Confessions of a collecting addict

When does Ebay start up again

2009-01-03T15:44:00.001-08:00

Darned if I know, but I did watch it religiously over the holidays. It dropped slightly to about 2,000 listings total in one collector category I am interested in. Just after Christmas it dropped to 1,700, and it took until New Year's day to rise to 1,800.

I did bid on some stuff over the holidays, but I did not detect that things went for lower than normal prices.

I did notice that the listings that dried out were more of the "good stuff" instead of the crap CD-roms and posters and general garbage some folks list every week. This is the stuff that be left on Ebay if the company management has its way and gets rid of the small sellers. I would be far happier, and probably spend more money, if they limited those big sellers that post the same new made stock item 75 times in a single category per week.

Nifty cases

2008-12-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

The key to a good collection is storage and display.

I have stumbled upon two different cases that I don't think a lot of people know about.

Both are essentially Riker mounts, but the first one has a foam insert with vertical slits in it. You place a small object in the slit, and pressure holds it in place. I have tried one for my small ACW bullet collection and it works pretty darn well. I print out small labels as to what and where the item was found, and can attach it to the foam using a short pin (hint, these are known as sequin pins). Sadly, it only comes in red backing, but what can ya do?
see then at Sgt. striker's web site http://sgtriker.com/flock1.htm

And, for collar disks I have been using a similar riker mount with 1" button cases inside. I cut the foam insert to half the thickness, and it works just swell. The trick is, however, to use the WHITE foam for the Black WW1 disks, and the BLACK foam for WW2 brass disks.

Again, the link to Riker's is http://sgtriker.com/flock3.htm

I don't know Sgt. Riker, but I have ordered a few things from him and they came swiftly, and had no problems.

Ebay: a useful idea on using it

2008-11-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

I have been seeing a lot of threads on various bulletin boards where collectors discuss a "rare" item on ebay. Often they can prove it is a fake, or someone used to own the exact same thing.

And quite often, the item in question is identified with the ebay number. So I did an experiment. In a well known forum, I posted something including a random number/letter string that would be unique on the web.

I then started doing google searches for that string.

I was not able to check every hour, but in under 8 hours google had scanned that message and a search for it on google would find the one reference.

Therefore, if you are looking at a "rare" or expensive item on ebay it may be worthwhile to do a google search on the item number. And to help others out, if you are posting info on a specific ebay item, be sure to put the item number clearly in your message.

Collecting, Old age, and Death

2008-04-03T07:36:00.001-07:00

A older dealer I know has started to part with a few objects from his extensive research collection when people call looking for a specific item. A major collector in my field has started selling off his personal collection. Not just a major collector and dealer, he may happen to have the largest, best private military collection in the USA. Certainly many of his items deserve to be in museums.

No one really thought either of these two guys would sell off their personal collections. Sort of like Hillary deciding she would withdraw from the election in favor of John McCain. But it happens. We just don’t really notice the smaller guys.

When asked what I would do with my own collection when I died, I replied “take it with me.” As if I could. When I was younger I had visions of a museum that would continue on after me. That is just not going to happen. There are too many museums now, and I do not have the large sums of money to get one going.

I could donate it to an existing museum, but at this time I worry that most of it would sit in the back room until someone decided to sell it off to pay for a raise for the director. I could (and have) left instructions on how it should be disposed of to raise money for my wife should I pass away too soon. When essentially involves listing a few very honest collectors I know that she can ask to come in and sort stuff and either negotiate with dealers, sell on commission, or stick on ebay for her. In exchange they get some really nice stuff I know they would want.

But more than likely I will decide at some point to sell it off myself. Right now much of it research material for my writing. When (if) I decide to stop I hope I will comfortable enough to part with much of it. I keep trying to make myself sell things, but all I can see is rising prices. As a friend said- “why sell something now if you do not really need the money, when it will probably go up in value far more than stocks?” I could sell now- but greed of future value holds me back.

