Twinsfest 2012

[punch]

Roll call for everyone heading to Twinsfest this year! It's back at the Metrodome, January 27-29.

Is anyone on the hunt for anything in particular? Hoping the new Twins players will be there?

Last years at the sports complex was a nightmare. This is a very rare occasion where i'm actually glad something is held at the dome.

I got a game used ball I need signed by Capps, and I'll be on the hunt for cheap GU bats.

[Klattsy]

If there are any cheap Luke Hughes bats I have a friend interested in Australia. And if there are any Hughes or Liam Hendriks jerseys that show use and are priced <$200 i'd be interested as well...

[mlbforeverhomer]

Orlando Cabrera anything I'm interested!!!

[harleighb]

I plan on being in attendance all three days this year. I'll be looking for vintage Twins GU items and picking up a few autographs along the way. The best part of the event for me these days is grabbing a Dome Dog and a beer and sitting in the stands watching the local radio station doing live interviews of the players. Three days of baseball in January -- its a can't miss event!

[al3xmac10]

Interested in a Nishioka game used jersey, thank you!

[sylbry]

The Twins Pro Shop has sold all of the Nishioka jerseys but there will be a game used Nishioka jersey and bat package in the silent auction.

[emann]

Anyone know if they have any Jon Rausch home jerseys left? I'd be interested in one if they do... Thanks!

[TFig27]

I'd be interested in a Trevor Plouffe uncracked bat if anyone comes across one.

Thanks!
Tom

[xnadyfan]

Would be interested in any cheap Baker GU. ($200 or less)

Thanks!

[punch]

Schedules are out!! Mauer and Morneau all 3 days, and looks like Jamey Caroll, Willingham, and Doumit will all be there. Not bad!

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/fan_forum/twinsfest_schedules.jsp

[Klattsy]

Do jersey prices mirror the Pro Shop prices or could they be less at the Fest?

[punch]

Do jersey prices mirror the Pro Shop prices or could they be less at the Fest?

They don't have discount's Friday and Saturday at Twins Fest. They used to drop prices on Sunday's, but I heard last year they didn't. Pro Shop has been kind of a let down since they moved into Target Field.

[JeffB]

Well, speaking as an employee of the team store at the stadium, we are shipping over our entire stock of game used items for this years TwinsFest, including jerseys, bats, balls (nearly 40 games worth), caps, remaining 2010 lockerplates and the like. We do lack jerseys from name players such as Mauer, Morneau, Thome, Cuddyer and Nishioka since we either sold all our 2010 examples and either did not get any 2011's or sold the very few we did get. Same for Mauer and Thome bats from the team store.

I'm not able to say if there will be any deals for certain, but at the end of last year's TwinsFest the game used items were sold at some large discounts of at least 50% and I'd expect any bats remaining on Sunday should be coming down in price due to quantities on hand, particularly Cuddyer and Span, who alone break as many as the rest of the team combined, for what we receive from the team. A good amount of Morneau bats though. We also have a substantial supply of street banners from 2009 and 2010, some with players and many with either Metrodome Final Season or Inaugural Season and 50th Season logos I'd expect to be priced to move at some point during the weekend. No promises, but just my hunch.

No idea what they plan on price reductions for the jerseys. It's possible we can always just bring them back to the stadium to have on hand for the upcoming season priced as they have been. Of note, any 2010 or older jerseys, which started out between $300 - $600, were all marked to half of what they were when the 2011's arrived, many of which are at our suburban Pro Shops. For example, we had some Blackburn's for $125, which I thought was a pretty good price for a patched 2010 for a starter.

Any big name players items will be sold through live or silent auctions, so it's not like you won't have a shot at some things of note, just not through the team store operation on site.

Any specific questions, just ask and I'll try to get an answer before Friday night.

Jeff

[Klattsy]

Jeff,

Some of the Hughes jersey I've enquired about before, do you think these will be candidates for discounts on the third day?

Also would you expect hats of all players on the roster there? Specifically Hughes and Liam Hendriks? Same with locker plates?

And are the balls MLB Authenticated? I presume none of the other stuff is...

Thanks for your insights.

Mark.

