6 charged with fraud

[BarryMeisel]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Hi Buckeye,

We are regularly talking to teams and leagues about future deals ... but please do not infer anything from that statement. That is my stock answer when asked questions like these, because MeiGray does not disclose its conversations before there are official announcements to make.

Also, it would be insensitive and premature to comment specifically on any future NFL deals in lights of the recent events.

Respectfully,

Barry

[ivo610]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Barry, I don't know you either and find your tone and message as an infommercial for your system. I don't see other dealers coming on and gloating and self-promoting.

There are dozens of honest dealers and many had to leave the hobby as the honorable approach costs money. Upper Deck Authenticated, MLB Authenticated are as good as it gets and thats why it costs more.

Unfortunately if you collect the Saints and Packers you don't find ironclad authenticity. It is difficult so you put your faith in JO only to find they are pond scum.

I live in Washington DC now and switching to baseball and MLB Authenticated only.

About 1/2 of my Packers jerseys have what I would call ironclad authenticity. Coming from the team or a letter from Red will do it for me as far as authenticity.

I am pretty sure Upper Deck authenticity has had some issues in the past.

[Gocong57]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Thanks Barry for keeping up the integrity of the hobby from your retail end.

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

About 1/2 of my Packers jerseys have what I would call ironclad authenticity. Coming from the team or a letter from Red will do it for me as far as authenticity.

I am pretty sure Upper Deck authenticity has had some issues in the past.

Don't confuse the UpperDeck Cards division problems with UDA. Upper Deck Authenticated has an amazing system in place.

[trsent]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

About 1/2 of my Packers jerseys have what I would call ironclad authenticity. Coming from the team or a letter from Red will do it for me as far as authenticity.

I am pretty sure Upper Deck authenticity has had some issues in the past.

Don't confuse the UpperDeck Cards division problems with UDA. Upper Deck Authenticated has an amazing system in place.

Well said. Upper Deck Authenticated has an amazing 5-point system for witnessing and verifying autographed being signed for them. They have done a little in the game used market, but not very much. They are more based on in-the-presence autograph verification.

[ivo610]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Don't confuse the UpperDeck Cards division problems with UDA. Upper Deck Authenticated has an amazing system in place.

Yes I know the difference, not my first time around the block. I have had to send stuff back to them before. At least I can say they were a pleasure to deal with when I returned something.

[otismalibu]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Really, this is amazing?

We are unable to locate BAG***** in our hologram database.
Older hologram numbers and hologram numbers from shows
have not been transferred over to our on-line database as of yet.

[allstarsplus]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Really, this is amazing?

We are unable to locate BAG***** in our hologram database.
Older hologram numbers and hologram numbers from shows
have not been transferred over to our on-line database as of yet.

That's a good point. Still UDA for autographs is the best system out there.

[dplettn]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I wonder what will happen when the NFL finds out about this.

Some of the NFL's member clubs may have been wise enough to get clauses in their contracts with JO Sports which will void their contracts under certain circumstances. But, by and large, there was intelligence (not speaking to integrity) in market pricing dynamics built into the distribution model in so much that JO assured themselves monopolistic pricing power in their team contracts. Sure, some items still would make it to NFL auctions (where traffic/demand far outpaced limited supply) but JO appeared to have eliminated other retail distribution.

So, now, NFL member organizations which failed to do their DD on JO Sports now will find their options limited to the clauses they got into the deals they signed. In some cases, the fans who have in recent times been adversely affected by JO's virtual monopoly will still find themselves forced to either deal with JO, or wait out the contracts' expiration.

At the end of the day, the NFL's member organizations should have been less focused on the benefits of the enhanced revenues that derived from JO's virtual monopoly on distribution, and more focused on the ultimate risk of marrying their brand to JO's. I'm not suggesting teams should have anticipated this particular bad outcome, but they certainly could have anticipated the array of potential bad outcomes and considered that there were no grassroots benefit to their franchises in marrying their brands to JO.

We can all observe the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't quick to jump on the "lets push it throuh JO" bandwagon. One of the best and smartest brands in the NFL. Maybe too conservative, but great risk-management.

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Some of the NFL's member clubs may have been wise enough to get clauses in their contracts with JO Sports which will void their contracts under certain circumstances. But, by and large, there was intelligence (not speaking to integrity) in market pricing dynamics built into the distribution model in so much that JO assured themselves monopolistic pricing power in their team contracts. Sure, some items still would make it to NFL auctions (where traffic/demand far outpaced limited supply) but JO appeared to have eliminated other retail distribution.

