Lebron jersey - A5

**kingjammy24** · 05-27-2009, 02:44 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

dave bushing: "..someone buying an A5 knows that at best , he has a perfect game style shirt with no verifiable provenance and at worst, they have a shirt that matches all of the proper tagging as found on a verified gamer but might not have a verified size or some of the special customizations"

so let's say you have 2 jerseys. one is the correct size and has the correct customizations. the other is not the correct size and does not have the correct customizations. both can receive an A5?

what's the point then? if howard wolf has a 1991 jordan jersey, properly sized at 46 with a correct +3" of extra length, and i have a 1991 jordan jersey sized at 52 with 0" of extra length, both of us will receive an A5? i'd be very happy and howard would be pissed because in MEARS' eyes, both of our shirts are equal.

rudy.

**hblakewolf** · 05-27-2009, 03:14 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Originally posted by kingjammy24

dave bushing: "..someone buying an A5 knows that at best , he has a perfect game style shirt with no verifiable provenance and at worst, they have a shirt that matches all of the proper tagging as found on a verified gamer but might not have a verified size or some of the special customizations"

so let's say you have 2 jerseys. one is the correct size and has the correct customizations. the other is not the correct size and does not have the correct customizations. both can receive an A5?

what's the point then? if howard wolf has a 1991 jordan jersey, properly sized at 46 with a correct +3" of extra length, and i have a 1991 jordan jersey sized at 52 with 0" of extra length, both of us will receive an A5? i'd be very happy and howard would be pissed because in MEARS' eyes, both of our shirts are equal.

rudy.

Rudy-

I can tell you that this thread has left me shaking my head. I was under the belief that a post 1987 MEARS A5 graded shirt indicated that the jersey in question was worn by the noted player-period. Deduct points for restoration, missing tags, etc. I'd be curious to know who on this Forum had a different understanding of the A5 grading on post 1987 jerseys? I understand that pre-1987 jerseys can obtain a perfect A10, and likewise, points deducted for restoration, etc.

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@comcast.net

**zonker** · 05-27-2009, 04:11 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

dave bushing: "..someone buying an A5 knows that at best , he has a perfect game style shirt with no verifiable provenance and at worst, they have a shirt that matches all of the proper tagging as found on a verified gamer but might not have a verified size or some of the special customizations i will have to say that this in not a true statement on a jersey receiving an A-5 rating. befor someone deletes my post about my comment on how i know this isn't a true statement. i have proof if the moderator's need to see. as far as why troy say's he noted on my l.o.o. pro-cut here's his responce: The debate between pro-cut and game issued is based on a few subtlties. A game issued jersey was one that was sent to the team. A pro cut was one that was manufactured for promotional purposed, and was direct marketed and not sent to the team. These terms have expanded in recent years as the leagues, teams, players marketing reps, etc, have access to jerseys and distribute them in non-traditional forms than in the past. When MEARS examines a jersey, and we specifically know the jersey was a pro-cut only, we designate it in our title. so my question to troy was how did he know that my jersey was pro-cut with verifiable use as not given to the jersey by the player? and since mine was not produced in recent years. mine is 13 yrs old. no response to my question as of now. i hope someone will clear-up my confusion and apparently everyone else's. i purchased all my jersey's with mears l.o.o. with the understanding the same as howard's! a-5 meant game used with no provinance to receive an higher grade. correct me if i'm wrong but isn't the point of mears grading system as written across the top of all there l.o.o. FINAL GRADE WITH RESPECT TO "CHARACTERISTICS" AND "GAME USE" ?

**zonker** · 05-27-2009, 04:22 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

i guess i may have been a little unclear of what my question was. if mears knew my jersey i bought wasn't a game issued or used with a a-5 rating. why was it even graded or given an a-5 rating?

**aeneas01** · 05-27-2009, 04:26 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Originally posted by zonker

one thing i've always found confusing about the A5 is that on one hand mears states that they aren't saying the item was game-worn but they then go on to describe the wear. "exhibits wear..but we're not saying it was game-worn". brilliant.

no doubt zonker. below is an "a5" lebron jersey that sold at rea... is there anything stated in the lot description that could possibly lead a collector to believe that the jersey was something other than an authentic game shirt once belonging to lebron? could the alluring description and tidbits of information offered in the lot description possibly be construed as anything other than a vote of authenticity? i'm sorry but pointing to the fact that "game issued" or "game worn" wasn't employed in the lot title doesn't fly imo nor does pointing to a "lowly" a5 grade. not when terms such as "displays light use" are used and the a5 grade is followed by "no post 1987 jersey can achieve a higher grade than a5..." (btw, is it just me or can others see how that little a5 disclosure could easily come across as meaning the lot was awarded the highest possible grade, 5 out of 5, given the other grade scale can't be used without paper work?).

zonker, you mentioned that you've found the use of a5 grading confusing - well it seems that you are not alone given that 21 of the 22 a5 items i listed in my previous post (a5 lots sold at auction during the last three years) were described as "game used" or "game worn" by the auction houses that listed them. either all of these auction houses were trying to pull a fast one or it's pretty apparent that the "a5 model" is broken, i'm thinking the latter. btw, the only auction house listed above that didn't use the term "game used" or "game worn" to describe their a5 piece was hunt - instead they described it as follows (hmmmm...):