[Mark17]

I'll be set up at Twinsfest with some Met Stadium seats for sale. Will be at a booth with a couple buddies right around the third base area.

I'm a little disappointed that the only 1960s players in attendance will be Carew, Oliva, Grant, Quilici and Stigman. I wish they'd bring back more of those guys.

A few years ago I got some stuff signed. and Grant and Quilici were super friendly (Killebrew, Hrbek, and Smalley too.) I haven't met Stigman yet.

It's a blast, looking forward to it!

[punch]

Well, speaking as an employee of the team store at the stadium, we are shipping over our entire stock of game used items for this years TwinsFest, including jerseys, bats, balls (nearly 40 games worth), caps, remaining 2010 lockerplates and the like. We do lack jerseys from name players such as Mauer, Morneau, Thome, Cuddyer and Nishioka since we either sold all our 2010 examples and either did not get any 2011's or sold the very few we did get. Same for Mauer and Thome bats from the team store.

I'm not able to say if there will be any deals for certain, but at the end of last year's TwinsFest the game used items were sold at some large discounts of at least 50% and I'd expect any bats remaining on Sunday should be coming down in price due to quantities on hand, particularly Cuddyer and Span, who alone break as many as the rest of the team combined, for what we receive from the team. A good amount of Morneau bats though. We also have a substantial supply of street banners from 2009 and 2010, some with players and many with either Metrodome Final Season or Inaugural Season and 50th Season logos I'd expect to be priced to move at some point during the weekend. No promises, but just my hunch.

No idea what they plan on price reductions for the jerseys. It's possible we can always just bring them back to the stadium to have on hand for the upcoming season priced as they have been. Of note, any 2010 or older jerseys, which started out between $300 - $600, were all marked to half of what they were when the 2011's arrived, many of which are at our suburban Pro Shops. For example, we had some Blackburn's for $125, which I thought was a pretty good price for a patched 2010 for a starter.

Any big name players items will be sold through live or silent auctions, so it's not like you won't have a shot at some things of note, just not through the team store operation on site.

Any specific questions, just ask and I'll try to get an answer before Friday night.

Jeff

Hey Jeff, great post! I had no idea you could get Blacky jerseys at the pro shops in the suburbs for that cheap. I was under the impression that you pulled out all your game used gear and were only selling it through the Target Field store. Last year I went into the pro shop in Minnetonka and the staff told me they wernt getting GU items anymore. Had to go to the field. After that I stopped going there.

I think the reason you guys have such a stockpile of equipment is because of the ridiculous prices you guys were charging last year and 2010. :) Bring them back down to earth and you might sell a few more items!

Will you be there on Friday? I'd like to say hi.

[Klattsy]

If anyone is still heading out (especially 3rd day) and can find a Luke Hughes/Liam Hendriks with good use jersey for around $150, or hats at around $60 i'd be appreciative. Also any balls that are specifically authenticated to those players.

Please email at the below address or on Twitter @Klattsy

THANKS!
Mark.

[punch]

If anyone is still heading out (especially 3rd day) and can find a Luke Hughes/Liam Hendriks with good use jersey for around $150, or hats at around $60 i'd be appreciative. Also any balls that are specifically authenticated to those players.

Please email at the below address or on Twitter @Klattsy

THANKS!
Mark.

They had about 4 Luke Hughes bats in the bin, all MLB auth'd. They wanted $80 bucks per bat. They had a ton of jerseys and hats but I didn't take the time to go through them. All the "name player" jerseys are behind the counter, and all the hats are in a glass case.. so I didn't bother.

Maybe they will drop the price on the bats on Sunday. A few of them were really nice.

[AstrosGU]

Please email me if anyone sees anything from Adam Everett. I would love to pick it up.

[punch]

My Twinsfest report...

Game used stuff is sparse outside the pro shop, yet agian. If you're going, be sure to swing by FanHQ though and take a look at his glass case. Shauns got some good stuff. He's the ONLY guy in the building who has batting gloves.

