The $500 Good Wear

[dmar836]

Not only is the economy "crap", despite politicians telling us otherwise, but eBay's newer rules and increased expense to the sellers has "lowered all boats". Remember when eBay was where one went to get top dollar? I smell a Manion's(RIP) story coming on. For me, eBay is now a last resort for sales - only when it can't be sold otherwise. For me.

Top-end items always bring top prices, even in an economic downturn(though obviously still proportionately less). And since we are not seeing a quick turnaround in this economy, those proportionately lower top prices are becoming a cap. Those with expendable income might be starting to consider the future in a different way. I know the current affairs have changed my future outlook and decisions forever.

What I fear is a similar fate of comic books, baseball cards, and "Americana" antiques. Will WWII gear suffer the same "flash in the pan" fate?

Dave

 

[Vcruiser]

Wow Van, October 2013? that's digging pretty far back and deep for a dig at Couchy, how long did that take? I looked around a while myself before I got bored stiff. Is there an actual interest in flight jackets? The patches that decorate them? History on the guys that wore them? Anything to offer like maybe a funny now and then? Any show and tells? Anything at all? Maybe time to balance out all the opinion with something interesting.

Not really intent on taking a dig...but mainly questioning motives.
As far as my interest in original A2s ,repos ,other military jackets ,and patches.etc.,I've stated during the last several years that my preferences have changed from military stuff (that dominates the VLJ) to utility/civi leather jackets (usually repros for best fit). Therefore..I usually have little to add to most threads discussed here..although it is still interesting to see others so involved. I've been on this forum since it's inception (first addition) and other A2 forums well before the VLJ. Observed many different personalities over the years and commented on various expert opinions and also those who desire to make it well known that their stellar opinions are never really up for doubt. The old adage that 'your forum contributions just surely aren't as valuable as mine' has been repeated ad nauseam over the years with any daring upstart posing a lasting disagreement among the most recent elites. However..along with all that..lasting friendships have been made regardless of the battles and BS that ebb and flow here.
Here's a thought...if my posts don't seem 'interesting enough' for you or 'balanced'...just ignore them. I ain't going anywhere and I check in here often.

 

[foster]

Dave, I think there is already a 'flash in the pan' dynamic. I've seen it in little things, with increasing frequency, in the last few years. I have a friend who owns an antiques shop and he has cut way back on what he buys, as well as what he pays for it. I've seen the trends at military collectibles shows in the region. As a result, more trading seems to be taking place at the shows than cash-for-item traditional sales.

I may be cynical in saying so, but with regard to militaria or historical collectibles, once the name 'eBay' is mentioned in any sort of buy/sell negotiation, it almost shuts down the transaction between buyer and seller. Why? The fees simply must be taken into account, but they're usually not. I quit using eBay some years ago when the combined (eBay and PayPal) fees were nearing 15%. I spoke with a friend recently who sold around $400 worth of stuff on eBay, and he managed to net only about $300 after deducting the fees. More people use eBay as a research tool to determine the value of something, but too often the costs charged to the seller are not considered at all. For example, a seller trying to sell something for $100 only ends up with $80 after all is said and done and the market (eBay) and the banker (PayPal) get their cut. But to many, they honestly think they are getting the full $100 for the item they sell. And if someone wants to try and sell the same thing for $100 elsewhere, they often feel cheated if they only sell it for $90 cash-in-hand that day (when they could have spent 20 minutes listing it, then wait a week for the item to sell, relist it due to a non-paying buyer, etc only to end up with $80 after investing more time and effort into the sale).

I think one thing I have seen that helps is when a jacket maker stands by their product. Aero has had a policy to purchase any of their jackets, which they sell on their website. Good Wear at times offers second-hand jackets that I can only assume were trade-ins as well. This is a good practice, something more to the benefit of the customers (past and present) than the seller (one could argue that point, but I would consider it more an act of customer service than anything else). I know I took advantage of the offer by Aero at one point, and I much preferred it over resorting to eBay even though I did have to ship the jacket internationally. Whoever bought it from them had the added confidence that the maker had looked it over before selling it to them. Things like that can make the difference in a sale.

