Prices and the ecomony, ...

[Bodyman]

What are you guys seeing - are prices generally down, holding steady or what? Some of these items are outstanding and I have kind of been looking at this as a time to acquire a few of these types of items as funds permit. Anyway, here are several recent items that I had on my ebay watch list (whether I was thinking about buying them or just thought they were neat), here they are for your consideration (and I hope the links work);



Original WWII Japanese Combat/Prayer Flag - eBay (item 390163884452 end time Mar-07-10 15:59:17 PST) - jap signed battle flag for 153.00; maybe a little low I think but a very nice item.



Orig WWII German Gas Mask w/can, straps, & spares - eBay (item 390163883853 end time Mar-07-10 15:56:05 PST) - german gasmask can complete and nice at 135.00; no idea but a neat item - I think I would have paid that had I been paying attention.



MINT Original USMC WWII Camoflage Rain Poncho - eBay (item 390163883077 end time Mar-07-10 15:51:28 PST) - mint USMC camo poncho for 102.00 - there must be many of these out there as I would expect x2 or more.



10 diff WWII makers of M1 and M1 Carbine muzzle covers - eBay (item 390163882600 end time Mar-07-10 15:49:20 PST) - very cool, never seen it before; 10 makers of muzzle covers in a display case. No idea if that is high or low but I have only ever seen one maker. I am going to say that I think it was on the low end.

Thoughts anyone - what are you guys seeing?

Thanks.

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[Kirk]

Your German gas mask is interesting. I'm reading a biography of a German soldier who remarked about them. He said Hitler, because he was gassed in WWI, insisted troops be equipped with the masks. However, they were not popular with the troops & the carrier usually contained personal items.

[Aragorn243]

I think all militaria is going up and has been for the past 10 years.

Firearms are really going up and in some cases in bizarre ways.

I've watched two Mosin-Nagant arsenal reburbished average condition rifles sell for $280 at a local auction in the past month. The auction prior to that one, I watched two of the same sell for $180. The buyers obviously were unaware that these are selling for anywhere from $79 to $119 on the open market but in any case, the economy didn't seem to have them concerned at all.

[Bodyman]

I thought this might get a bit more discussion, but I guess not.

I think what I am seeing is two different things; I have generally seen good quality items slowly diminshing over these last 15 to 20 years - there just isn't the good stuff to buy any more. With the same demand, in good ecomonic times this should mean that prices would go up (and possibly skyrocket). But in bad times there just isn't the same demand, yet prices have slowly risen or worst case have held steady and just stayed the same.

I think, Aragorn, you are referring to somethign else I have seen - the guys buying this stuff are often retired and playing with completely discretionary money - extra 'fun money'. With nothing else to spend their fun money on, they don't really have to respond to the same pressures that other markets must address. Without them prices may well have had to drop along with the rest of the world's ...

To me, this means that when the economy recovers a bit and demand picks up (from all those guys that are strapped right now), prices of some of these best items are going to launch upwards and we will be looking back on these things wondering why we were not buying ... (and then have to remember why, ...).

That is my current read anyway, ... but as with anything ecomonic, missjudge one variable and the answer flips 180 degrees ... (economincs is nothing more than the art of using big words and lots of numbers to flesh out an opinion and try to explain why something happened ... ).

[Aragorn243]

I really can't say much for the world wide or national market, I don't travel that extensively.

Locally, you simply can't really buy anything anymore because it isn't available. Yet interest in WWII has skyrocketed since the release of Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. So perhaps the reasons you don't see much anymore is because it is bought as soon as it becomes available.

In any case, I've been attending a WWII weekend at Reading PA for the past half dozen or so years and the prices there have gone up dramatically.

I understand what you are saying about a down economy. But for those that have the extra cash, these things are an escape from the reality around them.

I personally don't understand the guns at auction deal. These people are either nuts or the only place they see guns is at this auction. I've been going to this auction off and on for years. The last gun I purchased was probably well over 10 years ago and was an Australian Cadet Rifle. It had been sporterized a bit and I probably myself went a bit overboard at the time but it has more than doubled in value from what I paid for it in that 10 years and this is on the "real world" market. I still go to the auction for the non-gun items they sell, mostly hunting collectibles but militaria is usually in there as well. Seems like the only stuff that goes cheap is the stuff that no one can identify. I recently got a Brazilian pioneer sword for about a third of its value because they didn't know what it was. I didn't either but I liked the way it looked, knew it was military and probably from the WWI time frame. I also have a small list of guns and/or bayonets that I crazily hope will actually go for a reasonable price but I usually don't even get involved in the bidding, they just rocket past my top dollar as I sit there in amazement that anyone is willing to go that high when they could drive 2 miles to the gun shop and pay just a bit more than my top dollar for it.