"2001 Randy Johnson Arizona Diamondbacks home jersey. Pinstriped home knit jersey with "A" logo on front and "Johnson" on the back above #51. Tail front has Rawlings tagging with "Set 2 2001" flag tag, 5" extra length tag, and size 52 flag tag. Shirt exhibits light use and wash wear. Fine example dating to Johnson's Cy Young and World Series Co-MVP season. Includes LOA from MEARS Authentication (Graded A5): EX-MT"

the a5 lebron jersey sold at rea:

the more i think about this a5 nonsense the more i wonder if i'm not simply missing out on the perfect stay at home job for my mrs. she could arrange a bulk buy from jersey joe (you know, get him to come down on his pricing a bit on about 50 shirts), have jersey joe send the bulk purchase directly to mears for a5 grades and then have mears ship the shirts directly to rea. what are we talking, a couple of phone calls, tops? 20 minutes on the tin cans? $500 shirts (i'm assuming the mrs. can get jj to swing a deal, she's pretty damn persuasive) flipped at an average price of $1,500-$2,500 each. not too shabby...

wait a minute - that could be just the tip of the work from home iceberg. heck, the mrs. could also broker a blockbuster deal between mears and ebay's gridiron authentics. i mean 'ol ga gets their hands on a ton of "game issue" lids that are just like what the pros wear, give or take some sizing issues on their tom brady lids (he sports an xl, ga only has large - but, hey, that's well within troy's variance schedule, no? if it isn't, we can just tell any budzinskis to prove brady never sported a large - problem solved!). the real beauty of this deal is that it doesn't matter one iota that there's already a ton of these ga "game issue" helmets in circulation. red flag? what red flag? heck, just look at the ocean of lebron shirts. i've hit gold....

....

**ChrisCavalier** · 05-27-2009, 06:42 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Originally posted by aeneas01

here are a few a5 shirts that have sold at auction during the last three years which, according to mears i presume, were checked for size accuracy, etc... btw, doesn't a $1,400 average price seem somewhat high for a shirt that may have never seen a teams' locker room?

here's a look at some lebron jerseys that have sold at auction during the last three years. given "josportsco (jarrod?)" recent post, the sheer number of these jerseys is staggering, even if some in the list are the same shirts resold. and, of course, this list only includes a few auction outlets... how about that average price of $2,800? what do jersey-joe's shirts go for, $600?

...

Am I reading this correctly in that Vintage Authentics sold 27 "Game Used" LeBron James jerseys from March 2006 through March 2008?

**aeneas01** · 05-27-2009, 07:12 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Originally posted by ChrisCavalier

Am I reading this correctly in that Vintage Authentics sold 27 "Game Used" LeBron James jerseys from March 2006 through March 2008?

yes - to the tune of $53,400 ($2,400 average per shirt). from that list, vintage alone accounts for close to half of the lebron jerseys moved during that period, almost twice what the other auctions moved combined. i guess if you want a lebron shirt, vintage is the place for you!

interestingly the same auction house, lelands, managed to fetch the two highest prices (by far) $11,300 and $9,800. heck, even one of their "low" sales ($3,600) was well above the sample average....

man, that sure is a lot of lebron shirts.
.....

**Mac670** · 05-27-2009, 09:44 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Man what a scam! the FBI dosen"t need to go to Nigeria and find them when they are here in the US. Hard working people getting taken from their hard earned cash. Man I'm overwelmed at the amount of these jerseys, someone needs to be prosecuted and accounted ffor. Mears need to also take a stand and give a better explanation. One person says something, the other says something else, but we both make money and get rich. WOW!

**Dewey2007** · 05-27-2009, 11:08 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

For what it's worth there's a Lebron jersey on NBA Auctions right now with Meigray authentication. It's at around $2,500 right now. I guess we can sit back and see what the market bears for a legit Lebron.

Oh yeah, the size of the jersey is a 48 +4.

**sportscentury** · 05-27-2009, 11:39 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Originally posted by Dewey2007

For what it's worth there's a Lebron jersey on NBA Auctions right now with Meigray authentication. It's at around $2,500 right now. I guess we can sit back and see what the market bears for a legit Lebron.

Oh yeah, the size of the jersey is a 48 +4.

That is not your typical LBJ gamer. It is the rare throwback style that was only worn during specified games, including the heavily promoted Cavs/Lakers game that the Lakers won on the road when Kobe had the flu (this was also the game LBJ signed his shoes before the game and played with dual-autographed shoes). It will go for big money, but we should not expect regular LeBron gamers to command the same kind of dough. Other than a rookie jersey, All Star jersey, or perhaps one of LBJ's jerseys from the 2007 Finals, I believe this would be the most desirable jersey to most LBJ collectors. See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0ZxXVkkoZk

.

**sportscrazy13** · 05-28-2009, 11:27 AM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Anyone know if the auto GU LeBron shoes have been auctioned off yet?

**UDAbasketball** · 05-28-2009, 01:53 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

Both the LeBron and Kobe game used shoes were sold within a week after the game. As the Product Manager for UDA I'd like to shed a little light on the thread. The Mears rating seems to be very confusing and vague at the very least. It is quite possible that LeBron has worn different sized jerseys throughout his career. We currently have 5 jerseys that came from LeBron himself this season. All are personally dated with the game in which he wore the jersey. We also have a handful of pro-cut jerseys in house and it is very difficult to discern the difference between the two. It seems to me that many A5 ratings are nothing more than pro-cut jerseys being passed off as "game used."

**kingjammy24** · 05-28-2009, 02:09 PM

Re: Lebron jersey - A5

hi, thanks very much for posting