Sluggish Market for A2s

[Roughwear]

Traditionally the summer is not the best time to get a decent price for your original or repro A2 with so many folks on holiday or needing money for holidays! This year the market seems more sluggish than ever. Even here some decent A2s are not selling.

The supply of good sized original A2s has dwindled in recent years with the decline in WW2 vet estate sales. Despite this the price fetched by many original A2s seems to have fallen significantly during the past few years. Of course there are exceptions. I suspect the demand from Japan is weaker then it once was. Increased Ebay and Paypal fees are not helping the situation at all.

As always there are sellers who over price their jackets. $2000 for a restored A2 is unlikely to lead to a sale unless the jacket has a desirable provenance or is needed to complete a collection etc.. Any thoughts guys?

 

[watchmanjimg]

I tend to agree that the market seems a bit sluggish, at least with regard to repros. I've had one serious inquiry on the following jacket, but it fizzled out:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=18390

Given the incredible grain I would have thought this one would sell in a heartbeat, but then again if the weather stays like it's been here in FL I won't ever want to hear "A-2" again! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[CBI]

I have to agree Andrew. Probably best for you to sell me some of your mint original A-2's for $500 before you take an even greater loss!

 

[CBI]

I think the market for "collectables" rises and falls and there are many factors. The world economy for one thing!

On the flip side, there seems to be an uptick in new WW2 projects: books, films, websites, events so its really hard to say.

Overall, people have less disposable income these days.

One more thing, maybe its starting to hit people that these jackets are pretty old or more importantly, will be old if a collector holds on to them long enough. I think people think twice about owning an 80/90 plus year old leather item (if they hold on to it for a while).

 

[ADC]

I am new to the jacket collecting hobby but have been an experienced collector in other fields. IMO with regards to original A2's with desirable condition and/or provenance the long term can only get better because these are ephemeral items. Desirable examples will become rarer and rarer. As with any collectables, interest fluctuates for many reasons. I never got into jackets for profit considerations. If I get to the stage I have sell something quickly a relatively small loss is all part of the game.

 

[CBI]

Lots of collectors like to wear their prized jackets on occasion and that's going to get harder as these things get older.

 

[ButteMT61]

There's been talk here for a while about this. Since I have no WWII era originals, I can't really comment on those sans the posts here.

As for repops, there's certainly a decline in interest in those models - if based on my circles and the forums I frequent.
Things go in waves. Now it seems there's interest in "biker" models and vintage civi models - kinda back to what it was like when I really got interested 6+ year back.

I'd not try to sell any of mine right now unless I really needed the money. Great deals are seen weekly. Will they go back up? Hard to say. It's not like this is the biggest club in the world, but I agree that many folks - me included - don't have the extra money these days. Hell, maybe I never had it and I was misplacing my priorities...

We'll see in time if this is a phase or a basic change. Maybe global warming is doing away with the need for jackets

 

[Roughwear]

Great post Scott. Thanks for highlighting the relative decline in the price of second hand A2s at time when the price of new ones is spiralling ever upwards.

 

[ButteMT61]

Andrew - in the last 6+ months, we've seen some pretty nice A2's (and other models) going for 1/2 of a new one, and without the wait.
If course you're not getting one made to your specs, but for the price and lack of wait time, it surely registers as a good deal vs new.
And we're talking about makers who are respected and considered top of the line.

 

[Roughwear]

I agree Scott. Second hand prices have not increased by the same percentage as the price of new jackets. So yes there are many bargains out there to be had.

 

[Tim P]

I'm glad. People have priced themselves out of the market

 

[tibor]

I tend to agree that the market seems a bit sluggish, at least with regard to repros. I've had one serious inquiry on the following jacket, but it fizzled out:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=18390

Given the incredible grain I would have thought this one would sell in a heartbeat, but then again if the weather stays like it's been here in FL I won't ever want to hear "A-2" again! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think maybe the sizing has confused folks a bit. The listing is a size 46, but the pit-to-pit of 23.5 would probably appeal to a size 44 or even some 42s. Whether fair or not, it also seems that cowhide doesn't hold its value like horsehide or goatskin. :roll:

 

[johnwayne]

I'm in awe of everything Goodwear produces and likewise admire ELC and Kelso's output but when a jacket starts costing £1000+ then it's purchase needs serious consideration to most I imagine, especially when due to sizing issues and the fact we can't try it before we buy it then there's always the chance we could end up with a jacket that doesn't feel 'quite right'. I doubt any of us would get a suit made for that sort of money without trying it first!
I've often questioned too that surely there's only so many of us fascinated by these jackets so the market is limited to a degree and I also suspect the average age of us jacketheads is on the higher side with arguably more disposable income, but nevertheless the money new repros command is when you think about it, is quite staggering. Not that I deny the makers a good profit but I'd love to know the true cost - the fashion industry is nothing less than 100% but when the ladies pay £500 for maybe our fad isn't so costly after all.
Cheers
Wayne

 

[Rutger]

Fashion is a much larger market than type jacket afficionados. If hipsters and their trend followers were into A2's that market would be booming for a year or two and then collapse.
I feel that's what happened a few years ago in Japan with nylon jackets, as for the past two years these prices have gone down considerably. But members closer to that region should be able to confirm whether that assumption is right.

Yes, the economy of course. An expensive jacket is a luxury item, something you treat yourself to if you think you can afford to.
If you need a jacket, any $200 jacket is perfectly adequate, if not better than an A2, so even second hand $700 A2's are still a luxury jacket.
I suppose originals would suffer even more from that than repros.

The well known "expensive" jacket makers will/should have diversified enough not to be dependent on A-2's, and since they won't lower their prices to attract more customers, a few smaller makers like DD are able to scope up the market of $1000 jackets.