I'm 28 and have been collecting for at least 13 years. Honestly I buy less now since there is no way I am paying what these author/dealers deem this stuff to be worth. I will on occasion buy from a regular dealer who can be a bit more realistic with their prices and where a deal can be found now and then. Mostly nowadays I buy out of the woodwork where you can pay truly realistic prices, what this stuff is really worth. Basically the author/dealers are out to squeeze ever cent they possibly can out of there product. Books that are written by dealers are for profit not to pass on any knowledge. Sure they do pass knowledge on, but that certainly is their primary motivation to write them. Even an uneducated onlooker could ascertain such.
My first SA was bought from one of the "Big Dogs" back in 1999-2000 time frame, it was nearly mint and it was only $400. I seen the same conditioned Eichorn on a site recently for $1400. I didn't know whether to laugh or get mad at this? There isn't no reason that a SA should demand these price which I guess they don't unless you are a author? As I suppose this give that SA a sort of mystical quality. A quality that turns a $600-800 dagger into a $1400 one?
I attend local shows and only see older people. Older people who think they can rip a younger guy off(not all, but a lot). If you are younger and uneducated in the hobby you are going to have a tough time anymore. Who do they trust? Because some that can seem so trust worthy are anything but. I hardly care really because I collect for the history not for profit. I would rather buy out of the woodwork. Sure I'll take the deal I find on the web one in a while but it certainly isn't habit. I think anyone who pays $1400 for a SA is a careless spender same for anyone who would pay $1500 for a beater name only Rohm SA. Its really lunacy in my opinion. Then again we all know what opinions are like don't we?
What may appear as truth to one person will often appear as untruth to another person. But that need not worry the seeker. -Gandhi
