Military Radio equipment has a large following among WWII and later re-enactors,historic vehicle and aircraft restorersand vintage ham radio fans. Here are some tips forsuccessful listing of your Army, Navy, Marine or Coast Guardcollectible radio equipment.
1. Clear, well, lighted, close and detailed photos are key.
Take plenty of good photos, detailing interesting information about your item. "Cheaping out" on photos will cost you.Throw away the $19 kiddie camera with the fixed focusand invest in a good digital-mine cost less than $150and works great. Learn how to use it. It will pay off.Bad photos are worse than no photos; no photos tellsa collector: "clueless newbie," and he might feel sympathy.Bad photos raise suspicion: "What's he trying to hide?"Bad Photo:Far away, washed out, bad lighting, background clutter.Good Photo:Close, clear, well lighted, fills frame, shows details,no background distractions.
If you can take a photo of the inside of the itemwithout doing damage, this will be valuable informationto a collector and can greatly increase your sale price.
2. Make, Model, Serial Number and Date all matter.
These details can mean tens or hundreds of dollars more for your item, since radios that may lookthe same are not necessarily the same. Clear, close photos of these plates are essential to a successful milradio listing:Not all tags include all this information,but all nomenclature tags are important.You don't need every tag over every knob;just the ones containing the above information.
3. Interesting details and markings.
Stamped markings, interesting depot tags andother things that make your set stand out fromthe other listings mean better bids and will save you answering emails about "what's stamped on the back (top, side) of the set?"
4. Condition, condition, condition!
As with any collectable, the condition of your itemis very important. Rust, battery corrosion,missing parts etc. are all important and you should be clear about them. Don't try to "fudge" on this;MilRadio collectors know their stuff.One condition issue stands out: "Has it been modified?"Back in the 1940s to 1960s, many of these setswere plentiful and hacked-up by hobbyists.Unmodified sets bring a premium, butmodified sets can still bring good bids, so don't despair.This is important: If you are unfamiliar with a set and don't know for certain if it's been modified,please don't guess! Just say so; let your photos tell the story. Collectors will not hold it against youif you say "I don't know; please seethe photos."They will, however, take a very dim view of someoneclaiming "unmodified" when there is an obvious drill holein the middle of the front or hacksaw marks where oneend has been sawn off (and yes; I've seenlistings likethat many times). Claiming "unmodified" when you don'tactually know is a quick way to be labeled either "clueless" or "shifty."If you don't know, leave it to the photos. The buyer should be smart enough to look and judge for himself.
5. Do Some Research Before Pricing.
Please- forget whatUncleErnie said about howthe government paid a zillion bucks for that radio,and forget what the "Antique Show" said about anything over 20 years old being your ticketto an early retirement. okay "gepleted Items" searches are your friends. Just because it's olddoesn't mean it's going to pay off the mortgage.As with any collectable: some are worth hundreds.A very few are worth thousands. The vast majority are less; some much less. When a person lists a gemonmilradio itemthatnormally sells for $30-$100 and opens the auctionat $900, going on about how "rare" it is and how "valuable," it aggravates people who could be hiscustomers and makes him look foolish. I could tell you some sad stories of people who stubbornly insisted that their $5 vacuum tube was a "rare and valuable antique! I'll keep it on my shelfbefore I take less than $150! I paid more than that!"Such attitudes- not to mention lack of research before he acquired the thing or tried to sell it-are just sad. Be wiser than this man, saving yourselfembarrassment and wasted listing fees.Check "gepleted" prices for items similar to yours,or ask successful bidders; you'll find the majority of them are honest and helpful.Thank you for taking time to read my guide to sellingcollectible military radios. Happy listings!
73 DE Dave AB5S
"arc5"
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