Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

[jv225]

Hello I just found this forum a few weeks ago and have been reading everything I can ever since. Wow there is a ton of info here and a lot of very knowledgeable people. I have been collecting auto's for years (mostly football) but I'm pretty new to game used items. I hope you guys can offer your opinion on a few items but I think I already know the answer

Ebay seller dalcowbill has a good amount of Cowboys jerseys listed. Most of them have Prova tags on them but by looking at the pictures very very few of them seem to show any wear. I emailed him the other day about 4 of them asking for more info and for the Prova #'s so I could look them up. He replied almost instantly with the #'s. I looked them all up and they basically all say the same thing. No mention of what games they were used in and actully no mention of game used at all.

Here is one item in question.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350151896564&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm38%26_nkw%3D350151896564%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1

and here is what Prova has to say about it.

Prova ID: XA70DAE9CC
Owner: Registered
Item: 2007 Dallas Cowboys Jersey
Manufacturer: Reebok
Color: Navy
Player Issued: Jay Ratliff

I emailed him back with this info and he said he bought them directly from the Cowboys as gamers and that's all he knows about it. The other jerseys I asked about are
Demarcus Ware item# 350151222009
Brady James item # 120361940159
Mark Colombo item# 350151212989

They basically all say the same thing. Also a couple jerseys he has listed (Terence Newman for example) shows some use and he posted the Prova # in the auction. When I looked that one up it tells exactly what game it was used in which makes me believe the ones I asked about are just team issued jerseys and were never used.

So I guess I just wanted some opinions from more experienced collectors on these jerseys. Maybe I'm missing something but it doesn't seem to me that these are game used.

If anyone has any other suggestions on where to find GU Cowboys jerseys I'd love to hear it. I know about Steiner but the prices are pretty steep. They start at $500 for career backups/ no name players and go way up from there.
Sorry for such a long first post but from what I have been reading on this forum I really value your opinions.
Thanks a lot
Jim

[dcrules01]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

Check out Steiner auctions they start there gamers on the auction at less than $500

[jayt1234]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

Most of those were won at Steiners auction this past fall. The ones you mention were game issued jersey's (the Prova listing just list them s being issued to the player, not used in a specific game), and if you check out Steiner Sports they still have a lot of them for sale.

Jay

[jv225]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

Thanks dcrules as many times as I looked at the Steiner site looking for sales I never noticed the auctions I'll check them out.

Pretty interesting he got them from Steiner. Is there any place I can view past auction results? I would love to see how they were listed in the auction if that is in fact where he got them.
Thanks
Jim

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

jv225,

The Prada system is one of the most reliable in the biz.

Dallas Cowboys have an exclusive agreement with them to distribute their game used uniforms. WHEN YOU LOOK UP AN ITEM WITH THE PRADA TAGGING, IT WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU WHAT GAME THE UNIFORM PIECE WAS USED IN....THE TEAM PLAYED AGAINST, THE DATE, ETC.

In this case, these are (as others have already stated here) simply gane issued, but never saw any game use.

Have you tried the Dallas Cowboys website? I believe they have a tab regarding "game used" items. That would be a good place to start.

Regards,

Steve

[jv225]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

Well I was pretty sure they were just game issued but the seller keeps telling me they are game used so I figured I'd check here to see if I was missing something. The Cowboys don't sell game used stuff through their website anymore. They have a deal with Steiner and everything goes through them now and their regular prices are too high.

[suicide_squeeze]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

Well I was pretty sure they were just game issued but the seller keeps telling me they are game used so I figured I'd check here to see if I was missing something. The Cowboys don't sell game used stuff through their website anymore. They have a deal with Steiner and everything goes through them now and their regular prices are too high.

That's too bad to hear.

I've utilized Steiner in the past for obtaining a few "hard to access" signatures on a few of my game used items. To be frank, I allowed myself to be "ripped off" for the ages. I paid $2,000.00 to have have Mark McGwire sign my game used A's bat, and also a game used jersey from his record season.........Yes, $2,000 EACH. They said (at the time) it was the ONLY signing Mark was going to do, as he had stated the only ones following would be for charity purposes only, and would NEVER sign a game used item anyway. They said they "worked out a special deal for me with him this one time". What a load.....I kind of knew it, but did it anyways.

Something about us collectors.......we are so into our items, that we knowingly pay "silly dollars" JUST so we can have bragging rights at times. In my case, I wanted something AUTHENTIC to be signed with NO question of authenticity, so I jumped. I guess the value is there, but I feel raped, and I promised myself I will NEVER buy or use services from Steiner Sports again. And I won't.

If the Cowboys have been sucked into their distribution services, that's a shame, because Steiner is all about the money. And Cowboys fans will certainly have to pay more for the game used pieces they want.

[jayt1234]

I have been very disapointed in Steiner

I only collect Cowboys items and Game Exclusive was much, much better to deal with in my opinion. $200 game used kicking tee, $700 game used football, and my initial request for a game used Sam Hurd jersey? $1000. Seriously I had to laugh at that one. I had hoped for better pricing, and can only imagine what there helmets are going to go for if they get any.

Jay

[short84]

Re: Opinion on multiple Cowboys Jerseys please

I have to agree with Jay. The prices Steiner is charging for Cowboys' game used items are too high. I have noticed that they are starting to put more and more game used items in their auctions.

As for dalcowbill, I purchased two jerseys from him. Both were listed as game used/worn and after I received them, they were only issued jerseys. I was able to pick them up for a reasonable price so no harm done - I was disappointed that he was not truthful in his listing.