I think the only bargains to be had these days are at yard sales where someone is cleaning things out of the attic. Even then, most people seem to expect the items are worth something and want some enormous price for it. I got VERY lucky last spring at a yard sale. I read a handwritten sign on the table about a WWII US Navy knife. "ask to see" This was late afternoon and I figured it was gone, almost walked away but decided to ask. Yes, he still had it. So I figured as he was going back to get it that the price had to be so high no one wanted it. He showed it to me, it is in excellent condition, and he's telling me it was his fathers and he just is afraid someone is going to cut themselves with it. We get down to price, I ask and he tells me $15.00. Usually at this point at a yard sale, you counter with something lower but I didn't even bother. He told me knew it was worth more but he wanted it to go to a home where someone would appreciate it, which I do, it's in my safe right now.

But that story is about it, in 15 years it is the only decent militaria item I've found that was not overpriced or just more expensive than I could pay at the time.

Flea markets, forget it. Here, people are out there with flashlights at three and four in the morning watching people take things out of the boxes and putting them on the tables. If anything of value is there, they've gotten it early. I'm not willing to go t that effort so when I get there at the ungodly late hour of 7am, it's gone.

WWII and Civil War items are very hot. Vietnam items are getting there. I think you can probably still find some bargains for the other wars but then those items are few and far between.

[bearhunter]

One thing to consider, even during the last great depression, I do believe we're in one now, the vast majority of people still had jobs. It wasn't until wages hit rock bottom that prices came down. Wages are still high for most workers and they have disposable cash. Until that changes, prices will still inflate or stay flat. If you're not working, it's a struggle and you cut back as far as possible on spending. If you're working, not much changes. It's all relavent to your situation.

[Moonpie]

I'll have to echo what the others have said.
Very few decent items ever show up. When they do they're snapped up before anyone can see them.
Prices are high because most folks watch the Internet auction sites and have an idea of what they can get.
In 20yrs of garage sale shopping I've found NO deals on militaria. A few sporting/camping items yes.

[bearhunter]

Moonpie, I can only imagine what your yard sales in the US are like. In Canada, there is little if any surplus stuff for sale on the tables. Most of the garage sale items here are just plain junk. Now that being said, I have no qualms about going to a sale and asking flat out, "Do you have any firearms or accessories or maybe uniforms for sale?" You would be surprised what comes out of the closets.
Up here we have to register our firearms. There is an amnesty on right now, so we can still register these garage sale pick ups, no questions asked. They always ask though. If we're extremely lucky, the registration of long guns will be a thing of the past by this time next year. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

The last garage sale spree I went on, netted me a very nice K98 export model bayonet for $10 and a Leupold Vari XII, 3x9 for $75. After a quick return to the repair facility, it came back with new internals and lenses.

The deals are there, just don't be afraid to ask for them. Some times, some very surprising stuff will show up. Some times, it's also best to just walk away from it.

[Aragorn243]

I did get a good buy at a gun show last week. I needed some parts for a 1917 Eddystone, specifically a rear sight.

The first guy I stopped at that had parts had two but he believed they were for the P-14 Enfield. Said they would work but the gradients wouldn't be correct for the 30-06. He was selling them for $15. I opted to continue looking. Halfway through the show, I found a fellow who had one in a small display case, usually not a good sign. It was for the 1917, price $25 which is close to what I watched a few go for on ebay. Again as I wasn't all the way through the show, I continued on. Two thirds of the way through I found a fellow who had a "junk" box on the table along with numerous parts boxes. I found an Enfield rear sight in it. As I just bought the rifle a few weeks ago I didn't know what the difference was and he did not know if it was for the P-14 or the Enfield but in any case it was $5. I figured at that price I would buy it either way if no one else in the place had a 1917 sight. But I went back to the first two guys to see the differences in the two and came away with 90% certainty that this was a 1917 sight. I bought it and then asked the fellow about an ejector figuring if he's selling the sight so cheap, the ejector should be comparably priced. He had 5 of them, $20 each which was considerably over what I watched a few of them go for on ebay. I declined.

So he knew what he had but still sold it cheap. No idea why but it is an exact match for my broken sight and was marked Eddystone which while not necessary to me was a plus since I have an Eddystone receiver.

At the same show I saw Mosin-Nagants going anywhere from $99 to $300 for the basic re-arsenaled version. A bit higher than some of the large chains are selling them for but the lower end wasn't out of line. Another fellow had a Brazilian Mauser that was very nice, too nice in my opinion. At $350, seemed a bit high unless it was original condition. I went back after seeing everything and still having some cash to burn and looked at it more closely. The numbers matched but some of the metal was bare and polished, on the rest the blueing was very nice. Could have been the way they finished them but there was some pitting in a small area of the polished section. With the condition of the rest of the gun, this didn't fit. I examined the stock closely and while the cartouche was still there, it was very thin and the stock appeared to have been sanded. I passed.

It seemed that the vast majority of guns being sold were either Garands or AR's of some type. A fair number of AK's thrown in there. There was the usual collection of sporting arms but very few shotguns and even fewer older surplus rifles. I did see some militaria but did not pay real close attention to it. Books were terrible. I don't think these individuals are aware of a company called Amazon.com and many of their books on firearms were over list price for them, and Amazon rarely sees books for list price.

[greenhorn]

It is tough at gun shows.. ect.. I can cruise an entire show and find very few fair prices some shows are better than others though..I prefer smaller set ups.. one timers clearing out some items...