Increase in people flipping jerseys?

[memorabiliaunlimited]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

"the bottom line is, these items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them at any given time. every day is different, different people see items at different times, and teams and players peak at different times. the market is very fluid and its always a gamble.

but have to love this industry "

This post really gets me.
Why does there have to be these middle men? The guy that justs bids on everything to sell it for double money? Oh,,,, I won it to offer it to guys that didnt see the auction...He's not a collector. He doesn't care about history of the item what so ever. He doesn't even care about the game. He just cares about the dollar.

you could not be more incorrect. i think its funny that people get so offended by the fact that someone resells an item - you do what you do, and ill do what i do. you have no idea what i have that is not for sale, why i buy and sell, or how i feel about the game. so many times i sell something to someone who just has not been able to find it no matter how hard they looked, and they are incredibly happy to purchase it. im an attorney, this is a side hobby. i started collecting autographs when i was 12, and now i am 28 and it has evolved into a way to make some extra side cash and continue to grow my collection. you cant knock success - this will be my 5th year having a formal business, and it has grown exponentially and been very successful. my inventory started with 60 autographed baseballs (the most valuable only being mantle). it is now what you see today, and i havent added one cent to my business - everything is purchased from profits. if something can be replaced, ill sell it and buy another one. with the amount of items pulled from each player, 90% of the new stuff that comes onto the market is replaceable with something comparable.

would love to answer anyones questions about this stuff - the incredible divide between collector and dealer is fascinating to me, especially when i think i fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

[TwinLakesPark]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I remember a story like this that began in 2004 and ended in 2008...

I have been preaching for some time now that this market is not sustainable and the bubble will pop, the only questions are when this will happen and how much inflated game used memorabilia will you be holding?

I am a collector at heart but my investment logic tells me that this is going to get worse. You pointed it out yourself Jake, how many people are flipping now? Same story in 2006, how many real estate agents were getting into the biz?

There are some people that are going to get very wealthy, if not already, on this bubble - just be careful you are not left holding the bag when the cards finally come down!

[grandeleague]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Teams cranking out jerseys at such a high level is a good thing right now. If you look at game used memorabilia despite what some people want to claim, it is on the rise. Ten years ago, how many teams had game used memorabilia programs? Now all 30 MLB teams have some level of program. It is growing in the other major sports too. The reason there is benefit to teams cranking out so many jerseys of common players right now is because it allows more people to come into the hobby. I would not be here collecting if it wasn't for a Mike Gonzalez Braves Jackie Robinson Day jersey that I ended up losing money on. I don't care that I lost money. I was hooked at that point and as time progresses I focus my efforts. You may be able to buy a lot of jerseys from a player now, but I just focus my efforts on milestone jerseys or items of that nature.
To me when it is an item that I want for my collection there is no such thing as overpaying. Sometimes it is worth paying more than you can get for an item to have it in your collection and to me that is all that matters.

I guess this is all to say that a majority of us started by collecting virtually worthless items at some point and it got us into the hobby. We all have our collection focuses and I have a rule with some items that the time to buy it is when you see it for sale. I have missed out on items that I thought were overpriced that now looking back I wish I had forked out the money. Value is in the eyes of the beholder. If you read this far I give you two gold stars!

Some teams had memorabilia programs in the early 1990's. The braves would sell every regular season jersey and bp jersey in one lot to someone who offered the most and that person in turn would sell them in a full page ad in Sports Collectos digest. You got all the jerseys and one copy of a letter from the braves to go with the jerseys. Dave Miedema would remember those braves bulk sales in sports collectors digest. You had to sell the stars for alot because you had to buy the common players to get them even the bat boy jerseys. Even then, there were only three or four sets so there was a good balance between supply and demand. Not anymore.30 or 40 jerseys for one player in a single season is nuts. Greed has taken over now at least with braves items. The real collectible braves jerseys in this hobby were the ones never meant to be collectible in the first place. The same can be said for alot of different teams. People can do as they wish. This is after all a hobby. If they think their mass produced derrick rose or freddie freeman jerseys are going to be rare and sought after 20 years from now they may quite mistaken.

[lakeerie92]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Teams cranking out jerseys at such a high level is a good thing right now. If you look at game used memorabilia despite what some people want to claim, it is on the rise. Ten years ago, how many teams had game used memorabilia programs? Now all 30 MLB teams have some level of program. It is growing in the other major sports too. The reason there is benefit to teams cranking out so many jerseys of common players right now is because it allows more people to come into the hobby. I would not be here collecting if it wasn't for a Mike Gonzalez Braves Jackie Robinson Day jersey that I ended up losing money on. I don't care that I lost money. I was hooked at that point and as time progresses I focus my efforts. You may be able to buy a lot of jerseys from a player now, but I just focus my efforts on milestone jerseys or items of that nature.
To me when it is an item that I want for my collection there is no such thing as overpaying. Sometimes it is worth paying more than you can get for an item to have it in your collection and to me that is all that matters.

I guess this is all to say that a majority of us started by collecting virtually worthless items at some point and it got us into the hobby. We all have our collection focuses and I have a rule with some items that the time to buy it is when you see it for sale. I have missed out on items that I thought were overpriced that now looking back I wish I had forked out the money. Value is in the eyes of the beholder. If you read this far I give you two gold stars!

