New to cap badges

[Ronions]

Hi,

As someone who is relatively new to cap badge collecting, I’m finding it quite daunting finding trustworthy sources. Ebay seems to be the Wild West with everything guaranteed original and sometimes it’s hard to tell right from wrong and with so many makers all slightly different it makes buying a bit of a gamble. I have purchased Kipling and King but that only takes me so far and doesn’t show the rear of any badges. Anyone have any top tips recommendations about how to buy right? Would appreciate any guidance you can give.
Thanks
Rob

[Fatherofthree]

Greetings Rob.

Collecting badges is a minefield with the market flooded with fakes, many of them made intentionally to fool the unwary and countless copies of a great majority of badges, both common, scarce and in a number of instances rare items.

My advice is for you to search this superb forum for any badge you have or are thinking of purchasing and read what has been posted in respect of that/those items.

If in doubt, ask, post a picture of the badge and I have no doubt somebody on here will put you right; the knowledge on here is incredible.

Second piece of advice, when buying, a good source are a number of respected dealers; however, they to can make mistakes with genuine items.

There are some very good and trusted auction houses who hold auctions periodically.

Thirdly, if you can, attend militaria fairs look at and handle items on the stalls.

Respected dealers attend these fairs, handle their badges and ask questions.

Don't discount auction sites on t'interweb, there are genuine badges to be found on them.

Hope this helps and gets you on the trail of a collection.

Regards.

Brian

[Luke H]

My advice is always buy the item not the seller or the story. No dealer is infallible and practically every big dealer has questionable items and even fakes in their stock and on their websites at present to varying degrees. Even the best can and do make mistakes.

It’s far better to research what it is you’re after here first by looking at old threads and plenty of pictures. Learn what the bad look like and what makes a good one, then when you’re happy knowing what you’re looking for seek to ‘buy right’ as you put it. If in doubt ask on here. In my opinion it’s far better for peace of mind to gain an understanding and be satisfied in your own mind a badge is genuine than relying on a dealer or vendors say so.

And for all it’s cowboys and repro sellers galore eBay can be a very happy hunting ground for badges, but knowledge is the key.

Good luck.

[hagwalther]

My advice is to run away - now.

Regards,

Chris

[Ronions]

Thank you for the advice

[Deejayuu]

Originally Posted by Ronions

Hi,

As someone who is relatively new to cap badge collecting, I’m finding it quite daunting finding trustworthy sources. Ebay seems to be the Wild West with everything guaranteed original and sometimes it’s hard to tell right from wrong and with so many makers all slightly different it makes buying a bit of a gamble. I have purchased Kipling and King but that only takes me so far and doesn’t show the rear of any badges. Anyone have any top tips recommendations about how to buy right? Would appreciate any guidance you can give.
Thanks
Rob

Rob
Advise of previous emails is all sound and worth noting. I would add that i am sure every collector at some point has purchased a repro, the skill is to do your learning on the cheap badges to minimise the damage. Start off on the more common badges to get the knowledge, experience and an understanding of what makes a good or bad badge. If you can find a mentor, even better. Fairs as mentioned in a previous thread are a good place to meet experienced dealers, but also fellow collectors.
Keep smiling but if you are serious, be prepared to make a few mistakes to start with but put it down to experience it does pay off in the end. But if you can get to a point where you know more than the dealer about a badge or spot something he has missed, you may find some bargains out there.

Good luck Dave