The state of our hobby in late 2020

[tomp]

What is the community's opinion concerning the current state of our hobby right now? Buying and selling during the time of COVID, availability of items both online and off, things of that nature.

I personally feel that quality items have become harder to find overall, although both items and buying opportunities do pop up once in awhile. Online auctions, for me, seem to have become strange over the past few months, with a heck of a lot more items coming out of Japan, as well as Ukraine and China of all places. I have noticed that several of the same items sit on both US and Japan based sites with wild discrepancies in pricing, enough to where it is sometimes cheaper to pick up the item directly out of Japan, even with commission fees and shipping costs.

As to COVID, there have been extended shipping times, but nothing really out of the ordinary overall.

Thoughts on this? What has been your experience over the past several months, and where do you think our hobby is heading over the next few years?

Thanks!


Tom

[Aldo]

Here in the U.S., aside from the shipping issues the hobby is as robust as ever in my opinion. I'm having difficulty picking and choosing new items as they are popping up more frequently than ever. I would have to wait months on end in the past for new inventory and auctions but not now. Perhaps that's due to more people selling off their collections during these difficult times. This has been one of my best collecting years ever.

Regards, Al

[Chopperman]

Here in the U.S., aside from the shipping issues the hobby is as robust as ever in my opinion. I'm having difficulty picking and choosing new items as they are popping up more frequently than ever. I would have to wait months on end in the past for new inventory and auctions but not now. Perhaps that's due to more people selling off their collections during these difficult times. This has been one of my best collecting years ever.

Regards, Al

This has been a bad collecting year for me. Because of the uncertain times, I am not
wanting to spend any money unless that one "Gotta have it" item shows up.
Hopefully my patience will pay off.

[sweersz]

Here in the United States, shipping from Europe and Russia could take a few weeks or several months! Ya just never know now! Tracking codes will expire too after a long time... yikes! One day you just forget that you have a package coming in the mail, and the next day you wake up to have a bunch of German grenades at your door LOL.

[CSW]

I haven't noticed any huge change myself. The lack of shows and fairs has obviously caused more people to buy and sell online which has been quite profitable for me personally.

At least one private museum here in Finland has unfortunately been forced to close its doors due to insufficient visitor numbers. I wanted to support the owner and we did indeed strike some good deals, but it really is quite sad that preserving and displaying cultural heritage just wasn't financially feasible anymore.

As for shipping, I have not had major issues. The carriers that I feel are a bit slow felt slow even before the pandemic...

To sum it up I would say 2020 has been a decent year for me - collecting-wise, that is.

[The Devil's Bank]

As more and more (sadly I might add) people lose their livelihoods, I would say it's a buyers market at the moment.

Having to sell your collection or most valuable items, to make ends meet, shows how bad things have become globally..

A lot more stuff will become available in the coming months, especially as Christmas looms..

With all the "Lockdowns" and "Restrictions", online selling will become frantic in the next few weeks.

Yes, you might get a really good bargain?

But, at what price?

Horrible to say it, but, bills need to be paid, food put on the table and belts will need to be really tightened.

Your family comes first and foremost.

I just hope every body on here, from all over the world, stays safe and healthy, that's the most important thing.

If you do have deep pockets, some really rare stuff might see the light of day and a bargain to be had.

I just wish it was in different circumstances..

[thecyclist64]

Here in the UK as already said, most militaria fairs have closed down. I have been buying online from one dealer - who I have to speak to over the phone to buy items - and he told me that it is momentarily impossible to replace his sold items. Even dealers here in the UK wont sell to each other, they are holding onto their stock for ordinary customers. That said, my items always arrive within 24 hours of purchase, but that costs £7 or $10 extra. I think the last 4 or 5 items I have posted have all come from the same source, so no complaints.

[rogertc1]

In USA, Iowa to be exact. The demand for guns and ammo high due to politics of our election year. Pro-gun on the Right and anti-gun of the Left. They are selling for much higher prices and getting scarce like 9mm ammo.

[Ryoyo]

I'm a lonely old dude with no family to look after and full time employment, so I've actually done quite well buying, and occasionally selling. I do have a car to pay for, otherwise I'd be able to buy some bucket list items (really want an IJN helmet). I'm also a coin collector so my collecting budget is split.

[Rod]

I agree with Tom, I haven't seen anything worth buying for months. It seems like the market for things I collect has been turned on its head. I use to be able to find historically significant items at reasonable prices but all I'm seeing these days is junk at hugely inflated prices, regardless of whether the seller is American or Japanese. If you're finding good deals it must be more local than through the usual channels, or we operate in entirely different worlds.

Without wanting to sound conspiratorial (or maybe I do) I kind of feel someone may have been messing with the U.S. postal system. While mail was moving normally through the rest of the world, in my case from Japan to Canada, the American system was experiencing unreasonably long delays. For what it's worth, that was around the time the American President was making a case for the unreliablility of mailing in ballots.