I once suggested to a guy that ran a militaria auction house that he should set up a special service for collecting widows. They don’t know how to sell the stuff (and truthfully many guys have told their wives that old German helmet only cost $20…). So the collector can just leave a message saying “if I pass away contact Joe X to sell off my collection. Then he sells it off on his auction, other collectors that know his reputation can best place a price on things, and the wife gets a check.

Wait- stop the presses. I have just been told that some WW1 prices, and a lot of ACW prices are going down? Mon Dieu!

Bigger is not better

2008-03-27T11:53:00.001-07:00

I ENVY people who collect stuff like coins, stamps, thimbles, arrowheads, bullets or small figures. They take up so little room. If I could rewire my brain I would be sure to do so to make me want to collect SMALL items.

Sadly, I have far too many BIG items. You could fit a major collection of coins in the same space it takes to put just one field desk, chaplain's organ, switchboard, mine detector case, foot locker, or any other number of BIG items I have. My collection has a life of its own now. I look at things like houses not thinking are the schools any good, but can it fit my stuff?

And of course if I were to sell them the market is limited as shipping is a pain. I was only able to sell off a second field organ once because I was driving down that way and could drop it off.

So yeah, it's impressive. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah, I can dig it out and do great displays with it. But it is a pain in the ass.

So my advice is to try very very hard, to try and only collect in a field where the biggest object you might ever buy is no more than the size of an average book. Stay away from anything that has related items that 'might' fit into your collection as it is a sure thing you will start running into them at a good price and suddenly start thinking in terms of how many cubic yards does your collection take up.

How to stop collecting

2008-03-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

temporary solution: have migraines.

Big Important Collecting Rule # 4

2008-03-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Books drive up prices. Always. You can collect widgets for 25 years and no one will care about them, but eventually someone will write a book about them. The book can be pure crap (and normally is) in which they just show photos of their collection of widgets. But the value of those widgets will then go up as “there is a book about them.”

This is actually how lunchbox collecting started. Some guy started buying them up cheap. OK, lunch boxes are cool. I miss my old ones. But no one cared about them really until he wrote a book showing photos of the lunchboxes he had picked up. Then WNGO! They became a hot collectible, he sold his collection and made a killing, and I have no idea what he is doing now. In fact I once read a “how to make money in the collectibles market” in which they suggested the best way to make money was to find a cheap item no one had discovered, buy them all up, then do a book, and sell your collection off at a high price.

Oh, did I mention these books always have a “price guide” in which the author tells you what they are worth. I wish I could set my own prices, especially if I had a dozen examples… Some more reasonable authors refuse to put down prices, but just provide a “rarity index” which is close but at least not as mercenary.

Now you may laugh but this is true. I’ve seen it happen a few times. Some silly thing you find at most flea markets or yard sales for cheap suddenly zooms up and you can’t find them anymore. In all probability a book had been done on them.

Last month I started looking for a (not rare) early version of the M1910 Army canteen with a flat top. I asked a dealer I know who normally has a few of them if he had any and the cost. He told me that he had none, and that last year he would have said maybe $40, but all of a sudden they were going for $150-200 on ebay. And then he said “someone must have written a book.” And in fact someone had. In fact it wasn’t even a very good book. Just photos and rough information on various models. No digging into the archives for reasons why changes were made, or specification drawings or anything. Just a bare bones book that happens to point out that a certain version exsists. Suddenly everyone must own it!

So if you really love a collectible, pray very hard that no one does a book about them. Or make sure that you beat them to it.

Gold and SIlver

2008-03-02T09:36:00.001-08:00

The price of Gold and Silver are up very high.

What this means is that lots and lots of very nice items are going to be sold off as scrap and melted down. Its a shame. I hope the darn scrap metal merchants know to have some experts look things over before they do the met. Last time this happened huge numbers of WW2 flight wings vanished forever.

But A funny story- at a show one day A dealer I knew pretty well had a pile of WW2 Dr's insignia. I was looking at them thinking maybe I should buy a set and put them away in case I ever needed them (needed them ! hah!)

And one of them looked different. thinner, finer made. I looked at it and - ahem- it was gold. A gold Medical Caduceus! Had I been a different kind of guy I would have snatched it up for whatever- $5. But I actually pointed it out to the dealer who was very very happy I did.

