Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

[Eric]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Again, did anyone contact him with their concerns?

[bscott]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

if no one else did, i just sent an email via ebay to let him know of this thread.


-bscott.

[calsportrf]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

I appreciate those individuals who have contacted me personally so that I can be aware of what has been written about me.

I know the backbone of our hobby is trust. In the past I made a mistake and came on this board to explain and apologize. I did not run...I owned up to it. Sometimes you still are not forgiven and I understand that. I probably will get hammered for even stating again my apology.

One thing that I will not accept is when people say items I sell are not authentic. There have only been 3 cases when an item I sold was returned to me for lack of authentication and I returned the customer's money. Only one of those cases involved a bat. It was one that was returned since the cleat marks on the barrel were not consistent with the player in question. I refunded the money and chalked it up to a bat that was probably used by another player.

For 13 years I have purchased jerseys, bats, batting gloves, shoes etc. directly from teams and players. Only on a few occasions have I purchased from dealers (Ball Park Heroes and MeiGray) and those have been for my collection. Everything I sell comes directly from legitimate sources.

My best sources are within baseball since I work with teams and players. Most of you know my contacts since you often ask if I get can items in the future from these teams/players. I have never had a question on any jersey I have sold. On bats, if they are not signed, they usually have not come from that player directly but either from a team clubhouse source or another player.

People often ask, "why don't you have more items or items from different teams." That is because I do not have contacts with all the teams and also because I do not accept items that do not appear to have use. I DO NOT get mint bats and sell them as gamers. First off, I do not want teams and or players to get in the habit of selling unused items to me..I only want items with use. Many of you know why I gave up purchasing directly with one current superstar because he wanted me to buy items that were not really used. I gave up purchasing from him although many said I was not too bright because it was not worth the backlash.

With regard to the bats, I get a lot of bats with different evidences of use. Over the years I have sold hundreds of bats and have not noted the types of use they have. I do see how the ones chosen for this site have consisten type of marks but I have a lot of bats here that are different. I do not only use ebay as a marketing tool. I have a website as well and sell off that too. There are a lot of examples of bats that I do sell and have sold that show varied types of use. To single out a few is not representive of what I have sold.


I am not going to come off arrogant and brush off the questions of you by saying I am above it all. I do care about this hobby. Is is not only a business of mine but my passion as well. There are several individuals who get hammered on this website and never explain their situations.

I understand many will never forgive me for my admission about the eBay ordeal and I guess I can understand that. I know some will find something about this post to complain about; however, if you ask any player that I have delt with they will share with you that I really do purchase REAL items and they are authentic. I have been in the hobby for 13 years now and one thing I am proud of is that I have always prided myself on selling items that I honestly believe were real.

Thank you for your consideration.

[3arod13]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

calsportrf.

Myself, I appreciate you coming into this forum and expressing yourself.

Unfortunately, we live it a society today where once you do wrong, people never forget and are always on their guard. This I guess is understandable. Also, with the amount to fakes out there, and the tremendous knowledge of many in this forum that is shared, I believe everyone looks very hard at everything out there. If something doesn't look right, it's questioned.

I'm not as knowledgeable as many in this forum, but when I looked at all the many different bats from different players posted in this thread, I thought to myself that they all looked identical. To me, that also looked odd. It looks as if all of those bats were used at the same time, the same way.

If it's one thing I learned in this forum from Eric, accussations shouldn't be made or posted against someone until facts are gathered. If someone desires to question and/or discuss problems with GU stuff, they should be discussions and not attacks against the seller, unless proven.

I believe that the goal of everyone in this forum is to help protect the integrity of the hobby. For that, I commend all.

I don't have any answers, because even as you stated, sometimes you can't even trust some of the players.

Regards, Tony

[kingjammy24]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

ron,

i'm confused by your explanation of these bats.

"I do see how the ones chosen for this site have consisten type of marks but I have a lot of bats here that are different. I do not only use ebay as a marketing tool. I have a website as well and sell off that too. There are a lot of examples of bats that I do sell and have sold that show varied types of use. To single out a few is not representive of what I have sold."

if i'm understanding your explanation correctly, your points are that you have other bats that show different types of use and that singling out 6 odd bats isn't representative of your total stock. if i'm correct, i fail to see the relevance of those points. you have tons of bats and not all of them are odd. that's fine, noone said or implied otherwise. as well, noone said these bats are representative of your total stock. people are just perplexed with these 6 odd bats. 6 bats, from different players, different teams, and different years, and yet they all show almost identical use. saying you have 300 other bats that are different doesn't address the issue with these 6. if i have 300 jerseys, for example, and 6 of them have wash tags sewn on top of the seam, then what sort of explanation is it if i say "oh well i have tons of other jerseys and singling out these 6 garbage ones isn't representative"? it doesn't do a thing explain the 6 garbage ones. a jersey with a tag sewn on top of the seam is garbage whether it's the only jersey i have or whether i have 300 other legit ones. your other bats have no bearing on why these 6 look identical.
these 6 bats look bad but hey, when you put them alongside your other 300 bats, all of a sudden they're good?

rudy.

