weak resale market?

[Micawber]

Some ELC knits in the past were of an fairly open weave and thin, consequently they did not have the staying power for general wear, sure they were ok for jackets that were only worn every once in a while but not for any kind of daily activity outside of an office or other cosy environment.

As for Ebay, it was established in the mid '90's and for selling used goods of all descriptions. I think I joined it in '96 or thereabouts before it became an international phenomena and used it to great effect to buy gear in the States often going through one or two trusted friends over there. These were the pre Paypal days. Bargains galore were to be had for the taking but as time went on more and more people started using it for buying, demand increased and prices realised increased. Some years ago Ebay made a deliberate shift away from the used goods sector to encouraging commercial e-commerce. Ebay absorbed Paypal, fees went up and collectable bargains diminished ...although they can still be found to to bad timing or spelling / description mistakes by the vendor. The glory days are well past.

 

[Officer Dibley]

£300 + shipping for a re-lining and all new knits as stated in one of my threads.

I wouldn’t pay over £500 for any jacket. Maybe £600 for a very specific GW.....

 

[Brettafett]

Yes, re-knitting and re-lining are surprisingly expensive (at least here in the UK), IF you can even find someone experienced enough to take on the job. Secondhand buyers beware.

 

[Officer Dibley]

Some ELC knits in the past were of an fairly open weave and thin, consequently they did not have the staying power for general wear, sure they were ok for jackets that were only worn every once in a while but not for any kind of daily activity outside of an office or other cosy environment.

As for Ebay, it was established in the mid '90's and for selling used goods of all descriptions. I think I joined it in '96 or thereabouts before it became an international phenomena and used it to great effect to buy gear in the States often going through one or two trusted friends over there. These were the pre Paypal days. Bargains galore were to be had for the taking but as time went on more and more people started using it for buying, demand increased and prices realised increased. Some years ago Ebay made a deliberate shift away from the used goods sector to encouraging commercial e-commerce. Ebay absorbed Paypal, fees went up and collectable bargains diminished ...although they can still be found to to bad timing or spelling / description mistakes by the vendor. The glory days are well past.

Spot on Steve. I too joined on my original id in 1998. It was better than Manion’s Auction House for getting US kit. And you could leave bad bidder feedback and see who was bidding on items.

Now it’s a money making machine . And a credit company. I watch ebay but rarely buy or sell on it. As Couchy said: no-one seems to be buying. And the charges are too high.

 

[ausreenactor]

Manions... I have not read that name in decades.... Whoa.

 

[Micawber]

I think I still have a pile of old Manions catalogues from way back when up in the loft .....or did I skip them during one of the moves? I'll keep my eyes open for them next time I'm rooting about up there.

 

[Micawber]

£300 + shipping for a re-lining and all new knits as stated in one of my threads.

I wouldn’t pay over £500 for any jacket. Maybe £600 for a very specific GW.....

Shame that GW Star is just a little too tight across the shoulders and cuffs for you Dave .....as it's rather special isn't it

 

[Officer Dibley]

She’s a beauty Steve for sure

 

[Pilot]

Fully agree with all....Did not even try to sell a RM’CC ( last NZ version) AN-J-4 in 44” here.....since all am...and yes all here are right...
As Ken already mentioned correctly...”tire kicking” only...
It went to the “Far Far East” ...so did many others...

 

[Officer Dibley]

Well if anyone wants to sell me a nice 46 or 48 russet horse A-2, i’ll help buck the trend !

 

[B-Man2]

Well if anyone wants to sell me a nice 46 or 48 russet horse A-2, i’ll help buck the trend !

Hopefully you’ll start a trend!

 

[Officer Dibley]

A jacket, a jacket, my kingdom for a jacket !!!!

 

[B-Man2]

A jacket, a jacket, my kingdom for a jacket !!!!

Hahaha.... you know what I’m thinking .... so I won’t say a word......congrats you’re back!

 

[Officer Dibley]

Hahaha.... you know what I’m thinking .... so I won’t say a word......congrats you’re back!

 

[Smithy]

I wouldn’t pay over £500 for any jacket. Maybe £600 for a very specific GW.....

That seems to be the way it's going for a lot of guys around here now. Not everyone sure, but there's a helluva lot of fellows I know who have said they just won't pay what some companies are asking now. I can remember when I first got seriously interested in flight jackets how on sites like this and the Lid Joint about 13,14 or 15 years ago guys were picking up new repros right, left and centre. You just don't see that now to anywhere near the same degree.

The secondhand market will strengthen over time most likely due to this. The more the really high end repros start costing the same or even more than a decent original (as they're getting damn close to for some models), the more you'll see the real enthusiasts increasingly turn to the used market. I'd say you could probably even argue that we're seeing this happening even now.

 

[Officer Dibley]

The other point with new is you don’t quite know what a jacket will look like until it’s had some wear. By which time, if you don’t like it, it’s too late to return it. Let someone else put some wear on it. Then you buy a cheaper jacket you can be more sure you’ll like and for less money.

 

[Smithy]

The other point with new is you don’t quite know what a jacket will look like until it’s had some wear. By which time, if you don’t like it, it’s too late to return it. Let someone else put some wear on it. Then you buy a cheaper jacket you can be more sure you’ll like and for less money.

Good point, a broken in jacket can be a very different fitting thing from a brand spanking new one.

It was easier to take a punt on a jacket back when the ratio of what they cost to what most people earn in a month wasn't as completely mad as it is now with some crowds.

That's good for the used market though!

 

[Micawber]

My tuppence worth is this. An item costing a small fortune is not guaranteed to be any better in terms of care and attention to detail, manufacture and finish when compared to another item created with the same materials and care which retails at somewhat less. It's all down to perception.

The black arts of marketing and public perception.

Two identical boxes of cornflakes, one sells at a premium in, say, the Harrods food hall, the other for less in a run of the mill High Street supermarket. The packaging is identical and the contents look and taste the same, yet some will believe that the cereal procured in Harrods will be superior to that bought in the supermarket.

Marketing.

The higher price and premises of the former will exude an air of class and will doubtless make some who procure their provisions there feel they are purchasing a superior and tastier product compared to the average bloke in the run of the mill supermarket buying the same thing. In the still somewhat class conscious UK the bloke in the supermarket is likely to feel many of the clientèle of the London premises are snobs.

Hmmmm. Not sure where all that came from but I enjoyed typing it lol.

 

[Officer Dibley]

Steve, if you are telling me that Waitrose is the same as ASDA, i’m never letting you talk to my missus ! Lol

What you say can be true but Shawn Ali’s wares are nothing compared to ELC & GW - he is in a different phase of learning - though there are some who have convinced themselves he is as good.
BK are perhaps as good though i’ve never seen one of theirs.
In other words, not all Corn Flakes are made at the same factory just as not all A-2’s are made by the same person with simply a different box. A Mercedes is not the same as a Citroen. If i own a Citroen i might say i’d never buy a Merc’, but would i keep the Citroen if i won the Euro Millions ....? Probably not.

The ethos of VLJ remains what it always has been but the jacket “snobbery” has certainly been stood on its’ head: now some people are all but mocking others for owning expensive jackets . And that seems to have killed conversations about GW & ELC sadly. All the chatter is about cheap jackets.

 

[ausreenactor]

With GW and ELC moving away from the 'common man' there has certainly been a shift in the commentary.