Suggestions Appreciated - Dave Winfield GU Bat

[bradleysupplies]

Hi All-

I acquired a game used Dave Winfield bat (Cooper Pro 100, DW20 Model) from a former teammate of his when he was with the Blue Jays. The bat was from theBlue Jays championship season, is uncracked, has his number on the knob, and the teammate wrote a LOA documenting the provenance of the bat. It is also autographed and in amazing condition with nice game use.

I am looking to sell or trade it, but I would like to draw on the expertise of this board. I am going to be at SportsFest later this week in Chicago and would like to take it with me...

My question is three-fold. 1) Should I get it authenticated by PSA/DNA or GAI and try to sell myself via eBay, this board, etc. 2) Should I consign it to an auction house, and 3) What would be a realistic price given the provenance, condition, and autograph?

Thanks - I appreciate your opinions!

Joel

[sportscentury]

Re: Suggestions Appreciated - Dave Winfield GU Bat

Hi All-

I acquired a game used Dave Winfield bat (Cooper Pro 100, DW20 Model) from a former teammate of his when he was with the Blue Jays. The bat was from theBlue Jays championship season, is uncracked, has his number on the knob, and the teammate wrote a LOA documenting the provenance of the bat. It is also autographed and in amazing condition with nice game use.

I am looking to sell or trade it, but I would like to draw on the expertise of this board. I am going to be at SportsFest later this week in Chicago and would like to take it with me...

My question is three-fold. 1) Should I get it authenticated by PSA/DNA or GAI and try to sell myself via eBay, this board, etc. 2) Should I consign it to an auction house, and 3) What would be a realistic price given the provenance, condition, and autograph?

Thanks - I appreciate your opinions!

Joel

Joel,

Unfortunately, Dave Winfield items have never gone for much. There are some incredible Hall of Famers whose items are relatively undervalued (Rod Carew is another example). I have a PERFECT Winfield rookie bat that I have offered at a more than reasonable price that has not sold and I am astonished by it. But Winfield items have never sold for all that much. I would expect you could get $400-500 for the bat and I don't know that it is worth investing more money into an authentication letter. No one is going to doubt it's real with the teammate's letter and the characteristics of the bat combined.

Best of luck with it - it sounds like a terrific Winfield gamer.

Reid

[bat_master]

Re: Suggestions Appreciated - Dave Winfield GU Bat

Hi Joel,

I agree with Reid wholeheartedly. The Winfield bat in my collection, a 1984 Louisville Slugger W273, I actually purchased at a mall in Longmont, Colorado for $200. The bat was originally marked $1200 and it never sold. When I was there last fall for a wedding it was still available so I was able to purchase it for much less.

I've seen several Winfield gamers go for less than $700 which, in my opinion, makes Dave Winfield a great bat to start with for those just beginning to collect HOF bats.

My first HOF bat was a Rod Carew which is still in my collection. That one was also purchased for less than $1000.

I would say that a good portion of collectors won't be concerned about whether or not a bat has a PSA letter so long as the provenance is good and the use characteristics match.

In my case with the Winfield bat, I was lucky in that (thanks to Mike Specht) I found out that the bat perfectly matches shipping records to a September 6, 1984 order of bats.

In general, I would say that if money is no object you can get the letter. But overall, a person looking to buy a Winfield bat will be more concerned with provenance, background, and use characteristics than with any letter.

As for price, I would suggest trying it in the $400-$600 range.

Tim Byington
www.tjsportsmn.com

[MSpecht]

Re: Suggestions Appreciated - Dave Winfield GU Bat

Hi Joel--

I agree with both Reid and Tim -- Dave Winfield bats are among the most undervalued of any modern Hall of Famer. That is a little unusual as he was always a fan favorite, played on several World Championship teams, and was a genuine "5-tool" player who also hit home runs.....plus he was a New York Yankee. Go figure.

The prices quoted above are probably very close. Currently on Ebay are a 1993 game used Big Stick (Twins), cracked, not autographed, with a Buy It Now price of $324.99 and an autographed 1986-89 Louisville Slugger (Yankees) that appears to be a professional model "game r4eady w/ bat rack marks" from John Taube with an opening bid of $149 and about six days left. Watch that auction as it should give you a good idea about the value of your bat, although I believe, in general, that collectors favor both Adirondack and Louisville Sluggers over Cooper bats. The game use on yours may offset that difference though.

I also agree that, for the majority of collectors, the letter you mention is likely to be sufficient provenance for a bat of that value. Plus, remember that there are no factory records available for Cooper bats, and the most valuable authentications are those that can match bats specifically to a player's documented factory records.

Good luck in future collecting.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com