[Milsurplus] 20 Years into the Future

[William Donzelli]

> But when you deprecate spy gear as "overrated"

Just a personal opinion, mostly. And I have never been impressed by an
spy set I have ever seen, except, of course, the one I have <grin>.
But I will probably end up selling. Anyone want to buy a rusting hulk
of an OSS/Navy model MAG? I recently found out it was part of a system
called "Cluck".

> Wrong. This stuff has not quite the aura of the evil Nazi empire, but
> something along those lines. Don't count out overseas bidding, not
> just USA interest.

I stand my ground. I can look at my old Bannerman catalog an see all
sorts of things that today should be super desirable, but are not.
Look at even World War 1 stuff - twenty years ago the stuff was hot,
but now it is starting to fade. Stuff from the Mexican War or the Boer
War has also really faded. Why? No magic aura.

> No- i didn't mean collecting of mass-entertainment ephemera. I meant
> attention captured, time spent on mass diversions instead of something
> more mundane,  like collecting ugly heavy boxes. Surely that appeals
> more to the "mature market".

Here you are out of touch. You would be suprised by how many under-30
kids are hardcore  collectors of 800 pound chunks of old technology.
They are just not radios.

> I don't think the internet, valuable as it is, as a communications MEDIUM,
> will ever be a replacement for say, a local bricks & mortar sales presence,
> or a get-together for hobnobbing and touching actual equipment, such as
> a hobby show.

It will always be different, however, it has changed things in huge
ways. The local bricks and mortar presence just does not mean much
these days.

--
Will