I really think this forum has died a death over the past few years with not much posting going on & a lack of replies to people needing help on there items, also what happened to all the very useful info that we had on the old site when you done a search?, i preferred the old site to this one & i think thats whats helped to kill GD.Com, what are your thoughts & opinions on this matter?

I think the reasons are very simple and I don't think that it has to do with GDC, I think it is a world wide trend.
First of all, there are no newcomers to the hobby, look at the average age of collectors at the SOS/Max show, frightening, it looks like an old aged convention reunion.
Second, prices have gone wild and in today's world many people just can't afford that kind of stuff no more.
Third, many unscrupulous dealers and collectors alike have cheated tons of collectors and have killed the passion.
Lastly, we are tired of always repeating the same old things over and over again.
When GDC first came to exist about 10 years ago, it was the first web site of its kind dealing with TR artifacts, many questions were to be asked and all have been answered but after 10 years, we pretty much went all around avery aspect of the hobby.
There ain't much to be discussed anymore, except for those just showing off their old collections.
I for one been collecting for more than 10 years and I used to be very active, only reason why I'm now much more quieter is simply that I'm tired of the same old stuff.
However, I still love the hobby but do not participate in every discussions like I used to.

Cheers


Pat

Not dead Mac, only sleeping....
Im sure the economy has a lot to do with it, window shopping isn't much fun for anybody. As things pick up, im sure old interests will be re-kindled and posts will start to re-appear.
Additionally of course nobody likes to have their prized possesions shot to pieces, and that does happen quite frequently on GDC, sometimes not in the kindest way, however if an opinion is asked for, no-one should take offence if the answer isn't always the one sought.
paul

So what have we become just a bunch of old sobs trying to have a shiner car than the next guys. NO!!!!! the depth of this or any "hobby" is endless come on. I just noted a comment on a gun forum asking is this all there is to collecting. get out look at put away. man no wonder new people dont wanna play in this sandbox. the hobby is alive and going places not at 140 mph grant you. I'm really gettin sick of this "drive through" mentality. we dont wanna repeat info,the grip color theory makes people mad,period.jeez everyone knows thats a "x" hey how much is a X worth. Its the internet folks.. lighten up. I'll have an update this weekend with 2 new tags ok hows that spicy enough!!!!!! a metal PDL tag one of very few known and even a rare ed wusthof and a few revisions of errors I have made in the last 11 years. i guess if you collectors are not eenjoying the hobby as much Im looking for a Paul Sielheimer hang tag to purchase and one of those SMF fake repos from 2001 or 02 I'll even take HQ images from someone and give them credit. Sad more of you guys dont care about "YOUR HOBBY"
http://militaryedgedweapons.com/germandaggerhangtaggallery.htm

Bret Van Sant
"not having all the answers for nearly 50 years"

For whatever reasons we all have to admit that this forum is not close to what it once was.far more traffic and many, many more posts back in the day...the SS forum was the "hub" of activity and the place to be but it appears nearly dead now. There were amazing headgear and uniform posts but not any longer.....just my take.....look at the many respected names in the hobby that have departed or gone elsewhere due to infighting, arrogance, and general snubbs....shame as this is a good forum and the only one to which I have ever belonged or supported.....even I have been tempted to leave more than once...cheers

Oh my how I yearn for the good old days to come back here. Sponge Bob where are you when we need you the most?

I wasn't going to say anything here but I've changed my mind.
It's IMO is NOT the economy or the other forums like WAF would be dead as well.

I sent Vern Bryant a private message on this subject awhile back and told him he was free to post my observations if he chose to do so. So far this hasn't happened.
Jim

It's not just here. Things are slow all over,,[who was at the SOS? ]...

I visit the other sites pretty regular..
In the last year one forum site is now only to look at old topics,,2 more are even slower than here. True WAF is busier but I'd say they are operating at half and some of the topics are nonsense and guys that can't or don't know how to use the 'Search' function [many topics in SS section: 'Is this SS visor skull good! '] .
There are a few German language forums but they too are super slow,,same with the few Russian/Soviet forums.

