Hi everyone,
Have meant to do a posting for some time but just been too busy.
As some of you know already, I have been an avid collector of all things AAF/USAAF related and always try to get to the War & Peace Show and other local militaria fairs.
Well, for sometime now I have helped out on a friend's pitch at Beltring and sold a few of my bits. Nothing grand, but it has given me an outlet that I prefer using rather than time-consuming Ebay and their ever increasing fees.
One of my main passions is military timepieces (mainly wristwatches) and I have sold/traded any spares or double-ups. This year, I gave out my mobile number to a few buyers as a back-up just in case anything went wrong with the watches I sold. Thankfully none of the watches have had any problems but I have been inundated with enquiries and offers to purchase watches and/or to sell others that are in my collection (I do take certain things down to the shows if someone has not seen a particular watch as I love talking to fellow enthusiasts). This is obviously a GOOD thing but I firmly keep my 'collecting hat' on in terms of buying/selling/trading as I am well aware that there are some dodgy and unscrupulous dealers out there. The problem I am now having is to judge what is a fair price for things to fellow collectors and what other dealers try to sell their stuff for.
I know many of us sell on the forum but I have never been very good at photographing stuff and I always feel a little uneasy when it comes to negotiating. Whilst I am really happy that I can now fund my collection in a positive and less expensive way, I am slightly concerned that people may begin to think I am just another one of 'those' dealers! And yes, they are hounding me as well. I feel maybe I'm treading on their turf a bit.
Any thoughts?
Have meant to do a posting for some time but just been too busy.
As some of you know already, I have been an avid collector of all things AAF/USAAF related and always try to get to the War & Peace Show and other local militaria fairs.
Well, for sometime now I have helped out on a friend's pitch at Beltring and sold a few of my bits. Nothing grand, but it has given me an outlet that I prefer using rather than time-consuming Ebay and their ever increasing fees.
One of my main passions is military timepieces (mainly wristwatches) and I have sold/traded any spares or double-ups. This year, I gave out my mobile number to a few buyers as a back-up just in case anything went wrong with the watches I sold. Thankfully none of the watches have had any problems but I have been inundated with enquiries and offers to purchase watches and/or to sell others that are in my collection (I do take certain things down to the shows if someone has not seen a particular watch as I love talking to fellow enthusiasts). This is obviously a GOOD thing but I firmly keep my 'collecting hat' on in terms of buying/selling/trading as I am well aware that there are some dodgy and unscrupulous dealers out there. The problem I am now having is to judge what is a fair price for things to fellow collectors and what other dealers try to sell their stuff for.
I know many of us sell on the forum but I have never been very good at photographing stuff and I always feel a little uneasy when it comes to negotiating. Whilst I am really happy that I can now fund my collection in a positive and less expensive way, I am slightly concerned that people may begin to think I am just another one of 'those' dealers! And yes, they are hounding me as well. I feel maybe I'm treading on their turf a bit.
Any thoughts?