Steiner Sports Good or Bad?

[richpick]

Having a company monopolize the market and buy all of the game-used items from a team and then have to charge higher prices to cover their costs is this good or bad?

My thoughts:
In one way I believe it is good because if Steiner has all of a teams items and then that year an item pops up that is not from Steiner then it will raise eyebrows.

In a negative aspect it makes everything priced higher and it is more costly to collect. I would much rather teams sell their own items at Fanfests or through a charity.

Your thoughts?

[jon_8_us]

With Steiner recently signing on with the Red Sox i was very excited and worried at the same time.Excited because i now have a spot to get rock solid authentic bats.Worried because i'm gonna have to take out a loan at the bank to afford the stuff.I don't know why Steiner charges so much above normal market value but it puts a lot of collectors of regular means like myself in an expensive bind.The Red Sox secondary bat market where prices are somewhat reasonable will soon slow down which is bad news to collectors such as myself.However i hope to see some Sox bats come out with prices like some of those 99$ dollar Yankees bats did earlier this year.Time will tell.It certainly will be an adjustment for me.
Jon

[kylehess10]

Authenticity: Good
Prices: Bad

Plain and simple

[jon_8_us]

Authenticity: Good
Prices: Bad

Plain and simple

Ain't that the truth!
Jon

[soxbats]

Disagree, to a certain extent. I am actually pleased that Steiner has taken over the Red Sox game used equipment market. For those of us who collect Red Sox bats there have been very few sources and, as a result, these souces have had free reign to charge very high prices, even for common players. This is due, in part to a number of "middle men" who were getting their piece on the way to the market.

Yes, I am sure that the star player jerseys will be overpriced, but given the uncertainty in the market and the flood of star jerseys we have seen, at least now you can have some confidence what you get is a gamer (I understand that Steiner makes mistakes in this regard).

For the guys who had sources and got Red Sox equipment directly for low prices this is a bad development. For the rest of us this is great and, at least with regard to bats, I think we will see a reduction in prices over time as Steiner brings more bats (supply) to the mainstream market. I think we have seen this for the mid level and common player Yankee bats already. I have bought an absolutely fatastic Red Sox bat from them at a price that I consider at or below market value for the bat and much less than I have paid in the past for other similar bats. The person at Steiner was great, understood exactly what I was looking for, and found me the best bat among a number of choices. They also called me back, twice, to complete the deal.

On the other hand the thrill and rush of the hunt for new bats will be gone.

Always looking for Red Sox Bats, email me at soxbats@aol.com for my wantlist

[TNTtoys]

I think we will see a reduction in prices over time as Steiner brings more bats (supply) to the mainstream market. I think we have seen this for the mid level and common player Yankee bats already.

This is exactly what I have experienced with Mets items. I think Steiner sports is capitalism at its very best... They put out an initial offering. If the price makes sense to you, buy. If it doesn't, wait. Likely case is that there aren't many who would pay the price if it's many factors higher than the market value. The price then starts to come down... and comes down again... and again... until a buyer for the item shows up. Or the item appears in a sale... or Steiner/MLB auctions... Likely case, it may ultimately sell for a fraction of the original offering. Law of supply and demand at its finest.

[JETEFAN]

Agreed that Steiner has a direct link to the team, but as we have seen time and time again, they have no clue as to who, what, where and when an item was used, BP or games. Items sold of a player actually used by another etc. With their prices they have to do better than that!!

[Game Used Bats]

I don't see how this effects the price of Red Sox bats at all. Bats are owned by the players and are not given to Steiner in their agreeement. Bats that make it to Steiner that are uncracked were surrendered by the player or cracked and the player agrees to give it up.

[cjclong]

What would Steiner normally charge for an a game used bat for a player like Jeter that is not autographed. Do they handle ARod or does he keep all his own?

[mphcollectibles]

Bats or any game-used equipment can still come from the player and what ever company the player has representing him. A-Rod is not under Steiners umbrella of players and can make deals with his game-used stuff. David Wright has an exclusive with Locker Room Memorabilia and Steiner-Mets has no control over his game-used memorabilia. Collectors need to realize that just because Steiner labels themself Steiner-Mets or Steiner-Yankees does not mean they get the rights to every piece of game used piece a team produces. The partnership means that Steiner is a reputable source of game used material from those teams they partnered up with. Does that mean the middlemen will get cut out?? No, it just means that they will have a harder time re-selling the stuff they do acquire because the collector will only think to trust Steiner.