Economies are bad all over the world. Collectors are spending less and less. Theres also less and less authentic pieces out there. Times are tough and will be for a while longer..

Lots of true observations about slowness of the economy and prices being high.

One interesting one is that all the questions have been asked and that the senior members are tired of repeating themselves. True in some respects. I know several of the senior guys and exchange email and see them at shows, but they just don't want to post. As for repetition, yes, the same questions come up again and again. I never tire of helping new guys, but it seems to bother others. As for "all the questions have been asked", I see many new ones each week. Either new (or new fake) items or penetrating questions about known items. We just a good one on diplomatic daggers. We have seen a lot interesting threads on Eastern European daggers too.

As for "no new members", someone is not looking at the posts. We are getting quite a few new guys from all over particularly Europe who are contributing good info.

Lastly, "the hobby is dead because of prices and its just old farts anyway" . Well, yes, there are quite a few of us "OFs" or "wrinklies" as they say in Great Britain, but the young folks are there too. There was a militaria show in Raleigh last weekend ($6 to get in, under 12 free) and the younger generation was there:

- One young man about 8 had downloads of all WWII medals and was hunting through the box with the common ribbon bars ($1 each, or 6 for $5, campaign stars extra 50c each) and bought 6, with his father approving. He asked me if there were D-Day medals since Monday was June 6 !

- A young lady about 20 was looking for WWII sweetheart pins. I asked her and she said she had been given her Great Grandmother's pin which had a two star (sons in service) pin with a chain to a miniature division pin and she was looking for more.

- Another young man maybe 7 looking for inexpensive German medals, with his dad helping.

Also quite a few young adults looking through the various tables and buying a few things.

We don't see these at the SOS or Max. They cannot afford the time off, the hotel fees and the admission.

Dave

People come and go in any hobby. With some of the more popular and mainstream hobbies this is also true, but there is a greater pool to replace the folks that move on ( either interest wise or more permanently..!)

Militaria is a narrow focus hobby with very few people interested in all eras.Those that form the core are getting on in years and while there is some new blood coming in, I just don't see the sustained interest in the kinds of items we so dearly love.

As for the prices, there cannot be but a drop once the vast majority of the 'alte garde' have moved on down the line.We are already seeing the seeds of this; how many large shows have you attended that were all but dead? How many of the more common items sit on tables or online year after year?

If you want to see the beginning of the last gasps of outrageous dealer prices, see how items are priced in this economy.The prices being asked are even higher to offset the stock that does not move.Many hope to get the one big score rather than wait for less desirable items to move.

I think it would be worthwhile to do an exit survey of younger folks to see if we are on target with this. After all, if they are supposed to be the life blood of this hobby going forward, shouldn't we at least be asking the right questions to the right people?

Over the last 10 years i have been on here about once a year somebody gets on and says the same thing,lol, were still here.It is slow post wise,but it started getting slow and slower as the economy went south, a lot of the average collectors arent spending and some are selling out due to the economy.I havent posted much in the last year because im getting lazy and doing other things.Watch as the economy picks up the post will pick up. At the moment most people have other things on there mind (like hoping they still have jobs and taking care of family). As per the young new blood being the lifeline of the hobby, bulls*** the under 30 age group have never been or will ever be large in size, do the math they dont made as much or have as much free income to spend on the hobby. Im betting the majority of new collectors are at least 30 or 40 and face it, its the old farts that have alway been the majority of collectors , its not a cheap hobby and wasnt a cheap hobby (compared to what a item cost to how much you made back then) back in 60s. The economy will rebound and so will the hobby and forum. Just my 2 cents worth.

We may not be the biggest forum, but there are more guys here who I know and whose opinion I respect.

As for the younger crowds we do see several younger kids that "get it" and collect what they can. We try to trade with them and teach them what to look for an not get burned. We just gave away about 200 free US patches to kids at the Milwaukee VA event this past weekend.

