Collectibility of ONE-Game Used Items

[frikativ54]

http://auction.mlb.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=95636643&prmenbr=33072944&aunbr=95983353

Evan Longoria TBTC Jersey

http://auction.mlb.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=95517780&prmenbr=33072944&aunbr=95864490

David Wright Jackie Robinson Day Jersey

Can someone please help me understand why jerseys that were only worn for one day can go for such high prices on MLB.com Auctions. I just don't understand buying a jersey with very little game-use.

[Birdbats]

Re: Collectibility of ONE-Game Used Items

There are a few reasons these shirts are popular:

-- Supply and demand. Regular jerseys are common, but special jerseys are few and far between. There often is good demand for TBC jerseys and things like #42 shirts because of what they represent... or perhaps simply because they look cool.

-- Photo matching. If you have a one-game jersey, and have photos of that player during that one game, you almost certainly have a match.

-- Solid provenance. If it came from a recent, special game (JRD, TBC, etc.), it probably is well-documented by MLB.

I'd bet other members can come up with more.

[AWA85]

Re: Collectibility of ONE-Game Used Items

I agree with the rarity issue. It is pretty cool to say you have the only Longoria rookie Turn Back the Clock jersey or something that is harder to find. Although I think they were ugly, I would love to have one of the Reds camo jerseys just because of how few there are.

[allstarsplus]

Re: Collectibility of ONE-Game Used Items

Can someone please help me understand why jerseys that were only worn for one day can go for such high prices on MLB.com Auctions. I just don't understand buying a jersey with very little game-use.

I don't mind buying a jersey with "no doubter" provenance that show little use if the corresponding price makes sense and most of these jerseys are priced at levels that generally don't make much dollars and sense!

If the player set a record or maybe it was a special jersey, HR jersey, rookie jersey, etc., then you could justify paying a little more, but I can tell you by experience that "if" you ever have to sell one of these non-distinct jerseys chances are you will take a big loss as the hype has worn off and people don't care anymore.

We have discussed before paying more than market price when it comes to the charity auctions as the tax writeoffs may justify the final price.

With that said, that Longoria jersey at $2,000+ will be great if he wins the ROY!

On the David Wright, possibly that falls into the "charity" category and the high bidder "Ed" is a huge collector and I have lost many an auction to him.

[Nathan]

Re: Collectibility of ONE-Game Used Items

We're having a discussion on one of the hockey forums about this very thing, although it comes down to the rarity of certain jersey styles.

If there's one thing hockey collectors love, it's a ton of wear. If there's something else hockey collectors love, it's something truly unique. Some of the biggest prices in the hobby from recent years come from incredibly tough styles (i.e. Anaheim's Wild Wing alternates, LA's Burger King alternates). What's apparently the toughest of all is a purple and gold that LA used for a single game in the 1996-97 season; even a common player (and LA had a ton at the time) would probably go for some insane amount of money.