[Vintagedeputy]

Remember too that Steiner is not the only game in town.Last month I picked up a gorgeous Posada cracked game used bat for a third of what Steiner asks for. You have to look and be patient but its out there.

[JimCaravello]

I think Steiner is serving a great Large niche in the market place.......

I'll be the first one to admit that when they came into the market a few years ago, I complained about their prices and wondered where the Yankees GU market was going with so much merchandise available all of a sudden. Since they hit the market, I have bid in their continuing auctions and have bought a few nice things for my collection along the way. I bought three jerseys from them at the National as I felt they were priced appropriately.

They have sold many items at high prices off their site - but they represent capitalism at its best.....they had a product that no one else had and they tried to capitalize on it initially with high prices and they were succesful in selling many items to collectors who were willing to pay for them at that time.

It's supply and demand folks - it's plain and simple and their pricing adjustments along the way - both up and down reflect the true market sources at work - which is the way it should be. If you don't like the prices - don't buy - if you do - then buy........if they are not selling enough, the market will tell them that and price adjustments will occur.

I was fortunate enough to meet Bob Malandro at the National along with some of the other Steiner reps and to be quite honest - I was really impressed with everyone I met. Bob is a great guy and he took a lot of time out of his busy schedule to talk to me. I also learned a great deal about their initital ineractions with the Yankees and the voluminous amount of material they were given to auction and sell. In Steiner's defense - I don't think even the Yankees knew what they had given to Steiner at times to auction or sell.......It appears Steiner had a very daunting task initially and to date - I feel they have done a good job in bringing Yankees GU merchandise to market.

Now they are signing agreements with other teams including the Red Sox and I think this is awesome. As most of you know, I bleed Yankee blue - but have always loved Tim Wakefield and I would like to own one of his GU jerseys. He played Double A ball down in the Raleigh area when he was with the Pirates and I have followed his career ever since. I would never touch a post late 1990's Red Sox jersey in the marketplace - period. With Steiner now offering Red Sox jerseys, I will most likely find a few dollars to obtain a Wakefield at some point in time.

Steiner brings great credibility to a GU market that at times can be hard to navigate through........

Jim Caravello

[indyred]

I agree with what most have said. I like the idea of Steiner getting more teams. Although they are not perfect (no one is), you know most of the stuff will be rock solid and came from the team itself. It's worth paying more knowing this. I'd love to see Meigray work with MLB teams. I wonder if Steiner will get a deal like Meigray has with Getty and photomatch stuff, with a photo LOA when it can be done. The one's Meigray has done with hockey are look awesome.

[soxbats]

I don't see how this effects the price of Red Sox bats at all. Bats are owned by the players and are not given to Steiner in their agreeement. Bats that make it to Steiner that are uncracked were surrendered by the player or cracked and the player agrees to give it up.


Hi Game Used, if you have some inside knowledge that I am unaware of then I defer to you. However, I have been collecting Red Sox bats for about 20 years and have handled over 700+ and have a couple of thoughts in response:

First, in most cases (stars sometimes excepted) the players do not buy their bats, they are purchased by the team in bulk. People like Bonds have been an exception to this rule. Also, smaller bat companies may give bats to a player so, in that case, they are arguably the player's. While the bats are owened by the team, in years past the Sox, like many teams, have appeared to have no policy on game used equipment and apparently allowed the players to do whatever they liked, leading to a market of middlemen who had "access." I think that the Sox, like many teams, are now looking for a new revenue stream.

Second, and I spoke with Steiner on this, they believe that the Red Sox will be shipping out bats to Steiner on a bi-weekly basis. Apparently there is someone onsite that will do the authenticating before they are sent to Steiner HQ.

Third, Steiner has sold numerous red Sox bats already on their site and on MLB.com. While some of the prices have been at or above market they have not brought multiple bids, suggesting one time purchasers but limited market interest. The rest are around market and noted by the Mets bat collector, given the pricing of Mets and Yankee bats, are sure to head down. I follow these prices closely not just to buy but also to value my collection.

