If you don’t get them now, will you ever?
Just as I blogged earlier that we may never know what all was issued for the 2010 Jamboree, I am thinking there is a corollary. If you don’t get these now, will you ever be able to get them? Right now is the best availability of these. Prior to the Jamboree, eBay had around 74,000 items in the Boy Scouts category. Actually it had dropped as low as 64,000 in late July. Now it is over 81,000 after getting as high as 84,000. We were partly to blame for this bump. 🙂
In our trading we also picked some older JSPs but not many. Most of what we got were from 2005 but we even got some back to 1997. The older JSPs turn up from time to time but very few collections are coming out. Thus, if you are trying to fill in older issues you might find some local ones at local TORs or have to do an awful lot of searching on eBay and dealer sales lists for a long time.
I can tell you this is true about Jamboree neckerchiefs too. I have been picking them up for a few years now. I am more likely to find older, pre-1973, neckerchiefs than I am newer ones. The problem is the same as with modern JSPs. They are dispersed amongst 32,000 participants and are sitting in their closets/attics/basement. There they’ll sit for a generation or two.
on August 17th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I agree completely. While visiting the Jamboree, I was surprised at the lack of transactions involving older JSPs and even CSPs or non-Jambo lodge flaps. It seemed like almost everyone just wanted to trade 2010 Jambo patches.
on August 18th, 2010 at 9:37 am
Geoff,
This has been true now for several jamborees. See http://thescoutpatchauction.com/blogsite/2005/07/27/something-old-found/
for an observation from 2005. I am of mixed opinion on this. At one level, its great to see so many people, youth and adults, having fun swapping patches. It bodes well for the future of this hobby. At another level though, with this many items made the ‘bad’ (i.e., mass produced for trading/collectible purpose rather than use) are driving out the ‘good’ (patches that are historically significant, were made in quantities to meet use need and no more.)
on August 21st, 2010 at 8:05 am
This is especially true of the contingent only items from some of the smaller councils. Hypothetically, if they issue 2 “contingent only” items (JSP’s, JP’s, Neckerchiefs, etc.) to each member, that’s only 80 of those items available to begin with. Knock that down by 40 since you’ll assume that the contingent members are going to keep one for themselves. In all likelihood of the other 40 available, about 5-10 of those are already reserved by parents or siblings of contingent members who are also traders. I’d assume another 5-10 might also be reserved by friends (i.e. troop members, lodge brothers, etc.). That leaves anywhere from 20-30 available to other collectors of that council. Being that some of these are likely to be traded to other youth (being that there’s a 9:1 ratio of youth to adult in a contingent) who aren’t likely to sell to dealers, you’re maybe looking at 1-4 contingent only items hitting the market through dealers or ebay. You’re very right, just based on the math, in saying that if you don’t get it now, it may not be seen for a LONG time.
Apparently one of the councils I collect put out a contingent only set in 2005. None of them ever ended up on eBay and they had three or four troops in 2005. If I hadn’t talked to the scoutmaster of that contingent, I’d have never known the set existed. This year they had one troop and I doubt a contingent set will pop up on eBay in the next few years. …and this is only ONE council we’re talking about. I’m sure there are at least 50 more like this!
on October 7th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
With so much “stuff” issued and that no one seems to know how much and by whom it all came from, the situation is ripe for unauthorized pieces and fakes to start making their way on to the market. Collecting 2010 Jamo issues? No thanks, I’ll pass. While many issues are true art there are those that are just too offensive. The biggest turn off: The MCC-PAG toilet seat patches. Now there’s an inspiring image.