Wednesday, February 24, 2010
This list represents the top selling items in the United States subcategory of WWII on eBay. As usual this category gets top heavy with uniforms and flight/bomber jackets leading the charge. Last week on eBay the top selling items included four such auctions with the paratrooper helmet the only piece of gear to break out. What made the navy jacket rise to the top was the seller did a great job of explaining the signficance of the piece. Turns out it belonged to an Aviation Radio Man 2nd Class making it a rare enlisted flight jacket.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
I pulled the Top-5 items from recent sales in the WWII category and found some real jewels. All of these items sold for more than $2,000+ led by the Chiang Kai-Shek auction. I really wasn't surprised to see the Zero radio land on this list because several months ago a piece from an original Zero sold for more than $20k. The item that I'm most interested in is the 82nd Airborne collection because Fayetteville, NC is not far from my home. Finally what would a top selling list from the WWII category be if it didn't include a few blades?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
One of the interesting things about collecting WWII items is that each of the niche categories has its strong suit. For example in the Japanese subcategory its all about swords and edged weapons. When it comes to the Russia subcategory the clear winner is heavy medal! More specifically awards with what the youth today call "bling" dominate the boards. The top selling medal in this group attracted three different bidders over $2500.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The top tier of items in the Japan niche of eBay WWII is dominated by swords and other blades. While I've posted on those in the past - today I want to ask the question what else brings home the bacon in this subcategory? I set a criteria for this list covering the last thirty days that required items to be "blunt" and have a final sales price of over $1k. Would you believe if you looked at edged weapons you can name over forty auctions from the last month that went north of $1000. But for the non-lethal memorabilia the list is still fun to analyze.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Its been several weeks since I checked in on the Great Britain subcategory of WWII to see what's selling. Over the last thirty days two of the best selling items are associated with the great British wartime leader, Winston Churchill. The best selling item only received one bid at the asking price north of $2k. This grouping of items was sold out of the UK and included pictures and other documents with some carrying his signature. My favorite items on this Top-5 list is the spy radio. While its not in working condition it would still be a great conversation piece and it did come with a manual. How many WWII movies have you seen with this type of clandestine radio calling in for orders or passing on vital information.
