Auctions for foreign weapons.

[pitfighter]

Here is a tip -

This week I won several auctions on GB for some WW2 8mm Kurz ammo - against no bidders - low reserve.

I have often heard Kurz mispronounced Kurtz - so I did a search and found a whole a handful of sellers trying to sell the "short" ammo by naming after Joseph Conrad's character from "Heart of Darkness", with no bidders, so I bid, and won it all.

People misspell or Americanize many of these foreign words and list them on auction, while most collectors spell them correctly when searching - consequently the auctions go unnoticed.

I would try it with other Russian and French firearms parts and gear.


Hunting for any 8X57j ammunition people may have - the "j" is the important part!

[Gutz]

Yes! I believe there are search engines that search eBay and other sites like it, with misspelled words. The results are pretty cool. A missing letter or typo can be a gold mine for some.

[Grendl]

Don't give away all the secrets! Ebay fixed this issue a long time ago but a while back I got a nice SVT-40 that was listed as a "Tockarev Rifle" and my Rock-Ola was a "rockola." I thought I was going to steal a "Riesing" M60 for a song, but the seller wouldn't ship to CA.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

I used to score vintage Pendleton shirts off of ebay by searching for "pendelton" and "pentleton". After a few years people started to catch on. Unertl is another gun word that is often listed wong.

[pitfighter]

All good ones, gentlemen!

I figured this wouldn't be new info. for you chaps!

I usually end up over paying for everything, so pleased when I feel I get a little edge once in a while

[19K]

nice tips

[Emdawg]

Moison

[CSACANNONEER]

Old ebay trick used since ebay started.

[aghauler]

A fella once bought a "Mouser rifle" fer about $50 cuz nobody was repying to the newspaper ad. Got a real nice Mauser K98!

[pitfighter]

Yes, I bought a particularly rare saw-back bayonet off Craiglslist in New York, because it was listed as British ww2 knife -
It said GB on the blade - pre-WW1 Belgian.
Not quite the same - but a variation of that story.
It was unit marked on the blade and original leather scabbard.

I didn't know what it was either, but knew it wasn't English, but 2 minute internet search enlightened me - if you have the time to list it, research it, I am not a charity.

[TRAP55]

I picked up an Italian Fausti DEA .410 SxS for a third of it's value because the seller listed it under the importers name. It was one of my bucket list guns I would never have been able to afford.

[Agustav]

I've won a "finish" Mosin for a song long ago (mis-listed as 91/30 to boot. It's actually a M91 for the price of a regular Russian 91/30)...

Never got lucky again since!

[marysdad]

Here's a couple of mine:

In 2011 picked up this U.S. M1855 sword bayonet off of craigslist for $70, where it had been listed as a British Pattern 1907 bayonet. It was in my home town about 1/2 mile from where I live.



In 2012, I snagged this for $79 on eBay where it was listed very generically, as a "spike bayonet". It is a super rare Second World War German-made spike bayonet for the FG42 assault rifle. Turned out it was in a pawn shop 20 miles from where I live, so I didn't even have to pay shipping.

[sl0re10]

I've also scored by looking at things listed as 'lots'. They were not showing up in regular searches... at least not a few years ago.

[pitfighter]

Here's a couple of mine:

In 2011 picked up this U.S. M1855 sword bayonet off of craigslist for $70, where it had been listed as a British Pattern 1907 bayonet. It was in my home town about 1/2 mile from where I live.



In 2012, I snagged this for $79 on eBay where it was listed very generically, as a "spike bayonet". It is a super rare Second World War German-made spike bayonet for the FG42 assault rifle. Turned out it was in a pawn shop 20 miles from where I live, so I didn't even have to pay shipping.

FG42 bayonet is a sweet find - very nice.