A confession!(Iwant to do the RIGHT thing!)

[bordonpete]

Hello!
I stumbled on MBF last night and am probably the newest member, to date. Please be nice to me, I need your guidance and advice....
This is my dilema:- I was a weekend dad during the 90's and me and my son collected badges as he was "army crazy" at the time. He has since grown up and become an avid civvie, so is no longer interested, leaving me with a big tin of badges!
Years later,I am now in the process of moving. Some of the badges are obvious restrikes (we've all been there!). Do I melt them down and make a cat flap for my new house out of them?
The one's I thought were 100% genuine, I was going to put on ebay, however, after looking at some of the forums, I have doubts about these too. And I wouldn't want to go on a guilt trip if I sold a duff one.
Others, bought with my son's pocket money, have clipped sliders,one lug missing, wobbly bits etc and been knocked about a bit. What should I do with these? (I quite like them as relics)
Collectors and knowledgeable people; What is the RIGHT way forward?
Thank you! (I'm glad that's off my chest)

[tynesideirish]

Hi Pete, Welcome to the forum. The right thing to do is photograph the badges, which you would have to anyway, and ask our advice regarding whether said badges are genuine or in the case of the damaged ones, if they are really worth mending or not.

Members get a bit narked when asked to Identify, price or authenticate items just to see them on Ebay a day later. However if you offer them on the Classified thread first, before sending them to Ebay or better still 'Sell My Militaria', you will:

A. Placate the membership.

B. Save yourself Ebay listing and final value fees if / when they sell.

Mike

[Cribyn]

Hello Pete

My advice to you would be to find a good dealer who will sort out the fakes from the genuine ones for you and give you a fair price, hopefully for the lot. This way you will solve your problem simply and quickly.

If you try selling them on ebay you will almost certainly be doing so for a long time, it will cost you quite a bit (in time and money) and you will probably end up with the problems you anticipated in your post, ie fake or genuine and arguments about it to boot!

I am not a dealer, so I have no particular axe to grind on that score. I just know that there are a lot of very good dealers out there who will be prepared to help.

Good luck whatever way you decide to go.

Regards
Roger

[bordonpete]

What about the obvious restrikes,there are a fair few of them!

[2747andy]

Pete,
I am a dealer so please bear that in mind when you read my reply!

I do buy job lots so I'd be prepared to make an offer on any genuine items you may have or the whole lot! I try to make a reasonable profit, as would any dealer so you would only be realistically looking at around 50% of the resale value?

Selling on eBay

I sell on eBay and it is my main outlet! As long as you are fair with your descriptions and show plenty of good images then people can form their own opinions on whether badges are genuine or not!

Selling on Sell My Militaria

This is free to use, unlike eBay and all items offered for sale are policed for their authenticity and accuracy, although the prices you ask are up to the individual!

I would take time to load images of your badges in to an album here on the Forum and offer members the chance to comment on each item! As mentioned above make it clear from the start that you intend to sell them, that way you are less likely to offend some members.

Best Regards

Andy

[bordonpete]

Thanks for the reply Andy,
What about restrikes? Is there a legitable market or should I melt them down? Are staybrites collectable, or was it only my boy who loved them?

[bordonpete]

Originally Posted by tynesideirish

Hi Pete, Welcome to the forum. The right thing to do is photograph the badges, which you would have to anyway, and ask our advice regarding whether said badges are genuine or in the case of the damaged ones, if they are really worth mending or not.

Members get a bit narked when asked to Identify, price or authenticate items just to see them on Ebay a day later. However if you offer them on the Classified thread first, before sending them to Ebay or better still 'Sell My Militaria', you will:

A. Placate the membership.

B. Save yourself Ebay listing and final value fees if / when they sell.

Mike

Thanks Mike!(and Roger! and Andy!
What about the obvious restrikes? What should I do with these? I still remember the disappointment of my kid, when we realised they were wrong'uns!

[2747andy]

Originally Posted by bordonpete

Thanks for the reply Andy,
What about restrikes? Is there a legitable market or should I melt them down? Are staybrites collectable, or was it only my boy who loved them?

Pete,
I don't tend to use the term "Restrikes" as most are either reproduction or copies and very, very few ever come from original dies! But yes there is a market and also for anodised, some of which are very desireable and worth £00's

Andy

[bordonpete]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for your welcome.
I will make an album up. so the membership can have first refusal. This might take a few days as me and my ipad don't really get along.
Thanks for your replies.
Pete.

[Bill A]

Hi Pete, Welcome to the Forum.
Regarding your question about what to do with the obviuos restrikes, there are a couple of options. You could take high quality images, front and back, and make a gallery of reproductions, and then dispose of them. One alternative is to destroy them. You can move them, but obviously indicate that they are reproductions. The problem with the last alternative is that once they pass from your hands you have no control as to what happens next. You could make a display board and donate it to a veteran's group, museum or local school for display purposes. (Indicating in some way that they are reproductions.)

[bordonpete]

Hi Bill,
I quite like the idea of destroying them. Do you guys have mass crushing's like they do with ivory or fake rolexes? I wouldn't mind donating. Except someone check them first incase there's a gem in there

[ASR142]

hi peter
welcom to the forum i hope you enjoy it i have sent a pm ( private message ) regards steve