Repro soft cap listed as "Original WW1" on ebay

[William1]

Does anybody know who this is? [Edited to add: seller is tommyatkins1915]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332497693...84.m1436.l2649



In case the link goes dead, here are a couple of pictures from the listing. Anyone who knows anything about WW1 uniforms can tell a mile off that this is a modern repro. Of course the seller might be making a perfectly genuine mistake, but he seems to specialise in militaria so you would think he'd know.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I sent him the following message 3 days ago:
"Hi, you have listed this as original but it is an obvious modern copy. The serge is "fluffy", the peak is too large, the peak stitching has a huge gap at the top, the lining material is also wrong and there don't appear to be any ventilation grommets. I do not know who you are and therefore I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but I sincerely hope you will do some serious research and either take this listing down or label it as a repro, otherwise you are taking someone's money on false pretences. Regards, etc."

I received no response to my message so you can draw your own conclusions. I realise caveat emptor applies on ebay but I still get angry when innocent purchasers shell out good money for something worthless in the belief that they are buying a genuine piece of history.

[BrodieBartfast]

I always assume the worst with militaria on eBay. Unless it's a low value item, or one I can identify as being genuine, I prefer to go through reputable dealers for the more valuable stuff.
The fact that you haven't received a response could be regarded as suspicious, but it's entirely possible the seller is either away or simply hasn't spotted your message yet. The fact that the cap is very obviously a repro, though, would lend weight to the former.

At the end of the day, eBay is a site jammed to the gunnels with conmen out to take your hard earned money. Bargains can be had, genuine items can be found, but you have to wade through a sea of utter crap to find them.

It also shows the importance of education in this hobby. I've always thought that the items themselves are only half of it. Knowledge is the other half, and research beforehand is unbelievably important. Anyone who buys something without first researching it even a little is going to get burned. Especially if they regard eBay as a reliable source for these items. The amount of fake crap I've seen bidders go nuts for says it all.

Nine times out of ten, there's nothing you can do about this. Most of the time these sellers know exactly what they're doing, and when caught out they'll simply set up another account and go at it again. I've not browsed this particular seller's listings yet, so I can't speak for them, but I don't hold out much hope.

Regards, B.B.

[Mark Holden]

Sold for £181 plus £9 postage

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I also spotted that cap... a rather obvious fake. I've just sent the seller an email reminding him that he had been advised several day's ago that the cap was a fake. I added that member's of WRF will draw their own conclusions about him for continuing to sell the cap as original when he had been advised otherwise. There is another cap for sale on eBay, but the seller does say that it might be a good copy.

[William1]

I have been told that this seller also trades as Tommy's Militaria. If so, it is difficult to see how he can not know that the ebay cap is a fake, as there are several genuine WW1 soft caps on his website. If he feels like telling us how the confusion (to interpret it charitably) has arisen, I am sure we would all like to hear what he has to say. Personally I am open to accepting that this was a genuine mistake if a credible explanation is offered. Without one, it's difficult to see how this is anything but deliberate dishonesty, particularly as the website also shows an obvious fake helmet cover with 66th Div sign but carefully worded to describe the helmet as original and not the cover.

Let's hope I'm wrong and there is an honest explanation for this. You would think online dealers in it for the long haul would care about their reputation. Or do they think all collectors are too stupid to notice?

[BlackWatch1945]

I've dealt with Tommy's Militaria before, bought a couple of Victorian tunics from him that I have no doubt are original pieces. The only piece of headgear I purchased from him (a wolseley sun helmet) I had to return, however not because the piece was a fake (it was an 100% authentic piece) but because the worn out look of the sun helmet did not properly show in the images, which I do not blame him for. He allowed me to return it no problem, and seems like a good seller. But that being said, that is just my experience and if this eBay fake seller also trades as and is the same person as the Tommy's Militaria seller, then I have some possible concerns about some of the headgear on his site. This could be a harmless mistake, no one's perfect, and with the unfortunate increase in fakes with militaria, anyone, even "professional" sellers can get the odd bad egg.

If this is the same guy, or even if he is a different person, I hope he provides an honest explanation. I'd like to say fake items will go away, but they're here to stay, and there's only more being created, and only so many originals. It's sad to see the number of "100% original" eBay garbage going into people's collections. One day these poorly made fakes will age and in a hundred years people won't know what's what.

Just my insight on the matter.

Best regards,

-Jamie

[William1]

I couldn't comment on his WW2 kit but most of the WW1 items appear to be correct. Not all though - besides the helmet cover I mentioned, there is a (sold) SD jacket with what look to me like post-WW1 55th Div signs, a pattern 1914 leather equipment entrenching tool carrier that I am positive is a wrong un and a (sold) pair of ditto pouches that are WW2 linesmen's pouches. He has got some good stuff but you need to know what you are doing before buying.

[birkie]

I sent a message to the ebay seller shortly after the cap was sold and he responded that he notified the buyer that the cap was not original and offered a refund. Clearly the right thing to do.