Collecting ABU 101
This hobby can comprise gathering all
things from rods, reels, lures, paperwork, clothing and memorabilia.
Along the way, I collected 10 other
than ABU Swedish reels (below picture).
I collected these for comparison
purposes and photographing.
They are available for swapping and
re-homing now if of interest to anyone.
Some typical ABU reels one may be
interested in collecting are from these types, such as Abumatic,
Ambassadeur, 500 Series, Fly, Mooching and Spinning reels.
Collecting
General
details of the www.realsreels.com Collection
Specific details of items in my Collection
Other ABU Collections
Good Collecting Advice to
follow, if you use Auction sites
It does not matter how
much a person is willing to pay for an item on Auction sites,
if the
seller
uses
a shill bidding account (either one of their own or that of a
mate) to raise the price, then an offence has been committed.
The
scam can be done several ways
1....the
mate bids high enough to win, which exposes the under-bidders'
maximum bids. The seller can then go down the list offering the lure
either as a private sale or a "super quick Buy-it-Now on eBay"
If you
are ever offered this kind of deal and you want to go along with the
mongrel then you should never pay your maximum bid. You should only
pay one bid above the bloke below you on the list.
2...You win the auction but you notice that an apparently dim-witted
bidder (usually with zero feedback,
maybe
one or two at most and then only from this same seller) has had
multiple little nibbling bids to push you to where the seller is
happy.
3...Most obvious scam is where the nibbling bidder actually gets
ahead of you and then withdraws their
winning bid saying they had made a mistake. You should never pay the
mongrel seller under this scenario. They may threaten you with
negative feedback but I doubt they would have the guts to do it.
There
is a lot of information still available on auction sites even with
the crappy secret bidder rules. The feedback system and
following the seller's completed items over some time can be quite
useful.
The
over all point is to be wary, (buyer beware!) not every seller is
a "good guy",
however,
One can make wonderful lasting friendships with "good guys"
who would never have crossed your path.
I have already visits from new friends in Europe who have
enjoyed fishing here and with whom one day I will fish in Europe!
All of this said, it is quite remarkable what ABU varieties
one can accumulate with persistence, patience and some good luck,
not to mention a fund to support ones passions! This is most
especially so, for those of us who live in rural areas without
access to other means of finding the objects of their desires, like
garage sales!