The pro shop had one main bin of bats sitting out that had a lot of players.. but all the prices were the same old same old (aka overpriced). No deals to be found, but the selection was nice. Pro shop had one rack of "cheap" jerseys of coaches and no-name players. They were "discounted" to 200 bucks per jersey! For some reason there were 2 Pat Neshek jerseys on that rack for $100 each. No MLB holo's on them. Only good jersey deal I saw.

They had a TON of jerseys behind the counter, and 3 bins full of bats. The behind the counter jerseys were all the 'name' players and were all over $300 and upwards. I didn't even bother looking at all the prices. Meh. The 3 bins of behind-the-counter-bats were tons of Span's, Cuddy's, and a handful of Morneau's. I did notice that all Morneau bats dropped back down to $300. They were $300 a few years ago, then they jumped to $600 in 2010-2011. Now they are back down it seems. Morneau must not be the hot seller he used to be? Span's and Cuddy bats were still $150 (wtf!) even tho they had a boat load of them.

Twins shop, if you have that many.. why not knock em down a bit all 3 days? I mean really. I was a also a little bummed there wasn't a Trevor Plouffe bat to be found anywhere.

I did pick up one item that I love. The Pro Shop has had this Jason Kubel coolflo helmet for sale for a while, and they wanted $300 last season. They had it in the case for $125 so I scooped it up. I've been wanting a twins coolflo helmet for a long time, so i'm pumped. This was my only game used purchase of the day.

Had a lot of success getting auto's all day. The lines went fast and it wasn't as busy as previous years (to me). Got Capps to sign a GU ball, Alexi to sign a GU bat, and a few other misc auto's. I couldn't believe how big the line was to see Jerry White, Jaque Jones, & Shannon Stewart. It was HUGE. People still love those guys.

I don't think I'll be going back this weekend. I can't see the alleged discounts at the Pro Shop be worth going back for? Most of the bats were 150 so even at 50% off 75$ isn't a great deal.

PS: Dwight Gooden is going to be there tomorrow!

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/430942_10101601805036800_13932403_75636478_3843111 13_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/403000_10101601805495880_13932403_75636479_1568086 691_n.jpg

[brianborsch]

If anyone is still going I am looking for a game used lineup card from 9/10 /11....thanks!

Brianborsch@yahoo.com

[Klattsy]

They had about 4 Luke Hughes bats in the bin, all MLB auth'd. They wanted $80 bucks per bat. They had a ton of jerseys and hats but I didn't take the time to go through them. All the "name player" jerseys are behind the counter, and all the hats are in a glass case.. so I didn't bother.

Maybe they will drop the price on the bats on Sunday. A few of them were really nice.

Thanks Brian, I paid $50 for a bat from the shop (no MLB Auth) so I guess the mark up of $30 was the holo.

If anyone can find a Hughes/Hendriks jersey ($150max) or hat ($50max) on Sunday i'd be very appreciative.

May also be interested in another Hughes MLB Auth'd bat if the prices drop far enough. I can on sell it down here pretty easily.

Thanks,
Mark.

[punch]

Anyone go yesterday?? This thread has like 1,300 views and only 21 posts.

Where are all the Minnesotans??

[nomarmauerfan]

Went today. Overpriced, as usual, and the woman at the register said that they weren't going to be lowering their prices as the day went on. They must be very happy keeping all of those 2011 Morneau bats (about 15 behind the register). Too bad. Back in 2007, they had so much stuff at reasonable prices. In 2008, nothing. Since 2009, prices have been going up and, now, they are horribly overpriced and don't seem to care.

Mike

[brianborsch]

Is there a Twins contact I can use to see if they have a GU lineup card I am looking for?

[harleighb]

The Majestic Store at Target Field would be the place to contact about the lineup card. The telephone number there is (612) 659-3963.

[harleighb]

Twinsfest - Day Three Update

The Majestic Store/Pro Shops had a large quantity of 2010/2011 jerseys available. The price of the 2010 jerseys was reduced by 50% in August and no additional discounts were given at Twinsfest. The price of the 2011 jerseys (which were only made available a month or two ago) remains unchanged. The only price breaks were on a select rack of jerseys (mostly coaches and bullpen catcher types) and bats from Span, Cuddyer and Morneau (all of whom break a ton of bats every season). Its too bad the Twins don't bring back the $100 jersey rack (which was made up of a good mix of current and former players) that reduced in price by 50% each day of Twinsfest. It was always fun to grab a common player GU jersey to wear the next season for $25 on the last day of Twinsfest.

