I have recently purchased a German Flag from Ebay...Firsty i was surprised the auction was allowed to finish, because the item clearly showed the swastika emblam...secondly i noted to, that the item i had purchased was an extremly rare one, and the third this seller had listed in the same ammount of weeks. I bid on the item specifically so I could see it...it was what i though a total repro...a good one i will give them that, but a repro never the less...I would never be able to own an original of these so i have the next best thing any way, but to sell them as genuine in the first place is a bit naughty. Its the inexperienced collectors that will get caught out here, and those i feel most sorry for.Experience should tell the others that something is not quite right.

Now call me nieve if you like, but 3 of the same flag, and originally a flag produced in limited numbers...Tell me another please, i might have a laugh!!!!

What you need to do with items like this, including those you look at outside ebay, is firstly, if the seller has feedback, check through as far as you can to see if there was another item the same sold before. Contact the seller, and ask what markings in print are on the item, what the flag is made of...(Nylon being a certain repro), and whether its a printed or multi part flag..The Germans made quality gear, unlike much of the Rubbish repro we see about now...Ask the seller for confirmation of UV testing, or has the flag got a certificate of authentication from a recognised establishment.

It is not, and I stick my neck out here, it is not a devine right of anyone to self procalim them selves experts. There are many dealers out there who in their experience have learnt to ID repro's, but no one "expert" is fully aquainted with every area of militaria...It is simply not possible to be so...although I see one at Hemswell Market who seems to think he is...displaying multiple numbers of german Militaria, "All Original", but other selling similar for some reason,are fake..MMMMM?, now where does this lead....well, it leads to a valid point that even the most well stocked militaria dealer has to be treat with a certain ammount of care...I am not particularaly botherd whether this upsets a few dealers...those dealers who are upset are the ones we best avoid, because the trustworthy ones, will already have a regular group of buyers, and know that what they sell, to the best of their knowledge is genuine gear....

Even the best get caught out, so if you do ever end up with something duff, take it back to the dealer, and dont be scared to ask for your money back. If hes a genuine dealer, there should be very little problems in gaining a refund or exchange

One of my most recent experiences was that i sold 3 german medals from my shop. 2 days later the buyer brought them back, saying they were repro..I immediatly offered a refund, which stunned him a bit...and I asked how he knew they were repro..."because i already have the same medals, and these are totally different...Bring them in to me i said, let me have a look...so he did...low and behold, the poor guy had been sold nearly a whole collection of repro items, when he took the genuine ones home he bought from me, immediatly he thought mine were duff.....now wouldnt that mess your day up...the dealer who sold this gear to him, funnily enough disapeared after that, without a trace..so would i have done...

You can never reference books to much...if your planning on buying an item, always refer to the same item in 3 or 4 different books..the maker marks, and distinguishing marks will seem pretty consistant, and you will know what to look for...lots of other things to help you along include, items, especially german 1933 - 1945, that have been UV tested, or burn tested...the latter sound very extreme, but this only needs to be done once, and a smallsingle thread of the medals ribbon is required...once set alight if it is original, it will leave a residue similar to that of a cigarette left to burn down in an ash tray, if fake, like made in modern synthetic material, it will wriggle and melt rather than burn.

With German production item, from the 3rd Reich era, look for quality, not nesesarily consistancy..The germans were very thoughrough, and took pride in their medals and awards, including cloth insignia. Thats not to say the Allies did not by any means. But the german medal maker was a proud man, and their items represented pure quality and workmanship

Little pointers, like magnetic cores on iron Crosses, the type of Pins and fixers used by various manufacturers of badges and wards. The kind of materials used for particular items, their weight, size and finish...

Please feel fre to email me on any point not covered here, or if you have doubts about an item your looking at dropme a line...i cant promise im 100% right all the time, and i do not proclaim to be an expert, like many others i draw on 20 odds years experience...so drop me a line

 my ebay ID is Militariapathfinder617

happy hunting, and i will be abck soon