[kingjammy24]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

ron i forgot to thank you for coming on this board and addressing this issue. there's one other point i forgot to mention. you said

"I did not run...I owned up to it. Sometimes you still are not forgiven and I understand that. I probably will get hammered for even stating again my apology.
One thing that I will not accept is when people say items I sell are not authentic. There have only been 3 cases when an item I sold was returned to me for lack of authentication and I returned the customer's money."

a few of us have been wondering, in terms of not running, owning up to your mistake and refunding money, did you refund all of the money to the customers who were the victims of your shill bidding? that is, did you refund them the extra amount that they ended up paying because of your shill bidding? or did you keep that money? i'm assuming, from your ebay history and your own records, you knew exactly which auctions you shill bidded on and by how much so you could easily have contacted each person and refunded them some money. i'm just curious if this happened.

thanks in advance,

rudy.

[cigarman44]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

True, Saying you have other bats that don't look like these doesn't really answer the question. You can tell me that they have "real use" all day long, but between the way those bats look and your past shill bidding I won't be looking at any of your stuff. Kind of the same answer you gave in your apology.

[bigtruck260]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Accusations are accusations. Based on the evidence I have seen in photos, and from the other collectors here, I personally am going to steer clear of CSI. No offense Ron, but it is very irregular for an adult to change behaviors overnight...unless there is a near death experience or hard prison time. I am an educated person outside of my naive tendencies toward this industry. People generally do not change.

[lund6771]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

was there ever a response made by Ron about the Dallas Cowboys throw- back jerseys in the 90's

[Eric]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

was there ever a response made by Ron about the Dallas Cowboys throw- back jerseys in the 90's

Does this relate to the topic? There is a rule about no topic changing. Please explain what this is in reference to..

[lund6771]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Eric...

why is this considered topic changing?..even though it was originally about bats, Ron came on and attemped to dispell any unethical actions..this thread is obviously about Ron and not just these specific bats

It has been brought about before how Ron sold these double star Thanksgiving shirts...I won't spend the time trying to find the ads in SCD, but he sold a bunch of shirts that WERE NOT game used cowboys jerseys...he would never have been exposed unless one of his customers spent thousands of dollars exposing him in the SCD...this was pre internet..now it happens here for free...

Were all of these jerseys from the players?...good one

Ron...you can't get a little bit pregnant...so you either come clean all the way, or your name will continue to be bashed...by posting your silly post you keep digging yourself into a deeper hole

[bscott]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Nothing irritates honest game-used collectors more than crooked sellers.

What I find particularly irritating about this episode is CSI's reluctance to admit the obvious: that these particular bats appear to have been tampered with. The photograhic evidence is strong.

OK, so CSI truly believed that these bats were "real" game used items. But if that isn't ultimately the case, shouldn't the buyers be notified and offered a refund?

No one accused CSI of taking these bats to a little league field for some twilight BP. All I wanted from CSI was an honest and open reply that conveyed the possibility that these bats could be bad. The photos surely suggest that they may be no good.

This debacle could have been an opportunity to come clean and offer refunds. Instead, CSI draws out the matter, hiding behind a rambling diatribe about honesty and integrity. CSI's "non-denial denial" reads like a thinly veiled admission of guilt, without the offer of a refund to any buyer who might have been duped.

"The backbone of our hobby is trust."
-CSI



-bscott.

[gameused]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Unfortunately, I purchased that black Arod bat yesterday from Ron. That is likely why it came down off the site. He probably doesn't know, but I will be evaluating the bat once received at it should have shipped yesterday.

Thanks,

Chris,

Did you receive the Arod bat from CSI, if you did, what is your opinion on the bat and can you post some pics?

Thanks, Bobby

[eGameUsed]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Bobby,

I received the bat yesterday. I am very confused on this and have not decided what to do. The bat has some great seam marks on the top side of the barrel. But scattered around those seam marks are the golf ball sized "ball marks." I will post some pics when I get home tonight; hopefully displaying both the seam marks and "ball marks."

Thanks,

[chakes89]

Re: Something's Fishy with CSI game used bats!

Seeing as how this thread is now some what relevant to discussion, the ball marks on the original bats in question appear to be from making contact with balls pitched at low speeds. More specifically, contact with rubber batting cage balls thrown at batting cage speeds (60-80mph)

Here are some pictures of a black Louisville Slugger M9 that I used almost exclusively at a local batting cage until its untimely demise after meeting with a 90 mph fastball

Note the ball marks on my bat and their similarities to the bats in question:





(My ball marks are better )