$15-35,000 SS tunics

[Doug Kenwright]

Just a thought..if people are buying $20,000 tunics for 'investment' purposes, what the hell are they selling them back to the dealers for?

I mean, if a dealer sold you that tunic for 'x' number of dollars, they sure as hell won't be giving you that back when you go to sell it to them...

[pete]

.

Let's keep doing our job and keep that cycle going because I can then operate off the monthly new dealer price changes go to the estand and sell even 100% put together resorations with a straight face and point at the rising prices as the excuse and be totally in the clear. There really are some people taking this for a ride and the only ones laughing are them but we are helping and killing this whole thing. Investment my ass. There won't be anything to enjoy or invest in soon because it will be too expensive to even look at. IMO Some people don't beleive that the desire will ever cease to outstrip the demand and the supply, which maybe it wont, but I think that day is coming when somthing is going to burst. There might be people who will be able to continue to buy these tunics but in the end it's going to be a very small group and that is not good for people hoping to move expensive items regularly which will start to sit around at some point IMO.

[Antiquefrog]

Nothing is going to burst - it never has.

If you collect SS tabs or insignia, you pay the market price - usually more than last year.

If you want an original, organic uniform with the tabs and insignia intact, you pay the price as well. This is the upper echelon of SS collecting - visit the collections shown on this site over the last five years. They are uniforms, not displays of tabs, cufftiltles and insignia.

Collectors with resources prefer the orginal uniform: who can argue? It doesn't take many to bid these items up.

We don't all have a lot to spend , but let's not disparage the high end of the market. I would much rather have the real uniform than the pieces once stitched to it.

[Mike C]

Speaking of costs, just noticed that the restored officer's tunic, trousers and raincoat on Craig Gottlieb's site (for 18K) is on hold. Wow...

Mike

[Dr. Strangelove]

A fool

Well a Sucker is born every..........................

[Panzer Rob]

Well a Sucker is born every..........................

Or, simply a case of more money than common sense.
Seriously... 17K for that? Come on...


Rob

[Panzer Rob]

Why all the angst over what someone else is doing. Is is jealousy, petty bitterness or what?

Bob Hritz

Easy for you to say, Bob. Judging by today's prices you're sitting on a gold mine! Heck, you'll be able to buy your own island when you cash out

Rob

[phild]

The funny thing that I always see when this topic of high prices comes up is that so many people get very tunnel visioned on whatever the type of item is....like their interest is the only game in town. It does not matter if the subject is W-SS officer tunics, winter camo medic chicken wire double decal FJ helmets or the 1450 piece tunic belt ramp collection, everything is higher than it was 40 years ago and most things have increased in price in a fairly close relation to everything else.

In 1971 I was buying every Luger that I could find and pay for that met my condition criteria. Most decent ones back then were in the $150 dollar range, retail. Today those lugers might average around $2500 each that is some would bring about $1700 and other's as much as $3200 or so. Most ALL of this stuff and other "stuff" has inflated by a factor of between 10 and 15 times during the last 40 years or so.

With gold trading at $32 an ounce in 1972 and at over $850 an ounce today... it should make newer, younger collectors realize that todays prices are not way out of line.

I will say that my income has not increased in proportion to the prices of militaria or anything else.

[John Pic]

In 2000-2001 you could buy an SS tunic from any of the dealers except two possibly three for $4500-6000 so in 7 years they have basically tripled in value.Alot different than many other items which are still rather close to what was paid for them at the same time period.

But I must say its mostly dealers who get these prices not collectors.

[pete]

.

Guys,

Do the math. Like John shows proof for with his study things cannot be thought of as "relative." Believing everything is normal is what's wrong. To boot even the restored stuff! And, Clearly not the desired "untouched"....and clearly not anything to do with the catch phrase: sum of the parts!


Tunic (a) in 1986- ?
Tunic (a) in 1992- ?
Tunic (a) in 2000 - 5,000 USD
Tunic (a) in 2008- 15,000 USD
Tunic (a) in 2016- 30,000 USD? You think thats normal relative prices?

That is like john says an increase of triple! If the credit industry was to do that even the pinkos out there operating at the max 29% and below would be put to shame and those are the people we really try and stay away from!

The logic I have to ask about all this is why do people kid themselves that everything is normal? The item should be worth the sum of the parts we always liked to say but we are the ones driving this, and suffice to say because many know that it drives their collections value up "Its all normal- nothings wrong."



Best,

Pete

[phild]

In 2000-2001 you could buy an SS tunic from any of the dealers except two possibly three for $4500-6000 so in 7 years they have basically tripled in value.Alot different than many other items which are still rather close to what was paid for them at the same time period.

But I must say its mostly dealers who get these prices not collectors.

You are right John, but exactly the same degree of increase can be found in Knights Crosses, SS Honor Rings, FJ helmets and even single decal Heer helmets for heavens sake! I could list (I bet) 200 types of German miltaria that have doubled to almost trippeled in the last 7 years.

Even stating the above, I realize that not everything goes up at the same time or at the same rate during a given time...."Every dog has it's day" applies in this field.

There are a LOT of not mint M-36 daggers selling these days for 8k plus...some have brought upwards of 10k. These are just one of many yard sticks that one can use but I will tell you that 20 and 30 years ago these would bring maybe 1/2 (or less) of what an original W-SS tunic would command....Frankly I would not trade an orginal W-SS officers tunic even for 2 or maybe even 3 Exec condition M-36 SS daggers.

Remember we are living in the era of the $250 Pz Assault Badge! Thats right these things that we all could get all day long for 10-12 bucks each in 1973-75!

[John Pic]

Thats true those things as well saw nutty increases. I wouldnt trade one for a dagger either but Ive toyed with the Idea of selling to buy a KC since they are exciting and dont take too much display room.

[phild]

Thats true those things as well saw nutty increases. I wouldnt trade one for a dagger either but Ive toyed with the Idea of selling to buy a KC since they are exciting and dont take too much display room.

Me too. I do not own an RK and I have only recently (say in the last 3 years) felt comfortable with my own knowledge to buy one. I have bought every book on these for the last 25 years and spoken with a lot of people on them as far back as 1980 when I first became interested in buying one. I have only latley felt that the good from the bad on these cold be absolutly sorted out.

The price is brutal but it is what it is.

Another thing that I can say has impacted my perception on 3rd Reich items and other 20th century militaria is my involvement with American Civil War items. I realize that there is a danger in direct comparison but these items can and do routinly sell for 5 (U.S.) to 10 (C.S.) times what their 3rd Reich conterparts command.

[David T]

John(JPIC),Just to pass along some info...the "A" cyphers on the tunic you mentioned are the correct cyphers.The "A" was used by Aufklarungs earlier in the war and I believe the small "a" (that looks like a 21) was used later in the war and may have only been on officer boards.I know it states otherwise in "Cloth Insignia of the SS" but I believe that info to be incorrect and the photo on page 241 is misidentified.

[John Pic]

How do we know this? I have never seen a period photo of the gothic A being worn by Aufklarungs personel while I have seen the 21 looking cyphers in photographs taken as early as 1941-42.