[Milsurplus] 20 Years into the Future

[Hue Miller]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Donzelli" <wdonzelli at gmail.com>

> > 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".

Please say a little about the MAG. I have never seen it in a listing. I wonder
what application it was intended for.  China also?

In your rating, it appears "overrated" is synonymous with "overpriced". That
is purely an opinion, not a technical rating per the contemporary standards.
> 
> > 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.

You are missng the essential ingredient again.
The oriental buyers never looked at a Bannermans catalog. They don't need
no stinkin' catalog. They have #1 nationalist feeling #2 money and #3 scarcity
of the desired item, as so much of this "product" was removed from the market.
That is why the flow is in that direction.
And also  why German stuff is flowing back to Europe.

> 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.

Also, things from the Mexican War are uncommon enuff that there's really no
practical collecting community to develop. How could you have a newsletter
about such a hobby interest? Well, you could. One issue every two years.
> 
> > 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.

Mmmm....i kinda don't think your numbers add up. Sure there are people 
collecting VAX computers with their 9-track tape drives; collecting motorcycles,
machine guns, whatever, but this really isn't a young person's game.
I have a friend with a houseful of such computers. They heat rooms of his house.
>From meeting some of his friends with similar interests, i've never really met any
i would describe as "young". Limited sampling, yes. Maybe things are different in
your part of the world. ( He is in Seattle. )
> 
> > 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

So you are buying everything off the internet nowadays?  
-Hue