Well, I guess i'll chime in on this one. Im turning 41 on the 30th. And I would like to think myself as a young collecter(about 5 years)I just joined this forum a couple months ago. Haven't got to "serious" untell about a year ago. I looked around the enternet awhile tell I found this forum. Liked it so much I joined and I come on everyday to read new things. Emailed Mike and he sent me a MCSARR, the guy signed it to me and everthing! For a new collecter that is a big boost. I think you are on the right track as to the economy being part of it. I was finding it had to get a deal on daggers so I deceided to go a different route. I started buying parts (I know some would look down on parts daggers) I would study on what grips went with what croosgaurds and with what blades. You collect a large amount of items but I like the results. I don't do it to resell it's for my personal collection. I have learned so much more coming to the site that I would hate to see it go. I'm am know getting to a better situation that im starting to look at up grading to more premium daggers for my collection. I find it hard where I live (northwest) a little lacking in german II relics. So alittle hard to get a good amount of items to compare. But I keep looking, so for you "old timers" out there just to let you know that the hobby isnt dead yet it burns deep in my soul.(everyday,just ask my girlfiend LOL)

Dont get me wrong Jerry there are younger collectors,but they are a small percentage of the total, more 30-40 range and alot more 50-60 age range. Vinnie was one of the younger collectors (i think he was 16 when he joined the forum) and there is Spencer Victory and Johnny ( i think they are under 30) and im sure there are a few more on the forum but percentage wise its low.

P.S. i wish we had a section on our profile page that showed age, i like to know if im talking with a 18 year old or a 60 year old collector

Forgot Jerry. US patches are a great way of introducing young (age wise) collector to the militaria collecting field. There afforable have lots of history and eventually lead the collector to third reich relics.

well once again the thread has arisen .I still feel that the reason for our demise is the tone of the people that are on here.Yes i do go to waf don't see much of that going on a little but not like here.Also you don't have someone delete every thread cause they don't like it that in full was the reason i left.The economy does suck but people still have time for tere passion but really folks who in there right mind is going to pay 400 up for an sa dagger when there are millons of them produced oh i see it is a 6 or 7 on a list that makes it worth that much.really when you look at the prices we command on or stuff we cut our on throat we priced our self out of the park.I sold an sa on payment plans by the time the guy payed it off he could have turned round and made 200.00 .My gift to the younger generation i have a nephew going to annapolis upon his grad his father shall present to him free from my collection one of the best army dagger that i ever had i hope just hope it sparks a new collector if not oh well.my two cent

There is no shortage of militaria and supply far exceeds the demand for it. The prices doubled in about 5 years from when I started collecting and I said at the time that it was not sustainable. The dealer`s are marking stuff up far beyond it`s true value but they are not by any means the only ones.

For months I have been looking for a nice tunic at what I believe is a fair price. I usually look at the WAF uniform section on a daily basis. Take a look for yourself and you will see that collectors wanting to sell to fellows are asking the most extraordinary prices for what in my opinion for the most part is tat. Tatty moth nibbled junk that I wouldn`t even want to have in my collection at any price.

One guy had a tunic I was mildly interested because of the condition. (not really the rank or branch that I was after but nice). I waited for him to lower his price again. He did not & nobody bought it. The topic expired and got deleted so I contacted him. Guess what? He put the price up above what he had advertised it at! Ha Ha!

They really are as mad as balloons!

I have bought very little in the last couple of years, not because of a waning interest but quite simply because I will not pay more for something than I believe it is worth.

In this I do not believe I am alone.

Helmet`s? don`t even go there! Mad, quite mad!

You are correct that there is no shortage of militaria and supply exceeds demand. Most of it however is low grade common stuff that will probably never sell. Endless web gear, tech sergeant tunics, shot out SMLEs, good conduct medals and the like. Look at SOS or MAX and you will see endless tables of this.

Now if you are talking about desirable militaria, demand exceeds supply. and it sells well if reasonably priced. Go to any show and watch

Collectors often will sit on their items hoping for a big score; sometimes that day never comes.

