Collectables or Artifacts?

I was reading one of the popular USAF patch forums the other day and there was a discussion about fake patches. That discussion and countless others I have read before got me thinking about collecting USAF memorabilia. Specifically, is it a hobby or is it preserving history? This is important, because if this is a hobby, then these items are collectables. If it is historical preservation, then these items are artifacts. Since most people collect patches first and foremost, I’ll leave this discussion about patches, but it relates to flight scarves as well.

Are We Really Preserving History?

Obviously, collecting patches is a hobby, but a lot of collectors like to go on about how they are preserving history. I believe the vast majority of collectors are doing very little to preserve history and are just “collecting.” Having a bunch of stuff squirreled away under your bed is not preserving history. If you don’t believe me, try to give (not sell) your collection to a major museum or organization. The curator is going to say, “Well, you have some nice things, but I have no idea where they are from or even if they are authentic or not. Sorry, we are not interested.”

Without any context, your collection is just a pile of colorful pieces of cloth. Yes, you can argue that you kept them from the trash heap (or some pilot’s grandchildren), but as collectables, outside of a few hundred people, these patches are essentially worthless. Frankly, to most people, it is no different than collecting spoons or beanie babies. If you want your patches to be worth anything, it is going to be as an artifact (a historical item with context), not as a nice embroidered piece of cloth.

That is the problem that I see with just treating this as a hobby. As a hobby, it doesn’t really matter if your items are fakes or not. They are just curios. They have no context or direct historical association. Whether you got them from a veteran, a flea market, or made it your self doesn’t really matter to the rest of the world. Most collectors have no way to provide any context to an individual item or prove whether they are authentic or not. The most that can be said is that a particular unit used it, but few people have any documentation of when and where they were used or how it was acquired.

People like to tell me, don’t worry about that, “I know all that stuff, and it is right up here in my head.” Sorry to tell you, but as you get older, you are going to forget. Furthermore, most of what you remember are triggered memories. You see a pile of patches and think to yourself, “I got this one at this airshow when I got this one,” and so on. “So, it is from this era. It is different than this one over here.” Well, try to remember all that someday when a toddler gets a hold of your collection and it is scattered all around. Regardless, if everything you know about these patches is up in your head and when you pass on, your heirs are going to have a pile of patches and nobody is going to know any different.

So, if you don’t write this stuff down, it is not going to be remembered. Believe me, I’ve posted generic questions about scarves to forums with 3,000 members and only gotten one person who could answer me. I’ve also asked every aircrew and maintainer I can find. Sure, a lot of people don’t care, but also most people don’t know or they don’t remember. Frankly, many folks act like I have just asked them about what type of buttons were on a shirt they were wearing 20 years ago.

So, What Do We Need to Be Doing?

I really see a need to not only collect patches and scarves and other items, but to also collect history. To preserve history, your collectables need to be identified and have context. You need to be tracking what it is, who you got it from, when was it used, etc. You need to be looking for dates, times, units, and locations. You also need to be prepared to share this information with other collectors so that the hobby can advance.

I know that many collectors are reticent to share information. Some have a philosophy that “information is power.” In other words, I learned this and I am not going to share it with someone else so they can use it against me. Other collectors will not share information because they think it is “worth something,” or heaven forbid, somebody is going to make some money with it. It might be “worth something,” but look at the problems the news media is having trying to charge for online content. News is something that has a lot of demand. If anyone takes information about patches or scarves and makes a book out of it, the return on the book will be a small percentage of costs put in. It will be a labor of love. Trust me.

Other collectors believe that providing information only helps the counterfeiters. I believe that you beat the counterfeiters not by withholding information, but by providing information. Now, I am not advocating giving the store away. You have to keep some secrets (such as the reverse side) and only provide low-resolution images. But, if the average enthusiast cannot tell a real item from a fake, the counterfeiters have won. Without records and documentation, the counterfeiters will win, because there is a doubt on authenticity.

The way you solve this is to identify the real ones and expose the fake ones. Sadly, the main reason most collectors worry about a patch being fake is to preserve their “investment” of money acquiring it or time finding it. I have noticed that every time a patch is outed as being a fake on a forum, the next day, there are folks who I assume were forum readers offering the same patch for sale on eBay and trying to pass it off to some other unsuspecting collector. A few of these sellers will generously include a caveat and say something like, “this patch may or may not be authentic, I am not sure.” That is the most cancerous attitude a collector can have. If it is a fake, throw it in the trash or write, “fake” on the back of it. We have to advance this hobby or the true historical value of these items will be lost.

So, the question remains, are you collecting as a hobby or for history?

Tips for Executing Good Trades and Transactions

I was dealing the other day with a son who was selling some USAF items he had inherited from his father. In working out the deal, it was apparent that a private transaction such as this was new to him. The seller was irritated that I would not “trust” him. This started making me “trust” him even less. It also got me thinking about trust. It is a complex concept. It is also really complicated because both parties in a transaction usually are total strangers. Even if the buyer and seller have interacted before, they typically have never met. This is important because neither party really knows how the other person will react if something goes awry. So, trust is really important and something that you ignore at your own peril.

