Have dealers gone mad ..... ???

[Tom B]

They are ruining the hobby for ALL of us. Un-educated collectors are being ripped off and these crooks are driving up the prices even more and we can do nothing to stop it ! Places like ebay are partly to blame as they do not care what is sold on their sites. Tom

[novara]

In 1st century BC, Publilius Syrus wrote: "Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it".

Tom, respectfully saying: if you want to sell the same RK from your own collection for £100, yours worth £100 - "Something is worth whatever you think it is worth".

[bytown]

Stop buying the junk.

Eventually the dealers will bring their prices down once they start to starve.

Wayne

[Tom B]

In 1st century BC, Publilius Syrus wrote: "Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it".

Tom, respectfully saying: if you want to sell the same RK from your own collection for £100, yours worth £100 - "Something is worth whatever you think it is worth".

Great justification for ruining a fun hobby........Dealers don't care about what happens as long as "they" get the BIG BUCKS they "THINK" their over priced stuff is worth. More money, more money, more money WOW what a fun hobby !

[Nigel N]

If you are a regular E-bayer, you do get to know certain dealers, and the kind of track record they have when it comes to 57ers!!
Some are outstanding, with only the odd fake, (which must be accepted, as not that many are "expert" on 57ers)
Others however, most of which we have picked out before, sell fake after fake, and I am sure they do know what they are selling!!!
It is up to us to do our homework before buying from E-bay, if you avoid the pitfalls, it is still, by far, the best place to buy 57ers!!!
Prices are a separate issue, and if its an E-bay auction style sale, then no-one can complain if the price goes crazy, sometimes, two people want a certain piece, and in trying to outbid each other, push the price way beyond the value of the piece itself!!
I buy 90% of my 57ers from E-bay, if I think a "buy it now" price is reasonable, I will hit the button, if its auction style, I bid what I think its worth, or what I can afford, and I either win it or lose it!!
-Nigel

[Steve 5]

I buy 90% of my 57ers from E-bay, if I think a "buy it now" price is reasonable, I will hit the button, if its auction style, I bid what I think its worth, or what I can afford, and I either win it or lose it!!
-Nigel

Same here Nigel, the key is knowledge, although I do prefer to buy off another collector when they become available !
Back to the RK grouping in question, I too went looking for a DKiG/S awarded to that name, no luck like you and Tom, given that dealers past & present 57ers its now a highley dubious group, however still a good price for a "B" frame even if you bin the paperwork !
Prost ! Steve.

[Unfront]

Though a touch on the high side, that price is not too far out of line for a Type I in my opinion. Prices will generally go up until it tops out. Unfortunately, 57er's are becoming more and more popular as an inexpensive alternative to their TR vigilantes. There are many a TR collector who recall the 'good 'ol days' when prices were affordable, only to see that values kept creeping upward and upward, then all of a sudden Skyrocketing with the advent of the internet. Same thing is happening to 57er's, unfortunately.

The real problem with the eBay listing that Mathieu pointed out is that the "group" is an absolute put together group. No provenance! Just an assortment of stuff - though it is a righteous 57er RK, the "group" is not worth more than the sum of its parts. In fact, you may as well ask for a discount for buying in bulk.

[Tony T-S]

I confess that I've only bought items from one site owned by a dealer here. No problems at all, but I really prefer to buy from people on estand. I very much doubt I could have picked up the lovely S&L imperial EKI from a dealer for the great price Steve offered it for here. All the guys I bought things from here have been very reasonable and very helpful. Obviously just buying on extend limits what is available, but I know I'm generally not getting screwed.

[Tom B]

My age, my health have helped me stopped collecting in the past couple years. Now the prices we see today have sealed the deal for sure ! No more collecting or posts from me about items ! Tom

[novara]

I always try to keep myself away from this topic because what I think is totally different and I don't want to start an endless argument.

However I still don't understand what do you think, where the dealers buy these items from? These 57ers are not products we can manufacture (in better case...). They buy from other dealers and collectors or from people who don't know what these awards are. My purchase prices are going up, people started to discover the beauty of these awards, not to mention that you identify a medal with google in 2 minutes, you see prices, value, everything, you cannot buy a nice 57er for nothing.

Do you think that I sell a magnetic EK2 for £80 because I buy them for £20 or what????

If I am lucky, I can buy one on German eBay at £35-40 (45-50 Euro) + postage. My purchase price overall is around £40-45. If I sell an EK2 for £80 including inland recorded postage, this will bring me £15-20 profit only because I have to pay 10% commission to eBay, nearly 5% goes to PayPal. You take photos, you list the item, pay for the shop fee to eBay, advertise your business, whatever...

Should I sell for an EK2 for £5 profit?

You people think that being a dealer is a kind of free money for nothing. You cannot compare an e-stand purchase with an official business, I pay tax, everything is official, this is not free to run a business.

Anyway sorry if I hurt somebody.

[Nigel N]

Good to hear your side of things Andrew!!!
The main difference when buying for a dealer and a collector, is that a dealer has to sell it on for a profit, otherwise, there is no point in buying, so while a collector will pay that bit more at an auction site, as they want the piece for themselves, someone who intends to sell again will not pay as much, there would be no sense in doing so!
Lets not forget, for a full time dealer, it is their business, there livelihood and pays their wage, not just a hobby as it is for us!!!
-Nigel

[Serge M.]

And I have been asked, "Tom why have quit collecting". THIS is why, and many more will follow me I'm sure. What you are seeing is the END of our hobby IMO. Tom

A hobby fact. 'They' are strangling their own customers, who just won't take it anymore and are leaving. Most quietly, but others announce it:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=797282

One too many self-authenticating overpriced BS rarities, that in reality are in many cases only worth a fraction today of what was paid five years ago.

Also more collectors getting hosed by 'Esteemed Auction Houses' selling high end fakes.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=796066

A look at the almost empty isles at the last SOS was a eye opener.

-wagner-

[Matthieu]

Hi guys,

Thomas Huss currently has an 1957er KC case for sale.
Regretfully this is a modern reproduction with aged look - looks like a sandpaper job.
Before someone buys it at 195 Euro, I have already informed Thomas via e-mail.

Mathijs