wesolowski must have wanted this set real bad. So bad that he even bid against himself! He did end up winning it though. 510 quid for a set with no provenance is absurd!
Lastly:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=020
I can't see what's made this group so valuable. Everything in the group is common save for the reunion medal but surely that can't make it worth the final price.
I've been guilty of overpaying in the past (we all have) but I usually set my mark from 10 to 25% over what I think it's worth depending on how rare it is and on how badly I want it. I don't think I would ever pay the kinds of prices that these are getting though.
That's my rant. I just needed to get that off my chest. Please chime in with your thoughts or examples that you have seen of similar instances.
Thanks for listening.
Cheers,
Greg
Comment