IMA is a weird topic for militaria dealers. I have bought from them before, good service, but their stuff is mainly overpriced. I bought an "original" Waffen-SS frostbite tube, which do exist, and it turns out it was a high quality repro. Not saying they knew it or not, but always do your research before buying anything! I can preach this due to I have fallen for it myself. Nice video Alex! Keep up the content! 😊
I enjoyed the video. I like to see the behind the scenes of this place. I've bought from them before. Not being negative but they are running a business. If some thing is worth $10 bucks and someone will pay $30 why not sell it to them. That being said, I'm not going to pay some crazy price unless it is some thing I want..
Please DO NOT "recondition" the Sturmgewehr!!! The value is in maintaining its originally!!! Even with a solid dummy aluminum receiver, those parts can be used to maintain current guns in the registry or even used to build a "Post-sample" machinegun. Reconditioning any vintage firearm reduces its value substantially...
Alex another fantastic youtube...i want to learn about mp44s n mg34s n the copy latvian tunics that have been surfacing ... shame the full auto has to be deactivated
I've bought a lot of things over the years,not that overpriced.MG -34 ,and MP -44 original with dummy receiver. But they did away with the mail order catalog,so I haven't bought anything in few years. MG -34-original $600. MP-44-Original,$700. Real happy with them from 1993.
They’ll give you your money back, maybe hesitatingly. And you have to pay for return shipping when they didn’t describe their item properly. If they get it wrong, it will cost you regardless.
We never charge customers fees for items we describe incorrectly. Also, we list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website. We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
Ive bought a few anitque rifles from IMA within the last 15 years. I wanted salvageable items. Sometimes they were, sometimes not. The better pieces are beyond what i can afford. What drove me was the Nepal buy. I have no interest in the rest. Contrarily the present resale of ima items is poor, however in time that could change.IMA would do much better if they left NJ and relocated to Texas where excellent employees and envirment exist.
All that overhead is what you pay for..and small dealers with ZERO overhead match their prices just to get the most that they can get.. you pay big bucks because you have to cover the previous owners cost and profit..its not just about the value of the item
Many of our prices are comparable to what we see at shows and auctions (sometimes quite a bit less than auctions). However, you also get excellent photos, detailed descriptions, free fully insured tracked shipping within 48 hours, a lifetime authenticity guarantee and a 30 day money back return policy. All of that backed by a company that was founded in 1981.
In this area of product, I'm happy paying overhead. If it were a flea market, someone you just met, it is too easy to be a repro/bill of goods/con. Establishing a long term business model with a guarantee and verifiable information/provenance is worth a lot.
To people who think this is material that should be in a museum- these are machine mass produced war materials. There were tens of thousands made. They have very little intrinsic value. Every museum which wants one, has got one. Also, museums have a double burdon of preserving/maintaining items. For many historical items it is better for the care and knowledge from them to be diffused into the community. I will take care of my one vintage motorcycle much better than a tyical museum which has 100 motorcycles to maintain. Get it?
As a historian in training... all of these items. should be in a museum. That is where real professionals can take care of the items for future generations. Hopefully, they employ researchers with actual history degrees.
Curious as to whether a degree or experience is better. I have a degree AND experience. The new degree me was a moron compared to the experienced me. A degree adds little benefit to a career in the real world.
@greysheeum A degree is required to obtain employment beyond minimum wage. I trust the professor at my college who specializes in Military History more than whoever they employ at that company. Myself being someone who has a degree in History, having this degree offers a level of trust and credibility. Yes, experience is great, but in our field that is only half of what is required to be credible. We are here for education and preservation, not to amass a large collection of rare items that could be used to educate the masses.
There is only so much room in museums. This stuff may be rare for collectors but there are examples in museums. Good luck paying for that degree Scooter
@@militaryantiques yes and no. Gouging exists. Wasn’t there an episode of your tv show where you bought a Japanese pistol from a friend and then sold it for 3 or 4 times as much?