The silent and live auction prices were down on the whole but still brought outrageous prices on certain "premium" items. The mix of items wasn't as strong as in past years. The performance of the Twins' star players in 2011 definitely kept prices down.

I thought there was a nice mix of vintage Twins GU items available from the vendors. Unfortunately, I thought the ask on a lot of those items was quite high. That being said, its the one event each year (other than the actual games) where you've got 30,000+ Twins fans spending several hours amongst your items, so I can't blame the dealers for trying.

[JeffB]

FYI, prior to 2009 the Twins ran their own stores and set all the prices and when to discount items themselves, including TwinsFest. Their policy, as mentioned above, was to take any remaining game used stuff to TwinsFest and mark it down each day over the course of the weekend. Collectors, myself included, got used to that method.

In (or around) 2009, the Twins signed a contract with Delaware North Corp. Sportservice to run their merchandise (and concessions at Target Field) operations. Naturally some policies changed simply with new people being in charge. One thing though, the Twins still set the prices on the game used stuff and DNC only sells that stuff on a commission basis. Also, the Twins hired some new people for the move to Target Field and they were involved in the pricing for the first time as well, so a lot of new factors went into the prices.

Before you get on DNC for being a corporation who drove up the prices, they actually took a huge step down in 2009 from the previous years when a Kubel, Cuddyer or Nathan would have been $750 and now topped out at $350. Then new people were involved in 2010 and they went back up to $600 (as they placed a premium on first year Target Field and the 50th anniversary season and patches), while this year the top group of those same type players were $350.

At TwinsFest this year all the game used stuff from Target Field, both in the warehouse and the store went over. The jerseys were store prices and did not change over the weekend. One reason is, we've only had them about two months and can simply move them back to the stadium to have on hand throughout the 2012 season. All the older 2010's that went over, which had been marked down 50% when the 2011's arrived, were sold immediately.

The bats were divided into "Cuddyer, Span & Kubel" and "everyone else". Everyone else stayed the same price and the other three were all marked down 50% to $75 and the large amount of Cuddyers sold out. Personally I am surprised the "everyone" bats didn't get lower over the weekend.

Yes, it's not like it once was with the progressive discounts, but with 35,000 people per game 81 times a year who have yet to see the 2011 gamers, there was little incentive to mark things down and not a lot of 2010's and older, which were apparently priced right since they flew out the door, leaving no old stock left to mark down over the weekend.

[punch]

FYI, prior to 2009 the Twins ran their own stores and set all the prices and when to discount items themselves, including TwinsFest. Their policy, as mentioned above, was to take any remaining game used stuff to TwinsFest and mark it down each day over the course of the weekend. Collectors, myself included, got used to that method.

In (or around) 2009, the Twins signed a contract with Delaware North Corp. Sportservice to run their merchandise (and concessions at Target Field) operations. Naturally some policies changed simply with new people being in charge. One thing though, the Twins still set the prices on the game used stuff and DNC only sells that stuff on a commission basis. Also, the Twins hired some new people for the move to Target Field and they were involved in the pricing for the first time as well, so a lot of new factors went into the prices.

Before you get on DNC for being a corporation who drove up the prices, they actually took a huge step down in 2009 from the previous years when a Kubel, Cuddyer or Nathan would have been $750 and now topped out at $350. Then new people were involved in 2010 and they went back up to $600 (as they placed a premium on first year Target Field and the 50th anniversary season and patches), while this year the top group of those same type players were $350.

At TwinsFest this year all the game used stuff from Target Field, both in the warehouse and the store went over. The jerseys were store prices and did not change over the weekend. One reason is, we've only had them about two months and can simply move them back to the stadium to have on hand throughout the 2012 season. All the older 2010's that went over, which had been marked down 50% when the 2011's arrived, were sold immediately.