But back to A-2 jackets specifically. Plenty of manufacturers out there across the entire spectrum of cost and quality. All of them seem to be busily making more jackets (when work gets slow they can offer promotional sales as this is a time-tested means to gain new orders). The jackets made last year, or two years ago, or twenty years ago are still often in good shape and worth something more than being thrown out or merely donated to Goodwill. Anyone who wants a replica A-2 can get whatever he (or she) wants, being only limited by what is available at that time, combined at that moment with his/her financial limits or luxuries. Size is a factor, so if you are a similar size to most customers (42R for example), you have more chance of finding a jacket to fit you at any moment in time. If you're a pro football player with 56" chest and the massive arms to match, you can expect to pay more money for a custom fit, or wait decades for a jacket that fits to magically emerge on the market. It's simple supply and demand, but it is supply and demand at work in several dimensions all at once (namely size, condition, location, and price) - and all must reconcile at the right moment in time where the seller is selling one, and the buyer has the cash to spend to get it. Call it equilibrium or call it a handshake to close the sale, but it plays out a multitude of times every day.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Wow Van, October 2013? that's digging pretty far back and deep for a dig at Couchy, how long did that take? I looked around a while myself before I got bored stiff. Is there an actual interest in flight jackets? The patches that decorate them? History on the guys that wore them? Anything to offer like maybe a funny now and then? Any show and tells? Anything at all? Maybe time to balance out all the opinion with something interesting.

Not really intent on taking a dig...but mainly questioning motives.
As far as my interest in original A2s ,repos ,other military jackets ,and patches.etc.,I've stated during the last several years that my preferences have changed from military stuff (that dominates the VLJ) to utility/civi leather jackets (usually repros for best fit). Therefore..I usually have little to add to most threads discussed here..although it is still interesting to see others so involved. I've been on this forum since it's inception (first addition) and other A2 forums well before the VLJ. Observed many different personalities over the years and commented on various expert opinions and also those who desire to make it well known that their stellar opinions are never really up for doubt. The old adage that 'your forum contributions just surely aren't as valuable as mine' has been repeated ad nauseam over the years with any daring upstart posing a lasting disagreement among the most recent elites. However..along with all that..lasting friendships have been made regardless of the battles and BS that ebb and flow here.
Here's a thought...if my posts don't seem 'interesting enough' for you or 'balanced'...just ignore them. I ain't going anywhere and I check in here often.

The usual long winded opposite of your usual one liner. Just saying that maybe Van needs to spread a little sugar once in a while and enjoy the forum. This kinda stuff is gonna kill ya.

 

[Vcruiser]

Wow Van, October 2013? that's digging pretty far back and deep for a dig at Couchy, how long did that take? I looked around a while myself before I got bored stiff. Is there an actual interest in flight jackets? The patches that decorate them? History on the guys that wore them? Anything to offer like maybe a funny now and then? Any show and tells? Anything at all? Maybe time to balance out all the opinion with something interesting.

Not really intent on taking a dig...but mainly questioning motives.
As far as my interest in original A2s ,repos ,other military jackets ,and patches.etc.,I've stated during the last several years that my preferences have changed from military stuff (that dominates the VLJ) to utility/civi leather jackets (usually repros for best fit). Therefore..I usually have little to add to most threads discussed here..although it is still interesting to see others so involved. I've been on this forum since it's inception (first addition) and other A2 forums well before the VLJ. Observed many different personalities over the years and commented on various expert opinions and also those who desire to make it well known that their stellar opinions are never really up for doubt. The old adage that 'your forum contributions just surely aren't as valuable as mine' has been repeated ad nauseam over the years with any daring upstart posing a lasting disagreement among the most recent elites. However..along with all that..lasting friendships have been made regardless of the battles and BS that ebb and flow here.
Here's a thought...if my posts don't seem 'interesting enough' for you or 'balanced'...just ignore them. I ain't going anywhere and I check in here often.

