Hello from USA

G

garagemaster

New member
Hello all from the USA. Just joined the forum having been fascinated with all types of militaria for most of my life.
The interest in pickelhaube started years ago when my father-in-law gave my wife several helmets from his personal collection.
He was a retired Lieutenant-Colonel from the Panzer Grenadiers of the current German army. :greentank:
He also was in the Wermacht from 1943-1945. He was either drafted or enlisted at the age of 13, we're not sure which.
He has since passed and she has inherited most of the rest to total 10 in all. Evidently we don't need ten, as per her.
We're here to get as much info as possible so we can decide which ones to let go of. We really feel that this would be a better
place to try to sell the extras that we chose not to keep than going to an unfriendly e-bay.
She is from Bavaria so those ones have a special interest. I'm going to try to post pics of the collection here if I can make this work.
I will post individual entries in the latest finds area if that's the more appropriate section. Any guidance would be appreciated.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Kevin and Elke
 
Welcome Kevin and Elke!

I hope you find the forum useful – it certainly is friendly. You have a nice selection of various elements with many Bavarian parts. You might think about asking Randy Trawnik, a member of this forum, and the owner of a very reputable firm called "Age of Kings." My wife and I actually have him in our wills to sell our collection when we pass. He is honest and very trustworthy.

I only point you that direction because I have seen and heard of too many unscrupulous dealers and individuals who "swoop in" and pay the owners very little for what they want to pass on. There are people who lurk around this forum and will take advantage of someone's loss. At least you could ask Randy what he thought. Trust me he does not need the money and does the helmet thing entirely as a hobby.

V/R
Joe
 
I already sent him an email. A better way is to Google "age of Kings" and use their contact form. It is a three-day weekend for many of us!
 
Randy is in the Dallas area ( as am I) and is a very helpful and straight up fellow.

You have some very nice pieces there.
 
There are serveral others. Larry Stewart and AAG Would also give you a good shake. I am sure there are others I'm just telling you the ones that I deal with. I know quite a few bad ones. People write me all the time and tell me about but this Guy did. Lots of horror stories in my emails.
 
joerookery said:
Welcome Kevin and Elke!


I only point you that direction because I have seen and heard of too many unscrupulous dealers and individuals who "swoop in" and pay the owners very little for what they want to pass on. There are people who lurk around this forum and will take advantage of someone's loss. At least you could ask Randy what he thought. Trust me he does not need the money and does the helmet thing entirely as a hobby.

V/R
Joe
Click to expand...

Hey Joe,
This is a rather misleading statement, I agree that Randy is an honest man, but you imply that all the others on this forum are cheats, I have yet to meet a dishonest person among the regulars, and most people would not know what a lurker is.
I have had great experience with many of the members here, including Brian, James, Tony, Eric, Keith, Keith and even you OKed a 10 thousand dollar check for Dick at SOS a few years ago.
If you know some cheats on the forum, you should name names rather than condemn everyone whoes name you omit.
Best
Gus
 
joerookery said:
There are serveral others. Larry Stewart and AAG Would also give you a good shake. I am sure there are others I'm just telling you the ones that I deal with. I know quite a few bad ones. People write me all the time and tell me about but this Guy did. Lots of horror stories in my emails.
Click to expand...

Joe, surely you have dealt with James LeBrasseur, Brian Loree, and Jeff Schraeder among many others. Again, if you know of cheats you should name manes rather than accuse everyone who you do not mention.
Best
Gus
 
Gustaf said:
joerookery said:
Welcome Kevin and Elke!


I only point you that direction because I have seen and heard of too many unscrupulous dealers and individuals who "swoop in" and pay the owners very little for what they want to pass on. There are people who lurk around this forum and will take advantage of someone's loss. At least you could ask Randy what he thought. Trust me he does not need the money and does the helmet thing entirely as a hobby.

V/R
Joe
Click to expand...

Hey Joe,
This is a rather misleading statement, I agree that Randy is an honest man, but you imply that all the others on this forum are cheats, I have yet to meet a dishonest person among the regulars, and most people would not know what a lurker is.
I have had great experience with many of the members here, including Brian, James, Tony, Eric, Keith, Keith and even you OKed a 10 thousand dollar check for Dick at SOS a few years ago.
If you know some cheats on the forum, you should name names rather than condemn everyone whoes name you omit.
Best
Gus
Click to expand...

Gus and anyone else.

I am not inferring that anyone is participating is a cheat… Not sure how you got that. I have purchased many helmets from people on this forum. A lurker is somebody who does not participate but just reads the forum. Some of those guys are dealers Who have a hard time maintaining supply. So when something is posted based on a loss I know of some and have heard of many others were those individuals swoop in mainly on widows and offer them a "good deal". Often I get an email that shows a picture of a helmet with a question about how much it is worth. I do not do values – then I often find the same picture on a site for sale.

More seldom are the emails of collections that have already been sold. Usually they come from a child of the deceased collector. Some of those helmets often look familiar. I'm not calling you or anyone else participate here a cheat. I have also seen helmets for sale on eBay that are sitting on my shelf. Somebody not participating here takes the pictures from the Internet perhaps from mine or other sites and uses the picture to offer the helmet for sale on eBay even though they don't own it. New enthusiasts often fall prey to these tactics. That's why I say reputation and relationships are the most important asset you have. Jeff Schrader, Larry Stewart, and others are all above board. Next time I just won't say anything and just lament that another newbie goes forward unwarned with helmets to sell. Sorry if I offended anybody.
 
I understood what you said, but I think there might have been a misunderstanding with the OP as contact with a regular was cut off after your post. If a person does not understand what a lurker is, or how to distinguish a regular poster, then the wrong impression is possible.
Best
Gus
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top