Good stuff in MINTY condition will always sell. As a young collector of 10 years�. I have bought and sold 100�s great items. Buying and selling has allowed me to keep the best stuff and keep the hobby exciting. I have got to meet many great people and have established broad reach of networking. Here are some points that have not been mentioned on this topic.
1. Generation X, Y (20-30�s) have typically don�t have the expendable income as older more established people.
2. Some older collectors take advantage of younger collectors. (I have a list of name of well known dealers/collectors with documentation to prove it!) Once you burn someone it tends to make them run away from the hobby.
3. Each generation collects their past. My generation prefers Pop culture, electronics, star wars stuff, sports, electronics, big TVs etc etc. Younger people can�t relate to WW2 and when they see an SS Generals visor they say �cool skull� and could care less at about the artifacts. If it was a minty Darth Vader or transformer they would say WOW I had one of them when I was a kid. How much is it worth? Etc Etc
4. Younger people have little kids, car payments, mortgages, collage debt. Many younger people have to borrow money for all major purchases. Cheap credit is the only way our economy is running.
5. The key factor is too much DEBT. Debt the new �master� that has enslaved many in our culture. (a topic in itself)
6. Raises don�t keep up with inflation. Many of my friends haven�t had a raise in years. This adds to my point in #4
7. Food cost is up 25% on average vs a few years ago.
8. WW2 history is rarely mentioned in today classrooms. My nephews have all stated it.
9. Many older collectors are thinning out or passing away, this will allow a ton of new fresh items to be placed back on the market. However this will also drive prices down on average, common stuff. There will be many MAJOR buying opportunities now and thought the next 10 years.
Due to these factors the market will remain flat from now on until kingdom come.
Quick add on to number 8, (and as someone early 40s but pretty close to everything else, no raises, high costs of living, younger kids, some debt...and I have met a couple unfriendlies, but I figure that's their problem, not mine...no time to waste on them for any reason...) But as a history teacher, I believe it, as your nephews state, ww2 isn't talked about...but it depends on the teacher, the classroom, and the curriculum. I do, but I know people who don't, and in some cases, it's a matter of generational disconnect, but in others it's a result of teachers focusing on other things, because of the culture we live in... I always say that they are still stuck in the "lies my teacher told me" mentality, that professes to undo the cornerstones of civic education, because they are "wrong" or just "not nice." I hope that the pendulum swings back and we can all realize that the past is just that. Neither to be romanticized or demonized. (Who are we to make those calls?)
