Steiner Sports is out of touch with Reality

[Yankwood]

SDG stands for Solo a Dios Gloria whch roughly translates to Glory of God. Bernie is a classically trained guitar player and this phrase is derived from one of the movements from one of his favorite classical pieces. From now on maybe it will be MDA. Mucho dinero por autografo.

[Vintagedeputy]

I'm a born and raised Yankee fan and I always admired Williams but no freakin' way would I pay $400 for his autograph. I dont care if he signed his name on Cindy Crawford's butt with a 24 kt gold pen.

[Yankwood]

I'm a born and raised Yankee fan and I always admired Williams but no freakin' way would I pay $400 for his autograph. I dont care if he signed his name on Cindy Crawford's butt with a 24 kt gold pen.

Let's not get carried away now.

[trsent]

You are right, first, is there such a thing as a 24K gold pen?

Then, I don't think Cindy Crawford is having her rear end autographed by anyone, let alone Bernie Williams.

Besides, eventually the autograph would wear off so it would totally be a waste of $400.00.

[kingjammy24]

To those saying that Steiner's prices are "too high"; how can they be "too high" if Steiner items are selling and they're still in business? If their prices were "too high" then their items would not sell and Steiner could not stay financially solvent. The mere fact that their items sell is proof that their prices are not too high. They're too high for me and for some others, but it's idiocy to use myself as a gauge for market prices. EG: If I'm not willing to pay $1200 for an ARod jersey, then the price must therefore be "too high". What sort of logic is that? Simply put, if Steiner wasn't actually selling these items, then they wouldn't exist and we wouldn't be talking about them.

One of the main reasons Steiner is able to set these astronomical prices is because they formed a cartel with the Yankees which gave Steiner the monopoly on Yankee items. They have no competition to force them to have 'competitive' pricing. If you want to blame Steiner, then blame the Yankees as well. They're the ones who agreed to the cartel.

Jim: yes you are missing something. How is Steiner "out of touch with reality" if the actual reality is that their items are selling for these prices?
Steiner has a lack of knowledge of their items? Jim, they have a monopoly and a cartel with the Yankees. They know very well what they have. They're very shrewd business people with aggressive tactics. They've taken one of the most popular sports teams in history, in one of the wealthiest cities in America, and signed an exclusive agreement with them. Business-wise, it's a brilliant idea. Who's laughing at them when they manage to actually sell an ARod jersey for $10k? If Steiner is clueless, then they're clueless all the way to the bank. I wish I was clueless enough to be able to actually sell a Matsui jersey for $15k.

As for blaming these prices for 'ruining the hobby' by locking out those who can't afford a $400 Bernie Williams autograph; How does Steiner prevent Bernie from signing at the park for free? If Bernie chooses to only sign once every 9 yrs for $400 and never for free at the park or in the hotels, then it's Bernie who's ruining the hobby. Bernie has the choice to sign all the free autographs he wants. Bernie Williams, not Steiner, is the only person who can lock people out from getting a Bernie Williams autograph. If Bernie was famous for constantly giving away his autograph, then don't you think that most of the starry-eyed kids at the signing would forego the $400 signing and figure they could get a free autograph at the ballpark? Blame Bernie for restricting the supply of his autograph so severly that Steiner is actually able to fetch $400 for it. It has nothing to do with his fees. If Bernie flooded the market with his autograph, the value would decrease substantially. If he then turned to Steiner and commanded a $300k appearance fee, Steiner would be forced to tell him that they would not be able to recoup the money because people simply would not pay $400 for something that is available so cheaply and readily. Even for Bernie Williams, Steiner is not going to lose money.

If you're going to blame Steiner, start with the Yankees, Bernie, and every one of Steiner's customers.

Besides, the Yankees need all the money they can get. How else are they going keep their title of "Highest Payroll without a World Series victory"? 5 years running! Great job, guys!

Rudy.

[Yankwood]

I have to question how much of this game used stuff they are really selling, though. Since April or so when this stuff first went on line, I am still seeing the same bats (Tino M. $1500 Brosius $750, O'Neill $2000) etc. etc. etc. listed on line. They keep having auctions where stuff isn't even getting bids at fractions of these prices as I have seen and as Jim C. pointed out. They sell alot of pictures and promotional bats and such with autographs at far less than the $400 pricetag that seems to be getting thrown around now since my first post on this subject. Nobody is looking for Bob Feller type oversaturation here, just sanity. If I'm being naive, so be it, but people will get fed up with the greed exhibited here and the goose will kill the golden egg. Or, the prices will eventually come down and I think you are all seeing this with the current closing auction prices.

[kingjammy24]

Personally, I don't know how well their items are selling. I can only infer that they're selling reasonably well because Steiner is still in business.

If people are right and the prices genuinely are too high, then I still don't see why it's an issue because the lack of sales will necessarily force Steiner to eventually lower the prices or go out of business.
(If prices stay the same over the long term, then you can blame the Yankees and rich collectors).

You can profit via either price or volume. Ferrari vs. Toyota.
Steiner chose to be Ferrari. The thing is, Ferrari knows exactly how much it can sell and produces only enough to ensure a healthy waiting list. Perhaps Steiner overestimated demand. In any case, Steiner's prices are of little concern over the long term.

Jim et al: if you are indeed correct and Steiner's prices are too high, then
simply start saving for the eventual firesales and liquidation auction now.

Yankwood: If you're saying this stuff is not selling, then Steiner is sitting on a decent amount of inventory. I'm sure they paid the Yankees a considerable amount for their exclusive agreement so they've got a large cost to recoup. The inventory is going to increase every season. Inventory doesn't pay the bills. If the inventory keeps building and business is slow, watch for big sales. If there are none, then it must mean they're obtaining these high prices. Should be interesting. I guess we'll all see how it pans out.

I imagine Barry Meisel would know a considerable more about all of this seeing as how he's the "Steiner" of Texas Rangers jerseys in terms of having a cartel/monopoly. Not in terms of pricing. I know he's sitting on a decent amount of inventory and I think it forces him to offer some pretty attractive sales every now and then.

Rudy.

[ChrisCavalier]

I'm a born and raised Yankee fan and I always admired Williams but no freakin' way would I pay $400 for his autograph. I dont care if he signed his name on Cindy Crawford's butt with a 24 kt gold pen.

Hello Vintagedeputy-

I may have to agree with Yankwood on that one. While I am happily married and adore my wife, I have to think there are some people out there that might think that value proposition would pay out on the back end.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier

[trsent]

Is that a punn?

Ok, you all have a point, if I could video tape Bernie Williams autographing Cindy Crawford's rear end, I could possibly sell the videos for lots of cash. That would mean $400.00 would be a cheap investment based on the return.

[Yankwood]

And if she didn't like the autograph being there I'd volunteer to erase it for her.