Prices/Value Discussion.

[HuliganRS]

That's the "Magic Price"
The same dealer is now selling a Suvorov 2 for $5,700!!!

It's times like this when I miss the old prices... I bought mine for half of that! and remember when one dealer sold his last one for around $2,000!!!


Rusty.

[Art]

Rusty,

The very elevated pricing may be reaching a ceiling very soon. Why? because many of the big dealers who sell the Suvorov level awards have been holding onto their awards, waiting for prices to increase ever higher. When this happens, prices rise and there is no demand unless people pay these amounts. A Suvorov 2c I had pricing on recently jumped in price $500 USD in one month. I've been in email conversation with several advanced collectors who seem to be of the mindset that prices are going to plumment very soon. Remember, there is no "OPEC" for Soviet awards Here is part of a recent conversation which reflects what I've seen to be a common sentiment among collectors and even some dealers:

BELIVE ME PRICES WILL GO DOWN VERY SOON. I BUY
MOST OF MY STUFF FROM A BIGGEST SUPPLIER OF SOVIET
MEDALS . HE LIVES IN GERMANY, HE USED TO DEAL WITH
80% OF ALL MARKET. ALL HIS VENDORS GOT ANY TYPES
OF ORDERS GROUPS ETC BUT NOBODY IS SELLING BECASE
THEY WAITING NEW PRICE INCREASE. I THINK IF PRICES
WILL GROW PEOPLE GONNA STOP COLLECTING THERE IS
PLENTY OF OTHER THINGS WE CAN DO WITH MONEY AND
TIME.

So who knows? will we see 1999 prices again? probably not, but if dealers don't move merchandise, they don't make money or attract new customers. For the small dealers this is no problem, but I would guess that anyone sitting on a few hundred thousand dollars of inventory has bills to pay.

Art

[HuliganRS]

Art,

I hope for my wallets sake you are right!
It all depends who you ask...

I do believe the dealer above artificially inflates the market, but at the same time he has no real competition, which by the law of supply and demand would force the lower prices. Yesterday he put on his site an Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class for $6,800 which to say the least is a BIT overprised. But where do you turn to get a cheaper example???

We have to remember that this hobby is limited by supply at hand.

I would jump at an opportunity to buy Kutuzov 3rd class for under $2,000 but when was the last time you saw one for sale at any price???

IMHO, I don't see the prices topping out. If there's more demand than supply the prices will always rise.

I do hope you are right and the prices will equalize soon.


Art raised a good point!

I would like the members with ties to dealers and/or suppliers to speak their mind and tell us where do they see this hobby in a year, three years, five years...

Rusty.

[Art]

Originally Posted by HuliganRS

Art,

We have to remember that this hobby is limited by supply at hand.

IMHO, I don't see the prices topping out. If there's more demand than supply the prices will always rise.

Rusty.

Rusty,

At what point does demand and price become harmonious enough to justify some of the prices we've seen? I don't know many people buying awards at these prices. If I'm purchasing for myself, I want to make sure my investment retains its original value or appreciates over time. If no one but me will pay $5700 for a Suvorov 2c, I'm stuck with it forever unless I want to lose money and sell it.

Art

[olezha11]

In my opinion prices will never go down. They may reach certain high and stay for some period of time, but go down unless comunists come back to power in Russia and people become poor again. Like Rusty said, the demand outweighs the supply. just my thoughts.
Oleg

[ericlida]

I agree with Oleg, however I think that the prices for very rare and expensive Orders might go down. How many people can pay $55,000.00 for the Order? Even $5,700.00 or $6,800.00 are not very reasonable and realistic prices.
Even there are less and less Soviet orders and medals on the market every year, I don't think that it will be more collectors of Soviet awards in 10-20 years. The history will be old for younger people and they will forget about Former Soviet Union, Communists, etc (or it's not going to be this interesting).
Like Art said: PLENTY OF OTHER THINGS WE CAN DO WITH MONEY AND TIME.

Eric.

[new world]

Originally Posted by ericlida

I agree with Oleg, however I think that the prices for very rare and expensive Orders might go down. How many people can pay $55,000.00 for the Order? Even $5,700.00 or $6,800.00 are not very reasonable and realistic prices.
...
Eric.

Eric,

We need to distinguish between ordinary collectors and top ones.

Even if the prices for expensive Soviet awards will collapse, say by 50% - the order in your example still will cost good chunk of $$$.

99.9% of the collectors will never be able to buy Nakhimov for $25,000, not even for $10,000.

Now think how many of these awards were issued and haw many actually are ever offered for sale.

William

[HuliganRS]

Eric,

I would respectfully disagree. There are more and more collectors that are getting into this hobby. Granted most new collectors start collecting pins, jettons or medals but eventually they find forums like ours and written reference material and eventually get into higher stuff.

I don't think we will ever see Soviet stuff go away. It's like TR stuff, there's always going to be interest.

Actually, I would love for more people to drop this hobby
More stuff for me...

Only time will tell...

Rusty.

[ericlida]

Rusty,

I would like this hobby to exist forever. I would like my grand son to continue it and not to sell my collection 10 cents a piece on a garage sale.

I would like more and more people to be interested in the history of USSR and collect orders and medals. I think our hobby will be much more interesting. We will find "our" Orders and Medals for our collections.

My opinion based only on my observations on another people's attitude (young children) toward Former USSR and collecting its awards.

Eric.

[Nota Bene]

Guys,

I think the main factor behind the recent price hike is the increased demand for the Soviet awards in Russia, which unfortunately is explained not by new interest in the history of the country, but rather by the economic uncertainty (oil prices, USD vs. EURO competition, etc.), so most people are buying them as an investment. Sooner or later this situation will change for worth or for better, and those awards will show up on the market again. Will this lead to the price drop? I don't think so. Most of the leading dealers would rather sit on their inventories forever then lose a penny. I believe that the new high prices are here to stay.

Alexei