I learned to always look at batches of insignia very very carefully, but I've never found any more gold....

Collecting Medals 101

2008-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Medal collectors tend to be a slightly different breed than generic militaria collectors. Don't ask me why, but perhaps it has to do with there being only a small step from the established coin collecting hobby to medals and decorations.

In any case, instead of reinvent the wheel I suggest you check out the medal collecting society's guide to medal collecting at http://www.omsa.org/forums/collecting101.php

I actually kind of envy people like this, that have such a narrowly defined area of collecting.

And again, here is a good lesson. When I started collecting militaria I 'could' have picked up a few decent, identified wartime medals. But no, I went for some generic un-identified ones. Even just some modern ones as examples. They are now worth what I paid for them (or less). Had I spent a but more and gotten decent good quality ones, they would be worth far More- and thus are now a lot harder to get (and you have to deal with many more fakes).

Selling your stuff

2008-02-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

I ran into Bob Reis's web site. He is a coin dealer that has branched out into selling a number of other collectible areas. He's written some pretty good thoughts on collecting. I highly recomend his website as a fun read (and he has some cool stuff for sale).

Here's a good essay by him about selling things to a dealer. Very interesting and well worth reading.

http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/what'sitworth.html

Repro Maddness

2008-02-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

I am convinced that everything that was ever made, or ever will be made, will get reproduced. Such is life.

I try and stay on top of these, as if I don't, I could get taken by a sharp dealer. Case in point- shu-mine boxes. I just noticed IMA is making them. They are simple to make, and there's probably no real way to tell them apart. I've owned about 3 of them over the years - Stupidly traded off all but one.

http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/964

I am sure they will start turning up on ebay soon with the right fuse. While at IMA I also saw they are making copies of the somewhat rare WW1 era US Cavalry bandoleer. Thankfully, that copy is decent enough for a reenactor, but I don't think would fool anyone with any experience. Not that it will keep someone from aging and finding one 'at a barn sale.'

I will keep saying to my dying day that the only responsible thing is to mark stuff as reproduction in a reasonable way (inside pocket, etc.) but it'll never happen. Things I buy as a reproduction I mark myself. Which means in the future that when my estate gets sold off it will be worth more. One one hand becasue I am a famous author and historian (I have had people actually say they want to buy an item that was used in one of my books), and on the other hand because my reputation will help reassure people they are getting real stuff.

This has nothing to do with greed on my part, but a sesne of pride in my collection. And after all, a true collector takes pride in his work!

Dumb collector shows.

2008-02-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

I hate most collector shows on TV. All they ever do is go to people with some lame collection like salt and pepper shakers, and ask what is their most valuable pair. I know people collect those things. I want to see the really ODDBALL stuff people collect. I think the best I ever saw on a show was a guy who collected the plastic bags carrots came in. Now THAT’S entertainment!
And these shows are all about how much the stuff is worth. Yeah, OK. I guess I want to know if they cost $5, or $500, but I am far more interested in how they started, what’s the coolest items they have, what terrible stories of collector’s despair have they gone through, clever ways of displaying them, insider knowledge like how there is a secret North Korean factory churning out replicas of all the salt and pepper shakers from the 1920’s.

Collecting should not be about money. If that is the reason a person is in the game, then they are not a collector, but a deal who just has not started selling things yet.

This gives me a thought, if North Korea can counterfeit US bills (as some people claim) they should just counterfeit some rare stamps or something and use a worldwide network to suddenly dump them all and devastate all the rich westerners that put their money in such things. As I once said, “you can never go wrong by collecting handguns and ammunition. Even if society falls apart they will still have a value!”

I honestly cannot tell you the weirdest thing I have seen anyone collect. Carrot bags are right up there- and do not get me wrong, I am not laughing at the guy, I applaud his efforts to do something really cool. The problem is that if you find something tres cool to collect, like 1960’s Japanese robots, everyone else will want to collect them as well. Prices go up, and as soon as it is slightly cheaper to make a new fake one than but an original – the reproductions come out and the hobby is in shambles.