Reason why the buildings fall everything, so fucking expensive just like all the bloomers holding on to their precious pieces of gold so much younger people can’t collect it.
Not just a "french helmet", you are referencing a 1915 WWI Engineer's helmet with complete liner. We sell loads of WWI and WWII French helmets between $200-$300.
You need to go to more shows and you will quickly see that our prices are competitive with the market. Additionally, watch some of the online gun auctions, makes our antique Winchester rifles look inexpensive.
Trust me I have a vast collection from German items WW1 posters and long rifles ..you’re speaking of specialty weapons.. No one is going pay $2500 for a Springfield trap door! If know any better. I’ve saw long rifles on your listings that wouldn’t go for $1000 and you’re asking $2500-3000! You guys are the reason so many younger people can’t get into the hobby. Profit over history! And the stuff isn’t “rare” the everyday items. I had about 35 German wounded badges, I’ve ended up giving many as gifts to young people to get them started and maybe one day have a nice collection. Don’t mean to be ugly.. but trying to sell a few items at exaggerated prices, to pay the bills over selling volume at reasonable prices seems to be the problem with so many now days.
We ship approximately 150 orders a day, so we aren't just selling a "few items", we sell a lot of items. To take your example many Springfield Trapdoor rifles we sell cost anywhere between $800 and $1200 but then some special variants such as a saddle ring carbine in great condition would cost $2500,. You are over generalizing how we price and sell and you are devoid of specific examples. The fact is that tens of thousands of customers are willing to pay for high quality historical pieces that all carry a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee and are shipped to their door within days of ordering.
We do not ever knowingly sell fakes. We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website. We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website. We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
@@militaryantiquesyou guys listed a 1959 pattern denison smock claiming it was original and offering authentic certificates. Also not to mention the fake WW2 commonwealth berets
@@MildMartian the dennison smock was an error that was corrected BEFORE anyone purchased it. Again we list 7800 items a year. Nobody is perfect but we stand behind what we sell and never burn anyone.
We do not ever knowingly sell fakes. We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website. We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
@@militaryantiques I've seen multiple people buy German memorabilia from your company with fake / repainted decals. With you saying you were going to recondition that STG, I would be wary buying from you. You seem like a good dude but there's a lot of sketch around IMA.
@@DeimosPC That is completely false. I challenge you to provide an example of that occurring. We have never (not once) sold an authentic WWII German helmet with "fake / repainted decals" as 100% original. If the decals are post war replacements we ALWAYS specify that in the description and title. Regarding the STG44, you clearly do not know US Law regarding deactivating a machine gun. We cannot sell live machine guns and we work with the ATF on how to build legal non-firing dummy guns. Finally, every single authentic item we sell is backed by a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy. There is zero sketch around IMA and anyone who claims otherwise is woefully uninformed.
@@militaryantiques I do know laws about machine guns, I figured it was a deac which would be legal to sell. Secondly, I never stated it was a helmet. There was an ammo can with clearly newly added decals on it and it was listed as being original. The ammo can may have been original, but the decals were not. You might not have added them, it may have been like that when you purchased it for resale and maybe in that case, you were the one that was woefully uninformed about the legitimacy of the product you were selling? Again, I'm not trying to cause issues. Things can slip through the cracks and they have.
@@DeimosPC Sounds like you have no first hand experience.Pplease refrain from spreading false rumors about our company as nothing you have written is true. The ammo can you are referring are Italian WWII BREDA Strip boxes with NEWLY applied painted stencils (not decals), which were advertised exactly as that and sold for $44.95. We have decades of experience and very rarely make mistakes. All IMA customers purchase from us knowing that they get authentic items correctly described or their money back, tomorrow, 12 months from now or twenty plus years into the future, which is what a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy means.
Not a fan of the Nazi sh*t, that stuff is a toxic reminder of a horrible regime. I don’t care if it’s collectable this stuff should be melted down and made into peace memorial. It’s amazing to me how we’re still fascinated by this sh*t, sad and pathetic.
