Has a player ever wanted your Game Used item back?

[AWA85]

I was having Jack Morris sign a locker room nameplate from his time with the Reds. He asked how much I paid, then took out his wallet but never asked what I wanted. I don't know if he was serious or joking. I would have given it to him for free if he really wanted it.

I have had him sign two jerseys too but that was the only thing he seemed interested in.

Did he pay you the amount you paid? Or did he sweeten the deal with a higher cash amount? Only reason I ask, is sometimes you but something but it means more to you or you place a higher value on it. Either way, pretty cool story!

[sox83cubs84]

Back c. 1981, Twins pitcher wanted a White Sox Veeck-era road jersey of his that I had, as did Bob Scanlan with a 1994 Brewers jersey. Both paid by check, and both were reasonably prompt.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[jobathenut]

The way i read "sylbry" post is that morris just took out his wallet.He did not buy it from them.

Did he pay you the amount you paid? Or did he sweeten the deal with a higher cash amount? Only reason I ask, is sometimes you but something but it means more to you or you place a higher value on it. Either way, pretty cool story!

[gridman80]

So lets say you have a gamer jersey or bat/ball that was a milestone for the player....has that player ever offered to try to get the item back while you were trying to get them to sign it.....seems like a sticky situation....it might be your favorite item in your collection and you are a rabid fan...but how can you deny them the ownership of an item that has sentimental value to them....i would venture to guess most stories like this end up with the player offering other items game used or autographed as a trade...anyone got any stories like this.

Years ago I brought Jim Kellly one of his game worn helmets to sign. I asked him to put the year he wore it, which was 1991. He got all snarly and nasty and refused to do it saying that he had 6 helmets stolen. I told him I bought it from a legit dealer and I took it from him quickly after he signed it so he wouldn't be tempted to keep it for himself. I know that he is a collector; but I have heard he is a jerk and he proved it to me that day.

[Sangy 35]

Years ago I brought Jim Kellly one of his game worn helmets to sign. I asked him to put the year he wore it, which was 1991. He got all snarly and nasty and refused to do it saying that he had 6 helmets stolen. I told him I bought it from a legit dealer and I took it from him quickly after he signed it so he wouldn't be tempted to keep it for himself. I know that he is a collector; but I have heard he is a jerk and he proved it to me that day.

Unfortunately, that seems to happen alot. A buddy of mine, and he's not a major collector by any means, he collects from a local minor league hockey team, ran into this. He bought a jersey of a guy who's never seen NHL ice, through a charity auction last May. He put pics of it, another gamer, a half dozen sticks, and some game used pucks online. The player's "wife" contacts him, wanting to know if he'd sell it to the player. He didn't really want to sell it, but agreed, for what he paid, $135.00.


That was unacceptable,the next few emails got worse, apparently what they really wanted was the jersey free of charge, when he declined, the next email said it was "stolen", and law enforcement would be contacted, etc, etc. He scanned his receipt from the team and emailed that, and it stopped cold. Either it was a scam, or the player was a first class minor league jerk. The email addy did contain the player's last name, but it's the internet, who really knows? He did find out through the team that the player wasn't currently, or had ever, been married.


He took down the pics, but all the hassle is why I don't put any pics or the like online. I do have a jersey in my collection that belonged to a local MLB player's father, he's a friend of my brother's, and has expressed an interest in getting it for his Dad. I don't mind doing that, we can make a trade face to face when he's back in town this fall, or playing in the area. But I would never even respond to an inquiry online, too much could be misunderstood and too many scammers out there.

[gaytorhater703]

good posts guys....these are the good stories i was interested in....thanks.....i thought by now we would have someone pretending to be the dealer that OJ jacked up a few years ago

[sox83cubs84]

Back c. 1981, Twins pitcher wanted a White Sox Veeck-era road jersey of his that I had, as did Bob Scanlan with a 1994 Brewers jersey. Both paid by check, and both were reasonably prompt.

Dave M.
Chicago area

Just noticed...I didn't ID the Twins pitcher . It was John Verhoeven.

Dave M.

[steelpenguin]

This is not the first time that I have had this happen to me, but I had a Game Used football jersey listed on eBay and little did I know when the offer came in it wound up being the players DAD! I found that out after the fact when the buyer sent me an email and sure enough ... IT'S THE PLAYERS DAD! lol

Odd thing was in this case is that I HATED to part with it and almost did not sell it. In fact, I almost countered with a much higher price, hoping that it would not sell or if it did, I'd feel better letting it go (or so I thought at first). I'm kinda glad that I didn't over-counter because I would have felt bad after the fact once I learned it was the guy's dad. I guess some things are meant to work out? Kinda neat that at least if it's not in my collection at least the family has it.

I'm always amazed for some reason when a player or somebody in his family buys something out of my collection. I've had a few trade requests over the years from players as well; which I am always happy to accommodate. But when these situations come up, it's always neat ... made a few good friends over the years that way. Esp with the minor league hockey jerseys that I have. Usually those folks are so happy to have one of the actual game jerseys because the players don't often get to keep them in the minors. In this case this was an NFL player, so it was a bit of a surprise.

I hate to see this one go as I was hoping to take it back home to Pittsburgh and get it signed at some point, but I guess as with all things I sell, I will replace this jersey with something else that I will enjoy just the same. I'm glad that this one worked out the way it did.

Now has anybody else ever have this happen??????

[steelpenguin]

This is not the first time that I have had this happen to me, but I had a Game Used football jersey listed on eBay and little did I know when the offer came in it wound up being the players DAD! I found that out after the fact when the buyer sent me an email and sure enough ... IT'S THE PLAYERS DAD! lol

Odd thing was in this case is that I HATED to part with it and almost did not sell it. In fact, I almost countered with a much higher price, hoping that it would not sell or if it did, I'd feel better letting it go (or so I thought at first). I'm kinda glad that I didn't over-counter because I would have felt bad after the fact once I learned it was the guy's dad. I guess some things are meant to work out? Kinda neat that at least if it's not in my collection at least the family has it.

I'm always amazed for some reason when a player or somebody in his family buys something out of my collection. I've had a few trade requests over the years from players as well; which I am always happy to accommodate. But when these situations come up, it's always neat ... made a few good friends over the years that way. Esp with the minor league hockey jerseys that I have. Usually those folks are so happy to have one of the actual game jerseys because the players don't often get to keep them in the minors. In this case this was an NFL player, so it was a bit of a surprise.

I hate to see this one go as I was hoping to take it back home to Pittsburgh and get it signed at some point, but I guess as with all things I sell, I will replace this jersey with something else that I will enjoy just the same. I'm glad that this one worked out the way it did.

Now has anybody else ever have this happen??????

Just a quick update on this post ....

I've exchanged a few emails with the players dad about mailing the jersey as he had a specific request (which I am very happy to do).

But the players dad also added that this jersey is to be a Christmas gift from he and his mom. Being it's June 10th, it's never too early to be in the Christmas Spirit!!! Kinda neat that I will have had a small hand in this players Christmas joy (and he's in for a very nice surprise!). Fun story!

[Dalkiel]

Recently I had a former NFL player (supposedly) inquire about two of his jerseys I had listed on eBay. I agreed to sell them to him at cost. After 4 months of excuses from him he never ended up paying for them. I'm not sure if he expected me to just give them to him, or if he couldn't afford them (guy played like 10 years in the 90's & 00's).