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Another new high in collecting


rldarmstr
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I guess I'll just quit collecting. My pockets aren't deep enough to keep up with the current trends.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-WILDE-TOOL-1942-ORIGINAL-WW2-US-M1905-42-BAYONET-AND-USN-SCABBARD/232436059013?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

Here's a Wilde bayonet with a broken grip panel and the current price is $918. I know they are rare but that is just ridiculous, IMHO.

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I had a buddy who just purchased a nice WT bayonet this past weekend at the Missoula gun show without scabbard for 300.00

 

There was another there with broken tip for 275.00.

 

That price is insane, just my thoughts

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It's not just edged weapons either. A guy has a poor quality, run of the mill mountain ruck on there for over $500. They typically go for 10-15% of that ....

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Patchcollector

I guess I'll just quit collecting. My pockets aren't deep enough to keep up with the current trends.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-WILDE-TOOL-1942-ORIGINAL-WW2-US-M1905-42-BAYONET-AND-USN-SCABBARD/232436059013?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

Here's a Wilde bayonet with a broken grip panel and the current price is $918. I know they are rare but that is just ridiculous, IMHO.

 

It's now @ US $1,475.00 with almost 6 days left to go in the auction :o

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While ebay frowns on "shilling" and they "claim" they don't tolerate it, you have to wonder, why would an experienced and serious bidder be running the price up with six days left in the auction? As Mr. Spock would say "it's not logical".

 

And on the same subject, those absurd prices spread thru the hobby like wildfire. Walking around a show this weekend the line I overheard most between seller and potential buyer was "you know what these things go for on ebay?".

Art

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While ebay frowns on "shilling" and they "claim" they don't tolerate it, you have to wonder, why would an experienced and serious bidder be running the price up with six days left in the auction? As Mr. Spock would say "it's not logical".

 

And on the same subject, those absurd prices spread thru the hobby like wildfire. Walking around a show this weekend the line I overheard most between seller and potential buyer was "you know what these things go for on ebay?".

Art

+1 Yeah hear that line at all shows anymore.

Often reply 'Why are you sitting here at a show then?Wouldnt it be easier to stay at home and sell on line??

 

I also find myself buy less and less at shows as I can buy it cheaper on line or friends I have who sell and trade as I don't have the expense of travel or the other costs involved.

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I started watching this when it was $30, can't believe how much it's jumped. These insane prices sure are souring collecting, at least for me.SKIP

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Totally agree. Many of the same guys participating in this hyper-inflation game are the same ones griping that the shows are slow, there's no young collectors, etc. It's nonsense that we've been seeing for years, but the money is apparently too good to stop.

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The prices of certain items seems to fluctuate with time, fueled mostly by collectors' need to be able to say "I have one of those" and post it on Facebook or a forum. While nice, uncut WT bayonets are not all that common, they are not rare. WT made 60,000 bayonets. Collectors have no one but themselves to blame for the artificial inflation of prices. Ten years ago the price of German 84/98 bayonets made in 1944 skyrocketed when the Bayonet Collectors Network (BCN) was flourishing and everyone had to be able to say that they had all of the makers. People were paying crazy prices and I think they'd be hard pressed to recoup their investment at today's prices and demand. I see the same thing happening with the WT bayonets. The higher the prices go, the more people who have them will decide to sell and there will be a greater supply than demand. Let's face it, how many people can there possibly be who will pay over $2000 for a WT bayonet?

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Here where I live the shows are very weak. No real rare stuff, at least I have not seen anything RARE in years.Seems like a lot of AK and AR stuff, and para military stuff. I acquired most of my collection from the internet, but I never had the deep pockets it takes to get the real rarer items. I feel fortunate that I have what I do. My biggest scores were, I think, by accident. The people with real deep pockets just didn't bid and I lucked out. Scratch that up to perseverance I guess?

 

Shows like Pawn Stars and Pickers drive expectations up also. I don't know how those Pickers make a living paying hundreds of dollars in some cases for junk.

 

I know one thing though, I sure wouldn't be griping if that $1400 was coming my way.

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I grip a lot to my significant other about the poor selection of military stuff at the antique malls and the flea market, but then I look at some of the best buys I've had and they've come from those places, like a green handled M7 for $20 at the flea market and two rare Camillus steel knives at antique malls. I feel the same way about ebay, the prices these days for Ka-bars and Mark 2s seem out of sight (not just the asking prices, but the selling prices), and M1907 bayonet prices have been moving up across the board. Yet I still find decent buys at reasonable prices if I look carefully. The trick is to skip the high price items today, and look at things that are being ignored. A couple of months from now those items may change places and items that seem cheap today will be expensive tomorrow. The one trend I dislike on ebay is the switch from a real auction to buy-it-now prices that just are ridiculous.

My 3 cents worth (everything is getting more expensive).

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For me the hunt is a lot more fun than paying too much on eBay. That's for all things I collect. You remeber the thrill of the treasure in an unexpected place a lot more than bidding against 200 people online.

I found a rare ~1905 MSA (Marbles) 7" ideal at an antique store recently that has kept me happy, until the next find.

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  • 3 weeks later...

There are a number of factors in what I prefer to call "aberrational" prices for collectibles. Thirty years ago, we did not have the internet. There was no "on-line" bidding except through a telephone. Items for sale were listed in trade periodicals like The Shotgun News or via the old "send me a SASE for a list". Yes there were auctions, but most were local ones with very few advertised on a nationwide basis. With the introduction of the internet, auction sites like Ebay, web-based advertising, and online bidding, prices began to increase. Back in the day, I had to drive to collector shows (sometimes fly) and press a lot of shoe leather to get what I have, so there is plenty of "sweat equity" in my collection.

 

Jump to today. Internet access is available almost everywhere. Online sales are at a all-time high for nearly everything...so much so it is contributing to the decline of brick & mortar businesses. Seems people are now instant experts because of what they read or saw on the net... which may be either correct or totally erroneous. Instead of getting out in the trenches to build a collection (admittedly much more difficult to only do it this way today), they just have to click a mouse and be willing to bid enough to ensure they are the successful bidder, without leaving the house. As for excessive prices for a particular collectible, like any auction, it only takes two guys whom want that item, get caught up in "auction fever", and a new precedent is set for the value of said collectible.

 

However, one big advantage for the collector of today is often items are found online from sources one would never have access to, because of where the seller is located. It is international in nature as well. Lastly knowledgeable collectors recognize when something sells for an excessive price which is in no relation to the actual current value. Yes, it can be hard for one not to think that the bayonet they bought for $300.00 five years previously could bring ten times that today. However, unless you want the money more, and hope lightning will strike twice, it is not relevant if you are not interested in selling your hard-won collectible at this time.

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