A longtime collector died recently around my area, and his items were sold off at pennies on the dollar.

None of it went to other collectors from what I could tell, mostly local antique shop dealers.

Amongst the items? SS officers sword, SS full Rohm, 2 German crosses in silver and a complete A-SS tunic ( with original awards and insignia)as brought back from Occupied Germany in 1947.

The price for these items? $2,200.00

I kid you not.One man in attendance told me that it was the first time he could remember such items garnering little to no collector interest.This economy is tough.

Quote:
"Collectors often will sit on their items hoping for a big score; sometimes that day never comes."

Ever so often in my roaming about at estate and garage sales I'll come across a big box of Beanie Babies. I have been told on more than one occasion that the purchaser had bought these as a solid investment but the opportunity to sell at a good price never seems to come. They(usually a she) can't understand why people are no longer clammoring to buy them. I rarely will say anything but usually make a quick exit so as not to break out in uncontrolled laughter!!
Jim

Yes Dave I agree but even this low grade stuff is way over-priced so that even the budget collector is frozen out. I have generally bought quality stuff and that which isn`t in the best of condition is somewhat scarce. Early Henckels slant grip heer is one example. true that good stuff always has a market but Doug`s post above is very sobering!

My point above about the Beanie Babies is if your into that or militaria as an investment you may someday be in for a rude awakening. I think just about anyone now thinks Beanie Babie collecting was pretty dumb. But have you considered just how much of the general public would also say the same thing about collecting militaria? For the record; I think it's pretty much agreed to that militaria has stood up well in holding it's value over time. However IMO: If you bought heavily(daggers for example) 3-5 years ago when prices were at their peak it may be quite some time before you can sell the items and even break even.
Again IMO: Enjoy militaria collecting at what it's supposed to be A HOBBY. If you eventually make some money collecting so be it.
Jim

Amen Jim!!!
Brian

Again, last year was much bigger than the year before for me in sales. Also, last year's income from the hobby was twice as much as I ever made in one year of Pharmacy work, so business is great. However, MOST of it is going overseas. I feel bad that the US boys are suffering a loss (potential and future) at this time, but maybe the market will change after the next election.

Hi Ron,

Just curious, who are the biggest buyers in Europe nowadays ?
Certainly NOT the British, French or Germans but is it still the Russians ?

Jim:

To note, I did buy a lot of stuff about 3-5 years ago. I had money to burn at the time and cared way more for particular items than I did for the cost of them.

But, in my case, I did NOT buy these items with the intention of reselling them, so that factor never entered into my thinking.

I did try to buy the best of conditions and the rare/unique items.

My collecting direction did change over the past year and I have moved out of some of my collecting interests. But, having bought quality, I find that I can move my items. Those that I cannot move due to price, I wait on. Eventually, these will move as well.

So, the prices of items are not irrelevant, but they are as much determined by what people want to pay as they are by what people want to get for them.

How many times have we seen repeated reductions in the price of items listed for sale here or on WAF or elsewhere? And, how many times have we seen dealers have 'special sales'? Or, to test it even more, make an offer to a dealer on one or more of his items... will it be accepted? The market price is just that, what the market (you and I and a whole bunch of other collectors) wants to pay.

I think that some of the price contraction in this hobby is also due to the exit or disappointment suffered by 'speculators', those people who buy only for the upside and are not truly collectors. When the upside disappears, so do they and they take their inflationary pressures with them.

John

Quote:
"I think that some of the price contraction in this hobby is also due to the exit or disappointment suffered by 'speculators', those people who buy only for the upside and are not truly collectors. When the upside disappears, so do they and they take their inflationary pressures with them."

John:
The above is certainly another aspect here and one,to a degree, that has been discussed before. You present an alternative scenario to the speculator.* You buy excellent quality,pay the price to acquire items in this category and have the financial means to just retain the items if the overall market goes sour as it has presently done.
I look at my own collection as fluid with the understanding that anything in it is and perhaps most of it will be subject to sale at some time as my interests change. However; I have never been in nor do I intend to ever get in the position where I Have to sell some items. This is what I believe has happened to the speculators in this hobby particularly those that overextended them selves.
As I have said before; This to me is a hobby. Unless you are a full time dealer in militaria I would think it would be prudent to treat collecting that way.

