Luftwaffe black M43 - Opinions

[Leroy]

I must say that the insignia on this cap fooled me, too, but that if George and the others say it is bad, Homer should get his money back. It's the only right thing to do.

Between this thread and the other recent thread on the LW tropical cap, it is apparent to me that many old line LW collectors such as myself would do well to go back and re-study LW eagles and the pretty astonishing fakes that have come along since the times, many years ago now, when we were able to get these things from real vets without much worry. I personally have paid more attention to fake badge evolution than cloth, but that needs to be corrected!

Leroy

[John Hodgin]

One of the main purposes of WA

I must say that the insignia on this cap fooled me. I personally have paid more attention to fake badge evolution than cloth, but that needs to be corrected!
Leroy

This is easy to correct, right here on WA...

[Jos L C]

.....or the tiny "hooked" flip to the tail.

Why is the tiny "hooked" flip a indication of a bad eagle ?

Jos.

[John Hodgin]

Why is the tiny "hooked" flip a indication of a bad eagle ?

Jos.

In itself it is not a sole indication. Coupled with other features it is a red flag.

If you believe the cap to be good Jos, I am certain Homer will be happy to sell it to you! Especially since George voiced his opinion, Chad has been MIA.

[Jos L C]

I don't care for such cap, John.., I just wondered about the tail tip..

Jos.

[Willi Z.]

Like John mentioned, the tail tip is just one of many indicators of a bad eagle. Others are the details of the claws, the swaz, the tail feathers, etc, etc. One of these indicators being present doesn't make it bad.

[Colorado]

Hi Homer - That is unfortunate, I hope the seller does the right thing. My experience is 50/50 on items after time has passed that I can recall.

First, I bought an A-Frame from someone off the estand prior to moving back to the USA in 2003. By the time I got around to getting it checked out, six months had passed. It was not well received and the seller pretended he did not know me. I will never do business again with him.

The other instance involved these two helmets I bought from a forum member (not on the estand) right before departing for Iraq.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...9&highlight=SS

Upon return from deployment, I put them up for opinions and got mixed results. He "no-questions asked" honored my return request. To this day, I consider him a good friend and one of the best on this forum.

[Homer Hodge]

Thanks much, Jeff.
I've still not heard from Chad but he may be on vacation. He's been an active WAF member in good standing for some time. I believe he is an honest person and I remain hopeful that he will accept the cap back for a full refund or agree to an equitable trade.
Homer

[Glenn McInnes]

How much did you have to shell out for this hat Homer? If you do not mind me asking.




Glenn

[Homer Hodge]

Glenn,
I paid Chad $5500 for the cap.
Homer

[Glenn McInnes]

I hope you can get a refund Homer.



Glenn

[Ralph P]

Homer you make some good points that Chad might be away from his computer for the moment and right now he does have a good reputation behind him. I sure hope both of you come to an agreement about this cap since other well respected collectors have weighed in on this cap in this thread.

Leroy I like what you said in your post: Between this thread and the other recent thread on the LW tropical cap, it is apparent to me that many old line LW collectors such as myself would do well to go back and re-study LW eagles and the pretty astonishing fakes that have come along since the times

We all at times need to re-visit our reference books, listen or read what is being said within our collecting community.

[Chad1]

why

For those who have been waiting for a response, I have in fact been on vacation, and will be for a few more weeks.

I had responded to Homer’s request by denying him a refund or trade. To summarize, I feel that a year after the transaction is complete, it is too late to request a refund, or to expect one. I am not a dealer, and at some point the buyer must assume responsibility.

Some of you may not agree with me, but I will elaborate on the circumstances of the sale, which at least for me, impact where I stand.

Why not give a refund?

Flat out, I can’t afford it. It’s been a year. The money’s gone. I’ve been downsizing my collection and using funds elsewhere.

Why not trade?

To reiterate, I am not a dealer. I don’t advertise any kind of unlimited lifetime guarantee. Sure, I wait to hear that my buyer is happy when he gets it, and I’ll even wait a week to make sure he stays happy. But I can’t wait a whole year, and in this case, he promptly replied upon receipt that he was satisfied.

This sale was the result of three months of repeated inquiries by the buyer. I was never looking to sell it, but after being asked every couple of weeks, I decided to quote a price that would be enough to overcome how much I liked the cap. It might even be high enough to scare him away, but since I wasn’t looking to sell it anyway, so what.

Well, after quoting him a price, I didn’t hear from him for over a month, nothing. I thought he went elsewhere, but out of the blue, he came back asking to buy the cap for the price I quoted over a month earlier. I honored it.

That was a year ago.

I do not feel obligated to do anything. I didn’t go looking to sell this cap. He knew I had it, and had to have it.

By trading now, a year later, I would be paying for what appears to be his mistake.

How is that fair?

[Gerard/Relic Hunter]

Wouldn't that also be your mistake of buying the cap in the first place and selling it as real without knowing it was a forgery (at $5500 you better be sure it's real at that price!!)?

[J Melvin]

I really struggle with this one. I own the cap that is shown in post 16 and bought it from a fellow forum member after he bought it from a Memphis picker. I've owned it now for almost 4 years. It was obviously a mistake made by both of us. So, now, 4 years later, should I go back to the seller and tell him he sold me a bad cap and request a refund? Sooner or later, ownership has to pass to the next person. I'd say that time period in my case, and in this case as well, has passed.

A lifetime guaranty like those offered by Bill, Gerard and Pete is one of the reasons that we agree to pay the prices for items that they sell. But, an individual, non-dealer should not be held to that same standard.

Absent some knowing misrepresentation of the cap by either Chad or the person that sold me mine, I hate to say that this is a "lesson learned" for both of us.