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**Ric Ferrari** · 03-26-2007, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by ErichS View Post

Any collector should due his homework before buying from any Dealer......

Quite agree : doing so every dealer can reserve a buy opportunity.

Ric

**panzerlord1** · 03-27-2007, 05:23 AM

homework

Originally posted by ErichS View Post

Any collector should due his homework before buying from any Dealer. Tom is a good guy but not perfect.

i agree in part but i think the dealer has to do his homework as well, when u sell something u should know what u are talking about!!! The dealer has some duty to the collector. most dealers dont like .com sites because they uncover hundreds of fakes every day and most dealers need to sell a fair share of fakes to make a living.

Panzerlord

**buckle1** · 03-27-2007, 11:51 AM

I find it amazing that this group can be so hard on any dealer these days. Yes the buckle Tom has is bad. This particular one is easy to spot. Tom should remove it from his site. With that said, all I see on this forum are collectors writing in asking if this or that buckle is good or not. There are dealers in Europe, GB and the US that I deal with and yes they have bad buckles at times. Do they know there bad?? Maybe maybe not. When you deal with a large numbers of different items it is tough to not get stuck on occasion. The main point is will they take the item back? Most will. However, with buckles it is somewhat easy for an advanced collector and for many dealers to tell the difference between an original and a fake. When it comes to the badges, the helmets and the cloth it is a totally different story. I have been at shows where no group of dealers/collectors could agree on whether or not a badge was good or bad. It is a scary hobby today. The fakes get better each year. I remember back in the late 90's when the fakes were getting pretty good talking to fellow collectors about the one piece stamped aluminum buckles. We all sort of agreed the fakers would never be able to duplicate that manufacturing process. Well they did both in the EM buckles as well as the officers. The early ones were somewhat crude with casting flaws and a greyish clor. When I saw my first SS EM in a Prague military shop I questioned the color. and was told they were found in a basement and had gotten wet. Sounded like a good story. Now they bury them in the ground and use acid on them to age them.
Anyway, I run on to long. the main thing as one of you mentioned is you need to do your research and get to know the good buckles from the bad.
This forum helps a great deal but I still see folks getting stuck. At least most ask first before buying.

Bill

**Gregory Koepp** · 03-27-2007, 02:26 PM

well I have to be on Thomas's side, due to him not knowing all items out there. He has helped me in my collecting area and he is the first to tell me that he doesn't know most areas of collecting out side the dagger/swords etc.. (but is always learning) he buys ALOT of items from familys and collections that have been passed down to other members of a family who wants to sell what they know nothing about, and on the items he has no idea he seeks outside help in letting him know if an item is good or? he may need to seek more or better reliable collectors on buckles if he has some bad ones in question. but he is a good and respected man.

just wanted to say something on his side,

gregory koepp

**hess** · 03-28-2007, 11:06 AM

wittman

im sure u havnt had a bad experience with him doesnt mean his honest as the day is long .i had an experience with him with a very rare dagger.It was wrong without doubt and he was less than complimentary when i told him .One day i might get around putting it on the forum.Then u might have a different opinion.
HE IS NO SAINT

**David North** · 03-28-2007, 02:18 PM

I still think and with all due respect chaps (a) that Tom is among the very best dealers that we all may have or had, the privilege in dealing with, (b) that it is quite disgraceful that one dealer in non responsive isolation should be singled out for this type of discussion and (d), that a moderator should remove this thread from the Belts and Buckles Forum.

Regards,

David

**KC1** · 03-28-2007, 02:30 PM

I second the motion!!!!

Respectfully -

Dan

**hess** · 03-28-2007, 02:42 PM

wittman

the truth seems not to interest some on this thread which i find even more WORRYING .
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

**KC1** · 03-28-2007, 03:48 PM

Hess,

I believe you have made your point very clear to this forum and many have added their opinions to this thread. The take-aways are some members have already sent their concerns via email to the dealer in question on the identified /suspect buckle. Some have raised concerns over items received and others have voiced their pleasure in dealings with him. What more is there?

Let's move forward.

Regards,

Dan

**TxGauleiter** · 03-28-2007, 04:04 PM

i am not defending wittmann at all.. i have heard the stories too, and i dont condone what i heard by any stretch...

however, the 'ignorance' knife cuts both ways, as i purchased a piece from him i will never part with and purchased it for thousands less than it should have cost because he didnt know what it was...

**Carlton Gooch** · 03-31-2007, 06:56 PM

Bad Buckle

It seems to me that some if not the Majority of Dealers who sell bad stuff is Gambling on the Ignorance of the Customer, I think that is Terrible. They are in a sense forcing the Collector to educate Him or Herself. Just my $650.00 worth

. Butch

**Gunther Beckman** · 04-02-2007, 10:23 AM

Why don't you guys back off Tom Wittmann.. He has done more for this hobby than all of you put together could if you took the rest of your lives! Tom's main field of expertise is edged weapons and I'm sure he is just like me when it comes to belt buckles, why in the world would anybody want to collect belt buckles? Boring...

If one or two the buckles on his site are truly reproductions, then know for a fact, Tom will remove them. If he didn't respond to your email inquiries right away, that is because Tom has a life.. Militaria dealing is only a small percentage of what he is about. Tom, first and foremost, is a collector. Besides being an excellent author, Tom has several other business interests in NJ. He is a VERY busy man and is as honest as the day is long.... And he doesn't have time to waste defending himself on these Internet forums.

What you have stated on this forum thread is nothing short of character assassination! Knock it off! We all need Tom Wittmann in this hobby.. He is a good man..

Anything Tom has sold or will sell, comes with a life time unconditional guarantee, what more do you want!

All the best..

Michael Wipf
(MAX Life Member)

**lach470** · 04-02-2007, 11:44 AM

I can't comment about Mr. Wittmann but I can talk about collecting buckles. Boring you say? You are entitled to your opinion I guess but I think you're wrong. There are so many styles of buckles out there and all display great quality to detail and workmanship. My collection is based on attempting to collect one of each type- and there are so many more different types of buckles than daggers (I'm not talking about manufacturers). But then again....that is just my opinion - and, last I checked, we're all entitled to those.

Cheers!

Rob

**David North** · 04-02-2007, 11:54 AM

Michael

If you read this thread carefully (and I very much doubt that you have), you will see that there have been collectors and to include myself of these "boring" buckles as you have so graciously and elegantly stated, who have backed Tom 100%. There are many on the forum who have been absolutely appalled by this thread.

Just for your information and to strike a balance, as a forum member I have personally apologised to Tom and also, I for one am suggesting to the Moderator that the thread should be erased.

Regards,

David

**Luftm40** · 04-02-2007, 12:20 PM

..of course the buckle is bad. He is a dealer and all dealers sell fakes...period. It will sell eventually to someone who trusts him unconditionally and doesn't bother to learn right from wrong on their own.

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