- Collecting Guide -
We have created a few
guides to help you avoid some of the common fakes now in the
marketplace as well as some advise on pricing, demand and rarity. Well
worth reading for new and old collectors.
PART ONE: The fickle market - Value and
Investments
We
are often asked, will the price of my item go up? Everybody wants to
avoid buying something and then seeing its price drastically fall. We
are the same, not only are our items reasonably priced, but like you we
also don't want to see our collection plummet in value. Therefore we
tend to only stock items that will at least hold their value or
hopefully increase.
Any collectable market is fickle, tastes and
trends change and the laws of supply and demand rule. Everybody would
love to own an Ayrton Senna race used helmet - that is what makes them
the most expensive; demand is high, supply is low - so prices are very
high.
Not so many people would want to own an Olivier
Panis helmet; demand is average, supply is higher - so prices are a lot
lower than the Senna helmet.
Changes in demand are what make prices rise or
fall .
F1 fans are a fickle bunch, one moment a driver is billed as the next Ayrton Senna and the next minute he has fallen out of F1 and is in
German touring car.
When he is billed as the next Senna his race
used helmets and gloves will be high in demand (people wanting a piece
of the next great) therefore prices will be high.
Fast forward a season or two and everybody realises he isn't the next
Senna and he falls out of F1 - now the demand is much lower and the
prices will fall. Now, if you bought when he was in high
demand and now want to sell when he is in low demand - you are going to
lose money.
For example, David Coulthard was team mate to
Mika Hakkinen between 1996-2001. Over the course of 1996 and 1997 David
looked to be the better driver or at least equal to Mika. Mika was a
young gun who impressed against Senna in 1993 and David was
Senna's replacement at Williams who impressed against Hill in 1994 and
1995.
Although both left F1 with a very strong career
behind them the prices of their 1996 and 1997 suits and helmets
reflected that they were quite evenly matched and equally rated.
Fast forward to the present day and the same 1996 and 1997 items; Davids
would be worth half of that of Mikas. Because Mika left F1 a double
world champion and David left only as a multiple race winner.
Even though Mika wasn't a World champion in 1996 or 1997 they are still
items of an eventual champion.
So in that respect, collecting is like playing
the stock market.
This phenomenon is present in the current grid.
There are a handful of drivers who have achieved enough already to
ensure demand will always be high for their items; Alonso, Raikkonen and
Hamilton.
There are a selection of drivers that have been
around so long that is reasonably clear how the rest of their career
will pan out; Coulthard, Barrichello, Trulli, Heidfeld and Fisichella
for example.
Then there are the potential world
champions. These are the guys you are most likely to lose or gain a lot
on. Who is the next Mika Hakkinen, who is the next David Coulthard?
Rosberg? Kubica? Kovalainen? Massa? Piquet? Button? Vettel?
PART
TWO: The most desired items
Save
from an actual F1 car, the holy grail for most collectors is a race worn
helmet from their favourite driver. The latest Arai GP-5RC helmet
introduced in 2004 is made from Carbon Fibre - the same plain white
model from the shelf of your local shop will cost £3,000. Add a fancy
paintjob from a top F1 artist and the bare cost to the driver is around
£4,000.
Concentrating on just driver worn items; the
second most desirable item is probably a driver worn suit, followed by
gloves and visors.
- Race worn helmet
- Race worn Suit
- Race worn gloves/boots/visor
- Race worn under garments/nomex
The laws of supply and demand prevail. So for a
given driver the prices will filter down with a helmet being their most
expensive item. But between drivers there is some overlap between items - for
example a pair of Senna gloves could be more valuable than a lesser
known drivers helmet, or Schumacher suit more valuable than a current
drivers helmet.
Generally there is a subconscious tier of
drivers. For numerous reasons good drivers killed in F1 [especially
signed items] generally command higher prices. Obviously their not
around to sign anything else. Older items [50's, 60's, 70's] are a lot
rarer as in this era drivers used far less helmets and suits. It is
worth remembering that over Michael Schumachers career he used over 600
suits, Senna used closer to 60. So from the supply side, there are a lot
more Schumacher suits out there. Modern drivers can use up to 4
suits/helmets per race. Pre mid-nineties it would be closer to that for an entire
season.
A general tier in pricing items with an
[example]
1) Past legends - only 2/3 drivers fit this. [Senna,
Schumacher]
2) Multiple World Championship winners [Prost, Alonso]
3) World Championship winners [Mansell, Raikkonen]
4) Regular Race Winners [Berger, Coulthard]
5) Race Winners [Alesi, Fisichella]
6) Regular Podium scorers [Brundle, Amon]
7) Regular points scorers [Sato, Glock]
8) Long serving F1 drivers without much success [De Cesaris]
9) Short stay drivers/ drivers who only ever tested.
[Davidson]
Alongside this you must consider what team
the driver drove for, this will effect the price.
Success/team are not the only factor in the pricing of
items. Nationality can also be very important. Japanese drivers have a
strong nationalistic support for example.
Character is also important, some drivers are popular with fans without
being overly successful. Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger being good
examples.
There is also the heavy Ferrari bias. Any
items from a Ferrari driver will command higher price than if that driver
drove for any other team. An Irvine Jordan helmet is probably half the
price of a Ferrari one. Everybody loves/knows/hates/ loves to hate
Ferrari - they are a pillar of F1 and in high demand.
PART
THREE : Helmet buying Guide
This
deserves a page of its own, please click here.
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