I need your opinion

Hi all,
I would like to ask for your informed opinions regarding a SADF camo uniform that I own which I consider to be one, if not the rarest, contemporary camouflage suit.
Well “contemporary”, not really because it was unofficially worn in the 80s worn the SADF 44 Para Pathfinder Cie instructors.
Very few copies were made. According to Yves DEBAY, journalist at the French magazine Raids (volunteer with the RACR, 32nd Bat and 44 Pathfinder Cie, killed by a sniper in SYRIA) very few copies were made, there are only 3 photos of this uniform (including one or two where this one is worn by RSM Peter McALEESE)
The uniforms were all destroyed when SADF command became aware of their use.
To my knowledge this is the only survivor which makes it an holy grail that many collectors dream of.
Well, gentlemen (or ladies!), I am considering selling this set in the more or less long term, the nickname of the owner of which has since been deleted was marked on the label (I have kept a photo of it)

To be complete in the description I acquired this outfit from a general of the SADF well known in the world of collectors. In the lot there was the (rare) Company t-shirt and folded in a pocket of the slangvel a Claymore mine instructions folded in a pocket

The "problem" for me is that it is difficult for me to set a price given the uniqueness of the uniform of which two YouTube videos have already highlighted this characteristic. I am therefore calling on your expert and enthusiast opinions to help me define a suitable price.
Thanks for your help.

Firstly that is absolutely gorgeous. Simply amazing uniform, truly a gem.

If your goal is to maximize profit, I would think auctioning is your best bet. I'm not sure what Morphy's or RIA would charge as a commission, and ebay is always an option.

Id you choose eBay, I am a firm believer in a starting price of 0.01, combined with advertising it on the various forums and Facebook. I feel by setting a low starting price you will attract a larger number of bidders, and once people bid on an item they are more likely to continue bidding, as they become emotionally attached to the auction. Strategically time the auction, by having it end on a Sunday afternoon, and consider the time of year you list it; before the Christmas holidays people don't tend to spend on themselves, typically January and early February people are recovering from Christmas, and once summer breaks it's vacation season. I am always confident in getting the best prices in either march-april or September-early October. I might also think that offering a longer inspection period and guarantee of originality would help make bidders more confident.

I personally (like many others) have a habit of spending more at auctions than if it was just listed at a set price. Auctions create a sense of urgency, and a seller can benefit from that, if they attract the right bidders. I discourage a reserve price; it tends to turn away bidders, because part of the draw of an auction is getting the item for less than what it may be listed at, even though that is often not the case. It's a roll of the dice, but if I were to sell an item like this, and wanted to maximize profit, that would be my strategy.

If you are looking for a straight asking price, then you should ask yourself what you personally feel it is worth... you simply have to make a guess of what the most someone would be willing to pay for it.

To that end, in our hobby of collecting, it is easy to confuse rarity with demand. To illustrate this point, I often use the analogy of "President Rutherford B Hayes' underwear are rare, but how many want them?", as encouragement to sellers to focus on potential demand rather than having tunnel vision on rarity.

South African militaria is a fairly niche market. It has recieved more attention from collectors in recent years, but primarily with younger collectors who tend to be on more of a budget.

With that in mind, the budget of your target purchaser is also very relevant; after demand, the financial ability of buyers is probably the next most important consideration. In my opinion nothing turns away buyers more than an unrealistic asking price.

With this particular, as I said it is outrageously cool, and the pattern is beautiful. After doing a little looking at some previously sold South African stuff, my guess is it would sell at auction for between $1,000 and $2,000. This is only a guess, I've had plenty of auctions that I thought would easily go over $1,000 that barely broke $500, and other auctions that I thought wouldn't go over $100 that have gone into 4 digits.

If you do go to auction this, please let me know, I would certainly be interested in putting a bid on it. I hope this helps.

As a post script, do you have any amount of SA militaria? I'm on the hunt for a South African R1 FAL kit.

I have long since got out of the South African market (I was never fully in!), but I can appreciate the beauty and the rarity of this uniform.

There are a lot of dedicated South African collectors out there. Generally a good collector will "over pay" to make sure they get something special. So my suggestion is to start looking around for some advanced SA collectors and see what what they offer you. I've done this with some rare items and feel I did better than eBay for sure. Likewise, I have bought rare items this way and feel happy to own them even though I probably overpaid.

I have to disagree with Doc's $0.01 starting price strategy. To get a really good final price you need at least 2 people who want it very bad AND have the money available AND believe they can win by outbidding the other. If the market is small the chances of getting two bidders like this on any particular week is "hit or miss". What you might wind up with is one serious bidder. I've had this happen to me as both a buyer (good!!) and a seller (bad!!).

The thing to remember is serious bidders don't care what the starting price is unless it is far beyond what they think the item is worth. There's no benefit in starting a rare piece too low, however there is risk.

My advice is to never list anything for auction at a price less than you will be happy with. If you want $1000 out of this set, then start it at $1000. If it doesn't sell, try again later or lower the price. Keep doing this until either it sells at the price you wanted or the price the market feels it is worth. Either way, you won't risk bad timing resulting in a bad final price.

Just my 2 cents worth of advice

Steve

I can see the wisdom in what Steve wrote. Like I said in my post, auctions are always a roll of the dice, for both sellers and buyers. It could majorly pay off, or could leave you feeling disappointed with the final hammer price.

As far as finding an interested buyer, I keep finding myself thinking about this set. I've done as much reading as possible about this (which is quite limited) and im very intrigued by it. It does seem that there were about a dozen sets of reproduction made from original fabric, and one concern i have is, it would be pretty difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish an original issued one from one of these quasi-reproductions. I also saw a comment on one of the YouTube videos that someone claimed to have seen a number of these uniforms for sale at a flea market in Jo-burg years back, but I take that with a grain of salt as there is no evidence to back it up. While I'm certain not every single uniform in this set was burned, im also certain another opportunity to purchase one likely won't come around anytime soon, if ever.

With that being said, when you decide to sell this, please contact me. I would love to give it a good home, I take very good care of my collection and would cherish such an item. I would very much like the opportunity to work out a price we would both be happy with

Thanks

Doc

Hi Didier
Hope all is well your way. As you are aware I have very keen to purchase this uniform from you. I have emailed you. Please get back to me and we can look at making something work for you.
Regards
Roan

Hi Didier
Lots of good potential suiters out there.Dont rush your decision and get what you think it is worth. Bon Chance
Bren