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View Full Version : Frank Thomas Jersey on ebay



helf35
12-18-2014, 03:13 PM
Looks like my Belle from 98 anyone else have an opinion?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Frank-Thomas-HOF-GAME-ISSUED-USED-signed-autographed-1998-White-Sox-jersey-/231423978595?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35e1f1ac63

BaseballNutz
12-18-2014, 05:06 PM
Looks like my Belle from 98 anyone else have an opinion?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Frank-Thomas-HOF-GAME-ISSUED-USED-signed-autographed-1998-White-Sox-jersey-/231423978595?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35e1f1ac63

Before I comment, I am unaware of the history of your "Belle". Could you share that with us? Is your Belle a game used shirt? Game issued? Please share the history and then I'll share a few comments.

Dave

sox83cubs84
12-18-2014, 10:16 PM
The photos all look positive and consisent with known exemplars.'

Dave Miedema

BaseballNutz
12-19-2014, 01:39 AM
The photos all look positive and consisent with known exemplars.'

Dave Miedema

Ok, so what does that mean? I don't want to upset the apple cart, but the manufacturers tags have never seen one washing as they are about as pressed and pucker free as could be. You can't photo match the jersey with any available photo service publicly available (at least I haven't been able to) and when you find one characteristic that appears to match up, several others that don't are soon to follow.

This is a pinstripped jersey with lots of reference points. Being unable to photo match it eliminates it from having any possibility of me ever desiring to add it to my collection. Team "issued" is too sketchy for my liking.

The jersey is being offered as a "game issued" because of the lack of a letter of authenticity. I would argue that is a convenient selling explanation and this is nothing more than a decent replica.

The one trait that is troublesome for me to even consider the "team issued" aspect is the vertical pinstripe on the button line (to be clear, the left front breast with the button holes). If you follow the pinstripe from the top as it travels down the buttons, it takes a dive off the edge of the material. I don't know about how that factors into anyone's authentication practices, but the tapering on professional jerseys are always done on the sides. This is a telling sign to me that this jersey is likely a replica. But that is just my opinion.

It started in the auction at $350 and has a grand total of zero bids with less than 10 hours to go. Unless all the ebayer's are loading up their "auto snipe bids" to go at it in the last second, I would guess I am not the only one with this opinion.

Frank Thomas is a first round Hall of Famer. His game jerseys, issued or used, should go for something seriously higher than $350. Of course an ebay action and the activity on it or lack thereof should never be high up on anyone's check-off list when trying to authenticate anything, but I'm just saying. A Hall of Famer jersey with a very low starting bid, and no bids with little time to go? That's troubling on any scale.

Dave Fall

helf35
12-19-2014, 12:32 PM
Before I comment, I am unaware of the history of your "Belle". Could you share that with us? Is your Belle a game used shirt? Game issued? Please share the history and then I'll share a few comments.

Dave
My belle i posted along time ago in the white sox thread. It was purchased from the sox at the soxfest garage sale in either 99' or 00'. I was refering to the tagging was similar.

BaseballNutz
12-19-2014, 03:44 PM
My belle i posted along time ago in the white sox thread. It was purchased from the sox at the soxfest garage sale in either 99' or 00'. I was refering to the tagging was similar.

Thanks helf35.

Yes, the tagging appears to resemble authentic jerseys so it certainly could be a team issued jersey. It's just that I can't wrap my head around the pinstriping not being parallel to the jersey cut by the buttons. Short of coming up with an example that shares this defect in manufacturing, it falls under the "no thanks" column in my collecting book.

BTY, it ended and received no bids.

Dave

Chess2899
12-21-2014, 12:53 AM
The jersey has appeared again with another seller with a price of $795.