This thread is interesting.
There seems to be a bit of a concern as to rising cost of our hobby.
Well, we have no one to blame except ourselves. It's the collecting community that has driven the research end of our hobby and subsequently produced outstanding publications on the subject of axis era firearms. The recent K-98 series of books are an excellent example.
That's the double edged sword. The more sophisticated we become the more attractive we become towards investors.
50 years ago....lever action Winchesters and Marlins would have been excellent investments. They have realized enormous returns on investments for smart and savvy collectors. Same goes for Lugers or Single Action Army Colt's.
Over the past few decades they have been gravitating into Third Reich militaria and firearms. And with good reason. They are sound investments. Think about the guy making several hundred thousand a year. He's got the second home...the boat...the sports car...and he's bored with handing over lump sums to stock brokers. Firearms are a good investment. Especially Third Reich era firearms. Books get published....forums inform 24/7....
It isn't hard for a smart financial adviser, who's client likes firearms, to steer them in our direction.
Investing in correct, desirable variations of 98ks right now is a better investment than lever action Winchesters. The return on investment, in say 20-30 years, would most likely be better.
Which brings us to the fellow listing this rifle at an exorbitant BIN price. Is it over the top? Of course it is but it's the trend. They are going to keep creeping in that direction...especially rare variants.
What does it mean for the hobby?
Well, past history is all we have to go by. There aren't many young Single Action Army Colt's collectors out there nor lever action Winchester rifle collectors. It's going to be the same way for Axis firearms.
The young collectors I run across are after Mosins, Arisakas, Carcanos, old surplus imports etc. They aren't as picky about things like importation stamps and Russian Captured, Frankenstein 98k's either. Keep an eye on the Japanese rifles. They are starting to move up. Younger collectors can still afford them because excellent examples can still be found under a $1k but it won't be for long. Correct, run of the mill 98ks are north of $1500 these days and that alienates the majority of folks. It takes time to save up that kind of dough. Some have the patience to save up and strike on a nice find but it's too slow for most young collectors so they move on to different areas of more affordable interest.
We can't have our cake and eat it too. The cat's out of the bag as far as information and desirable variants. The evolution of collector interest and investment potential has steered in our direction as well. This storm, if you will, means that the pieces we enjoy are going to continue to be more expensive and elusive. There's no going back.
As for this dealer with the "G" date listing. I know nothing of him or his business. If he doesn't have an FFl then he obviously has made arrangements to transfer through one. What he asks for his property is his business. I just know that my a$$ isn't shelling out over 10k for a 98k......not anytime soon anyway