a good bargain is always possible with not rare cap or salty, but other is very hard to find... when I see the dealer web site...impossible to find a realy good price
the "adolf cap" cost 1m$ how much the same in 1970 ?
a good bargain is always possible with not rare cap or salty, but other is very hard to find... when I see the dealer web site...impossible to find a realy good price
the "adolf cap" cost 1m$ how much the same in 1970 ?
Also missed in this conversation of price/value is the fact there are new entrants (myself included) that know no different than $xxxx.00 for a cap as opposed to $xx.00 20+ years ago. These prices are the new norm.
Heck, 2 years ago I wasn't even aware so many of these woolen foetids were still around let alone attainable.
...and, the intelligent collector, the able collector, the one who learns the material and knows good material can often still make ends meet.
We also enable far more people to know more, not the least to sustain and reinforce the thing here, and this collective effort surely did not exist when I started, as it was just in its infancy.
and such knowledge was very restricted, which today it is not.
While I do not collect cloth headgear now can I offer this opinion - when I first collected TR in the mid 1980's, a Heer or Luftwaffe NCO schirmmutze was around AUD$250 and an officers $350 ( this was then the average weekly wage range )
In 2014 that same wage is between $800 and $1000 so in some ways they have become cheaper! ( however top shelf has ALWAYS been top shelf )
Regards, Dan
" I'm putting off procrastination until next week "
Adolf's cap was cheaper in stated price in 1970, but it was also unaffordable then, too.by S.Vestae
and, let me say that the Adolf cap may appear to be for sale, but it is not really, so it is all quite moot.
I have the auction catalogs and lists from more than forty years ago, and the good stuff was not cheap then, either.
The plentiful stuff was more easily had if you were in the right place; there was surely less confusion with ten thousand loud, stupid voices every minute;
but none of this was ever very easy.
I never look at what prices are doing now or what they were in the past because there are too many factors that affect "values" at any one time for it to be meaningful.
But for those that do, IMO when the collections from well respected collectors do come onto the market in future years prices for these will be even more stratospheric despite an increase in supply just because they will be the cream of the crop and more desirable and competition between collectors will be fierce to acquire them.
I collect, therefore I am.
Nothing in science can explain how consciousness arose from matter.
Well said.
I would also like to reiterate what S.Vestae said earlier in this thread. It's usually better price wise to trade and buy and sell within the collector community, excluding the dealers. This is one of the reasons I like this forum ao much (in addition to all of the knowledgable members). Using the classifieds you can buy and sell with other collectors, not having to pay retail prices.
IMO, prices for soft headgear are out of sync with current economic conditions, not only on the part of dealers, but collectors as well. The hobby has to be studied over a 15 year period, during which we saw the first recession at the end of 2000; 9-11; and the Recession of 2007. (& my observations are not empirical, but anecdotal).
In terms of trends, the prices of TR items skyrocketed in the 1990s, due to a strong dollar, and a strong world economy (Japan excepted). There also was an influx of new collectors, given the 50th anniversary of the beginning (and end) of WW2, along with such WW2 TV/Movie sensations as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.
Also, the internet heightened demand, especially when things were so easily available on Ebay (pre-ban) with the click of a mouse.
Another factor was the entry of more "white-collar" collectors, flush with disposable income from the go-go 90's.
All this peaked about 2006-2007, when The Great Recession hit. By then, many of the "dabblers" dropped out, due to the lack of disposable income, and the fact that so many were burned by (in some cases very expensive) fakes.
All of this is similar to what happened to the collector muscle car market in the late 80's, when prices became artificially inflated due to investors and speculators entering that hobby (it took quite a while for prices in that hobby to come back down to earth).
The problem is that many do not realize that we are still in a world-wide recession, and continuously price items at 2007 levels (when they were artificially inflated in the first place). That is why one sees so much of the same inventory at shows and on the net (including the e-stand) remaining unsold. Many collectors are hoping to recoup the price they paid back in 2007, to no avail. (Although I have not been to the SOS or MAX in 3 years, sources inform me that much of what was for sale is the exact same as 3,4, & even 5 years ago--with the same prices). There are also 2 major factors that will affect pricing over the next 5-10 years: 1) the obvious "graying" of the hobby, and 2) the resulting liquidation of old-time collections. This is exactly what happened to the pre-war collector car market, as the people that restored and collected those cars have aged (or passed away), resulting in a price depression (one car at the last Barrett-Jackson was supposed to go in the millions, but ended up going for around $350K).
On the other hand, there are some areas resistant to this, and will continue to buck the aforesaid trend: SS items, helmets,original photographs, and the minty stuff.
As stated, just my observations based on anecdotal evidence....
“Show me the regulation, and I’ll show you the exception.”
I have always known caps to be extremely expensive. But I have managed to do with waiting a long time for a bargain to come up (my last two officers caps were in the mid+ 200 range).
It doesn't put me off though, it just makes me more patient when buying anything cloth to the point where I don't buy or the person selling just decides to keep it in the collection instead of bringing the price down. People need to bring the prices down and dealers in particular need to put their caps which probably have a layer of dust on them to a price where collectors can buy them and put them into circulation again.
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