The usual long winded opposite of your usual one liner. Just saying that maybe Van needs to spread a little sugar once in a while and enjoy the forum. This kinda stuff is gonna kill ya.

I enjoy the forum..or wouldn't be here.
You spread the sugar A2JP.
Seems the longer you've been here...the sweeter you've become.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Most of the time you seem in a bad mood. So here's a little sugar from me to you

 

[plumbline]

Not really intent on taking a dig...but mainly questioning motives.

I didn't think you liked motives being questioned Van .... :lol:

I don't post much ( but have been here a long time ) but that quote had me laughing so hard I almost passed a little bit of wee ..... I'll take it as sugar

 

[Vcruiser]

Most of the time you seem in a bad mood. So here's a little sugar from me to you

Yeah..lets 'patch' things up.
And you reap what you sew...
Get it..??

 

[Vcruiser]

Not really intent on taking a dig...but mainly questioning motives.

I didn't think you liked motives being questioned Van .... :lol:

I don't post much ( but have been here a long time ) but that quote had me laughing so hard I almost passed a little bit of wee ..... I'll take it as sugar

No..I don't question your motives plumber.
You can't help but expose them the longer you hang around a forum.
You're the sensitive soul for your size.

 

[dmar836]

Thanks Foster. Good points.
Thought we were back on topic for a minute.
Dave

 

[ausreenactor]

Hey Butte
Check this out.
Seems at one time he was just thrilled with a Goodwear...

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=15778&p=147824&hilit=goodwear+perry#p147824

Most of the post relates to the postage of the jacket's travel and Sydney. Some time after the post the jacket was put on and then the left sleeve lining half came out with my arm. It
slid back down the sleeve when I put my arm back in. I learned to pinch the arm before I pulled my arm out. I have a pic of the excess sleeve lining length here somewhere. Something similar to tunnelling but on the inside. Folds filled with lint like sweat crud in a wrinkle. I can look through some posts relating to that if you like?

 

[ausreenactor]

Thanks Foster. Good points.
Thought we were back on topic for a minute.
Dave

Much appreciated. And solid input.

 

[ausreenactor]

I haven't chatted with Van in ages Couchy. The foil hat is too tight man. :LOL!:

Maybe if JC offered you some of those ultra-hip frog liners in his jackets you'd love 'em too? Would look great with a Hawaiian shirt...

The way you come across I am not tracking a military background. Having served two tours with your Armed Forces I have a great respect for them.
Something that started as a kid. Moving into Special Forces in the 90s I fell in love with all things SF. Then the eBay hit in the late 90s. About the
time I found the forum. Then the reference books followed and an enhanced knowledge of all things WWII was put to full effect. Hence the collection
of today.
The lined A-2 was a homage to them and enhanced my WWII collection. I had entertained the possibility of approaching GW; however, the timeline
and unknown hide at the time of construction was, and would still be, a killer.

I was fortunate to select my hide from the russet hides on offer at BK, lay the pattern out my way and get a jacket exactly the way I wanted it. They
sourced the lining for me after my efforts were in vain. I do have a USS Midway shirt that would look great with the A-2, which I wore on the day we
had a look around the Midway.

I stand corrected on the comment that you must have verbally colluded with Van. I will liken it to the dog barking down the road that gets my dog
barking for no apparent reason then. I guess they just need to 'howl' from time to time. The FL BK thread has died down and it is great to see Van over
here for a bit, regardless of the reason.

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Most of the time you seem in a bad mood. So here's a little sugar from me to you

Yeah..lets 'patch' things up.
And you reap what you sew...
Get it..??

I get it.....but no credit toward that funny you owe me