UBB.threads Forums General Interest Community Center Some nice stuff in the "for sale" forum..

Noticed some real nice pieces sitting stagnant in the for sale section. Has the hobby reached it's end, Or is the economy that bad? I remember the nice stuff wouldn't last a day before.

thing is,,,most everyone has the 'common stuff' EKs,WBs, breast eagles,flags, common daggers, plain helmets etc. so there is little interest.

Some of the older collectors have actually went to colleting tinnies as at least their interesting and a wide variety of them.. Most others have specialized to one specific subject area and won't spend un less its something they really need or to upgrade their collection... The world wide bad economy doesn't help!

Gaspare has said it all and if I may add one more comment, the fact that there is no new blood entering the hobby is also a sure death warrant for the long term survival of this hobby. It doesn't take a genius to understand where the hobby stands nowadays and hopefully people won't get fooled by the "investment" aspect of it.

I have noticed within my network most advance collectors are into trading rather than selling.

I agree with Gaspare,
I think the world wide economic decline has a whole lot to do with it. What I don't understand is while the economy is in the toilet the dagger prices are still going up on the "BIG" sites.

As for young blood entering the hobby, they're a few, but not like 20 years ago. Think about it, what young individual 15 to 25 can afford the prices. At $700.00 to $800.00 for a decent Army or Luft, that's a weeks pay. High prices alone will drive the young people out.

My neighbors son had a collection most people would envy. Luger's, medals, and patches, he had a wonderful collection. He started collecting around the age of 10. His father bought him a German helmet and when his grandmother came over to babysit him, he would chase her around wearing that German helmet and carrying a broom stick. He passed away a few months back from pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 28, God bless him. My point being there are still a few getting into it yet.

Rich

This stuff has always been expensive compared to salaries. In the early sixties a decent SS dagger was 25-30 pounds in London. It was not until I had had a good job for a few years that I could afford one and lots of things had priorities like housing, food, cars, vacations and the like. Unless you are lucky, it is not until you are older that the good items are affordable.

You seldom see younger people at the big shows , and you never did, because they cost quite a bit to get in and the best days are during the week when you have to use precious vacation time. On the other hand, the local shows here in the Raleigh area draw a goodly amount of younger adults and children who are interested. A friend sets up at these so I see it from the other side of the table.

One young man about 8 had his great grandfather's WWII records and is buying medals, ribbons, brass and patches to make up a shadow board. His dad brings him to most shows. Another is collecting WWII Army enlisted brass from all the different branches.

As for our Sales site, most of it seems to sell. The top items (Item+condition+price) go quickly. Other linger until the price drops a bit. Lots of negotiations behind the scenes, I suspect.

I think g hit it on the head. And i was going to say the same thing Dave said, beat me to the punch. The younger collectors never have been or will be the mainstay of the hobby. It cost to much now and 40 years ago.I think you will find most collectors dont really start collecting until they are 35 and and up and the majority are 50-60s.

There is a very narrow market for the more expensive items. Many collectors can't afford them, or just don't want to spend the money, for a variety of reasons, including the bad economy and questionable future. More advanced collectors already have most of the basic stuff in which they have an interest. That more or less leaves mostly the newer collectors, who tend to be cautious and rightfully so, and acquire things slowly as they learn more about the hobby.