What do you think about the Olympic GU prices??

[skinsfan0521]

Yeah, I didn't expect a female snowboarder's stuff to go for so much... especially since she "only" won the silver medal.

I think that part of the problem is that snowboarding just doesn't have any event used items out on the market. I'm sure there are a few things here and there, but I've never actually seen any others besides these things. That may have contributed to the prices, but who knows.

I was hoping that the bib at least wouldn't go for that much. I just couldn't see spending $900 on it.

[legaleagle92481]

Basically, I've been watching some of the game/event used items on eBay being sold by the official Vancouver username and have been really surprised by how high some have gone. Some (most) seem completely insane to me, which is why I want your opinion.

Do you think they're crazy prices too, or is it just me? Do you think that these items will ever hold their value or is it just a hype factor that's driving the prices up this high right now?

Some examples:
Team Canada autographed souvenir stick. NOT game used -- $7k+

Game Used USA vs Canada Gold Medal game hockey puck -- $5,900+
**Many other game used pucks from that game ranging from $3,600 - $5,500

Tons of autographed REPLICA Canada hockey jerseys of various players for well over $1k

8x10 auto of Canadian Gold Medal mogul skier -- $700
** Many other auto'd 8x10s of various athletes for $300+++

REPLICA panel from skiing mogul competition - $200+
** There are several of these replica panels that have sold and some still listed

Game Used USA vs Canada Gold Medal game hockey puck (OT used) -- $8,500 +++ -- bidding still going
** This is NOT the puck used to score the winning goal, it says it in the auction description.

So, anyway, just a few examples....

I'm wondering because I'm thinking of trying to pick up an Olympic competition used item, but I'm afraid that it will quickly get out of my range where I can justify the expense. (I have a specific item in mind, but won't mention it to try to keep exposure down. haha)

-Brian

in my opinion the autographs are a horrible investment. in twenty years except for the male hockey players noone will remember who these athletes are. it is like buying reality tv star autographs although the olympics are obviously a much bigger achievement than being on jersey shore the end result is still the same they will fade from the memory. can anyone name five different gold medal winners from the 2002 games (not including hockey) without looking it up. and said male hockey players have enough signatures on the market to go around and will continue to add more and more throughout the course of their lives.

as for the event used stuff it is a novelty since this is the first time a large quantity of this stuff has hit the market in the same time period. when the novelty fades prices will level off. as for the crosby he is a great player when it is all said and done he will be top 10 alltime i predict and the pens are one of the few teams that do not have a contract with meigray so his stuff is relatively rare in any form.

[gingi79]

in my opinion the autographs are a horrible investment. in twenty years except for the male hockey players noone will remember who these athletes are. it is like buying reality tv star autographs although the olympics are obviously a much bigger achievement than being on jersey shore the end result is still the same they will fade from the memory. can anyone name five different gold medal winners from the 2002 games (not including hockey) without looking it up. and said male hockey players have enough signatures on the market to go around and will continue to add more and more throughout the course of their lives.

as for the event used stuff it is a novelty since this is the first time a large quantity of this stuff has hit the market in the same time period. when the novelty fades prices will level off. as for the crosby he is a great player when it is all said and done he will be top 10 alltime i predict and the pens are one of the few teams that do not have a contract with meigray so his stuff is relatively rare in any form.

I agree with everything but the last comment. Not having a MeiGray contract means there is no accountability. He could be wearing 82 jerseys a year. The very few jerseys I have seen pictures of showed no wear. Sid plays all out and gets his ass handed to him in his helmet every night. So why are his game worns so clean? Now Joe Tomon handles their game worns and he is a truly honest dealer. Anything from him is real in my experience and he does get a nominal 3 sets of homes and aways. But the Pens have a history of "back door" jerseys going out from their original Equipment manager to the more recent guy who was the prior's protege. So there are 6 to 10 Tomon's and who knows how many one game wonders?


On a similar note, Alex Daigle was a hot shot "can't miss" prospect when the Ottawa Senators drafted him in the early 90's. Along with Alexi Yashin, they were supposed to be the next Gretzky and Messier. Neither lived up to their hype (unlike Sid and Malkin) but Daigle has said he wore a ton of jerseys, sometimes more than one a night! These sold for thousands when he was hot. You could get one now for $150 because honestly, their may be over 500 of them in the hobby.

Pavel Bure in the early 90's used to wear a ton of jerseys as well. He told an interviewer once that everyone from owner Frank Griffiths to the equipment manager to his best friend Gino Odjick would ask him to wear a jersey for a game and he would give them away as gifts. Makes me glad to see my Bure with a sleeve insert to protect his broken wrist and 3 repairs. Some Bure's I have seen are literally brand new looking. Maybe a mark on a sleeve. And they still sell today for $2k! In 1994, Bure's sold for $5k easily. So while he retained a value, it's only 40%. Not saying Bure and Crosby are the same player but in his prime, Bure was a lot like Ovechkin. And in VanCity, he was the Beatles.

Bottom line, I can only hope people who get the opportunity to spend $34k on a barely used shirt garners them the same sense of joy I get whenever I see my Bure. Otherwise, if their motive is future financial gain I think a very sad and disappointing road lays before them. It is a great moment in Canada sports, Sid is a bonafide superstar but it was worn in one Olympic game in the first round. I guess of Reebok would pay $10k for Sid's stick and gloves and sticks are usually 1/5th the price of jerseys, Sid's jersey from that game would be $50 to $100k (but since he is keeping it, we will never know for sure)

[indyred]

Has anyone won one of these auctions? If so what is COA like and is their some type of hologram serial # on the item. Just looking at the game used Mens hockey pucks. If you pay 5-6 grand for a puck from one of those games. I would hope it has some iron clad authentication to it. From looks of auction pictures. You get puck in a plastic bad with game info on it. And a little paper cert. Does puck itself have some hologram on it?

[skinsfan0521]

I'm not sure about the official Vancouver Olympics auctions, but I can tell you that the Hannah Teter stuff that I was interested in came with NO COA/LOA. Nothing at all. I tried to convince the seller (who was not Hannah herself) that I would bid more on an item if I could just get a simple LOA signed by Hannah, but never heard back.

The Teter stuff is definitely legit because she linked to the auctions from her Facebook page, mentioned it in interviews/news stories & Burton had a press release for it. But, as I told the seller of her stuff, I'd be much happier to spend more money on an item just to have the "insurance" of it having an LOA for the future. I completely believe 100% that the stuff was real, but an LOA is always nice.