Piratefest report

[pietraynor]

Would love to hear what people got/thought about Piratefest this year. The new date of the event, game used area, etc. After sticker shock on the jerseys, I settle for a pair of lineup cards I've been looking for from the July 2nd game vs the Nationals. Jay

[Chris78]

I did not attend this year, but I know that last year I was disappointed compared to 2009. Prices were much higher and no good deals. What were the prices like this year? Did they have nameplates?

Chris

[Utopian2630]

I had planned on posting a report Saturday, but ended up getting sidetracked putting up XMas lights.

Honestly PirateFest was probably the worst its been in all of my years of attending (since the first PirateFest). They didnt have the selection as in years past and the prices were ridiculous! I went there looking for a Derrick Lee jersey, but couldnt justify paying $600 for a black Alternate that looked brand new (he was injuried for the most part during his tenure with the buccos).

In my opinion, their prices have balooned out of control which is probably why I didnt see many people buying jerseys (if at all). I think the comment of the day summed it up.

"$400 for THAT jersey??? My season tickets weren't even that much".

[dplettn]

Was Megan Vizzini the one handling it? If so, I'm guessing she handled any comments or concerns not with tact, nor by having ANY sincere communication. Rather, I presume she'd tell consumers not to bother communicating with her because she thinks she's too good for normal people.

I tend to believe I understand the pricing challenge / balancing act that MLB clubs' game used folks are encountering... but some of the employees which represent them are better suited to handle things tastefully than others.

As collectors, I think many of us "get" that the clubs(technically the folks they hire to represent the GU segment) have challenges in balancing supply and demand, and to efficiently create value for the purposes they handle their GU programs. Such challenges is no pardon for abandoning grace.

In my humble observation of the game used program of the Pirates last year, it was thoroughly off-putting.

[Utopian2630]

Hunt Auction was handling all of the transactions and everything this year. In addition to the game used area, Hunt had several display cases with cards, autographs and other odds and ends.

In previous years, they would continually re-stock the inventory throughout the day which was nice and mark down stuff on the last day.

I wonder if Hunt will auction the inventory off and/or offer the stuff for sale at a discount since they didnt seem to be selling many jerseys at those insane prices.

Case in point 3 years ago I bought a Maz spring training used warm-up for $200. 2 years ago I bought a Dave Parker spring training used warm up for $150.

Since then i've gone home empty handed each year.