Real or Fake, large collection I just purchased...

[Paul D]

I am most interested in SS/totenkopf type things so I think I shall start their. Maybe work my way up to getting an "honor ring" one day!

SS items are the most faked of all as they bring the big money so never spend without being 100 % !!

If you would like to name and shame the Polish thief please do , hope he wasn't called Nowak ??

[Paul D]

Dont let this stop you collecting, Just be more careful next time. the forum has a new classified adds section you can browse and the best thing is that they are all 100% orriginal

Cheers, Pat

Not always good advice Pat , just because it's in our classifieds doesn't mean everything is original ! If an item is posted and anyone feels doubt over it's originality then it should be posted it in the forum for discussion or in the case of the Para badge Stewy highlighted no discussion needed a poor fake !

[goodbuys]

First off i am sorry that you as a soldier serving his country was ripped off by some lowlife scumbag.If you were sent these pieces by mail get in touch with the Postal Inspectors and as a soldier they certainly will address your case and go after the scum who ripped you off.They cannot get your money back but can go after the filth because i know you must have payed high four figures or five figures for that junk and that is mail fraud.If you dealt with a East Europian country you might be out of luck.Go to your adjutant generals office and see if they have any legal recourse with these skunks.My friend never enter a realm of collecting no matter why it is without as other members have stated w knowledge of the collectable because their are creatures who will rip you off and get a charge out of doing it!! Hope you can do something to get some of your money back. Carl

[KSH]

If you would like to name and shame the Polish thief please do , hope he wasn't called Nowak ??

I hope so too, but this MO is somewhat typical of Pawel Nowak - if it is indeed him, then the chance of getting the money back is next to zero.

But usually with Nowak no items are sent because he didn't ever have them - he just stole the photos, so it might not be him after all on second thought.

- Kenneth

[MickeyM]

I feel really sorry for you man !

Very bad way to start in the hobby but as someone already mentioned "if it looks too good to be true, it usually is" and there were lots of red flags here (luft numbered tank badges, rare blood order & SS long service cross etc.) that should have sent you scrambling for cover but...Anyways I hope this doesnt turn you off enough for you to start collecting empty beer cans or something because this hobby can be really fun if you take some precautions. We all got a few "wooden nickel" here and there over the years and moreso before the days of forums and good reference books but as the value of this stuff increases so do the efforts of the fakers and con men that try to parasite this lucrative hobby for a fast buck. Good reference material and a hundred pairs of eyes (some with great knowledge and experience in various fields/topics) are not only an asset but a necessity these days.

Given the source of the material and the extent of the efforts they went through I wouldnt hold my breath to get my money back but you should still go through the motions by making an attempt to contact the seller and reporting the fraud/theft when nothing comes out of it. You may hold a few elements of a solution (modus operandi, paper trail, names, addresses, cashed cheques etc) that pieced together with others will help expose those crooks.

Regards

JC

[rbminis]

It is not necessarily Pawel, there are always some tables set up at the Militaria shows here that have many of these copies now coming out of Poland. i am sure that Pawel is not coming here to sell his wares.
Most of the items that I recieve e-mails from him are not medals and such, they are usually SS dagers and such.
Ralph.

[KSH]

It is not necessarily Pawel, there are always some tables set up at the Militaria shows here that have many of these copies now coming out of Poland. i am sure that Pawel is not coming here to sell his wares.
Most of the items that I recieve e-mails from him are not medals and such, they are usually SS dagers and such.
Ralph.

There sure are many crooks out there other than Pawel Nowak! But the "museum story" is something that Nowak has used many times in different ways. I agree that Nowak usually don't offer that many badges/medals etc. It probably isn't him at all.

- Kenneth

[M18922]

Not always good advice Pat , just because it's in our classifieds doesn't mean everything is original ! If an item is posted and anyone feels doubt over it's originality then it should be posted it in the forum for discussion or in the case of the Para badge Stewy highlighted no discussion needed a poor fake !

It looks like I am wrong, But then I remember reading that any fakes marked as orriginals would be taken off the adds section by a moderator...?
You are right, always be sure rather safe than sorry...!

cheers, Pat

[KSH]

It looks like I am wrong, But then I remember reading that any fakes marked as orriginals would be taken off the adds section by a moderator...?
You are right, always be sure rather safe than sorry...!

cheers, Pat

It certainly is pretty safe to buy from the classifieds section I should believe, but remember that time and time again some dubious items will not be detected by fellow members, so there are no guarantees here as long as members can post whatever they have themselves in the classifieds section. Very few things in life are 100% anything.

- Kenneth

[Paul D]

Of course fakes will be removed by the mods , but everyone needs to be vigilant to spot them and like any other purchase not take it as gospel that an item in the classifieds is 100 % original !!

Bidding was already going on on the Para badge before it was pulled !!!