Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

[godwulf]

Re: Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

I did the same thing with a Coolbaugh bat, except somebody outbid me. Maybe it was you!

Mine is a black X-Bat, broken in two, with the numbers 8 and 31 on the knob. I recall that it was very shortly after Mike's death that I acquired it, and I paid $78.77.

There's a very good book on Mike's career, and on the aftermath of his death for all concerned, called Heart of the Game: Life, Death and Mercy in Minor League America. Most highly recommended.

[Larry Pelliccioni]

Re: Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

I wound up with a Coolbaugh game worn Brewers jersey and I would like to think that like those postings earlier that it was done out of respect for the man's passing. I received an offer later to sell the jersey but just did not feel right about it since it was a recent acquisition and we, my wife and I are fans of the Brewers.
I can see both sides of the argument here and respect the way each feels.
On another note, once it was proven to me that it was a legitimate request, I did see that only my cost was recovered on a hockey jersey of a player tragically killed wound up with his sister.
I wish that I was more in a position where I could cave to all requests like that at no costs and I do a fair amount of donating to what I consider to be worthy causes and I also have raised the ire of former players who wanted one of their items but did not see fit to over me anywhere near what I outlayed to get it.
One time in fact on succeeding days I was severely cursed out by both a player and his fiance over having and not giving up his jersey. Later that year my wife and I travelled to Italy with alot of people from this players small town and everyone knew him so I kept a pretty low profile.
Bob Probert did come over one time and he was able to see his rookie Red Wing home jersey and then I challenged him to a couple of games on my bubble hockey game. I asked if he would mind if I called a fan of his, my daughter and if he would just say hello. He spoke with her for 15 minutes and was a total class act in our home.
RIP Bob.
Larry Pelliccioni

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

I think that there is nothing wrong with it. When a nonHOFer dies and it gets his name in the news there is no easier time to unload his stuff at a premium over what you could have unloaded it for if anyone would have bought it the day before he died. The demand for retired nonfuture HOFers is often very little and it is hard to sell their items at all and after their death fades from the public's mind it will again be hard to get rid of their stuff at any price so if one wants to get their money out of a certain player's items that is the optimal and possibly the only time to do so. Everyone gets stuck with items at times i.e. hot prospect fizzles or player gets hurt and his stats fall off or you collected a run of the mill player who at the time you were a big fan of but later you really did not care about. Player's families sometimes sell very personal intimate items after they die that were much more important to them then a jersey they wore so I don't see anything wrong with a fan selling the stuff.

[treant985]

Re: Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

Mine is a black X-Bat, broken in two, with the numbers 8 and 31 on the knob. I recall that it was very shortly after Mike's death that I acquired it, and I paid $78.77.

The one I bid on was a nice SAM Bat--went for about $80, too.

[mlupo]

Re: Player just died. eBay his stuff! WORNG!

I understand WHY there is a price spike on some items like autos. But if the player is retired there is really no NEED to jack up the price of say a game used item. If they are already retired there were never going to be any more game used than are already out there even if they would have lived another 50 years. The price of an autograph going up I understand because there is a sudden hault in the amount of autos that would have been added to the market in the future. But bottom line, right or wrong, I get why it happens, demand goes up(or is that a change in the quantity demanded? lol you economics people out there will get that joke). Good topic.