Police eagle

halftrack · Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 6

Just saw a couple of police eagles (cap and sleeve) show up on the site. They don't have swastikas and one has a SS RZM tag on the back. This isn't right - is it?

halftrack · Joined: 12 Jul 2007 Posts: 6

I just happened to look again and those police eagles are gone. Wonder if they sold ??? I suspect they got yanked. Man! That was fast!!!

Bob Treend · Site Admin Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 91

No, they didn't sell. I saw them, and a couple of other bad items by the same vendor, and removed them because of 'originality issues'. I didn't just do this on the spur of the moment, I looked real close and even asked the opinion of a very qualified collector friend first. In all fairness to the seller, I really think they probably believe the stuff is real. Too bad. Of course, after I emailed the seller and told him what I had done and why, I got a ticked off email back. Can't help it, that's the way it has to be. I owe more to my members as a whole than I do to any one seller. He still has some other items on the site that look ok and I hope he will post more good pieces in the future.

What bothers me most is those items that fall in the 'grey' area. I mean ones that may or may not be bad. I just can't tell from the images for sure. There are a few of those on the site right now (please don't write asking me which ones... it wouldn't be fair to the seller beings I'm not sure). I try to give the benifit of the doubt to the seller when I can.

I'm sure this won't be the last posting on this old, tired subject, it's part of the hobby. I'll have to be constantly explaining myself and my actions from now on... guess it goes with the territory. Afterall, I wanted to have a buy/sell militaria website.

Combat Relics · Joined: 14 Jul 2007 Posts: 161

Guys,
This is a tough hobby. Replicas were made during the war for training and also for agents to use during penetrations of Reich territory. Then the Movies made them!

The companies that made the originals for the Germans, used existing parts to make souvenirs for G.I.s from the first day the war was over!
This was followed by ever increasing manufacturing, modifying, restoration and repairs by any and every body with this subject in mind.
Now, we have had 35 years of WW2 reinactments and many thousands of reinactors with all their gear.

Any collector can be stuck with replicas and not even realize it.
That seller's response was a knee jerk reaction, but Bob was right to make the call, in the interest of the site's reliability.
Even if he was ignorant that the items were bogus, he should have known what he was buying. Flogging his mistakes back on us is not the way to solve the problem of bad purchases he made in the past.
There is no substitute for knowledge and expertise. No short cut to a panacea for collectors in any field!

You are investing, just like any other investment you must know what you are doing! Don't just impulse buy any item with a swastika! Pick an area and work from strong knowledge of that specific category of items.

If the existence of copies is an issue, remember, they are there and they are not going away! You must acknowledge that reality and deal with it.
It is up to YOU to KNOW what you want in a piece and to walk away from anything you do not want to own.
Be grateful that the site is well policed! It trims away most of the junk and gives you less bad stuff to waste your time.

If there is no return privilege,...not even the typical 3 day inspection period? ... run like a scalded dog in the opposite direction from that seller. A guy more desperate to stick you with an item, than to have you as a friend and return customer, is not a great bet to be reliable in the long term!

Bad pictures? ...DUH! it is 2007, bad pictures are no accident...Look at my pics and see if they do not tell you a tremendous amount about any item I offer! There is NO EXCUSE for pictures not showing an item in extreme detail!

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