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The future of our hobby..

Article about: As stated in the title.. any ideas where our hobby is headed for the future? I'm a staunch conservative.. my recently college grad kid is semi-conservative... I got to know her peers and als

  1. #31
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    Quote by Vocht View Post
    I have a few thoughts about this topic being one of the "younger" collectors around here.

    Internet really makes it a global hobby IMO. My father was a long time collector is the 80's and 90's and only bought stuff locally and without much reference. After inheriting most of his militaria which he did not sell (about 6 years ago) I found out quite a few items were fakes to my great sadness. I have almost no collecting friends in real life. I find comfort in the strangers on this platform who share my passion and interests.

    If anything can destroy this hobby it will be:

    1. Legislation. Banning sale of swastika's and militaria from the Third Reich.

    2. The ever increasing quality of fakes. Once the perfect fake metal TK or bullion arrives, the SS market will die.

    3. A tight clique of dealers who keep increasing the prices so insane that there will no influx of young collectors.
    Vocht, you are correct. 1 & 2 are almost inevitable. 3 reminds me of everything that is wrong in this hobby. The minute one dealer takes the bold step of inflating a price once again, everyone else follows suit almost immediately creating a new bar. Everyone is entitled to make a living but if you keep abusing your loyal customer base it may come back to bite you. I can't afford half the things I bought just 2-3 years ago. Eventually supply and demand will level things out but in the meantime it would be nice if dealers didn't want to take you to the cleaners on every purchase.
    Regards, Al

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  3. #32
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    Interesting thread. I believe there is still passion for the hobby. Because of this it will continue. I also believe the forums can greatly assist with the issues that we have in the hobby. I see the passion and knowledge displayed post by post each day. Forums can assist us with development of the hobby itself. Educating each other and protecting ourselves through this education.

    We can use the forums to keep us safer from fakes, educate ourselves on possible legislation that affects or hobby, purchasing quality items from forum members and also doing dealer reviews. But mostly the friendships we development.

    I have been on here for only a year and I have learned so much. Around every corner amazing collectors have offered their assistance without any cost. I appreciate every conversation and post. We are the hobby so the better we development and help each other the better the hobby will be.

    Tim

  4. #33

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    all hobbies go up and down and up again.... well most off them.... since this one is always in the news , or in history programs or because of new conflicts which raises the amount of news about previous wars I do not expect that this hobby will die in the coming century..... I myself am a collector for 30 years ( not militaria ) and have seen the "hype" and the down of the collectors world which i am in. My son ( 15 ) started collecting last year WW2 ( the reason why I am here a member to watch and help him buying the good and not the fake ones ) . He is fanatic in searching all kind off info about all off this . I do not mind because he also learns about the full history what happened, not only which soldiers had which decall.... His grandfather was born in the WW2 , more close he does not get to that generation, so far away already..... and still he got "hooked" to the virus off collecting WW2 articles.
    I was wondering how he got "hooked" but did not find yet were the "addiction" started :-) Ok, we raised him with the awareness about the things that happened in the WW2. In our family we have adopted graves of fallen soldiers in the american cementary since directly after the war. He will be the 4th generation taking care , as a little boy we took him already to there to keep that memory alive. Also in the family we had jewish children hiding for the Nazi's ( they where presented as children of the family and thus survived the war ) . But this last thing i do not see as a reason to collect. More a reason to show and learn that one should care about other people on this planet . Anyhow, i would say, don't worry.... this collectorsvirus does not stop so soon ;-)

  5. #34
    CBH
    CBH is offline
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    I think the biggest threat to the hobby is right wing nut jobs who call themselves nazis and fly their flags during marches. These delinquents who have no comprehension of history only like the hate. I’m always shocked to see swastika flags flying this day and age, if only their grandparents could see them, they might get the smack they deserve. Not to get political…..

  6. #35

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    High end pieces will always find a home while the common items seem to sit on the shelves.
    In one form or another this hobby will be around for years to come.

  7. #36

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    Quote by PierreN View Post
    all hobbies go up and down and up again.... well most off them.... since this one is always in the news , or in history programs or because of new conflicts which raises the amount of news about previous wars I do not expect that this hobby will die in the coming century..... I myself am a collector for 30 years ( not militaria ) and have seen the "hype" and the down of the collectors world which i am in. My son ( 15 ) started collecting last year WW2 ( the reason why I am here a member to watch and help him buying the good and not the fake ones ) . He is fanatic in searching all kind off info about all off this . I do not mind because he also learns about the full history what happened, not only which soldiers had which decall.... His grandfather was born in the WW2 , more close he does not get to that generation, so far away already..... and still he got "hooked" to the virus off collecting WW2 articles.
    I was wondering how he got "hooked" but did not find yet were the "addiction" started :-) Ok, we raised him with the awareness about the things that happened in the WW2. In our family we have adopted graves of fallen soldiers in the american cementary since directly after the war. He will be the 4th generation taking care , as a little boy we took him already to there to keep that memory alive. Also in the family we had jewish children hiding for the Nazi's ( they where presented as children of the family and thus survived the war ) . But this last thing i do not see as a reason to collect. More a reason to show and learn that one should care about other people on this planet . Anyhow, i would say, don't worry.... this collectorsvirus does not stop so soon ;-)
    Im very happy to hear stories like this and others who are 20 + years younger than I.. im definitely blessed to get confirmation that the younger crowd are getting into the hobby or have inherited the "virus" from their fathers and such.. this is the BIGGEST reason why I posted this thread after I witnessed how less buyers and vendors there were at the most recent west Coast show..but then again this could be because of the location I live in. I hear SOS in Kentucky is off the hook!! Still, I couldn't help but be concerned that our hobby would perish..but I'm happy to know there are ppl younger willing to keep the torch burning.

