Quality Sporrans for less money

[Moses]

Back over so many years when so many different sporran makers were using the same hardware, you would see how certain cantles came silver-plated, others came chrome-plated.

Occasionally you might see a cantle normally seen in silverplate in chrome, but it would be an exception.

The cantles usually seen in silverplate were the celtic knotwork & bosses cantle used on EW2, the "G" cantle, and the EW5 cantle with the ancient "bullseye" or "goddess eye" motif.
....

I suppose that is a real benefit of a job like that, basically you're drawing on your experience. Much appreciated. I will hope for the best as I did buy that one.

I was able to get it at a price where I'd be hard pressed to get any fur sporran so I now await delivery.

Thanks for the tutorial and guidance I know there is more to learn and look forward to it

[Piobair]

Ugh.

I appreciate the sentiment behind this thread, but posts like this drive up prices for items some of us found doing our own research. I'd appreciate it if we reserved ebay posts to questions of provenance or the rare example. I know Richard has the best intentions, but anyone can come on here and post "hey, check out this incredible deal on these jackets I happen to know about" - be they a well meaning member of the community or someone who wants to direct traffic to items they're selling.

[StevieR]

So, I’ve not posted on Xmarks for a very long time, but this thread piqued my interest and I thought I’d show you the benefits of patient (and reasonably informed) Ebay hunting. All three of my sporrans are Ebay purchases. The most expensive was the Mark II MoD cantle for £56 (I made the bag). The evening sporran is by Wm Anderson and Sons and features in one of the catalogues posted earlier. It dates from between 1936 and 1950 and cost me about £24 and then another £50 to have the cantle, chains and bells re silver plated. The brown day sporran is also William Anderson and arrived this week. It cost me. . . £4.50! This modest collection was gathered over the last four years or so. In my opinion, the quality of these vintage sporrans far exceeds many of the new offerings on the market today and it’s well worth investing a bit of time hunting them down.

[FossilHunter]

Ugh.

I appreciate the sentiment behind this thread, but posts like this drive up prices for items some of us found doing our own research. I'd appreciate it if we reserved ebay posts to questions of provenance or the rare example. I know Richard has the best intentions, but anyone can come on here and post "hey, check out this incredible deal on these jackets I happen to know about" - be they a well meaning member of the community or someone who wants to direct traffic to items they're selling.

I can’t agree. All the ebay listings are public and could be found by anyone. I appreciate OC Richard taking the time to share a good deal with the community here.

I’ve been on other forums that have a “deals” section where members can help each other out with restrictions on listing things the member is selling themselves.

So long as it’s not just puppet accounts advertising for a business, it seems like a good way to help each other in the community. If we had one here, it’s be a good way to help people find deals on items that are not kilt specific too (say macys has a good deal on wingtips or something).

As for ebay, just because you got scooped on a sporran doesn’t mean you can’t still buy it. If you really want it, just bid higher.

[FossilHunter]

So, I’ve not posted on Xmarks for a very long time, but this thread piqued my interest and I thought I’d show you the benefits of patient (and reasonably informed) Ebay hunting. All three of my sporrans are Ebay purchases. The most expensive was the Mark II MoD cantle for £56 (I made the bag). The evening sporran is by Wm Anderson and Sons and features in one of the catalogues posted earlier. It dates from between 1936 and 1950 and cost me about £24 and then another £50 to have the cantle, chains and bells re silver plated. The brown day sporran is also William Anderson and arrived this week. It cost me. . . £4.50! This modest collection was gathered over the last four years or so. In my opinion, the quality of these vintage sporrans far exceeds many of the new offerings on the market today and it’s well worth investing a bit of time hunting them down.

The silver playing on that evening sporran is gorgeous.

[Piobair]

As for ebay, just because you got scooped on a sporran doesn’t mean you can’t still buy it. If you really want it, just bid higher.

You're free to your opinion, and I too like the sense of community that helping others spot diamonds in the rough encourages.