*The term "investor" is probably apropriate here but I personally don't consider hobbies an investment and as a matter of fact neither does the IRS. Just try putting a bunch of daggers into an IRA.
Jim

Those that buys daggers for an investment are in for a big surprise down the road.
Only dealers will make you believe that these are an investment ..............pure non sense.

The only time that it is an investment is when you can buy it cheap, most likely from a vet which has no clue about the real value of things, and then selling it back.
However, you will NEVER get such a bargain deal buying through a main stream dealer, niet.

interesting topic. I think that the future price increase possible only if the US dollar collapses or Nazi will be recognized and honored in the future by the leading countries (which is very unlikely in the near future) The increase in the past decade was due to the internet making it possible for the collectors to see and buy without attending the shows and to the collapse of the iron curtain and making it possible to East Europeans to buy the staff. Russians have great interest in WWII German Items. This interest is not the same as before, the market in Russian and other Eastern European Countries is full with TR items now. The Asian raising economies, on the other hands, do not give a sh-t about TR items, the rich chinese for example, so another wave from that avenue is not possible. I think it is time to sell and overseas is a much better choice of selling. They pay more money for now. Looking at the bail out of Greece and possible collapse of Euro, the prices of TR staff here can actually depreciate even further. IMO

I'm still trying to figure out which country OVERSEAS is doing well ???????
There can't be too many countries that collect that kind of stuff anyway.

Just think of all the amazing items that reside in former Eastern Bloc countries (and Russia) that we have never seen!

Who is buying ? Some on Europe as the pound and Euro are high and even more in Russia. The may not be buying common stuff, but the high grade item are selling. The major markets are in the countries that fought the Nazis. USA, Canada, UK & Commonwealth, Russia, plus the European countries that were occupied.

And if you think things are not selling at regional/nation shows, try finding:

- Parachutist items: Helmets, uniforms, patches, wings. German/US/UK/etc

- USMC WWII items

- Garands and Carbines in good shape

- Top grade Nazi daggers, Allied fighting knives

- German decorations EK2 and higher

- Allach

- etc

Dave

Sorry to contredict but nothing is really all that rare.
I've counted 25 Paratrooper helmets on 2 major dealer websites alone in the last 2 minutes, how many do we need ?

Though the Euro, British Pounds and Canadian currency are doing extremelly well in comparaison to the US dollars, the market is still very soft in Europe.
The UK is having its biggest economic recession in more than 25 years and the rest of Europe, except for Germany, is in very bad shape.
Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Iceland and basically in bankruptcy.
No, I doubt that many high end stuff are flying eastwards, many are still being offered on most dealer web sites and been sitting there for ages.
What is a high end dagger anyway ? Is it one that you can count on one hand ? If so, does that represent the health of the hobby if one single SS Honor get sold in Russia ?
I don't think that selling an Army Damascus or an SA Honor dagger means that the market is DOING WELL.

All this is simply called PROPAGANDA and guess who are the investigators, yop, you guessed it right.

You forgot to add the U.S.A. in the bankrupty list.
Brian

Do we have any members in Portugal or Greece or any of the EU countries facing a tough time that want to chime in and give us a report on how things are on the ground ( collector wise) there?

When I do set up at shows, I get lots of requests for Luftwaffe items from the Eastern Bloc buyers.

Some of the dealers speculate that they put together fake 'convolutes' out of items from disparate sources to try and sell as major groupings around a high end or named item..

I have a lot of friends in Poland, Ukraine, Russia,,compared to 10 years ago about half are still collecting.
Many that still are in the hobby have given up 3rd reich items and they're going after their own countries pieces to get back in their homeland...

