Game Used Market Depressed?

[MVP]

I am curious to know if people think the game used market is "depressed"? If so, what are the reasons? Will it rebound?

I seems that both the all star player game used stuff and lower level players stuff has dropped quite a bit over the last few years. You would see modern star jerseys going for $1500+ a few years ago and now only around $800+. Mediocre players used to go for $150+ and now are around $100.

The older stuff seems to still be strong.

What are the reasons? more supply than demand?

-Henry

[allstarsplus]

Great question. The law of economics of supply and demand will determine overall what happens to the game used market. There is certainly more game used items on the market today (supply) then there were 5 years ago so the bigger question is if there are more buyers today (demand).

Then you have to look at each player and their supply/demand. Pujols, Ripken, Jeter, Ryan Howard are names always mentioned here and their demand is high with a low supply of "real" items. Now if Pujols dumped 100 game used bats on the market today I would think his prices would drop.

Here is a great example from Kylehess with Jose Guillen batting gloves---70 pairs of gloves and they keep getting bids but prices have certainly dropped over time because of supply and demand:

kylehess10 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 345
Jose Guillen 2005 Batting Gloves.....
ESM has listed on eBay atleast 70 pairs of Jose Guillen 2005 game worn batting gloves since I think January and they are currently still listing more every week!!


My favorite observation of supply/demand and market equilibrium was when Steiner 1st starting selling the Mark McGwire signed baseballs. There was a major shortage of "real" McGwire sigs and when the signed baseballs hit eBay they were initially selling for over $800. Now they are hitting $300+ on eBay. There was a time on eBay I had seen them at the upper $200's.

[RobSteinmetz]

Good points, Andrew. We're definitely experiencing a correction in the modern market, especially in major auctions. Does anyone attribute lower prices realized on modern jerseys and equipment to trust issues with specific auction houses, the authenticators they use, and the fact that (in most cases) all sales are final? What about the fact that there are now fewer card companies buying game used memorabilia in major auctions? Personally, I think there are many factors at play, but I'm interested in other people's opinions.

[ahuff]

I know I have vowed to never purchase from an auction house that uses Lou Lampson, just due to my past dealings with his authentications, so I am sure that has influenced some of the market correction.

Also, were there use to be just two or three jersey sets, for each style, we have seen upwards of 20 in the Blue Jays orginization, and who knows about the likes of Manny, Bonds, Tejada, and others that sell their items to ESM or on their own. Definately an increase in supply.

But how about this. . .the tagging indicators on many game used items has decreased. Take, for instance, the Rockies. I have purchased many Rockies items over the years. There use to be a paper year tag on each of the jerseys I purchased. Not only was this a great indicator to look for to determine the season it was worn and a clue to its authenticity, but it also showed the extent of the wear. Now, there seems to only be the 0062 tag and sometimes there is the MLB hologram on them. The hologram has been proven to be inaccurate, at times, and now fraudulent people have begun flooding the market with bogus jerseys that they have simply sewn a 0062 tag on. To me, it is harder to determine the season many of the jerseys were worn, unless there is a commemorative patch, and even harder to tell the amount of wear the jersey has seen.

[allstarsplus]

I know I have vowed to never purchase from an auction house that uses Lou Lampson, just due to my past dealings with his authentications, so I am sure that has influenced some of the market correction.

This Forum has so many passionate buyers that probably feel the same as you do.

It seems every Cal Ripken jersey on the market has a Lampson COA which in my opinion has unfairly put a lower market value on those items.

As a seller that consigns to auction houses, I won't consign to an auction house if Lou is authenticating for the reason I think I would lose bidders which would affect my final price.

[allstarsplus]

A friend just called me about this thread to say the market strength is stronger than ever in unique items and referred to the $50,000 to $100,000 estimate on that Bonds 715 HR ball that sold for $220,100!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Bonds-No-7...QQcmdZViewItem

That is a great point and probably pertains to a lot of the one-of-a-kind items and vintage pieces. Again it is supply vs. demand. If there is only 1 item, and 4 or 5 passionate bidders like there was on that Bonds ball, the final price should go up.

The same with the special Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and Shoeless Joe Jackson pieces that have sold for huge money.

[Utopian2630]

Hey Everyone,

I happen to agree with AllStarsPlus in that supply and demand affect the way the game-used market has been. Though I've only been seriously collecting game used merchandise for 12 years, I am sure many of our more experienced forum members can remember a time when dealers who specialized in game-used memorabilia were few and far between. I can remember card shows where you'd find ONE...maybe TWO dealers selling game-used memorabilia, now I'm sure most card shows have dozens. Also things like the internet (eBay other auction sites) come into play. If you went back to those times when you'd find a handful of game-used dealers on the market, you might be willing to pay their price since they were the only dealers. Now, consumers have more options to find game-used memorabilia. Unfortunately, the internet also opens the doors for fraud, because more information about the specifics of game-used items become available. Thank about it, would the average collector 12 years ago have instant access to finding out a certain player's jersey size, length and any other individual characteristics?

Basically, I guess that’s my long-winded way of saying supply and demand...not much going on at work today so I guess I have time to ramble on!