From my point of view, it takes some of the sport out of hunting through listings knowing that it's just going to be spoon-fed to anyone who happens upon the forum. Obviously anyone could bid higher to win the auction, but if you, like me, enjoy finding a deal, this makes it harder. This isn't like a sale at Macy's, where there are multiple items for a set price. More often than not, it's something that's a one off, has either been misidentified by the seller or is just not something the casual forum member would be aware of or would even have cared about until someone explained the significance. Because it's an auction, the increased interest leads to higher prices. The idea of promoting "affordable" items is a little self-defeating, as increased competition makes it less affordable. It's not so much an issue of ethics and, as stated above, I know that it's made with the best intentions. Think of it like a great local bar or restaurant - the minute someone starts talking about it on Yelp or some forum, getting a table becomes impossible.


There is a ton of information on the boards and in this topic that could help teach people what to look for. I have no problem with suggesting methods for finding deals (the Morrison sporrans listed presently aren't exactly difficult to find) or reviewing recent auction results so people know what's out there, but come on... learn what to look for and then do the work yourself.


As far as putting limitations on not being able to link to items a forum member is selling, how exactly would that be monitored? Seems tricky.

[Moses]

... learn what to look for and then do the work yourself....

I must admit I hadn't considered that point of view and you make a valid point.

I am trying to learn what to look for and in that regard this is an excellent thread. I do understand how pointing a spotlight on a potential deal could be viewed as an issue.

However above all, please continue to share information and in doing so promote Highland Dress

[FossilHunter]

You're free to your opinion, and I too like the sense of community that helping others spot diamonds in the rough encourages.

From my point of view, it takes some of the sport out of hunting through listings knowing that it's just going to be spoon-fed to anyone who happens upon the forum. Obviously anyone could bid higher to win the auction, but if you, like me, enjoy finding a deal, this makes it harder. This isn't like a sale at Macy's, where there are multiple items for a set price. More often than not, it's something that's a one off, has either been misidentified by the seller or is just not something the casual forum member would be aware of or would even have cared about until someone explained the significance. Because it's an auction, the increased interest leads to higher prices. The idea of promoting "affordable" items is a little self-defeating, as increased competition makes it less affordable. It's not so much an issue of ethics and, as stated above, I know that it's made with the best intentions. Think of it like a great local bar or restaurant - the minute someone starts talking about it on Yelp or some forum, getting a table becomes impossible.


There is a ton of information on the boards and in this topic that could help teach people what to look for. I have no problem with suggesting methods for finding deals (the Morrison sporrans listed presently aren't exactly difficult to find) or reviewing recent auction results so people know what's out there, but come on... learn what to look for and then do the work yourself.


As far as putting limitations on not being able to link to items a forum member is selling, how exactly would that be monitored? Seems tricky.

While I find getting a deal gratifying, it's not my main reason for using ebay. Getting the thing I want is the main draw, though saving money is always a plus.

And realistically, I doubt this thread will start any major bidding wars. Some people wear kilts, a smaller number of them read this forum, a smaller number of those people wear traditional sporrans, and an even smaller number will want an authentic, Scottish sporran. Of the people who see this thread, many will dress non-traditionally, and more will probably elect to just wear a cheap Pakistani sporran or the one they already got from the kilt shop.

Regardless, I think we'll just have to disagree about the ebay thing.

My other thought about a deals section wasn't clear in my previous post. It would probably not include ebay listings. It would need to be "deals, coupons, and sales" from online stores and would need to not include vendors or advertisers who should advertise deals on their own sub forums I think. It would be a good way to share deals for things that don't get advertised here (like the wingtips at macys). It shouldn't be too hard to keep out spammers since the moderators see peoples email addresses and IP information, that's what allows them to keep banned members from coming back with puppet accounts. There is also the probation period all new member have that requires that all of their first ten posts be approved my moderators. It would be difficult for someone to make a bunch of fake accounts from the same IP address and run each through ten moderated posts just to promote "Seamus' house O' Kilts."

That's my general idea. Maybe I will start a new thread to suggest it so I don't derail OC Richard's thread too much.

[OC Richard]

If only...eBay pipes were as easy to distinguish

Here ya go

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VECCHIA-COR...UAAOSwepJXZsPj

[OC Richard]

So, I’ve not posted on Xmarks for a very long time, but this thread piqued my interest and I thought I’d show you the benefits of patient (and reasonably informed) Ebay hunting. All three of my sporrans are Ebay purchases.

That's fantastic! Thanks for participating in this thread. You're proof of the sort of thing I'm talking about.