Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

[sportscentury]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

agreed with sportscentury, and if there was a question regarding authenticity with say a MeiGray product, Barry Meisel would be here in a heartbeat to try to clarify matters. I'd like to hear Mr. Brandon Steiner address us, the valued customers, directly for a change.

Exactly.

[BCowan40]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

Sportscentury I’m with you about Legal’s post that’s exactly what this forum is about, I applaud his post as well. Multiple people have asked for a comment from the “bright bulbs in the shed” so I was making an effort to help as well. If you perceive it as an attack on Legal then I sincerely apologize. I was not in anyway calling him a liar or saying he made anything up, I used the word alleged simply because I was not a part of the conversation. I’m trying to help as well and clear up the misunderstandings that are permeating through this forum. Steiner Sports is not spreading the word that Steiner items on the secondary market are fake as some have said. I’m not doubting something along those lines was said in a one on one conversation between two people I’m stating that as a company we are not saying anything even remotely close to what’s being alleged. We believe that we are the best place to buy Steiner products of course but you can without a doubt get legit Steiner items in other places, that’s all I’m saying, nothing more, nothing less.

[mbenga28]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

agreed with sportscentury, and if there was a question regarding authenticity with say a MeiGray product, Barry Meisel would be here in a heartbeat to try to clarify matters. I'd like to hear Mr. Brandon Steiner address us, the valued customers, directly for a change.

[sportscentury]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

Hi everyone one of the “gremlin’s” or "brightest bulbs in the shed" aka "Jigga-Man" chiming in here. I had to jump in here and hopefully nip this one in the bud before it spirals out of control as I can already see is happening. Without being a part of the conversation that was cited and without knowing who the conversation was between I do feel the need to set the record straight. Steiner Sports is not and has never "spread the word that Steiner items on the secondary market are fake." Again I was not part of the alleged conversation but what I think was meant to be said was the Steiner Sports is aware of fakes and misrepresentations that can happen on the secondary market, by no means are all secondary market purchases potential for fakes but the unfortunate reality as a lot of you know is in this day and age people do dishonest things and may misrepresent something in an effort to make a fast buck (a perfect example being the Obama/Jordan baseball which was portrayed as a Steiner item). Is it true that the best way to guarantee an item's authenticity is to buy directly from Steiner? Yes that's absolutely true but you can 100% get great and legitimate Steiner items on the secondary market. Nobody here believes that items not purchased directly from us are worthless at all we just don’t like to get involved in commenting on e-bay or other secondary sources because we don’t want to run into trouble in instances where our documentation has been tampered or someone is misrepresenting items. We stand behind our products and their authenticity as well as our dealers who resell our products. I think this thread has turned into a very big misunderstanding.

Thanks for chiming in, Jigga. I, for one, want to thank LegalEagle for his post, and for starting this thread. He is a well-respected, regular poster here on GUU, and also a collector of Steiner items. He has no reason to make up a story or "alleged conversation" as you put it. The implicit suggestion that his report may be less than honest is not fair. Sharing this type of critical information is what helps us to look out for each other here on GUU, so LegalEagle is to be thanked for his contribution.

[sportscentury]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

what's the purpose of using those numbered holograms if they're not even trackable, why not just issue the same general hologram they place on their signed items?

sportscentury, is it true that some of the more coveted items they do not list on their website and instead notify mailing lists recipients to not only give them first change before everyone else but to preclude use of discount codes?

Mbenga, I really don't know. Andrew/AllStarsPlus and some others would be better able to answer this question. I really have never bought much from Steiner. I buy regularly from MeiGray and also some top items from Upper Deck here and there, but most of my buying is from my NBA contacts or a handful of reputable collectors. I have tried to buy from Steiner a few times, but each time have had the feeling that the sales rep simply didn't know what he was talking about -- when you are considering buying a top-dollar item, this is not exactly the feeling that gets you comfortable enough to pull the trigger.

