New Uk Member & Collector Need's Help

[baldy1939]

Hi Everyone , I Live In Essex In The Uk & I Am looking to Start Collecting Iron Crosses & Badges Of The Third Reich , I Would Be Gratefull Too Any Members As To Where Too Get The Real Genuine Crosses & Badges As I Have Been Told There Are So Many Fakes On The Market & They Are Virtually Impossible Too Tell Them From The Real Ones ? Too Any Uk Members , As I Mention I Live In The Essex Area & Wondered If There Are Any Recommended Dealers Or Websites That You Now Of who you have bought from & were happy with your items . All Help Greatfully Appreciated . Mark

[sunkist]

Hello Mark,welcome to WAF and you will sure learn a lot from this place.Its a norm to be addicted to collecting EKs.Good Luck

You can rest assure and buy from the estand here in WAF.

Regards
sim

[upbeek]

hi mark
check out the forums estand ,you will find original crosses like this for sale

[leibregiment]

Mark, welcome, I live in Devon and have collected for a while, happy to assist if I can, if you have just started to collect I will profer the advice I was given many years ago, "Build a library before you start and learn the subject it will save you a fortune" all the best, Paul

[Anthony N]

Hi Mark & welcome aboard, you've definitely come to the right place.
First stop has to be the e-stand, it's where most of my purchases have come from! Just buy it, get a good picture & post it up here & the members will let you know if it's good or not & i'd be very suprised if it wasn't, many members patrol that e-stand & say if they think it might be a fake. E-stand purchases can be sent back within 7 days for ANY reason.
As for dealers there is a good thread you can do a search for under "best on-line dealers" or some such title. Lots in there to go on. Be sure that they have a good returns policy & lifetime guarentee.
The dealers i have used the most you can google: Helmut Weitze (Germany), Miliatary Antiques Stockholm (Peter Lukas), Ruptured duck (USA), Simply daggers (UK), German dot Militaria (UK), Historical media (USA).
It's not impossible to tell the good fakes from the real but it does take a fair amount of learning & experience. I spent some time researching before buying.
Hope that helps, Ant.

[fugpaw]

Mark,

Welcome to the forum. Ant has covered many of the dealers that I would recommend, you could also try Dion's web site www.MDMilitaria.com and Toby's www.dasreich.co.uk - both of these also sell on e-stand.

Chay - nice plug for your EK - it is a stunner.

Mike

[Adrian]

Hello again Mark!
Did you get my email?

[DONDon1]

Welcome Mark !!! I never buy from Dealers Badges I only buy from privat
people.But this Forum is the best way to get informations about any badge.So if you see any badge for sale keep cool and get your information
first befor you buy (search function).

[Steve Campbell]

Welcome! If you are just starting and don't have any items then the Estand here will be great for you. As most peoples collections grow, it will be harder to find items you want as you start to aquire most of the eassier to find pieces. As a new collector, you need everything so you can get some good deals. Unmarked Iron crosses are still affordable and certain marked ones also. There are still good affordable basic badges out there also that aren't heavily faked, such as KVK's, Eastern front medals, West Wall etc. There are some decent dealers also, although I only but a small portion of my items from dealers. The mark up is usually too high. Having said that I picked up a nice unmarked Panzer Assualt Badge from www.germanwarbooty.com a few days ago for $200 US all in. You won't find that item for any better on the Estand in my opinion. Every now and then a dealer will list a good price. Don't forget to try WW1 items also. They tie in nice to TR era items. Generally the estand has all you will need for awhile and most sellers are great. I've never been burned yet and I have made dozens if not hundreds of deals there. Some of the sellers you can trust are Ben Bijiker, Munster, Alex K, Mathias, MVM71 just to name a few off the top of my head. Basically, try and learn as much as you can, ask questions and don't go to fast into it or you can be burned.

[baldy1939]

Thankyou For Your Help & I Will Always Be Interested If You Find Any Crosses That You Might Think Will Help Me Get Started .

[baldy1939]

Thankyou For Your Advice .

[baldy1939]

Hi & Thankyou , If You Find Or Come Across Any Nice Crosses That You Might Think Will Help Me On My Way Please Let Me Know . Thanx Again Mark

[baldy1939]

Thankyou For Your Helpful Advice , Please Keep In Touch If You Come Across Any Good Clean Crosses That You Might Think Will Be Of Use Too Me . Mark

[baldy1939]

Hi , Thankyou For The Help & Like I Have Said Too All Who Responded I Will Be Pleased If You Find Any Nice Crosses That You Think Will Help My Collection Get Off The Ground . Mark

[baldy1939]

Yes Thankyou Adrian , You Have Been Very Helpful . Mark