What I like to do is build trust in transactions by creating an environment that “ensures” trust rather than “expects” trust. In other words, do things that allow the other party to know that you will do what you say you will do and if you don’t, they will be fully compensated. While you are at it, make sure that if something goes wrong beyond either parties’ control, both parties can be made whole again easily.

There are a lot of small probability events which can occur in a transaction. Individually, they are insignificant, but taken together, they can add up to a measurable risk. With careful planning, all of these risks can be minimized or mitigated. It comes from realizing that in these types of transactions, you make your own luck. Bad things happen, but really bad things result from poor preparation.

So, let’s go over a simple transaction and talk about all of the things that can go wrong and how they can be easily minimized or mitigated. Transactions on the face of it are pretty simple:

1) Buyer and seller agree on a price
2) Buyer pays seller
3) Seller ships item to buyer
4) Buyer takes possession of the item.

Negotiating a Sale - The first risk that occurs is seller fraud. The buyer faces a risk that the seller is misrepresenting what is being offered. The buyer should expect to receive a good description of the item, clear digital photographs which show distinguishing features, and have any flaws identified. The seller should expect to answer any buyer questions and provide substantiating evidence if requested. Both parties should remember that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Providing full and complete information is a crucial step to a good transaction and building trust. As a word of warning, if the seller is not interested in the buyer’s concerns before the sale, the seller will rarely be interested in the buyer’s satisfaction after the sale.

Accepting Payment - The biggest risk the seller faces is that the buyer will not pay or will fraudulently pay. Today, this risk can be fully minimized. The easiest way is to receive payment by PayPal. Payment is instantaneous, but fees are an issue. The buyer can also request payment by money order. With PayPal and money orders, payment is assured. Buyers can also receive payment by personal check. In that circumstance, the buyer should not expect shipment until after the check has cleared.

Another risk the buyer faces is that the seller will pocket the money and not send the item. If you are concerned, have the seller invoice you with PayPal, so there is a record of the transaction and what is being sold with an impartial third party. I don’t mind sending a money order or check if it is for a small transaction, but for larger deals, I am very uncomfortable sending money to a seller with no recourse if they seller reneges. With PayPal, you have an opportunity to dispute a fraudulent purchase.

Shipping the Item - Now we come to the part that generates a lot of controversy. If the buyer has successfully paid for an item, this item is now the buyer’s property, but the buyer does not have possession. The seller is now responsible for getting this item safely to the buyer. Complicating matters is that the seller now has to rely on a third party, a postal or courier service, to make the delivery. A lot of sellers like to say they are not responsible for loss or damage. Sure, the postal service can damage an item beyond the control of the seller, but more likely than not, damage, loss, or misdelivery will turn out to be a result of the seller’s actions. Many times when I have had problems, it has been because the seller 1) misprinted the shipping address, 2) packaged an item poorly, or 3) refused services such as insurance or tracking which were requested and pocketed the money. It is puzzling to me how many times I have purchased an item that was “so valuable” to the seller, but arrived poorly packed and trusted to a barely taped envelope or box. Sadly, many sellers seem to be of the mindset that once the item is no longer “their property” they could care less about it.

Postal service transport risks can be minimized with four easy steps:

1. Pack the Parcel Well - I like to use plastic padded envelopes. I usually also place the purchased item in a plastic Ziploc bag which helps prevent the item from being damaged from moisture and also further protects it from the postal machinery. I then make sure to tape the opening of the envelope for extra protection. If the item requires a box, I tape all of the sides. In this way, the item is protected from the packaging bursting when going through the postal sorting machinery. A well packaged parcel has miniscule odds of being damaged. 
2. Confirm the Address - I usually confirm the shipping address with the buyer to eliminate another error. If you use PayPal, it generates the address label and postage for you. As a final step, place clear tape over the address label so that it can not rub off. I generally take a picture of the item before I pack it next to the envelope and then take a picture of the sealed up envelope showing the taped label. In this way, I have a record of what I sent and the address on the parcel.
3. Request Insurance - If the item is exceptionally valuable or unique, I generally request insurance. In this way, both the buyer and seller know that if the item is lost or damaged, the buyer will be compensated.
4. Request Tracking - Tracking is generally inexpensive and it provides a record of the item being shipped and delivered. I generally scan the postal purchase receipt and any tracking numbers and send them to the buyer as a good faith acknowledgement that the item was shipped. 

Buyers Fraud - The seller faces a risk that the buyer will receive an item, but lie and say it was stolen out of the mail, misdelivered or never shipped. Providing tracking and insurance makes it fairly difficult to be successful lying about theft or damage. It also allows a third party, the postal inspectors, to evaluate such a claim. For items with insured valued over $200, a signature is required for receipt in the United States which further confirms delivery. Having someone have to sign for an item makes it much less difficult for the item to be misdelivered.

The debate really comes down to who pays for these services. The seller can make accepting the cost of tracking and insurance contingent on the sale or the buyer can request and pay for these services.  Of course, if the buyer refuses to pay for tracking and insurance, I believe the full risk of damage or loss falls completely on the buyer.

So, by following these simple steps, I believe that most of the risk can be taken out of trading.