[BCowan40]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

Hi everyone one of the “gremlin’s” or "brightest bulbs in the shed" aka "Jigga-Man" chiming in here. I had to jump in here and hopefully nip this one in the bud before it spirals out of control as I can already see is happening. Without being a part of the conversation that was cited and without knowing who the conversation was between I do feel the need to set the record straight. Steiner Sports is not and has never "spread the word that Steiner items on the secondary market are fake." Again I was not part of the alleged conversation but what I think was meant to be said was the Steiner Sports is aware of fakes and misrepresentations that can happen on the secondary market, by no means are all secondary market purchases potential for fakes but the unfortunate reality as a lot of you know is in this day and age people do dishonest things and may misrepresent something in an effort to make a fast buck (a perfect example being the Obama/Jordan baseball which was portrayed as a Steiner item). Is it true that the best way to guarantee an item's authenticity is to buy directly from Steiner? Yes that's absolutely true but you can 100% get great and legitimate Steiner items on the secondary market. Nobody here believes that items not purchased directly from us are worthless at all we just don’t like to get involved in commenting on e-bay or other secondary sources because we don’t want to run into trouble in instances where our documentation has been tampered or someone is misrepresenting items. We stand behind our products and their authenticity as well as our dealers who resell our products. I think this thread has turned into a very big misunderstanding.

[sportscentury]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

It's too bad they didn't do a better system in keeping track of game used stuff (Yankee, Red Sox, Dodgers) ect and had own serial # tags sewn in like MeiGray has. Then keep it all in a data base and keep population reports on the jerseys. So people can tell how many jerseys were worn each season ect.

Indy, do you remember the old GUU threads when people argued with me that Steiner's tracking system was as good as MeiGray's? At the time, I just had to laugh. There would be many laughing with me now. I wonder where these GUU users are now? They still post, but not in any of the recent threads about Steiner's tracking system, the fake items on eBay, or this thread about Steiner telling LegalEagle that you can only trust Steiner items that are purchased directly from the company. No surprise, though.

[mbenga28]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

what's the purpose of using those numbered holograms if they're not even trackable, why not just issue the same general hologram they place on their signed items?

sportscentury, is it true that some of the more coveted items they do not list on their website and instead notify mailing lists recipients to not only give them first change before everyone else but to preclude use of discount codes?

[indyred]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

It's too bad they didn't do a better system in keeping track of game used stuff (Yankee, Red Sox, Dodgers) ect and had own serial # tags sewn in like MeiGray has. Then keep it all in a data base and keep population reports on the jerseys. So people can tell how many jerseys were worn each season ect.

[PwKw13]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

If they are spreading the word that the Steiner items on the secondary market (e.g., eBay) are fake, then this will ultimately DECREASE Steiner's sales.

I agree. You would think that they would want people to believe that a Steiner certification means an item will hold its value.

[sportscentury]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

Guys, if you follow GUU and the market, you should realize by now that the folks at Steiner are not the brightest bulbs in the shed. If they are spreading the word that the Steiner items on the secondary market (e.g., eBay) are fake, then this will ultimately DECREASE Steiner's sales. Why the heck would you want to pay Steiner's insanely high prices when you know that you won't be able to sell your Steiner on the secondary market if and when you tire of them or need to sell them to raise money for something? It's laughable. A real think tank they they have over there. We need to get their top sales rep "Jigga-Man" back on here to explain their business model! (GUU vets will enjoy this reference)

[mbenga28]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

That is buying directly from Steiner

why so, shouldn't a team clubhouse shop also be considered as a third party dealer? now if I purchased one of these from Steiner's store in Roosevelt Mall or Last Licks, I'd consider that as being directly from Steiner.

[eric16841]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

What i dont understand is buying a steiner item that is game used or issued comes with a hologram, a letter, and a numbered hologram matched on item and on letter. If your buying off ebay you should see all those items. I can see just on autos it being a little easier to fake but they should have the credit card coa and hologram. i think as long as you do your research your ok buying alternative. Its best if it comes directly from steiner but what about items they dont have anymore like older player that they sold all there game used years ago.

[suave1477]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

so say I go to one of the official clubhouse shops for one of the teams they partnership with, say the New York Yankees and one of their stores over at Times Square in New York City. They sell autographed Steiner authenticated photographs, am I not to buy from them now since it's not directly from Steiner?

That is buying directly from Steiner

[mbenga28]

Re: Steiner admits there are many "fake" Steiner products

so say I go to one of the official clubhouse shops for one of the teams they partnership with, say the New York Yankees and one of their stores over at Times Square in New York City. They sell autographed Steiner authenticated photographs, am I not to buy from them now since it's not directly from Steiner?