Learning experience at a Goodwill store

Over the years, the nearby Goodwill outlet has produced a few GU finds for me. Today, though, it produced a bit of new information for me in regards to Lebron James Cavs jerseys.

No, I didn't find a King James gamer. However, I did find a nicely made retail jersey patterned after the Adidas shirts that the Cavs wore when they won their first and only NBA Championship. As I looked at the Cavs jersey, I did a double take after I saw something that was part of the tagging in the tail.

I was surprised to see that, just like the Cavs attire of the area made for the team, this retail jersey also featured the bar-shaped patch in the tail with the "All for One, One for All" motto.
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This photo is taken from an eBay listing for a retail jersey, but is the same as the one I saw at Goodwill.




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This one is from a Lebron gamer up for bids in the current Goldin Elite Auction.

Not a whole lot of difference, is there?

Now, most of us could tell a retail Lebron jersey from a GU one based on differences in the jerseys themselves. My concern is if any of these "All for One" tags might end up being added to high quality Lebron shirts to try and "create" a gamer after being removed from a retail version.

Just some
food for thought.

Dave Miedema

Hi,

as I see it - if you can find the patch on regular retail stuff then it simply is no proof for authenticity if it is on jerseys claimed to be the real deal. And nobody should believe that. There are always several other characteristics to check, so no real trap in this case.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by astizzle

Hi,

as I see it - if you can find the patch on regular retail stuff then it simply is no proof for authenticity if it is on jerseys claimed to be the real deal. And nobody should believe that. There are always several other characteristics to check, so no real trap in this case.

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I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the idea of potential game used jersey fraud. Removing one of these patches from a retail jersey and adding it to a Lebron pro-cut that doesn't have one but now "suddenly" does is something jersey forgers can do with some success. While most third-party authenticators and schooled collectors would have a very good chance of spotting that, not everyone can. If you don't believe me, you can ask the owners of the two-dozen plus jerseys from all the major pro sports league whose jersey were deemed Unable to Authenticate by me due to tag tampering.

Dave Miedema

And that entails just the last 2 years or so.

Dave