Feedback regarding todays militaria prices.

[Wagriff]

I think today that it's always going to be abit of a gamble. 5 years ago, for example, you could buy a chained SS dagger for under 5K and now the same will be selling for 7.5K. So there is your dilemma-do you Pay the 7.5K and gamble that in another, say, 5 or 10 years that it will be selling for 10K? Or have prices peaked and will come back down soon? I remember seeing Model 33 SS daggers selling for $40 a Pair. Did I Ever believe that the same pair would be over 10K today? Never. $2 dollar German Model 42 helmets....today at $800? Unthinkable.

The moral of the story here is, I think, to never bank on prices being stable or continuously rising. If you want investments, perhaps playing the stock market or buying Gold and Silver would be more conventional. Very few collectors that Do buy cheap ever really end up Selling high. Sure,they Could, but how often Do they? Collectors like DougB and his legendary Helmet collection, just for an example. Of Course it's risen hugely in value over the years, but it may as well be made of wood if you never intend to "cash it in" and reap the vast rewards. 99% of collectors cannot Ever imagine selling their treasured collections off. And if crisis Did force them to sell them off, it would nearly kill them and bother them for years and years to come. They've worked too hard and spent too much time to acquire the things that fascinate them so, only to sell them off because they doubled in value? In many cases, the collector finally grows old and passes away and their collections are scattered to the 4 winds again by their uninterested descendants. Some collectables actually Lose value as they get older. Take Model T cars. The people that collect and spend big money for such cars are the ones who have cherished memories of them. But now, none still Live. So the Model T's languish-no one really wants them anymore. The next generations interest is in 60's Muscle cars. A 1970 Hemicuda convertible with a 426 Hemi? Uh huh....big money. Give it another 30 years? Not so much. Does this concept apply to All hobbies? Well..yes and no. But it's impossible to predict such trends. Myself, I always collected for the enjoyment it brought. I didn't really care what it cost back then or even today. And that's the way it really Should be, I think. What price do you put on enjoying something you really like? As long as Militaria stays a Hobby and not an Investment, people will still enjoy collecting it. When it becomes too serious, the enjoyment fades.

[ruddersrangers44]

So nicely put William,thats exactly how it should be..........

[Larry C]

The bottom line is that we can all continue to pursue our hobby, but will probably have to do so more selectively and at a more careful pace. Dwight

That pretty much sums it up ...wise words Thankyou Dwight!...Regards Larry

[willie45]

The bottom line is that we can all continue to pursue our hobby, but will probably have to do so more selectively and at a more careful pace. Dwight

Yes, I also think that sums it up. I read some very good advice somewhere on this forum about the importance of focus in collecting. Since then, I've tried to stick to that advice and try to round out the major interest in my collecting.

The only real bargains I've found on eBay in recent times are ones where the seller has put up a vague item description. Usually these don't get found with the normal eBay search because of the lack of keywords. But Google sometimes finds them and directs to the actual listing, and you end up being the only bidder. Doesn't happen very often though.

Cheers, Willie.

[StefanM]

I have often found it more enjoyable to develop interests in areas that are not so competitively collected.

[FrankBooth]

Prices are on the rise, yes. Is it easy for new/young collectors to begin on a budget. Not if you want more desirable and uncommon items. I've noticed a steady increase in the prices of what I collect (H.J. Shoulder Straps) over the last few years. Just a few short years ago I could purchase singles for 35 USD and pairs for less than 100 USD. Now I rarely buy anymore unless it is something that is missing from my collection or a difficult item to find. I have never looked at the hobby as any sort of investment. If I decided to sell up I would probably take at least a 35% to 40% loss on what I've put out, especially if selling everything in one fell swoop to a dealer. It's sell the whole mess to a dealer or sell the best items off to other collectors that you know and be stuck with the more common stuff and probably sell it as a lot to a dealer anyway. It's really a no win situation sometimes if you think of it in terms of an investment. Better to spend your money on real estate at the right time, much safer. It's a hobby not an income generator or a retirement plan. Some collectors lose sight of the fact that it's just a hobby IMO. Rant over.

[ruddersrangers44]

No ranting Frank much of what you say is spot on,the real problem lies within each of us,dont get into collecting stuff you simply cannot afford,its easy to say collect something which isn't hit upon yet,but thats ok if its your thing,but if its not then there simply is no point,and this will soon fizzle out as the passion was never there to begin with,its hard to look at the items that adhere most to me and with hand on heart simply know I cannot afford it,so what are the real choices available?either stop collecting and hope a specific item shows up and jump on it or pay the OTT prices,or as I said above collect more modern items which are not yet seen as collectable,only time will tell,unless the lottery comes good...........

[Larry C]

There is another key word..."Passion"...this is also true..."without passion"..then many things will seem impossible. Regards Larry

[krabbekrout]

For me, most of my items come from auctions, 5 years ago you could always pick up a bargain. Now with the internet you have to compete with the live bidders and the online bidders (who are bidding solely from pictures and have a tendency to over bid) as the live bidders have seen the item first hand. I must admit I have bought items at online auctions and most of the time have been disappointed. So for me, I have to now pay more. And I am way toooooo cheap to pay retail.

[KriegMann]

I believe that even the past 5 years the prices of items have skyrocketed, at least that's what I've seen with inert ord. But I think that nowadays with all this technology and movies people associate/believe almost anything that was in a war is worth a fortune. Like many others have said it is very much like its own stock market. The only difference is that people who are starting out are praying for a Black Tuesday type of scenario that would very much drop the prices. Yet at the same time, I feel, the experienced collectors who were willing to put thousands of dollars into a collection are dreading and or predicting that time, so they are buying wisely. That's just my two cents about it.