Zanebats on eBay

[mwbosoxfan]

Does anyone know anything about this guy? He sells quite a few items on eBay and has a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but (*RE-WRITTEN BY MODERATOR TO REMOVE STATEMENT NOT BACKED UP BY PROOF*)- I HAVE A QUESTION. If a game model bat hits the rack, is it now technically considered game used? I also realize that the amount of use can influence the value. I was just curious why a majority of the bats that he sells are very "clean".

[trsent]

Did you email the seller to ask him your questions?

[BaseballGM]

Zane has been around for a long time. He is knowledgable about bats but some items I have seen offered by him in the past have had "light use" that appear to me to be "really really light use." IMO. - Kevin

[Eric]

You should address Zane personally if you have specific questions about the items he is selling and his criteria for "game used." He is good about answering emails in a timely manner.
Eric

[Calrima]

Friends,

Eric brings up a great point. Always ask the questions before you start bidding.

I once asked Mr. Burns about a bat, and what he meant by light game on this particular item, and he honestly replied, " basically from the rack".


I respect the honesty, as it makes for a happy seller and a happy bidder when you understand what your bidding on.

My best to all, :)
Den

[island_style]

Agreed. Ask questions on any questionable items before you bid. Most sellers are good about responding in a timely manner. However, if they don't respond, it's a no-go for me. It's not good business-sense if you're trying to sell an item (eBay or not) and don't take the time to answer any inquiries.

I realize some of Zane's bats are advertised as "rack bats," but if you are comfortable with that, and you have already contacted him, then go for it.

That being said, I've purchased from Zane before. Most recently, I picked up a Steve Garvey 71-79 H&B gamer that had some key signatures from the '78 squad. This bat had Garvey's #6 on the knob and some hit marks on the barrel. I collect Garvey, but was especially interested in this bat because of the signatures (including Johnny Oates, who has since passed away). Even if it was just a game-issued Garvey, I would have bid because of the signatures.

[Swoboda4]

It makes for a stronger post when you're able to include what his response was (to your question).

[byergo]

Good honest dealer. Quickly delivers what he promises. Offers tons of good inventory (I wonder how he gets so much!).

[Eric]

By the way, I spoke to Zane over email. He said if anyone has questions for him, he can be reached at zanebats@comcast.net (zanebats@comcast.net)

Thanks
Eric

[mwbosoxfan]

Greetings and thanks for the responses to my question. Very good advice given by all and I appreciate the responses for those of you that passed on your personal experiences with Mr. Burns. That was actually my sole intent. However, I should have been more careful in my choice of words. After re-reading my original post, the tone in which it may have read was not my original intent and I apologize for that.

I have purchased a few bats from Mr. Burns, and was pleased with the transactions. I did inquire about the details of a bat in which I did not purchase, as the e-mail reply I received simply stated, “I don’t Know”.

Mr. Burn’s customers from the eBay community obviously have a high degree of satisfaction. I figured some within this forum community would have had some dealings with him and I wondered what your opinions were. He lists many very desirable, hard-to-find bats, that I would consider purchasing if they showed more game use. That is just my personal preference.

However, this brings me to my next question and maybe a topic for a new thread. I am hesitant to purchase bats off of eBay, not because I believe they’re not legitimate, but because most lack traceability or information about origin. If the use characteristics are good, but the source or origin is that “I bought it off of eBay from a guy who says he got it from a clubhouse attendant”. How much will that affect the grade and overall value? If anyone would like to discuss this topic, let me know and I’ll post it as a new thread. Thanks!

[Swoboda4]

For what's it's worth I've noticed the following over the years. Zanebats has himself purchased bats on ebay as well as selling(check feedback). So-in his inventory he has bats from the same decent enough sellers that we also bid from. There are(albeit buyer beware)very good items for sale on ebay and everyone has their eyes open for good game used items when replenishing their supply for future sale. Zanebats is on my "favorites" list on AOL even though he is currently selling Tommie Agee autographed cards signed 'Tommy" instead of "Tommie"(I'll get to the bottom of this mystery yet). Has anyone ever witnessed Agee signing "Tommy"? I'm beginning to think it may have happened early on.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Tommie-Agee-Autographed-Topps-Cards-New-York-Mets_W0QQitemZ8782253278QQcategoryZ73396QQrdZ1QQcm dZViewItem

[Yankwood]

Nobody would take the time to copy his signature that well and then make such a glaring spelling error. That's how Tommy (Tommie) signed it.