The bats were divided into "Cuddyer, Span & Kubel" and "everyone else". Everyone else stayed the same price and the other three were all marked down 50% to $75 and the large amount of Cuddyers sold out. Personally I am surprised the "everyone" bats didn't get lower over the weekend.

Yes, it's not like it once was with the progressive discounts, but with 35,000 people per game 81 times a year who have yet to see the 2011 gamers, there was little incentive to mark things down and not a lot of 2010's and older, which were apparently priced right since they flew out the door, leaving no old stock left to mark down over the weekend.

Cool, I guess? Still very unimpressed overall. The bat bargin bin at last year's Twinsfest was a nice touch and almost restored my hope in the Pro Shop.. but it was absent this year. There were some great bats for 20 bucks! I asked a guy working there where it went and he said, "check back Sunday!". Which aparently ment only check back so you can buy $75 Cuddy/Span/Kubel bats. :rolleyes: You guys played up the bat discounts like it was going to be something special on Sunday, when in reality you just dropped them to their actual 'street value'. Cuddy bats are going for 50-60 bucks right now on eBay. Kubel bats are $50 bats, tops. No Morneau discount when his stock is at an alltime low? Talked a big game and got some of our hopes up on the bat front, but didn't deliver.

Don't even get me started on Jerseys. The "discount jersey" rack had all $200 jerseys from coaches and people nobody had ever heard of. Lame.

I guess my main complaint is that if you're a bargain hunter, the pro shop does not accomodate you as it once did on game used items. I guess we're just going to have to get used to it under the new owners. The guys on this forum know overpriced stuff when they see it.

Now, one kudos I'll give you guys is FINALLY dropping the price on the Kubel coolfo helmet you've had for sale for many months. I was finally able to buy it for a reasonable price. So I don't TOTALLY hate you guys... just mostly. :cool:

[georgia1011@yahoo.com]

Anyone know how much the Mauer Game used bat or Jersey went for at auction?

[JeffB]

The signed Mauer bat went for $1150.

As for punch's complaints, I never promised any discounts, but speculated their would be some. Sure enough, the Span, Cuddy and Kubel bats were marked down 50% and the many, many Cuddy's sold out, so I guess our prices weren't too high then. What were you expecting? $25? All I can do is let you know what we've got and give you a heads up on when they are marked down or when I think they will be marked down from the prices in the store, which I have nothing to do with setting in the first place.

Morneau bats were marked down from $650 to $300 and were in a display case next to the registers, not in the barrels with the rest of them.

Personally, I was surprised that the other barrel of everyone else's bats wasn't marked down on Sunday or even the Span barrel getting another reduction on Sunday, but I don't get to tell my bosses how to do their jobs any more than anyone else does.

I clearly stated "No idea what they plan on price reductions for the jerseys. It's possible we can always just bring them back to the stadium to have on hand for the upcoming season priced as they have been." which is exactly what happened. There was no "discount rack", just the lower priced ones on a rack and the pricier ones behind the counter. I was again surprised they even brought the 2011 jerseys to TwinsFest, as we need to have a supply of game used for the entire 2012 season. With that in mind, I didn't see much chance of them wanting to make those any lower, as we have 2.5 million fans who have yet to see them for sale.

Yes, it's not like the old days when the pricing was $150, $100 and $50 over the course of the three days, but it hasn't been that way for some time now, but, by the time I got there an hour and a half after the start on Friday, all the 2010 and older jerseys, which had been marked down, were gone and I made damn sure they weren't overlooked sitting in a box somewhere, so some people were able to apparently get some $100 and $125 deals.

[harleighb]

I thought the pricing on the 2010 jerseys and GU bats was spot on and apparently so did a lot of Twins fans at Twinsfest. I also don't see a need from the Twins' perspective to discount the 2011 jerseys given that they've got 11 months to sell through them.

Hopefully, the team (and the star players on the team) rebound this season and next year we aren't worried so much about price but ability to get access to jerseys.

[Marrdar]

Harleighb -

Well said regarding access to jerseys. I am planning on going to the Giants FanFest this Saturday, my understanding is that there are going to be 2009 jerseys and earlier, no 2010 or 2011 items. Hopefully the jerseys will be discounted.