IMA is a weird topic for militaria dealers.
I have bought from them before, good service, but their stuff is mainly overpriced.
I bought an "original" Waffen-SS frostbite tube, which do exist, and it turns out it was a high quality repro.
Not saying they knew it or not, but always do your research before buying anything! I can preach this due to I have fallen for it myself.
Nice video Alex! Keep up the content! 😊
They used to have decent prices but that’s slowly eroding away…
I enjoyed the video. I like to see the behind the scenes of this place. I've bought from them before. Not being negative but they are running a business. If some thing is worth $10 bucks and someone will pay $30 why not sell it to them. That being said, I'm not going to pay some crazy price unless it is some thing I want..
its about time u2 found each other...next episode looks like fire...........
Please DO NOT "recondition" the Sturmgewehr!!! The value is in maintaining its originally!!! Even with a solid dummy aluminum receiver, those parts can be used to maintain current guns in the registry or even used to build a "Post-sample" machinegun. Reconditioning any vintage firearm reduces its value substantially...
great vid Alex
Very cool! I can’t believe how many items they move in a week. That is crazy! Really looking forward to the next video.
Wow incredible video! Love the flamethrower!!!
Breathtaking video! Yea, there is the real big antique business. Wow. Thank you, Alex, that you show it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you aalex and ellex ;)
Alex another fantastic youtube...i want to learn about mp44s n mg34s n the copy latvian tunics that have been surfacing ... shame the full auto has to be deactivated
Interesting video
I've bought a lot of things over the years,not that overpriced.MG -34 ,and MP -44 original with dummy receiver. But they did away with the mail order catalog,so I haven't bought anything in few years.
MG -34-original $600.
MP-44-Original,$700.
Real happy with them from 1993.
Vietnam era Bazooka -$300-Original.
They will always be legend because of the Nepal purchase. Been a customer for thirty years.
Thanks you!!!
Stuff I bought went way up in value.MP-44,MG-34.,Vietnam era Bazooka.real special items.
Their stuff is overpriced
No wonder ! See how many are employed that touch each item .
Apparently a lot of other folks disagree.
I agree!!! I collect WW2 helmets. From their pricing, I'm a millionaire!!
It's worth what someone would pay
I did get a great Jap Cav ammo pouch with sling and oiler from them for a decent price.
They’ll give you your money back, maybe hesitatingly. And you have to pay for return shipping when they didn’t describe their item properly. If they get it wrong, it will cost you regardless.
We never charge customers fees for items we describe incorrectly. Also, we list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website.
We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
Ive bought a few anitque rifles from IMA within the last 15 years. I wanted salvageable items. Sometimes they were, sometimes not. The better pieces are beyond what i can afford. What drove me was the Nepal buy. I have no interest in the rest. Contrarily the present resale of ima items is poor, however in time that could change.IMA would do much better if they left NJ and relocated to Texas where excellent employees and envirment exist.
My dad worked at Elgin watch factory in Elgin il before he was drafted.
Алексей 👍👍👍
Excellent video, very cool! Can't wait until the next episode
Im in love!
👍🏻
All that overhead is what you pay for..and small dealers with ZERO overhead match their prices just to get the most that they can get.. you pay big bucks because you have to cover the previous owners cost and profit..its not just about the value of the item
Many of our prices are comparable to what we see at shows and auctions (sometimes quite a bit less than auctions). However, you also get excellent photos, detailed descriptions, free fully insured tracked shipping within 48 hours, a lifetime authenticity guarantee and a 30 day money back return policy. All of that backed by a company that was founded in 1981.
In this area of product, I'm happy paying overhead. If it were a flea market, someone you just met, it is too easy to be a repro/bill of goods/con. Establishing a long term business model with a guarantee and verifiable information/provenance is worth a lot.