Speaking as someone who regularly attends local shows-and they are still plentiful in UK-interest is still very high, tho sales perhaps not what they were a year ago. Low end dealers for whom this is still a 'fun' pastime not a career are still turning over sufficient amounts to continue to pay for tables at these events, and are not afraid to buy in new stock. Whilst this may all be bad news for the the big boys, the little guys are are still out there giving us what we want

paul

Most of Russian found items are in a bad shape. Most were desstroyed during or after the war, and most were illegal to own untill recently. So the best items were brought from US and Cananda.

Yes and No Oleg..I agree that there are lots of worn and damaged items, but some of the collections that I have seen from friends in former Eastern Bloc countries would blow your mind, none of it being sourced from the west!

Patrice,

What is wrong with dealers ?

Dave

Dave,

With all due respect, nothing is really wrong with any dealer but it is to there best interest to make us think that everything is fine and that it is business as usual.
When you read such things as "investment potential" in the descriptive text, it makes you wonder if the dealer is really "all there" or if he is living on another planet.
Have you notice that every SOS and Max show is always THE best ???? I mean seriously, I must be blind then 'cause I'm not seeing the same thing as what the dealers are seeing, jeeeeeeez !

Who is saying "Investment potential" ?

Dave

Hey Pat my friend and all dealers in militaria or whatever:
In your opinion; Which company makes the best cars??
Does any dealer on this forum want to state whose the best militaria dealer??
I think you're all going to have to shift modes to answer this.
I'll be glad to tell everyone who shoots the best video in Arizona!!
Jim

Dave,

I can easily get you a dozen of examples such as this one !

dave you seem to be missing the point of the whole post.I think there is a big thing going on with the dealers they are nervous and not sure how to save the golden goose .,So when backed up to the wall they will say anything.Will it ever change no i don;t think so the only thing that can change it or lack of it

Here's one that I really like about a very common dagger and "not in a so great of a condition", I tell you, some people should definitively go back to business school to learn the basics.

I don't think these any real disagreement here that dealers have used and continue to use the "investment angle" as a selling point for militaria. We,as collectors, have continued to foster this particularly during the early years of this Century when prices seemed to be on an ever increasing upward spiral. I believe this all began to change aroud 2008 when prices at best just leveled off. IMO: These would have been a major "price correction" by now if militaria was a widely purchased commodity. I believe this hasn't happened YET for a couple of reasones:

1.Most of the bigger dealers,at least those that profess to be full time, have fairly deep pockets and have been able to ride out what many of them probably believe is just a transition period.

2.Many of the more active collectors exercised some prudence and didn't overextend themselves to the point of putting them into a position where they Have to sell. They,like the dealers, will attempt to ride the market out rather than take a loss.

I personally count myself as one of the fortunate ones who have always treated militaria collectiong as a hobby. Whether prices regain their upward momentum or drop perciptiously is of no major financial concern to me.
Again and IMO
This is a HOBBY and one I entered for the enjoyment of collecting and the history associated with what I collect.
Jim

Pat, you are correct.

Reichstall,

I know some of those guys reasonably well and I don't sense nervousness when talking to them. The last MAX and SOS were very good for them both in terms of their sales and items they were able to buy from walk-ins.

Shows, though, are not as reliable an indicator as they were 20 years ago or event 10 years ago. With digital photography, the Internet, and much cheaper phone plans, a lot of transactions pass unnoticed.

Our own "For Sales" area seems to be active and it is very interesting to see what sells and what does not and at what price.

Dave

well it is a hobby but also a hobby that some of us have made some pretty good money in so how do you classify that is it a hobby or an investment.Lets look at just a simple sa that not to long ago i bought for less than 200. now that same dagger can sell for 600. so is that a hobby i look in the safe i don't see a collection i see an x amount of cash. I do love the art of collect and sell.But in the end we all do it for the money if not than i do not feel you are very honest to yourself.I think if you got lets say a nice boker ss that you bought for lets say 3000. Now you can sell it for 4000 to purchase the diffrence for lets say a himmler would you do it not saying you will find one for that.Is that an investment or collecting .Have any one out there sold anything for a loss or does everyone have everything that they ever bought.i never did a loss unless i got burned in which case i still have.
Dave; I do not know the dealers as such you do so my point is my aspect of view but you must admit they are not selling like they did .View in case invintory sitting month after month .any one in business will tell you anything does not sell makes them nervous and they start to think what can i do to move this item.

