Photos on EBAY!

[Ulsterman]

True, but interest in imperial German/ Weimar has grown much stronger over the past 20 years...thanks to Rick Lundstroem

. Stogie and I used to be the only ones dueling over WW1 medal portraits on eBay and I recall losing a very nice Bavarian golden bravery medal photo to him for the "shocking" sum of.....................$11!

Zepplins have always been insane though.

[E Williams]

True, but interest in imperial German/ Weimar has grown much stronger over the past 20 years...thanks to Rick Lundstroem

. Stogie and I used to be the only ones dueling over WW1 medal portraits on eBay and I recall losing a very nice Bavarian golden bravery medal photo to him for the "shocking" sum of.....................$11!

Zepplins have always been insane though.

I agree....remembering back going through box and boxes at flea markets, WWI memorabilia was what to buy, did I buy it...NO!!! It's a known fact people get interested in a subject or time period when it seems it becomes a forefront of interest and they want a piece of it. Look at Beany-Babies. Hundreds of bucks for what you can find for a dime today on some flea market table. Items we're buying today from WWI at a price being driven up by demand, in ten years will they be worth the same, doubt it and another thing, how many are starting in the collecting today that know nothing and are buying fakes which will also flood the market? It's an up and down hobby that fluxuates through periods based on events that can't be controlled. I wonder now, how are other WWI items from the ally side doing? I do know one site I go to can't keep WWI Doughboy items in inventory.

I read an article the other day that the first 3D gun was produced. How long now before we start seeing a 3D (re-strike you might say) 1910 Erfurt MG unit market Luger for sale at $3000.00? One can only wonder.......................

[E Williams]

Another reason why I love Lugers. I think this one will just wait around for the Will to be read this time.

Edited November 17, 2013 by E Williams

[Marcin L]

Haha, I am just watching Band of Brothers episode 7 now, Breaking Point, that's about the Luger.

[IrishGunner]

Many people would agree that there has been a pattern of price increases in many, but not all, areas of military collecting. However, I think that I've noticed another pattern that may explain the first one. In the past nine months or a year, I've noticed many items that "sell" for what would appear to be high prices reappear after a few weeks or months, being offered by another seller either on fleabay, a dealer's website or even on a table at a show. In the case of one photo that interested me, the original sale price was less than 20 E. but that was more than I was willing to spend. Six months later I saw the same photo offered on line for 2 E. by another dealer. A week later the photo appeared on a table at a show for 5 E. Now maybe that original sale just attracted a lot of attention and dealers just dug out their copies of the exact same photo, but somehow that's just a little too suspicious for me. I suspect that a dealer bought the original and is now turning out copies that appear suitably aged and are being sold as originals. In another case, there were a couple of documents that caught my attention. They sold on fleabay for less than 100 E. Those same award documents are now offered on a dealer's website for 500 E. In yet another example, there was an item listed for sale at an auction that interested me. It sold for about $1500 which was more than I was willing to pay. A day later, that same item appeared on a dealer's website for more than $2500. There wasn't even time enough for the dealer to have received the item in the mail but he was offering it for sale! He was even using the photos from the auction company! The point of all this is that it seems collectors are part of the reason prices are going up; some dealers believe that they have captive clients who are willing to pay the price, even for fakes and overpriced originals.

There have always been dealers buying items to re-sell. The re-sellers charge exponentially higher prices because: 1) They have to make a profit off the original high price they paid; and 2) people are paying these crazy prices. A symptom of what I think we've already said.

As for fakes; I suppose it's possible in the strictly photo area (more likely WW2), but it's really difficult I think to fake a Photo Post Card. What you do have to watch out for are modern re-prints of photos, esp WW2, I got burnt only one time in 10 years for the tune of $5.

[IrishGunner]

Sadly, I think less and less people collect German militaria now. Irrespective of the prices, I think the collecting society was just bigger few years ago. Some quit / died, and we have no new comers.

By the way - where do you buy your stuff? Ebay only? I can't believe, there is so much crap there.

I'm not so sure about this... I think there are more collectors. And unfortunately, those "more collectors" are less educated on the topic. Thus, driving prices to unrealistic levels.

I really only buy post cards or sterbebilder from eBay. I also frequent several dealer sites (although some of those also sell on eBay). Medals - almost nothing ever appears worthwhile on eBay.

You are right - a bunch of crap there; however, I reminded of a watching a friend of mine getting treasures from a real crap hole. In the mid-80s I was posted to Fort Bliss, Texas. Across from our HQ building they were digging some new trenches for pipes. One day, we saw our squadron S3 digging around in the piles of dirt and pulling out "stuff". He came back with boxes of items, including rotting documents and uniform items. They all stunk of "crap". Turned out, the digging had unearthed the garbage of a former WW2 POW camp for Germans that was at Fort Bliss. He was a militaria collector and now had pulled from the crapper a lot of German medals, documents etc. So, sometimes treasure can be pulled from crap if you know what you are looking for... Thus, I still buy from eBay. But only what I know to be worthwhile. A single sniff of doubt or crap, and I'm not buying.

[Chris Boonzaier]

A single sniff of ..... crap, and I'm not buying.

But I thought you collected artillery ????

[E Williams]

But I thought you collected artillery ????

You guys crack me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[IrishGunner]

But I thought you collected artillery ????

Well, I will have to admit, that was pretty clever. I see all that indirect fire (read artillery) experience from your days as a mortarman have improved your intellect from that of the average infantryman.

[E Williams]

I've always enjoyed inter-service/inner-service jocularity, it's part of the Esprit de Corps.

[IrishGunner]

Here we go again. A few photos I'm bidding on today are already 2-3 times what they really should be...

[E Williams]

Here we go again. A few photos I'm bidding on today are already 2-3 times what they really should be...

As General Nathan Bedford Forrest use to say on winning battles: "Ya git ther furst wi' da mostest".

[Hoss]

I have dug deep for some photos, gotten lucky on others... its always a question of who is bedding against you...

uumm kinky devil.

Eric

[IrishGunner]

As General Nathan Bedford Forrest use to say on winning battles: "Ya git ther furst wi' da mostest".

Well, I did make a decisive bid and ended up paying almost 5 times what I normally would for a sterbebild, but it is interesting. I'll post it when it arrives...

And I let a few others go ... not willing to contribute too much to inflation

Edited November 23, 2013 by IrishGunner

[Chip]

I read an article of an collector form the US that complained about a German seller on ebay, because the German won't sell his photos to the US. He sold two photos showing Flammenwerfer Pioniere with their Totenkopf patches on the cuffs. One photo was sold for 80€. The american collector said in his article that he found it pathetic that the seller wasn't selling the photos to him, because he would had paid 800€ (!!!) for both. This is a new dimension ... one day only a few rich people will get photos on ebay, because the market will be screwed!

The simple answer to that problem is to get some friends in Europe! I exchange favors with many European bidders, who can't get American sellers to ship to Europe. It's a bit of an imposition, but you know you can ask the same of the other person.

Chip