To people who think this is material that should be in a museum- these are machine mass produced war materials. There were tens of thousands made. They have very little intrinsic value. Every museum which wants one, has got one. Also, museums have a double burdon of preserving/maintaining items. For many historical items it is better for the care and knowledge from them to be diffused into the community. I will take care of my one vintage motorcycle much better than a tyical museum which has 100 motorcycles to maintain. Get it?
Very cool. Thank you both Alexs
thanks for watching!
Man that would be awesome doing that for a living! Hard work of you and your dad paid off .
It's so overpriced, I think.
As a historian in training... all of these items. should be in a museum. That is where real professionals can take care of the items for future generations. Hopefully, they employ researchers with actual history degrees.
Curious as to whether a degree or experience is better. I have a degree AND experience. The new degree me was a moron compared to the experienced me. A degree adds little benefit to a career in the real world.
@greysheeum A degree is required to obtain employment beyond minimum wage. I trust the professor at my college who specializes in Military History more than whoever they employ at that company. Myself being someone who has a degree in History, having this degree offers a level of trust and credibility. Yes, experience is great, but in our field that is only half of what is required to be credible. We are here for education and preservation, not to amass a large collection of rare items that could be used to educate the masses.
@@nateb9768 Blah, blah, blah.
There is only so much room in museums. This stuff may be rare for collectors but there are examples in museums. Good luck paying for that degree Scooter
@@drew3804schannel-vk7ii You replied to the wrong person. Suggest you try for a degree...
i bought a dagger from them
I just bought last night the British household guards helmet last night!!! Already has shipped!❤
Thanks!
Was that Jorge anson the admiral at 8 minutes 45 seconds
Amazing!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
I used to buy from them all the time. Like thousands of dollars. Now their prices are just to much.
Our prices are dictated by the market. We have to find the stuff and pay for it then offer it for sale.
@@militaryantiques yes and no. Gouging exists. Wasn’t there an episode of your tv show where you bought a Japanese pistol from a friend and then sold it for 3 or 4 times as much?
@@psp1921tsmg You are going back 11 years ago, and it was a TV show, not real life.
Just a question any Morris carbines?
Do you mean a Morse carbine? No, we have not had one of those yet but would love to get one!
👍👍👍
Seems like a very Nice down to earth Guy. Wondering if he's a Christian or not. Kindof has that "Vibe" but who knows. Maybe, maybe not.
Who cares?
no need to get your panties in bunch. It Was just a question/observation.@@sonicimperium
STG 44
Real gun collectors like that steering conveyor they want it working and firing cuz it's worth more if it
Why did that english saber have a star of david on it?
Этот Алекс крутой чувак, смотрел его обзоры по нейшенелистория
Warum verkauft der auch repro Sachen 😂😂😂😂🇩🇪🤝🏻
The radium discs are a little dangerous!
That’s an awful lot of expense. I don’t see how they make a profit.
We sell a lot of items.
Whirl war 1 and whirl war 2.
ОГО! Вот это закрома! 👍
Reason why the buildings fall everything, so fucking expensive just like all the bloomers holding on to their precious pieces of gold so much younger people can’t collect it.
Привет из Израиля
This hurts to watch
They really need to work on their knowledge of Soviet items.
When the dad was around it was a good company, his son on the other hand, is like dealing with a 10 yr old
$450 for a French helmet?? Ugh
Not just a "french helmet", you are referencing a 1915 WWI Engineer's helmet with complete liner. We sell loads of WWI and WWII French helmets between $200-$300.
Absolutely overpriced on everything!
You need to go to more shows and you will quickly see that our prices are competitive with the market. Additionally, watch some of the online gun auctions, makes our antique Winchester rifles look inexpensive.
