robert e mcdivitt

[der-hase-fee]

Hello,

What is Mike Constandy's username so that I might PM him? Or, if he is reading this, would he please PM me?

Thanks!

Mike

What was your experience with him ?

[ErichS]

What was your experience with him ?

I have used both Rob and Mike and both due a bang up job. If the person you're looking for is an SA man then Mike is the go to guy.

[Military]

I've engaged Mike Constandy to do research for me and he's a top notch guy.
Mike charges by the amount of research time involved.
As for Robert, I have also heard good things about him.

Have a budget and tell them how much you are willing to spend and then work it out from there. If you have the time and means, you could do it partially on your own by looking through the NARA records. Hope this helps.

Mil

[Erich B.]

Mike`s email address: mjc@westmorelandresearch.org


Erich

[der-hase-fee]

I've engaged Mike Constandy to do research for me and he's a top notch guy.
Mike charges by the amount of research time involved.

Have a budget and tell them how much you are willing to spend and then work it out from there. If you have the time and means, you could do it partially on your own by looking through the NARA records. Hope this helps.

Mil

Mike's been awfully busy this summer supporting a 15 site excavation in Canada, so not much time left for the small jobs, if any.

[der-hase-fee]

As for Robert, I have also heard good things about him.

Mil

Rob's web site is here: http://www.militariaresearch.com/

He's just completed a few more projects for me with results as expected and I am adding a couple more right now.

[Jon Fish]

I used to use Rob all the time but on the recommendation of Erich gave Mike a try on a Blood Order I needed researching to an SA member.
I must say Mike was an excellent communicator throughout the research with regular updates. He found some great stuff and although was not fortunate enough to turn up an image of my guy found out some very interesting stuff. The guy was chucked out of the NSDAP for various dodgy dealings and Mike found all his court hearing files etc.
Not cheap overall but thats because I wanted it done thoroughly and accepted the extra avenues and costs that Mike thought worthwhile checking during the project. Itemised billing and he even gave me 3 or 4 hours free as the amount had stacked up a bit.
Both guys are good.And both are honest, thats half the battle
..............That reminds me I have another item to research !

[Jon Fish]

[QUOTE=sjl;3842918]Robert doesn't charge by the "famousness" of the GPB recipient. He charges by the amount of work (research & time) is involved.

Turns out Rob does add charges if the research adds value to yoiur militaria ,this is from his website.....

My fee is determined at the end of the research. However, a non-refundable deposit of twenty dollars will be paid in advance of the research. Research projects are usually completed within six weeks. I will describe the research file content in general terms and state the fee. The fee is based on expended time, expenses (usually minimal), the quantity and quality of the acquired information along with the value added to your militaria as a result of the acquired information. The non-refundable deposit will be factored into the fee. You have the option to accept or decline payment. There is no fee for an unsuccessful research project. Because of this approach, I only work on research projects that have the potential for a successful outcome. With the exception of research based on incorrect information received from you, I will refund your payment if my findings are proven to be incorrect.

[ErichS]

I agree that Mike is a class act. He found some interesting documents on the 1st owner of my BO as well. If you're on a budget, you can tell him how much you have to spend and he'll work within those perimeters.

[Ron Weinand]

SS Officer Research Service

When I started my SS number and name research service in the 1980s (the first one as I recall), most wanted only to pay if they had a "good hit" regardless of how much time or cost was involved.
I found that the best way to handle the situation (since I already was taking credit cards) was to charge them $15.00 up front to cover computer programer's time and the program that I had to have written and set up and data entry of the DAL lists (the key to the whole process at the time).
Many peopel refused to pay (their loss not mine) and many more thought it should be a free service if the number didn't appear on the list.
In those days (before the modern day resource internet and the different lists availability), just finding a DAL was a challenge. If my brother in law had not been a U of I Library graduate employee, I would never have found one. At the time, Jack Angolia was the only collector/researcher who had one and he would not share. My brother in law had to copy the U of I 1937 DAL at a cost of $0.50 a page, so the copy cost was a rather hefty sum.
With this in hand, I had a program written tying the SS number to the list number, reversed the lists and, wha la, the first SS research service was born.
I did this because I had an M33 with a number.
And guess what: My number wasn't on the officer's list and even Ross K. has not found it, so no good turn goes unpunished.
Over the years I did manage to reclaim all my costs and managed to at least break even, but hence still no return on my SS number.
In the 90s, I did manage to find an original 1937 DAL and the cost then was around 2K. BTW I believe the 37 and 38 lists are the best ones to have as if an officer was on one of those two lists, he probably will be either important or a desk jockey by those years. Anything later would be a stretch IMO.
So, what ever the researcher charges, there is a lot of work and a lot of hidden costs that goes into the research.

[JoeW]

Like Ron, I started to do my own research through NARA back in the 1970s. I was mostly interested in police information. I acquired a few pieces of SS personalty and decided to dig into that research. By the 1980s, research was still inexpensive to deal directly with NARA and ordering microfilm. I have quite a bit.But inflation hit and dealing with NARA to order your own material in financially prohibitive. Researchers are cost effective. Now I have all these microfilm rolls to store.

[james m]

I am an accredited appraiser with the ISA(International Society of Appraisers) specializing in firearms and militaria appraisals. It took me the better part of a year to get though the coursework and pass the examinations. Couple a $500 annual membership fee with the cost of required ongoing education and you can see this is not an inexpensive endeavor.
When I am asked to appraise high end items I will sometimes spend multiple hours doing research before preparing a report.
This is why good research and accurate appraisals are not inexpensive.
Jim