I have not tried to analyze dealer websites because I think practices vary a lot as far as marking items when sold or on lay away. Same applies to adding stock.

Also, some of the best items never make it to the websites - the dealers have clients waiting for items.

Lastly, one thing needs to taken into count - consignment items. Some dealers list them as such but most do not. The problem is that the seller wants an unrealistic amount for the item so it sits and sits and sits until the seller lowers his expectations or the market price rises. This is why some stock looks stagnant.

i give up

well I bought an "investment grade" TK ring from a dealer for the price that it sold for back in 1995. I then added a $3000 ring box and 4 months later was forced to sell back to the dealer due to a personal situation. I lost $7000!!!!! (70%) so much for an investment...I know it was short term but no one should have to loose that badly on a highly desireable, collectible and investment grade item. I have collected German vigorously since 1982. I have sold off the last of my SS collection at a great loss and can now state that for the first time in 29 years I own no German items...cheers, Ryan

Anyone that bought a HR from a dealer in the late 90s , or even the last few years would take a beating on it if they had to sell now..
Really,,unless you stumble upon a great deal yourself,,anytime you buy anything from a dealer for 'investment' purposes your going to lose if you sell when times are bad..
Also, items have their popularity,,some years ago Soldbuchs were sky high,,a few years ago SS buckles were high, then infantry badges , etc.,everything has its turn,,,and IF you buy when popular you paid too much.

For 'us' it's a hobby,,for a dealer of course it's a business. As far as daggers,,I'd say the 2 Toms have sold enough thru out the years their not worried about a little stagnated stock or slow sales. These are their golden years and its no sweat for them, they'll do what they have too, or don't care and will write up adverts like what Pat posted.
But who will take their place when they're gone? Who will explain and vouch for all these personalized, specialized, minty mint daggers?. There are always losers in the future. Don't get mixed up buying for investment. Buy either in the best of condition,,or what you truely like..

Yes, mainly Russian customers, but today a dagger to Sweden and a good number of rarer daggers to GA, so business is going on everywhere. Good condition and solid originals are not hard to sell, even today.

And to this I say AMEN!!
However I will add one more point:
IMO: We are very close to the inception of virtually undetectible fake daggers being made in the former Commie Bloc Countries. Once this occurs just imagine the effect this will have on the hobby.
Jim

hey maybe we all will get an rohm ss for once and not have to sell a house to get them or a sa ferd.or????????????????

AARP magazine had an article ,two groups of people are seperated. One group is asked how much they would buy a coffee mug for ,average price $4.00. Second group was asked how much they would sell the mug for,$8.00 the preception is once we own something it becomes more valuable to US and we don't want to let it go.
My gal is always telling me to sell some of my items as I don't look at them that much but they don't in a sense owe me anything so I keep holding on to them.

Unfortunately Ed:
AARP Magazine is probably das meiste allgemeine Lesematerial for most of the membership here!!
Jim

nope not yet i am the young one left holoding every thing in the future so everyone put me in your will ok ill take good care of it.

Ok Guys the markets a little slow at the moment & so theres a lack of enthusiasm to post much on the dagger & knife front these days, But please someone tell me what has happend to all the useful information we had on the old site that doesnt appear to be transferred over to this new site???, was this info saved or is it gone forever??

What a curious reply this will be . . .

[What a curious reply this will be . . . [/quote]

An honest question deserves an honest answer

At the bottom of this page [and all others] you will see there are 2 pages of old topic.. BUT, there are many more.. ..Go to bottom left--see 'Display Options',,Change to 'From all dates'..then you will see many pages.. This works on all the other forum subjects here.......

Gaspare, many thanks for this very helpful info, this have solved my problem

Regards Scott.