Will GU suffer the same "watered down" fate as cards?

[commando]

It's not only an issue of supply and demand, but also a question of knowledge... In other words, who's going to remember the dozens of different uniform styles that are being worn constantly over the years? Will anyone really try to collect (or care about) this stuff years from now? I believe there will always be people to buy the common player stuff, but like cards, this stuff is probably going to be really cheap to pick up in the future.

Unless its a star player, I'd wait for the value of all the newer stuff to go down.

[soxfan]

Love the question....

I agree as there seems to be soooo much stuff out there now in the Game used market.

I think what is going to prove to be the difference is that the pieces you can prove (photomacth, etc) as "historic" or "unique" pieces will now become the desired, and the othere "common" stuff will continue to drop in value.

I have stopped collecting "common stuff" just to have GU items and have started saving for the high end pieces.

Case in point, I have a Jose Lopez GU bat from Ichiro's 3000th hit game, and wouldnt have kept it until I was able to photomatch/video match it to his 8th HR of 2008...now that is much more appealing to have, as I wouldnt have bought a Lopez regular "gamer", and hopefully Lopez, still being young and full of talent, could have a resurgence with a new team...just like Beltre with the Sox this year.

I love GU gear, dont' get me wrong, but there is just soooooo much out there that I am worried it will eventually go the way of the baseball card...

Jeremy
macleodjeremy@hotmail.com

looking for a Beltre GU bat, the only current Sox I don't have.

[Jags Fan Dan]

The cards were just done to death, so much so that even the little pieces of cloth in the cards were called into question. For most NFL players, you are looking at 16 game used jerseys a year. Even if a guy plays 10 years straight, thats 160 total jerseys over the span of a decade. Not exactly impossible to find, but a darn site better than the thousands of "jersey" cards churned out each year.

But I agree, some of the gamers that are bright and shiny today and commanding sick money will be worth a fraction of what they sold for recently. People are dropping 5 figures for the hot rookie QB jerseys, when for the same money, maybe less, they could be getting Marino or Elway (or name just about anybody) gamers that are always going to be valuable. For every Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, there are ten, maybe twenty (heck, maybe a 100)guys like Jeff Blake or Aaron Brooks, where they look like stars for a year or two and then fade into oblivion.

[gorilla777]

I think that it will be much the same outcome of the card craze of 20+ years ago where it ended up the older, much more scarce (in hindsight) stuff ended up being much, much more valuable than the mass produced new card sets. It is mostly supply and demand, but the vintage bats, etc. are going to hold their value or increase possibly as I do believe the numbers of these players will look better in comparison after the recent PED inflated era. The new stuff seems like a sucker bet to me sometimes.

Ben

[STLHAMMER32]

I think that one of the main reasons the GU cards felt such a horrible blow was because people realized that for about the same price they could go out and buy a full jersey or game bat. The card market took a hit following the strike of 1994 as well. So besides being watered down there are other factors that come into play.

Game used bats are one area i don't believe will change much. There has always been a fascination with players and their bats. Many of the players still exchange them and trade among other players. Also if you have ever seen the look of a player when they get their bat handed to them to sign....you know what I mean. Some are genuinely happy to see their old bat again and others are angry that maybe one slipped out of the clubhouse....whatever the case maybe bats are different and personal to many players. They recognize bats years and years later and could tell you if it was theirs or not.

[commando]

Lots of people say "collect what you like," and that's exactly what I do.

It's funny, I went to high school with Andy Pettitte in Deer Park, Texas. Believe it or not, I just started collecting his cards a few months ago! I'm glad I did recently, instead of 1995 or 1996, because I consistently pay bargain prices for his cards in the year 2010. I'm not saying this a perfect analogy to GU items, but like many of you said, quality older game used items are sometimes a BARGAIN compared to the new, flashy stuff.

[Vikings_Collector]

The cards were just done to death, so much so that even the little pieces of cloth in the cards were called into question. For most NFL players, you are looking at 16 game used jerseys a year. Even if a guy plays 10 years straight, thats 160 total jerseys over the span of a decade. Not exactly impossible to find, but a darn site better than the thousands of "jersey" cards churned out each year.

But I agree, some of the gamers that are bright and shiny today and commanding sick money will be worth a fraction of what they sold for recently. People are dropping 5 figures for the hot rookie QB jerseys, when for the same money, maybe less, they could be getting Marino or Elway (or name just about anybody) gamers that are always going to be valuable. For every Peyton Manning or Drew Brees, there are ten, maybe twenty (heck, maybe a 100)guys like Jeff Blake or Aaron Brooks, where they look like stars for a year or two and then fade into oblivion.

However, if you're referring to football, there are far less than 16 gamers per season. Of course this depends on the player, but I have seen that jerseys are definitely recycled for games, and used more than once.

[solarlottry]

49ers items are still selling for good money. A 1994 Merton Hanks throwback sold for 3000$ and Steve Young sold for over 6000$ in the last big Heritage auction. Prior to that a 1994 Watters sold for almost 4000$ in a recent MEARS auction. I don't consider Watters a scrub but nor do I consider him a HOFer. 4000$ for his jersey is a great price is you are the seller!

Vintage 49er items always command big dollars. Even the backups routinely run 300-500$ per shirt if they ever surface. There are players I would pay big bucks for who most people would consider a scrub but I need that player for the collection.

Even the most recent 49er team did not sell many shirts this season. They only sold a handful on NFL Auctions. I have multiple shirts from the last few seasons that were worn for multiple games.

I think that as long as the NFL is so popular the interest in GU will be there as some leave but others join the hobby.

Always buying 49er game worn items.

Paul
garciajones@yahoo.com

[3arod13]

I think what is going to prove to be the difference is that the pieces you can prove (photomacth, etc) as "historic" or "unique" pieces will now become the desired, and the other "common" stuff will continue to drop in value.

+1

[jeffaary]

I think the prices for common players will drop as the generation who buy their stuff lose interest or die and no one cares about those players any more. Especially now that players have multiple jerseys per season instead of 2 like they did in the past. Babe Ruth jerseys will bring $$$ forever, however.

Here's the thing, though. If you collect what you love, who cares? I collect a special niche that probably no one else cares about; Boston pro jerseys of players who went to Ohio State (my family moved from Ohio to Boston when I was 4). There's some very good players in my collection, but no hall of famers. Since I care about those jerseys more than someone who sees it as just a Patriots jersey of a good player I probably overpay for the items I buy, but I don't care. I didn't buy them to make money. 40 years from now my kids may or may not recoup the money I spent on these items, but I enjoy the hell out of them.