80's Baseball Knits - Future Value Question

[misteremu]

It seems to me that 80's knits for sale are drying up...I was wondering what the forum members thought of their future value as a whole...from someone who grew up in the 80's, it does not seem that long ago, but we are talking about jerseys that can now be 30 years old.

To me they seem like a good investment if you can find them at a reasonable price.

[commando]

I love the 1980s knits and agree that they have mostly dried up over the years. I remember the days when dealers would advertise huge team buys and have dozens available at reasonable prices. I still see a steady but small stream of "common" players from various teams show up on eBay, and usually sell for $100 to $300 each depending on what it is.

The 80s will probably be considered the last decade before overproduction, and while I don't know how much they will increase in value, I can say that they probably won't lose value.

[gingi79]

If you look at nearly any teams jerseys during an game in the 80's you didn't need a logo or team name on the front to know exactly who was playing.

I think the Padres should bring back the McDonalds color scheme. Ditto rainbow Astros, the Mariners, the Blue Jays, Phillies and the EXPOS.

I think the knits will retain a certain value and the truly unique team jerseys (like the Friars) will always have a niche market and collectability. But what do I know?

[MikeSharon]

in my opinion i think the all original knits from the late 70's through the 80's will see big increases due the fact that most of the clubs sent them to the minors stripped them down and reused them for years. Im an Astro collector and i can tell you some of the toughest shirts to find are all original knits from the 80's espically the full body rainbows they just are not out there. Once the collecting community realizes there is a greater value in one of 6(3 home 3 road) jerseys Brett, Yount, Ryan, Schmidt or really any common player wore in a year than one of 3 dozen jerseys worn by a player in todays market we will see a big increase.

[vballGuy]

in my opinion i think the all original knits from the late 70's through the 80's will see big increases due the fact that most of the clubs sent them to the minors stripped them down and reused them for years. Im an Astro collector and i can tell you some of the toughest shirts to find are all original knits from the 80's espically the full body rainbows they just are not out there. Once the collecting community realizes there is a greater value in one of 6(3 home 3 road) jerseys Brett, Yount, Ryan, Schmidt or really any common player wore in a year than one of 3 dozen jerseys worn by a player in todays market we will see a big increase.

Completely agree with this! I am a huge Blue Jays collector -- and the toughest jerseys to find are the ones from the early to mid 80s. With that said, I have one from 79, one from 85 and one from 86, and they are by far my favourite pieces (I also paid the most for them). The use on them is incredible!

I simply refuse to collect modern day Blue Jays stuff because they are incredibly expensive, and not worn nearly as much as those from the 70s and 80s.

[gingi79]

I simply refuse to collect modern day Blue Jays stuff because they are incredibly expensive, and not worn nearly as much as those from the 70s and 80s.

How true is that? I have contacted them about jerseys and explained their priceline is overly skewed from market demands. Bautista would be a prime example (ahem $6k? Sorry, he's amazing and all but no)

Their response was to tell me old style and commons have been in their store for $100 for a few years (which I can vouch for as i have picked up jerseys on 3 separate occasions) and the reason they don't have superstars and regular day players at lower prices was the fact they are selling at the current rates.

As far as use goes, I think some of our newer members need a little history lesson.

I think we can all agree this hobby is becoming a much more mainstream thing than it ever was in the 70's and 80's (and even most of the 90's) Teams are making money on jerseys now. Once upon a time, torn, used and beat up jerseys were seen as just an expense and something they would lose money on as they now needed to replace it. Therefore, teams would sew up holes, and use them for as long as they could to cut down on costs. Now that there is a hobby that wants to pay for them, teams want players wearing as many jerseys as they can for profit. Auctions for one game wonders are through the roof. The days of teams wearing jerseys until the moths had eaten them have gone the way of the dodo.

(And yes, other factors affect those price. eBay has become a cesspool of fakes, dealers being exposed on Dateline for forgeries, the arrest at the National, the money goes to charity, the authenticy associated with it being a league run website and the fact there is still a large fanbase not aware of other outlets for game used material all play a part. However, teams no longer see jerseys as a cost they need to lower by re-using them, they see them as a profit making tool.)

[commando]

The colors teams used back then were incredible. Here's a pic of Steve Buechelle's first Rangers jersey, tagged 1984 (notice the high uniform number). I love it.

[ksfarmboy]

I love the jerseys from the 70's-80's. It seems the uglier they are the more I like them. I think all of these jerseys will at least retain and probably go up in price in the future. Here are some from my collection.

http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z186/ksfarmboy/Jerseys%20From%20Childhood/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ16

[athletics61]

I agree with all of you regarding the drying up of 1980s MLB game worn jerseys. Finding one year styles such as 1981 gold road A's jerseys or 1982 home A's jerseys are rather tough. Any jersey with a commemorative or memorial patch or even a deathband unrestored is tough find. Not impossible, but rather tough.

Don

[pags13]

here is one of my favorites that I own, A Milwaukee Brewers road Robidoux #13 1988 set 1 gamer, a pullover made by Rawlings, includes the original patch for former manager Harvey Kuenn. Comes with a letter from the Brewers team clubhouse shop.