Dear forum,
It's been very interesting to read your comments and assumptions, and honestly I am very upset by some of them. I think maybe I should tell you a little about myself as I feel your comments are unjust and ill founded.
I'm a young musician in my 20s living in London. My postcode is Highbury but really it's Hackney, not that it makes any difference to me. It's a small attic flat and wouldn't be the kind of place that someone 'doing rather well for themselves' would live, although I'm happy enough. I live here because I am a creative, it certainly wasn't chosen as some sort of business plan.
I've been collecting militaria and re-enacting since I was a boy with my Dad - He got me into all this. I got carried away with collecting and had to start selling stuff on, but there was always more things to buy! I was selling through eBay and doing two fairs a year with my Dad, mainly to get shot of all the things I couldn't afford to keep. Then a couple of years ago, with my employment looking pretty shaky and having my hours cut, I thought I'd get a website to save on eBay fees as I had more time on my hands and needed to pay the bills still. So not quite a year and a half ago me and my Dad set up the website confident that with over 20 years experience of collecting between us we could make a good start, although we knew that we would both have lots to learn. What I love about collecting and re-enacting is that there is always more to learn and you will never know it all! Anyway, 6 months ago I was made redundant and my only source of income has been selling Militaria, which has been no walk in the park. At times, if I am completely honest, it has been extremely tough.
So was I posing on here as a collector? No. Was I posing as an evil dealer out to try and screw anyone over? No. I refer to myself as a young enthusiast as that's how I view myself. Knowledgeable in some areas, and not in others such as badges but Very keen on 20th century history, in fact I live and breath it! Another reason why I have a website - Every day rather than sitting in an office I can instead be learning more about the thing I love the most.
I didn't realise that if I had a question for the forum I should have started with 'I'm a dealer and therefore a terrible person so feel free not to answer my questions'. Would it be preferred if I just didn't ask questions at all? I have never collected badges aside from the ones from my Grandfather and Great Grandfathers army career and a small selection of WW2 period printed insignia. I've had some lovely badges which I would have loved to have kept but sadly I have to move the majority of things along so I can pay my rent.
As a side point to where I choose to sell my badges: The last badge I remember posting on this forum was a nice shoulder title which I thought was authentic and wanted some second opinions on it. It turned out it was good and I followed the forum rules and offered it for sale at the recommended price as it wasn't of interest to me. I received a private message soon after from somebody wanting to buy it who paid quickly on paypal. I recognised the name on the paypal receipt immediately as that of a well know dealer. Did it bother me? Not really, I got what I was told the badge was worth. Should I have refused to sell it to him on the basis that he is one of that evil, sordid dealer race and is no doubt going to ask more money for it, therefore ripping of some poor, humble, unknowing collector?
I don't think any one of you could hold your hand up and say you've never bought a badge and sold it for more money. There's nothing wrong with that, it's your hobby and what you do with your spare time. A dealer on the other hand who spends his whole working week searching for items such as badges for you to peruse online or at a fair is totally different because he doesn't have another job but does it the full-time?
I joined this forum in 2011 and have always been amazed by the wealth of knowledge on here. Badges aren't really my thing although I like them and cloth insignia even more so. I'm keen to learn more and this forum is such a great tool. It's a shame that on every other thread I have posted I've come up against this type of bullying and ignorance.
I hope that the above may enlighten you in some way as to the person allegedly hiding behind a user name. I've now wasted a part of my morning write this and do not wish to continue in any sort of argument. Your comments have been very hurtful thus far and I request that you refrain from posting any more.
Jamie Delaney.
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