[metsbats]

I've dealt w/ Zane Burns many times over the last 14 years. He has been a SCD advertiser and I have save many of his ads from SCD in my collection. Yes I collect GU baseball bat advertisements (from BPH, Zane Burns, John Taube, etc) and they come in handy when I wanted to see what the prices of a particular player's bats were years ago. I have several great bats I acquired from Zane in my collection include a 76 Gary Carter Bicent. bat w/ tons of use and a 86 Mets Black WS bat. I've alway found Zane to be honest and up front to deal with.

David Louie

[trsent]

Nobody would take the time to copy his signature that well and then make such a glaring spelling error. That's how Tommy (Tommie) signed it.

Not that is matters, but how do you know?

Back in the day that card was made, the player may have not signed his mail, the ball boy may have. Also, think about your name - How many times do you mis-spell it?

Now, did they try to change Tommie's name, sort of like David Ortiz changed his name to be more popular with the kiddies?

[Yankwood]

Well, I don't really know, but my logic tells me if I practiced long and hard to copy, say, Babe Ruth's signature, for instance, I would then not be so sloppy as to sign it "Baby" Ruth. I mean, we probably should give a forger some credit. Whatever-maybe I'm wrong, but I keep coming back to this logic thing.

[trsent]

Well, I don't really know, but my logic tells me if I practiced long and hard to copy, say, Babe Ruth's signature, for instance, I would then not be so sloppy as to sign it "Baby" Ruth. I mean, we probably should give a forger some credit. Whatever-maybe I'm wrong, but I keep coming back to this logic thing.

Ok, so you are stating it is logical that a guy has had the same name since the day he was born suddenley expirments with spelling his name a diffrent way?

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Joel

[Yankwood]

Ok, so you are stating it is logical that a guy has had the same name since the day he was born suddenley expirments with spelling his name a diffrent way?

Maybe, but I doubt it.

JoelAbsolutely. In my younger days I was Yank Wood. Now I'm just plain old Yankwood.

[trsent]

I could think of a few jokes to reply to this one, but I will pass.

For some reason Beavis and Butthead popped into my head when I read your last reply.

[Nathan]

What about Lee Roy Selmon? That's his given name, but when he started in school it was LeRoy, then that became Leroy...it wasn't until he got to Oklahoma that it reverted back to the original name of Lee Roy.

[trsent]

What about Lee Roy Selmon? That's his given name, but when he started in school it was LeRoy, then that became Leroy...it wasn't until he got to Oklahoma that it reverted back to the original name of Lee Roy.

Who?

[Yankwood]

Who?What do you mean, who? You young punks. Lee Roy Selmon was one of three brothers who played for Oklahoma in the 70's. Leroy, Lucious and Dewey Selmon. I believe LeRoy and Lucious both played in the NFL but Le Roy was the real standout. There, I also spelled LeeRoy 4 different ways in this post.

[Swoboda4]

Nathan-You can consider then buying a Lee Roy,LeRoy,or leroy Selmon autograph but if you saw a "Leroye" Selmon signature all of a sudden I'm sure it would get your attention as did this Agee variation got mine. Nothing has "Tommy" Agee on it except all this stuff seen in the last four months. And yes,as pointed out,the signature in question looks good but his signature is fairly easy to forge(Agee's break in his surname, Ag- ee, not being continous, is a gift to forgers). I'm still not being close-minded about this because I asked, did anybody ever see him sign this way,maybe he did so briefly. But why have I only seen this lately?
Yankwood-You mentioned how forgers going through all this effort wouldn't tend to be sloppy and misspell but I've seen people list on ebay a good Tommie Agee item(see below) and list it and describe it as "Tommy",not realizing the mistake that the common spelling is not used. I wouldn't think going through with the effort needed to list an item they would make that error but they did. Anyway the point being let's be aware of this and as far as Zanebats is concerned he's a valuable source for G/U bats. I bought from him before and view all his new listings.
Robert
http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-Sports-Baseball-Mets-Outfield-Tommy-Agee_W0QQitemZ5233833580QQcategoryZ50133QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[RobSteinmetz]

The 5/31/08-6/9/08 exchange regarding Zane Burns' shipping error has been deleted. Zane was out of town and unable to respond immediately, and is correcting the error. Several other topics were brought up within the exchange, so if you wish to continue those discussions, please start a new thread. This one will be locked after this post.

Thanks,

Rob