A difficult situation we all face.

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!

feldwebel · Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Posts: 21

I agree with you 100% Good advice here.

I am not a seller, that is to say I do not make it my business to sell but like most collectors I will sell occasionally depending on circumstances. Usually this will be to buy another item that needs extra funding, so 90% of the time I am a buyer. As a buyer I know the kind of service I like to recieve. A good reputation takes time to build but can be destroyed in a heartbeat.

Combat Relics · Joined: 14 Jul 2007 Posts: 161

There is so much drama about replicas in the area of 3rd Reich collectibles.

We need to finally acknowledge that they do exist and stop trying to 'Solve' the problem. Replicas exist in every area of endeavor. From fake airplane spare parts to Fake Rolex Watches.

There are poorly made products coming to light everyday and causing governments to quarrel over not only the possibly deadly qualities, but trade mark infringement and patent abuse!

And we think WE have a serious issue to deal with.

Here are a very few sites on the web that openly deal in replicas.
Do they have the right to make and sell this stuff? It seems so.
Is there a legitimate use for it? It seems so.
Will a lot of it be resold by being misrepresented? It seems so.
What are you prepared to combat all of this?

My advice is to vote with your wallet. Simply know what you want to buy and don't buy things you do not know about.

If I had always done that I would not have had the losses I had and not made the mistakes I made.

Still if you want inexpensive pretty colorful nazi style things, You may not find them on this website though the links below are chock full of them!

http://www.germaniainternational.com/refurbhelmets.html

http://www.soldat.com/Collection%20Sale.htm

http://www.germanworldwars.com/index.php/cPath/8?osCsid=links.php

http://www.desertfoxinternational.com/catalog/catalog.htm

http://65.160.172.250/main.shtml

http://www.pzg.biz/index.htm

http://militaria-net.co.uk/oscommerce/catalog/

http://www.tridentmilitary.com/German-WW2/index.html

http://www.thehistorybunker.co.uk/acatalog/Insignia__Patches_and_Shoulder_Boards.html

http://www.nazijewelry.com/New_Rings/New%20Rings.htm

http://www.nazi-lauck-nsdapao.com/nazi-pins-badges-third-reich-militaria-regalia.htm

http://www.third-reich-books.com/third-reich-nazi-german-flags.htm

http://www.stby.com/bbm/

http://www.collectorsarmoury.com.au/Collectors%20Armoury/default.html

http://www.d-c-militaria.be/

http://www.historicalflags.biz/nazi_flags.htm

http://auschwitz.biz/third-reich-nude-art-posters.htm

http://www.third-reich-books.com/

http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/642

http://www.wwmeinc.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=wwmeinc&Category_Code=10-003-550

and it is no SECRET EITHER!!!

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Briefs/9276.htm

http://hitlernews.cloudworth.com/memorabilia-uniforms.php

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