    I pray that there will not be any strict legislation that will be passed in my country or another which will ban buying/selling items. What a way to shield history. I also hope dealers would stop raising the prices too as Aldo the greatest SS TK collector mentions. That is one way to kill the hobby.. I too fell victim to this situation. The dealers know this and they capitalize on it! They know their super rare item is hardly offered, so they jack up the price.. but if you really really want it.. like I did, then you'll bite the bullet and pay up.. will I do it again? Nope! If they were priced fairly, yes I would buy from them again.

  8. #37

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    Thanks for the interesting thread, Rusted180

    I have sons and daughters, one child is interested in my collection and it'll go to him. My family has a direct connection to WW2 and I was born in Europe so it's my duty as a descendant, of a survivor, of AH's regime to educate my children where they are from and how they almost didn't exist. Politically, if someone doesn't agree with MY history, I have choice words for them. I just don't understand what some people call politics anyways. I hug trees, I also burn them to make a campfire, lol. I believe in my God but understand others have theirs. Anyone that riots in the streets is a criminal! I fail to see politics in that. To sum it up, I feel our hobby is as strong now as ever and will continue to be.

    Green
    In this world there's two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. CE

  9. #38

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    Quote by Vocht View Post
    If anything can destroy this hobby it will be:

    3. A tight clique of dealers who keep increasing the prices so insane that there will no influx of young collectors.
    I think this is the biggest issue right now.
    I regularly see 1914 2nd class Iron crosses on ebay being listed for $120US.
    That's just a stupid amount for a very common item and these prices are becoming the norm.
    gregM
    Live to ride -- Ride to live

    I was addicted to the "Hokey-Pokey" but I've turned
    myself around.

  10. #39

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    Quote by Chopperman View Post
    I think this is the biggest issue right now.
    I regularly see 1914 2nd class Iron crosses on ebay being listed for $120US.
    That's just a stupid amount for a very common item and these prices are becoming the norm.
    Hahahahha!! Man you just tugged at my heart strings... Jeez!!!

    I bought my 2nd class ek 10 years ago for 20 bucks!!! Decent shape. Lil salty and was verified to be legit right here on wrf.. now, it is insane how expensive those are!

    BTW.. I DIDNT COLLECT NSDAP member badges back then... But we're they always almost 200 bucks ???????? I want one.. but dang! Spending that much for a pin sheesh!!!

  11. #40

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    I've noticed a couple other young guys post on this thread, so I'll add my 2 cents for what it's worth. I'm now 27 years old, and I've been seriously interested and invested in learning about the second World war since I was 10. Of course for me, the curiosity of it all came with finding out my grandfather was in the Battle of the Bulge attatched to a field artillery battalion in the 1st Army. My Dad had told me about Germans he captured and a Luger he had. I immediately became enthralled with this giant war my Grandpa was in, and why he was in it and why the bad guys were the bad guys.

    I began finding every book in the school library that had anything to do with WW2, and I'm pretty sure I read every book on WW2 all the schools I went to had to offer. Fast forward and here we are, in a time where I too, feel like history is being looked at less and less every day. I can honestly say that it hurts when people don't know much about what I consider to be one of the most magnificent struggles mankind has endured. World War 2 was phenomenal, in a good and bad way, and I think we as collectors can all agree on that, and that's part of what draws us to these little things that we collect, that were part of such a tremendously gripping time. I personally can also say that the hobby will steadily increase in younger people getting interested, maybe not drastically, but since I am one of the younger ones I feel as though I can say that.

    When I was a lot younger though, maybe 15 or 16, I always knew I was into a hobby that consisted of older men, and that typically kids my age weren't spending their time putting together 82nd Airborne uniforms or German LAH uniforms for reenactments.

    Politics has never been something I love talking about, because I know a lot people turn into whiney babies when it comes to it, and I won't bring anything up here. I just know that collecting anything from the Third Reich is a slippery slope as far as letting certain people know about your interests in it. My interest in German combat soldiers of the second World war has led me to meet great people who are like minded and know that our hobby is strictly out of passion for history and the fighting men who were there. What I've learned is that soldiers are soldiers and history is written by the victor. There are no winners in war, everyone loses. War turns good men into monsters and that's that.

    Its easy to know why somebody with little to no knowledge of WW2 would call a lot of us sympathizers, but that comes with the hobby, understanding that most people are ignorant to the facts of a lot of things. I have sympathy for good men, and I've also learned that bad men lurk where there are good men, so take that for what it is. I respect all the fallen soldiers who did their duty, I'm not talking about einsatzgruppen here, I'm talking about all Soldiers allied and axis who were rank and file. I'm ranting here but the point is is that I'm spending a decent amount of time typing this to prove that younger generations are still pationate about history and especially WW2.

    Collecting German helmets, US M1 helmets, German insignia, uniforms, bayonets and everything in between has led me on the longest most wild goose chase I've ever been on and I love it. By the way, big thanks to all the older collectors here on the forum with a vast array of knowledge in even the most difficult and miniscule details that really make a difference in today's collecting world. I wouldn't know a lot of the things I know without so many of the members here, I used to use the forum a lot when I was younger and just only semi recently became a member. I appreciate anyone who's read this far, sort of just went off on a tangent. So thanks again everyone, God bless and take care. I'm always on here somewhere.
    -Pete

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