Ebay!

[Duncan]

I know I'm going to get slated for this, but I'm going to say it anyway, and it stems from the discussion on Dead Mans Penny’s on an earlier thread.

To me many dealers on Ebay have done more to destroy groups of medals since the melting pots of previous decades. How often have I logged on (yes, I use Ebay so am a hypocrite) to find groups being split and sold separately. This seems to be done by ‘dealers’ who sell any old **** – Bennie Babies, house clearance crap etc etc) – so seem to have no idea what it is they are doing. Also there is far far far too much repro and fake stuff for sale. Beware those Polish WW1 Victory Medals!

In a similar fashion Ebay was on the radio the other day, when an auction house tried to sell of the black civil rights campaigner Malcolm X’s papers and private effects piece by piece on Ebay. Luckily much of it was rescued.

[Max]

I know I'm going to get slated for this, but I'm going to say it anyway,

Hello Duncan

I don't think that you are going to get slated for what you say, I am sure that the vast majority of people on the forum agree with you.

Andy

[kingsnorth36]

You are right, the problem is that if you want to buy a house you go to an estate agent and we all know how popular they are dont we. E-Bay falls into the category necessary evil. It thrives because occassionally there are some nice pieces turning up and as passionate collectors we would all crawl over broken glass to get the elusive medal we have been seeking for ages. What has helped E-Bay is that for many years Dealers have gone Bananas with inflated prices. With fewer bargains in the Auction houses E-Bay either fortunately or unfortunately will continue to thrive. Also if you are a collector looking to pass on a group you can get a higher price on E-Bay than by using an Auction House, plus without a 15% surcharge.

[ianw]

Personally I don't knock ebay. I think it is a splendid innovation. It can't be blamed for some of the clowns and conmen that use it ( a pretty small % in my opinion). You get the chance to buy items you wouldn't have ever got a sight of previously. All the enormities committed on Ebay would still have been going on un-noticed previously. As stated, the average man in the street who can put up a decent photo and description will now get a fair price for his item rather than being likely to be ripped off. This surely has to be a great advance and good for collecting in general.

[Paul Reed]

To me many dealers on Ebay have done more to destroy groups of medals since the melting pots of previous decades.

To be honest, this has been going on for years and was more rife in the 70s when I was kid and first collected medals. A dealer I used to visit in Sussex had a group in his window; with only two medals left. All the silver ones were melted down. The remaining medals were 1914 Star & Bar and Victory. The missing medals were: DCM, MM, BWM, LSGC!!

Doesn't even bear thinking about.

[Max Poilu]

IMHO ebay is the best thing since sliced bread and one of the very best resources on the internet full stop.

As has been said it is an open market place and like any other market has a few bad apples. However, most of the items are genuine as are the sellers. I have been using it for five years with well over 1000 deals completed to every corner of the globe with ZERO bad deals.

This is just with reference to Great War collectables, for every other item you could wish to buy from trailer tents to windscreen wipers and old CD's to Land Rover parts it it invaluable.

The media will knock eBay because it is good copy but people use it because it works, is cost effective and is far reaching in a way never previously imagined.

The only thing that concerns me is the virtual monopoly it may very likely enjoy in the future and as a consequence the possibility of raising fees...as they have done in the last few years.

[stiletto_33853]

I have to agree with Paul, the splitting up of groups has been going on for years, way before E Bays time. The difference is that you notice it on E Bay as the groups are all there for everyone to see.

Yes there are a very small amount of people on this site that maybe have lesser morals than some, but generally I think it is a good thing. It has certainly opened up the market somewhat making available groups, singles and items to a worldwide market and gives you the option of saying yes or no.

Years ago the only option you had was to usually go to dealers, hence the options and chances of enhancing your collection was not as great as it is now. This obviously put you in the hands of the dealer and his mark ups, which if he knew you collected to that Regiment/ Division or whatever could be prohibitive. I have purchased several groups that were in the US/Canada & Australia whereas pre E Bay the chances are that I would never even known about them.

Regarding other items on E Bay, once again I must say that the choice and competition is marvelous. As a pointer to how good it can be, a little while ago i renewed some of my Diving gear, knew what i wanted and shopped around. Through E Bay i was able to purchase the equipment i wanted at just over one half of the cost of the same equipment, including the 17.5% VAT in Italy, from a manufacturer accredited dealer, so why the huge difference between the UK Italian dealer, E Bay at its best.

So E Bay can be a very good thing but i feel that you have to know your stuff, recently some medals nearly got through a very well known auction house, the only thing tht let them down was that there was little wear on these medals so they investigated. The findings were published in the OMRS journal. So it is not just E Bay that has these fraudsters operating, know your subject and E Bay is a positive thing.

Andy

[Terry]

I must admit that I have really enjoyed the world of ebay. Through careful research (thank God for good reference sources) I have been able to find a significant number of very real medal bargains on ebay.

On the other hand the one time I got stung was my own fault. I misread the description of a 14-15 star which the seller had given in his description, and to compound matters I overlooked the fact that the price was in pounds, not dollars! The end result: a beautifully renamed star for 40 quid! My own fault; no more staying up late Saturday night and bidding before my first coffee the next morning!

[SOMMESOLDIER]

Hi There,

I know you have to be careful, and me being a novice at collecting, I'm sure I've got some iffy stuff in my collection through my own lack of knowledge.

I think that in general most sellers out there are genuine but there are always people, who through ignorance or down right lying will sell non genuine stuff.

From what I have learnt, my advice would be to do some research and set your limit and don't get carried away.

So in my opinion Ebay has been a very positive thing and the splitting of medal sets and such like, went on long before so I don't believe Ebay has made it worse !

Cheers

Tim.

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

IMHO ebay is the best thing since sliced bread and one of the very best resources on the internet full stop.

As has been said it is an open market place and like any other market has a few bad apples.  However, most of the items are genuine as are the sellers.  I have been using it for five years with well over 1000 deals completed to every corner of the globe with ZERO bad deals.

This is just with reference to Great War collectables, for every other item you could wish to buy from trailer tents to windscreen wipers and old CD's to Land Rover parts it it invaluable.

The media will knock eBay because it is good copy but people use it because it works, is cost effective and is far reaching in a way never previously imagined.

The only thing that concerns me is the virtual monopoly it may very likely enjoy in the future and as a consequence the possibility of raising fees...as they have done in the last few years.

Hear Hear!

I totally agree,true some,but relatively, few items, may get intentionally or unintentionally split,but for the majority a vast amount of previously undiscovered,unbartered Militaria,Medals & Ephemera of all sorts appears within the Auction Pages,much from a primary{therefore researchable} source,or a second in the chain of events{the House Clearers~ dont knock them they supplied many of the Dealers for years doing their rounds "On the Knock" etc;They are just cutting out the middle man}After all @ many a Car Boot ,Antique Fair Unknowledgable Traders offer Medals as seperate items,so much per item,its not new,Far worse is the Pr*t who sees that someone has bid on all three items & for the sake of being vindictive tries to outbid on just one item{Believe me there are some!}As far as I am concerned I have been able to add significantly to my Collection over the past Two & a Half years,something I'd never have been able to do by "Normal" methods,also dont knock sellers who offer a Variety,I do myself,id rather sell a load of Books Enamel Badges,Porcelain & Jewellery & keep my Medals it doesn't make my 43 years of accumulated Knowledge of Medals & Militaria any less because I choose to sell "Assorted Wares"

With regard to their fees,currently @ least they bear no comparison to the Rampant Charges + VAT of Course;Guv! Charged by the London & Provincial {Even Local General }Auction Houses to Buyers & Sellers Alike,Something I have Never got my head around!