More "Leaving the Hobby Sales" Recently?

[Craig L Barry]

Is it my imagination or are there more "leaving the hobby" sales than usual? Sign o' the Times?

Oh well, could be a good chance for newbies to pick up some quality gear.

[Tom Scoufalos]

Craig-

I've also noticed that the stuff on ebay (yeah, there is a lot of crap on there but also the occasional gem) which in my experience usually averaged about 900 items at any given point has been in the 1500's of late; I noticed at one point today that there were 2500 items in the CW reenacting categories which has to be the highest number I have seen. I took that to be a surrogate marker for the state of the economy as well...

[Shortround]

Junk comes and go but the muskets are the true teller of the economy.

The economy forces people out of the hobby. But the biggest hobby killer is divorce. I've seen more than one friend marry and after a few years you hear "wife moved in with a new guy and if I go away for a weekend will lose custody of the kids".

I lurk like a shark at the want adds and its darn rare that the $450 rifled Enfield comes up for sale. The same can be said about the $200 Zouave.

If you see muskets going up for sale and not being sold then you'll have a point on the economy killing the hobby.

[just4fun63]

I'm just getting back into the hobby after a few decades off so I have been on all the boards and eBay looking almost every day. Now I can't tell you how many "getting out of the hobby" sales there were last year but what I've noticed is a lot of people "cleaning out the closet" of extra items that are worth some money and are just taking up space. That might be the sign. My unit has 10 new members in the last 2 months.

J
If you see muskets going up for sale and not being sold then you'll have a point on the economy killing the hobby.

I found one and it cost me $600. Not to many out there about 2-3 per month not counting junk. They all sell

[ILYankee5]

For me, I am trying to sell two jackets that I don't need anymore. At one point I had 4 Confederate jackets and I portrayed Cornfed maybe twice a year! Plus I am still reenacting, but am scaling down my Civil War items to do other periods.

[flattop32355]

I wonder if it's not more the time of year: The reenacting season is beginning, people are starting to weigh the costs of another go-around, and some are choosing to pull out, with the poor economy being only one reason.

[unionprivate]

Not me! Im always in a mood for a bargain...lol. If I cant convince them to stay in the hobby, then let me see what you've got.

[Cove Rebel]

I'll admit that I am taking a break and contemplating shutting down my CW hobby. I'll probably keep the pumpkin slinger though. Pretty soon it may be the only gun anyone can still have.

[Rachal]

I hate to see guys go, but eventually I see a lot of them come back when life returns to normal. If you want to see a positive in it, some really great gear usually winds up selling for good prices. I purchased my Sekela sack coat for $39 bucks from just such a case. If anybody wants to sell another one for that price, just send me a pm.