Dealers V's Collectors

[Sarge]

I thought your photo looked a bit familiar.
I live in the springs and drop by Eldons periodicly.
Sarge

[Torch]

Ive found out just recently that a dealer I trusted sold me a fake iron cross about 10 years ago..i knew very little about awards and medals back then..still very rusty now...but I have purchased other items from him and they are genuine...not sure what happened there but it has shaken my trust

[TrondK]

I usually dont complain of dealers. But i always complain over to much temptations, and to little money to secure it.

Maybe i would have been complaining more if i were "investing" instead of having an historical obsession of these old rags and their facinating history. Like i said before- i dont care how much i have to pay for something as long as it is original and i can afford it without eating to much rotten bananas and drink rainwater for 6 months.

[John Brandon]

It's a bit of the win loose combination. You have to pay top money to get decent items because if you don't, you're ripping someone off, and the exchange rate has a lot to do with selling. I'm selling less and less to Europe because the Euro is weak, but on the plus side, it's making things more affrdable for me to buy, and pass on that "discount". However, the rant I had which started this thread, ......The little chap bought some more bits from me, and I paid for his bank transfer (not knowingly) and he still hasn't paid me the £15 from January. So who's the mug

And to reiterate what Ade said I made a snap decision when a collector offered me a badge and buckle, at what I considered a fair price (not cheap, but priced right) They were fake, sadly. And I had no regress But I suppose that's the peril of selling. I will never make a living from this, and those that do, either rip people off by getting stuff for nothing and selling high, or are really really lucky

[Mickthemonk]

Agree, other collectors can be just as unscrupulous as dealers and other human beings for that matter. They ain't going to tell you if something's hooky...

For example, I bought a relic condition W-SS M42 off a local lad and SS collector at the start of the year, and I admit, I got carried away by his collection and ended up falling for the infamous and entirely fictional "SS lapel badge" (see below pics) for £20 Of course he didn't say "that's a fantasy piece" - which I'm sure he knew it was - but it was entirely my own fault for buying it.

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[Jerry B]

Like most collectors, I have to sell some items to fund buying other items, sometimes I make a good profit, sometimes I break even, other times I lose money but in all cases I try my best to be honest about what I am selling.

I have been caught out a few times or more on buying items that were bogus or were more expensive than they go for as I bought them on the spur of the moment without the research, but overall I like to think I did OK.

Some dealers have items listed for good prices, others do not and some have sold me a sows ear it is all part of collecting and you learn what is the going rate and also to understand that sometimes anyone can get it wrong.

I tend to not jump on the knocking dealers bandwagon as we can all make mistakes, though there is one dealer I can think of who consistently enhances items to increase their value and that dealer I have no problems in badmouthing on any occasion that the opportunity arises. I would rank this dealer up their with Snyder and Novak as being a crook of the first order.

[Mickthemonk]

Like most collectors, I have to sell some items to fund buying other items, sometimes I make a good profit, sometimes I break even, other times I lose money but in all cases I try my best to be honest about what I am selling.

I have been caught out a few times or more on buying items that were bogus or were more expensive than they go for as I bought them on the spur of the moment without the research, but overall I like to think I did OK.

Some dealers have items listed for good prices, others do not and some have sold me a sows ear it is all part of collecting and you learn what is the going rate and also to understand that sometimes anyone can get it wrong.

I tend to not jump on the knocking dealers bandwagon as we can all make mistakes, though there is one dealer I can think of who consistently enhances items to increase their value and that dealer I have no problems in badmouthing on any occasion that the opportunity arises. I would rank this dealer up their with Snyder and Novak as being a crook of the first order.

And who is this dealer? So I know to avoid them

[Jerry B]

And who is this dealer? So I know to avoid them

They mostly sell on ebay under the user name MilitarytraderUK

There are plenty of threads on here and on the WAF discussing their devious ways.

Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

[Chopperman]

I occasionally buy from dealers. To me, it's like buying from anyone else.
Do your homework and KNOW what you are buying. Even with the most
trusted dealers, mistakes happen.

[timpe]

I occasionally buy from dealers too and I've got a few friends of them. I personally always ask a price reduction, and there is nothing wrong with that. Either the seller agrees or not, in any case, I buy the object. A few times I have asked to keep an eye on a particular item. Sometimes one has been found so I'm happy to pay a little bit more extra work.

It is true that there are bad people and good people. But I think that there are more good people. (Sometimes mistakes happen)
In fact, if I have to sell something from my collection , I sell it here in Finland online auction with no reserve price or the starting price. I'll tell you how much postage is and that the product has full right of return. (Maybe it would be different a few thousand $ item, but fortunately such objects can not be found a poor man like me )

sometimes I can see quite foolish prices, but do not have to buy if you do not want to!
He is no fool who asks, but the one who pays.