Trust me I have a vast collection from German items WW1 posters and long rifles ..you’re speaking of specialty weapons.. No one is going pay $2500 for a Springfield trap door! If know any better. I’ve saw long rifles on your listings that wouldn’t go for $1000 and you’re asking $2500-3000! You guys are the reason so many younger people can’t get into the hobby. Profit over history! And the stuff isn’t “rare” the everyday items. I had about 35 German wounded badges, I’ve ended up giving many as gifts to young people to get them started and maybe one day have a nice collection. Don’t mean to be ugly.. but trying to sell a few items at exaggerated prices, to pay the bills over selling volume at reasonable prices seems to be the problem with so many now days.
We ship approximately 150 orders a day, so we aren't just selling a "few items", we sell a lot of items. To take your example many Springfield Trapdoor rifles we sell cost anywhere between $800 and $1200 but then some special variants such as a saddle ring carbine in great condition would cost $2500,. You are over generalizing how we price and sell and you are devoid of specific examples. The fact is that tens of thousands of customers are willing to pay for high quality historical pieces that all carry a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee and are shipped to their door within days of ordering.
IMA Carry’s fakes and overprices there stuff
We do not ever knowingly sell fakes. We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website. We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
Should’ve called them out for selling fake crap and offering certificates of authenticity with them
We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website.
We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
@@militaryantiquesyou guys listed a 1959 pattern denison smock claiming it was original and offering authentic certificates. Also not to mention the fake WW2 commonwealth berets
@@MildMartian the dennison smock was an error that was corrected BEFORE anyone purchased it. Again we list 7800 items a year. Nobody is perfect but we stand behind what we sell and never burn anyone.
And what about their fakes?
We do not ever knowingly sell fakes. We list 7800 one-of-a-kind original historic products each year (150 per week). Very very occasionally we do make a mistake which is why we stand behind everything we sell with our Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy which can be found on our website.
We also offer a 30 day money back return policy, in addition to the Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy, which allows our customers to inspect pieces in hand before deciding to keep them. No dealer is perfect, but IMA customers know that they will never be burned by a fake if they purchase it from IMA.
@@militaryantiques I've seen multiple people buy German memorabilia from your company with fake / repainted decals. With you saying you were going to recondition that STG, I would be wary buying from you. You seem like a good dude but there's a lot of sketch around IMA.
@@DeimosPC That is completely false. I challenge you to provide an example of that occurring. We have never (not once) sold an authentic WWII German helmet with "fake / repainted decals" as 100% original. If the decals are post war replacements we ALWAYS specify that in the description and title.
Regarding the STG44, you clearly do not know US Law regarding deactivating a machine gun. We cannot sell live machine guns and we work with the ATF on how to build legal non-firing dummy guns.
Finally, every single authentic item we sell is backed by a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy.
There is zero sketch around IMA and anyone who claims otherwise is woefully uninformed.
@@militaryantiques I do know laws about machine guns, I figured it was a deac which would be legal to sell.
Secondly, I never stated it was a helmet. There was an ammo can with clearly newly added decals on it and it was listed as being original. The ammo can may have been original, but the decals were not.
You might not have added them, it may have been like that when you purchased it for resale and maybe in that case, you were the one that was woefully uninformed about the legitimacy of the product you were selling?
Again, I'm not trying to cause issues. Things can slip through the cracks and they have.
@@DeimosPC Sounds like you have no first hand experience.Pplease refrain from spreading false rumors about our company as nothing you have written is true.
The ammo can you are referring are Italian WWII BREDA Strip boxes with NEWLY applied painted stencils (not decals), which were advertised exactly as that and sold for $44.95.
We have decades of experience and very rarely make mistakes. All IMA customers purchase from us knowing that they get authentic items correctly described or their money back, tomorrow, 12 months from now or twenty plus years into the future, which is what a Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee Policy means.
Not a fan of the Nazi sh*t, that stuff is a toxic reminder of a horrible regime. I don’t care if it’s collectable this stuff should be melted down and made into peace memorial. It’s amazing to me how we’re still fascinated by this sh*t, sad and pathetic.
Oh b.s.
Show 👏🏻