Lebron jersey - A5

[kingjammy24]

am i reading this correctly? mears will grade and issue a letter on a retail jersey if it strikes them as something close to what a player wore? what's "authentic" about a retail jersey? i mean what other purpose does a letter serve if not one of authenticity?...

hello robert

previously, troy stated that what mears means by "retail" in that context are gamers that were sold via retail channels such as a team store or steiner; he didn't mean to refer to jerseys that were solely meant for retail sale. basically, an A5 is supposed to be the same as a legit game-issue. of course, when it's the wrong size, it's not really a game-issue is it? it's more of a pro cut and pro cuts are very much retail shirts.

the purpose of the A5 is that it's supposed to indicate a jersey that meets all of the specs of a jersey issued for play to that particular player. my issue is that mears states that it makes sure the size is correct but it seems they don't. troy did not provide any evidence whatsoever that james ever wore a 52+4. what troy did provide was a loophole in the language that allows for size variances under the A5. if you allow for size variances then you aren't making "sure the jersey was the proper size to be issued to that player". mears is contradicting itself within the same grade. on one hand troy says that in order to earn an A5 a jersey must be the correct size and on the other he says that the A5 allows for size variances which means it doesn't have to be the correct size!

if you're a collector and you saw that 52+4 with mears A5 and you read troy's statement about what constitutes an A5, you would be very much under the impression that mears made sure that lebron was issued a 52+4. but that would be completely incorrect. mears has no evidence whatsoever that lebron was issued such a size.

here are dave bushing's comments (bolding is my own):

"For those keeping track, MEARS has done a total of 42 Lebron James Cleveland jerseys between 3-24-05 and 1-25-09. 33 were size 50, 7 were size 52, all were graded A5 without a single game worn designated example that was accompanied by any provenance. There were also two size 54 jerseys each garnering an A3. To date, MEARS has never authenticated a single example of DOCUMENTED GAME WORN JAMES JERSEY. Given the large number of professional model A5 shirts that have been examined and recorded, at the very least, it is a great example of the difference between the rarity factor of a professionl MODEL jersey and one that can be put "on his back" sort of speak. It also shows the reason why a DOCUMENTED GAME WORN JERSEY such as those obtained directly from the team or player are worth far more than their common professional MODEL counterpart. Example; Payton Manning jerseys acquired through him versus the seemingly endless supply of A5 professional models. Bottom line, an A5 professional model jersey is great for display and or autographs at a certain price level but if you want to collect real, truly worn authenticate and documented game worn jersey, they are very rare in proportion to your typical A5 example and are usually priced accordingly. Hence, an A5 is not an A10. Just my two cents. David Bushing

Given that 33 of the A5 jerseys were size 50 and 7 were size 52 which if I do my math right is just over 75% of those examined were true to documented game worn sizes, can someone post the website that shows where factory direct completely pro tagged jerseys of any size can be ordered by the general public. It has been suggested that any shirt other than a size 50 that is tagged identically to those sized 50 documented game worn jerseys can be purchased at the retail level. I would like to order one to compare measurements and tagging. If I am not mistaken, the mere suggestion that such a shirt is nothing more than a retail shirt would suggest that these can be purchased by anyone direct from the manufacturer. If I can purchase one myself, I will publish the pictures detailing the difference, if any, between the pro model pro tagged shirts and those available through mail order which at best, should be identical except that they will be a size 52+2 rahter than a size 50+2. David Bushing"

order away dave: http://www.jersey-joe.com/bask_rbk_nba_procuts.html

anyway, back when jersey-joe did sell lebron jerseys, the only size that he offered was...*drum roll*.. a 52+4! shocker.

rudy.

[trsent]

Rudy, so, what proof do you offer that LeBron didn't wear the size in questions and even if he didn't wear that size, what proof do you show the jersey was not worn for him?

Please, your work is generally very good, but your facts need proof to back them up. Maybe you should contact The Cavs to find out LeBron's jersey orders otherwise you are creating conflict, as usual, in your attempt to smear the MEARS name with just speculation and no concrete proof.

[kingjammy24]

Rudy, so, what proof do you offer that LeBron didn't wear the size in questions and even if he didn't wear that size, what proof do you show the jersey was not worn for him?

Please, your work is generally very good, but your facts need proof to back them up. Maybe you should contact The Cavs to find out LeBron's jersey orders otherwise you are creating conflict, as usual, in your attempt to smear the MEARS name with just speculation and no concrete proof.

the inherant issue is not whether james never wore a 52+4. (only you would expect someone to prove a negative). the issue is that mears has already stated that a 52+4 is correct yet they have no evidence whatsoever. they state they "make sure the size was issued" but they don't. do you understand this? do you understand that they get paid for this stuff and they make claims that they don't back up? you've completely glossed over all of that and instead ask me to prove james never wore a 52. could mears be right? of course. but mears isn't simply saying james might've possibly worn a 52, which i would be fine with. they're not even saying they aren't sure what size he wore. they're
asserting he DID wear a 52. yet apparently that assertion is based on nothing.

rudy.

[trsent]

the inherant issue is not whether james never wore a 52+4. (only you would expect someone to prove a negative). the issue is that mears has already stated that a 52+4 is correct yet they have no evidence whatsoever. they state they "make sure the size was issued" but they don't. do you understand this? do you understand that they get paid for this stuff and they make claims that they don't back up? you've completely glossed over all of that and instead ask me to prove james never wore a 52. could mears be right? of course. but mears isn't simply saying james might've possibly worn a 52, which i would be fine with. they're not even saying they aren't sure what size he wore. they're
asserting he DID wear a 52. yet apparently that assertion is based on nothing.

rudy.

...and you have proved nothing but continued your smear campaign without any proof.

Don't buy the jersey if you do not like it.

Your continued smear of the MEARS name, with speculation because you do not like the system is pathetic and getting old. They try hard to do what they do.

They never claimed the jersey was "game used" did they? The seller may have, but did MEARS call it "game used" to not give it an A5? If this size jerseys were ordered by The Cavs, then a A5 is correct, right?

Prove them wrong because they owe you nothing for your continued attacks on their solid work in this industry.