Dearth of good badges etc.?

[cbuehler]

Has anyone else noted a dearth of good material out there? Speaking from my perspective across the pond, I find myself searching in vain for things that a few years ago I would find fairly readily. I collect badges, both metal and embroidered pre 1945, as well as pre 1914 uniforms. Part of my problem is that I have all the common badges and more; my acquisitions have slowed to a tiny trickle. Ebay seems to have far less good things these days, as well as dealers in the UK, and when they do, prices are often shocking. Even if I find a good badge on ebay UK, if it costs 25 GBP and the postage is 15 GBP, well...
I always used to come across good things even here on ebay US for great bargains; nothing at all these days! Just junk along with a few very common badges.

CB

[Home Guard]

CB, I know what you are saying that once you get the basics/common items for a collection it starts seeming a little thin for finding new pieces. But I still find more than I can ever get and have a want list a mile long that I seem to keep adding to. Of course, I also keep expanding my interests as well!

I guess we just have to keep looking and for me, I find that it seems more like feast or famine - one time there's not much to be had and then you have to decide which you want the most because you can't get it all.

Don't give up!!!

Terry

[cbuehler]

Hi Terry,
I too had thought this likely to be a short term "famine", but speaking for myself, it has not so far.
I have a small fund set aside and waiting to be spent, but there is either nothing I want or the price is too high. I don't how some ebay sellers can seriously list their items for such prices. Some are obviously ignorant of the value, while others I would just attribute to greediness?

CB

[Alan O]

Other than OTC and cadets I have not added to my collection of cap badges for quite a while as there is either nothing on the market that i don't have or the items are ridiculously priced. So many dealers lists, especially Regimental badges, prices are a joke. All too often the usual suspects are driving up prices on ebay to create a scarcity of badges which justifies their own inflated prices.

My last purchase was a Rydal OTC badge which was a buy-it-now at £25: the seller was not a dealer but had priced it at the same price as 3 other fakes on ebay so I 'lucked-in'!

It's a shame but every year as the number of fakes in circulation increases, the ratio of the number of genuine badges for sale compared to fakes drops.

[Luke H]

Once a collection has moved past the common badges the remaining scarce or rare items are exactly that. Hard to find even with a great deal of legwork and searching.

£25 is dealers list price of a more common WW1 economy. You would have done very well to find a scarce or desirable badge for that sum these days I think. P&P increases and the rise of GSP certainly do not help overseas purchasing.

Personally I don’t feel much of a change in availability but prices have fluctuated in my opinion. In vogue genres like RNDs, VTCs, OTCs/CCFs, Lambourne marked badges have jumped in price whereas many QVC infantry and HPC seem to have decreased in price compared to the 1990s.

My advice to new collectors would be to start in these areas experiencing ‘deflation’.

Whilst I’ve had many great badge finds from the Americas, Antipodes and South Africa over the years they comparatively few and far between. British collections in these climes are understandably fewer and farther between v’s the UK itself.

[Sonofacqms]

I don't think much has changed since the early sixties, if my memory serves me correctly the price lists from W.Tobin were 15/- (75p) for scarce badges while Corps badges were from roughly 1/-1/6 (5p-7.5p), Line Infantry 1/6-2/- (7.5p-10p) and Cavalry and Yeomanry 4/-5/- (20p and 25p).

These rarer badges generally had been sold by the time you received the list through the post and the only real way to find scarcer items was to visit the shop and see what had been brought in.

I have a white metal Robin Hood badge which I bought from Mr Tobin on a visit to his shop for 7/6 (37.5p) whereas the Royal Corps of Signals (1st pattern) cost me 1/6 (7.5p)

It's all relevant and good original scarce badges still make good money but they are harder to find as more collectors know good from bad thanks to work done on this forum.

Happy hunting . . !

Rob

[magpie]

Alan, personally I think the scale of fakes from days past is starting to surface, it's people who collected unguided in the 70cs & 80's now releasing their collections one way or another, by the families.

[Jelly Terror]

Originally Posted by cbuehler

Has anyone else noted a dearth of good material out there? Speaking from my perspective across the pond, I find myself searching in vain for things that a few years ago I would find fairly readily. I collect badges, both metal and embroidered pre 1945, as well as pre 1914 uniforms. Part of my problem is that I have all the common badges and more; my acquisitions have slowed to a tiny trickle. Ebay seems to have far less good things these days, as well as dealers in the UK, and when they do, prices are often shocking. Even if I find a good badge on ebay UK, if it costs 25 GBP and the postage is 15 GBP, well...
I always used to come across good things even here on ebay US for great bargains; nothing at all these days! Just junk along with a few very common badges.

CB

From a slightly different perspective, I wonder if collectors’ increasing ability to recognise dodgy items/growing expertise in the field contributes to a higher level of discernment, reducing the frequency with which purchases are made? If you’re more able, and better equipped to spot copies, fakes, repros etc., you’re less likely to part with your hard-earned.

Regards to all,

JT

[Peter Brydon]

Dealers I have spoken to recently have been well and truly outbid on lots of ( fairly common ) badges at local auction houses.

The specialist militaria Auctioneers now no longer seem prepared to sell collections of badges individually and want to sell badges in lots that would only appeal to dealers who then put a huge mark up on them for sale individually.

I am surprised that so many items offered here on The Forum at very reasonable prices fail to sell.

The attached picture includes some badges from my collection that a well known firm of Auctioneers we’re not prepared to offer as individual items. They wanted me to allow complete frames to be sold which would only have appealed to dealers at prices that would have been at a fraction of what the total value of the individual would be worth.

P.

[cbuehler]

Most of what appears here on the forum for sale are spares of very common badges. It seems to be the nature of all kinds of forums selling that prices are very low to stand a chance. Seldom indeed is anything offered for sale here of the quality and rarity shown in your photo!

CB

[Alan O]

Having seen Paul sell an Aberdeen OTC badge on the forum this week at a bargain price of £18 I think that was a rare badge sold at a very generous price. I have dealers ask £70 for one. There are bargains to be had here.

[Jelly Terror]

Originally Posted by Alan O

Having seen Paul sell an Aberdeen OTC badge on the forum this week at a bargain price of £18 I think that was a rare badge sold at a very generous price. I have dealers ask £70 for one. There are bargains to be had here.

The bargains are out there. Just this week I picked up this lovely, slidered, Gaunt-made, white-metal beaut, for next to nothing. As Shaw Taylor used to say: ‘keep ‘em peeled.’

WM Gaunt Slider 3a.jpgWM Gaunt Slider 3b.jpg

JT

[BROOKIES]

Originally Posted by cbuehler

Most of what appears here on the forum for sale are spares of very common badges. It seems to be the nature of all kinds of forums selling that prices are very low to stand a chance. Seldom indeed is anything offered for sale here of the quality and rarity shown in your photo!

CB

It all comes down to what people are willing to pay, you put a rare badge up on the forum say at £300+ and wait and see how many people are willing to pay that for it, you also get all the so called experts then putting their two penn'orth in.

That's why members may list things on e:bay and see how much the badge is worth (people from all over the world can then see it and bid on it).

Peter, the auctioneer is starting to rest on his laurels now, you may have bought some of those badges from him, bet he was selling them singularly (via catalogue/auction) back in the day, now to lazy to do it today.

Ta

Jonathan

[Peter Brydon]

Jonathan,

You are absolutely right in respect of a number of those badges.

P.

[gb64]

Blimey JT , As Shaw Taylor used to say: ‘keep ‘em peeled.’ that's showing our age ,haven't heard that name for a long time !! nice badge by the way.


Gerard