Fourth, it is my understanding that Steiner gets all the cracked bats but a player would have to give up an uncracked bat, (I believe this is less about ownership of the bat and more about not taking things out of players lockers that are prepared for game use). Thus, if you collect uncracked bats you will need to rely on the old direct sources from the players.

As to the point about price, I can speak only from experience. Over the last few years Red Sox bats have jumped up in price astronomically with some of the new players reaching 300-400. I attribute this to a limited direct supply and the fact that these bats seem to pass through multiple hands and into the market. As the supply get more consistent, I think the prices will come down. Again, my personal opinion based on experience (and possibly some hope too!)

Always looking for Red Sox bats, email me at Soxbats@aol.com

[beavisrules]

have bought a couple of items from them, and have been very pleased all around (price, shipping, quality of item); would definitely buy from again

[ham1963]

I agree with beavisrules I have bought some items form Steiner and have been very please with my salesman Brett Friedman plus I have bought some stuff off thier E-Bay site and I have gotten some deals that I have made money off of and added some things to my collection. I think what they are doing is good for the collecting industry and if Stiener was not doing it someone else would be.
Just a thought;)
John

[gingi79]

Authenticity: Good
Prices: Bad

Plain and simple

I am a braves fan but I like David Wright. I recently went to a Mets game and noticed his game used jersey is $7500!!!!! Who knows how many there are? Unlike MeiGray where they can tell you that there are only 3 sets and which games they were worn, I'd believe there are up to 82 Wrights a year.

For that price, I could buy 3 future HOF players. I could buy the starting 5 for the Vancouver Canucks and get a Luongo as well! So, I agree with KyleHess10. Well told.

[reed1216]

I love companies like MeiGray and Steiner because you know what you're getting. You can't put a price tag on the piece of mind you get from knowing that your purchase is real. Yes, the prices are high, but I'd rather pay a little over what is perceived as "market value" for an item that has solid provenence.

I have purchased several items directly from Steiner and have never had a problem. In fact, two of my most recent pick ups have been photmatched. One of them was a home Mussina, which was photomatched by a member of this forum and the other (a Sheffield helmet from Grey Flannel's last auction) was easily matched to several Getty images.

The bottom line, as far as I'm concerned, is that you get what you pay for. Sure, there are deals where you can eventually photomatch or conclusively berify an item. But how many times have collectors been burned trying to acquire that great bargain? Steiner, like MeiGray, provides team provenence and with that comes piece of mind. All that comes with a price.

http://community.webshots.com/user/Reed97

[sarahsdad]

I for one am not a proponent of Steiner. And have had my problems with them and based on the other forum posts certainly am not the only one. The next time someone complains about the price of a game used item you can thank Steiner. Their exclusive agreements are only good for 2 entities, Steiner and the team. You, I and the regular collectors out there get priced out of the market and thanks to Steiner they have managed to artifically inflate the price of game used items. They ruined it for Yankee collectors and then Mets collectors, now the poor souls who "used" to collect Red Sox and Dodger items are now priced out of the market. Pretty soon the going rate for a team issued Royals jersey for a September call up will be $300. Thanks Steiner. The latest example of Steiners "Good" deed for the collectors is their private signing with Nolan Ryan. Steiner is charging over $200 for a Nolan Ryan autograph and over $50 for an inscription. Go to Nolanryanfoundation.com and you can mail your item in to the Nolan Ryan foundation and Nolan will autograph it for an average price of $70 and charge you $18 for an inscription. So, has Steiner really been good for the collecting public overall or for just a few collectors where price is not an object? Either way, we are all paying higher prices in the market today then we did before Steiner came along. Certainly this is my opinion and others I am sure feel differently. But judging from some recent Forum posts there are others who will surely agree. Steiner will probably be around longer then you and I but I do not believe their presence in the market place will ever benefit the collecting public.

[JasonHalliburton]

In my opinion, Stainer prices are crazy and stuff is was over priced badly. It is very difficult and almost impossible for the working man to afford anything they sell.

They do have great items, the prices just turn me away from them.

I have made some phone calls to Steiner and received bad attitudes and hateful people that I have dealt with.

For the prices they charge, they should be the friendliest people and treat people nice.