[Stanley]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

"the bottom line is, these items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them at any given time. every day is different, different people see items at different times, and teams and players peak at different times. the market is very fluid and its always a gamble.

but have to love this industry "

This post really gets me.
Why does there have to be these middle men? The guy that justs bids on everything to sell it for double money? Oh,,,, I won it to offer it to guys that didnt see the auction...He's not a collector. He doesn't care about history of the item what so ever. He doesn't even care about the game. He just cares about the dollar.

[grandeleague]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Many seem to think they're "dealers" nowadays...you could probably start a thread called "Does anybody collect anymore?"

Most of the stuff being flipped is "manufactured memorabilia" meaning it was worn or used with the intention winding up on the collecting market. Will be very interesting to see what this stuff is worth a decade or two from now. My team is the braves and braves jerseys used to be scarce. Vintage jerseys and jerseys from the 1990's are relatively scarce now. However they are simply burning through too many sets of jerseys now for these things to be all that collectible in the furture. I dont really care anyway but the real pain is getting them from the team into collectors hands. The team wants 1k for freddie freeman jerseys. So somebody has to pay up to get one but once a freeman jersey enters the hobby good luck getting 750 for one. Fat chance at 1k unless its something really cool or unique. These memorabilia jerseys are not really rare and the teams could care less about supply. They crank them out by the bushel every season. Common braves players going through 30 jerseys a year is nuts. Its probably the same hassle with many other teams nowadays.

[grandeleague]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Especially on eBay out of all places.

My personal favorite is the 5000 evan gattis jersey on ebay. Lol. You have got to be joking. If you offered 1k you would be offering 2x what it is worth and yet only 20% of what it is listed for. You simply cannot do anything with a jersey like that. The seller can keep on dreaming and the buyer can keep on dreaming if he thinks he can get it at a decent price.

[grandeleague]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I know two examples I've seen recently are the Manny Machado and Carlos Correa game used St Patrick's day jerseys. Somehow the seller got complete pics of the Manny jersey less than 24 hours after it sold, I'm not even sure how that's possible. It is definitely annoying though I agree. The Correa one is listed for $8K and it sold for way less than half that.

He will take that Correa to the grave with him before someone pays 8k for a St. Pattys jersey. Most of the ebay jerseys are priced way over a fair value. In many instances if you offer half what it is listed for you are in many cases offering fair retail but not to the "expert" selling it. People can do what they want but i would like to be a fly on the war when many of these clowns are figuring out prices for their jereys.

[memorabiliaunlimited]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I noticed that on ebay in general...someone won a Kyrie Irving Meigray gamer for I believe 2700 and now the buyer has it up for 5500.

that would be me my friend - i believe we have done business together in the past, always a pleasure.

as someone else stated on here, not everyone sees every auction. meigray retails them for about that price. there is simply no way to find his jersey at that price other than in an eBay auction, which always sees rock bottom prices. in no way is an eBay auction end price a market price. i never expect to receive my full asking price, but why sell myself short? it is a full retail price. a high list price leaves more room to negotiate a reasonable price. everything i have listed always has always has a "best offer" option.

also, auction items are the easiest to flip - done quite frequently and has been very successful. once people get over the high list price and start making offers, i am quite reasonable and the items move. i never get stuck with items purchased in auctions - only stuff i buy directly from teams or other people (which i find interesting as well).

the bottom line is, these items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them at any given time. every day is different, different people see items at different times, and teams and players peak at different times. the market is very fluid and its always a gamble.

but have to love this industry

[metsbats]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I've never understood the thought process behind this movement...

So you were the highest bidder in an auction, meaning you paid the highest price for X item. Then, you think that you're going to list X item in a different auction, days later, and someone is going to pay 10-20-50% more than you did in the previous auction?

Good plan.

Especially on eBay out of all places.

[yanks12025]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I've never understood the thought process behind this movement...

So you were the highest bidder in an auction, meaning you paid the highest price for X item. Then, you think that you're going to list X item in a different auction, days later, and someone is going to pay 10-20-50% more than you did in the previous auction?

Good plan.

As I stated in another thread about people complaining about flippers is that NOT every collector sees EVERY auction. So just because an item in one auction sells for XXX amount, that DOESN'T mean that its worth only that price.

So pretty much, if a Ruth game used bat is listed for sale and for some odd reason it sells for only $1,000. Is it only worth $1,000 because thats what it sold for at auction.

[paul457]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I've never understood the thought process behind this movement...

So you were the highest bidder in an auction, meaning you paid the highest price for X item. Then, you think that you're going to list X item in a different auction, days later, and someone is going to pay 10-20-50% more than you did in the previous auction?

Good plan.

[Oriolesfan29]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

I know two examples I've seen recently are the Manny Machado and Carlos Correa game used St Patrick's day jerseys. Somehow the seller got complete pics of the Manny jersey less than 24 hours after it sold, I'm not even sure how that's possible. It is definitely annoying though I agree. The Correa one is listed for $8K and it sold for way less than half that.

[gorilla777]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Many seem to think they're "dealers" nowadays...you could probably start a thread called "Does anybody collect anymore?"

[mad87man]

Re: Increase in people flipping jerseys?

Sometimes I'm grateful for a chance to buy something I missed. There are some items I don't mind overpaying for and as long as the seller is reasonable, we can usually come to some agreement.

I have never missed an item and then seen it appear on eBay. Less than a week later. I always check NFL auctions for new stuff and keep tabs on what i want. If i did miss something though it would be a different story, or if they had the item a while.