So, now, NFL member organizations which failed to do their DD on JO Sports now will find their options limited to the clauses they got into the deals they signed. In some cases, the fans who have in recent times been adversely affected by JO's virtual monopoly will still find themselves forced to either deal with JO, or wait out the contracts' expiration.

At the end of the day, the NFL's member organizations should have been less focused on the benefits of the enhanced revenues that derived from JO's virtual monopoly on distribution, and more focused on the ultimate risk of marrying their brand to JO's. I'm not suggesting teams should have anticipated this particular bad outcome, but they certainly could have anticipated the array of potential bad outcomes and considered that there were no grassroots benefit to their franchises in marrying their brands to JO.

We can all observe the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't quick to jump on the "lets push it throuh JO" bandwagon. One of the best and smartest brands in the NFL. Maybe too conservative, but great risk-management.

Good points made and give credit to JO for getting the teams as it can't be easy and I congratulate JO more than that for screwing up the integrity in the NFL market.

As you mentioned "monopolistic pricing power" you are correct and you hope supply and demand dynamics keep the collector from being taking advantage of.

I went to the MeiGray site Mr. Meisel advertised above and it looks like he has team control monopolies also. Since he has an arrangement with the Washington Capitals I checked out the top player, Ovechkin. He lists jersey preorders for $7,500 to $7,995 and a playoff Set 3 for $8,888 and it was worn a few games.

Monopolistic pricing power aside, you have to be filthy stinking rich to buy that. No wonder Mr. Meisel can boast about his inventory control and internal control systems.

[allstarsplus]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Good points made and give credit to JO for getting the teams as it can't be easy and I congratulate JO more than that for screwing up the integrity in the NFL market.

As you mentioned "monopolistic pricing power" you are correct and you hope supply and demand dynamics keep the collector from being taking advantage of.

I went to the MeiGray site Mr. Meisel advertised above and it looks like he has team control monopolies also. Since he has an arrangement with the Washington Capitals I checked out the top player, Ovechkin. He lists jersey preorders for $7,500 to $7,995 and a playoff Set 3 for $8,888 and it was worn a few games.

Monopolistic pricing power aside, you have to be filthy stinking rich to buy that. No wonder Mr. Meisel can boast about his inventory control and internal control systems.

Not sure why you appear to be knocking MeiGray on their pricing, I can tell you from experience that the Ovechkins sell very well at that price. They have lower priced jerseys of other players.

You said it earlier, supply/demand. I'm not sure how many years MeiGray has handled the Capitals, it has been many years. You don't see too many Ovechkins from previous seasons.

You have to price your players according to scale.

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Not sure why you appear to be knocking MeiGray on their pricing, I can tell you from experience that the Ovechkins sell very well at that price. They have lower priced jerseys of other players.

You said it earlier, supply/demand. I'm not sure how many years MeiGray has handled the Capitals, it has been many years. You don't see too many Ovechkins from previous seasons.

You have to price your players according to scale.

I wasn't knocking them, just more shocked at how expensive his jerseys are. He should be pleased with the free advertising we just did for him as this blog appears to be getting massive page views.

By the way, where is the Press Release we were told was coming "shortly". That was over 24 hours ago.

Some stooge on Wilshire couldn't spin this enough for me although I can see Palehose is ready to forgive and forget.

[BarryMeisel]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Andrew,

MeiGray has had an exclusive working relationship with the Washington Capitals since the 2002-03 NHL season.

MeiGray has sold 76 game-worn Alexander Ovechkin jerseys since he debuted with the Caps in 2005-06. Those jerseys include two donated for charity and worn in one game each: In 2006-07 for Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids (sold for $6,020 via auction) and in 2007-08 for Hockey Fights Cancer (sold for $9,020 via auction).

The lowest price paid for an Ovy gamer was $4,500. We sold three early-season rookie jerseys for that price in the winter of 2005, before he became the NHL Superstar he is today, including his NHL Debut jersey.

The highest price we got for an Ovy gamer was $20,505 for the jersey Ovechkin wore in during the second period of the 2011 Winter Classic.

[Ripken]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Just an FYI...the linked article was originally published in Sports Collectors Daily, not Sports Collectors Digest. They are 2 different entities.

[solarlottry]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I heard that it was in JO's best interest NOT to issue any statements until their attorneys have reviewed everything and given the go ahead to do so. It is like the right to remain silent, I guess but in this case silence is not good. When his main business is providing a product that is based on trust and that trust is broken or blurred in any way, it is hard or almost impossible to regain.

I would think it is a matter of time before people and teams start cutting ties with them. I wonder if a team or player drops off their board if it indicates that their deal has been severed?

Paul