A question for EVERY single member of this forum

[jon_8_us]

I have been reading a lot lately about the mishandling of game used items by certain auction etc.Myself i mainly collect bats but own a jersey.I can tell you that i have tried on the jersey and i swing my bats from time to time.My question is am i the only one??I'm sure that a vast majority of you collectors out there have done the same thing.And how many of you and these items have been sold to other collectors??My point is i believe this subject is being blown way out of proportion!Granted most of us aren't photographed while doing.But i can guarantee if you have items in your collection that you have bought from other collectors that they have been handled similarly to way that most of you are "digusted" by..........
jon

[jon_8_us]

I have been reading a lot lately about the mishandling of game used items by certain auction etc.Myself i mainly collect bats but own a jersey.I can tell you that i have tried on the jersey and i swing my bats from time to time.My question is am i the only one??I'm sure that a vast majority of you collectors out there have done the same thing.And how many of you and these items have been sold to other collectors??My point is i believe this subject is being blown way out of proportion!Granted most of us aren't photographed while doing.But i can guarantee if you have items in your collection that you have bought from other collectors that they have been handled similarly to way that most of you are "digusted" by..........
jon


make that "disgusted"

[RyanZimmerman11]

The big difference is....and this coming from a collector, not a dealer/seller...

If I were to try on any of my GU jerseys, or take a few swings with my bats...I would disclose that information if I were to ever sell the item. That's common sense and common courtesy.


Most collectors are under the inpression that the player of said GU jersey/warm-up was the last person to ever have it on. That's what typically adds to the appeal of such an item.

None of us, certainly not me...wants some...hmm..to put this nicely...dealer who's trying his best to sell me on how great of an item this is, running around in the jersey, warm-up or whatever the item might be....right before he sells it to me.

Same goes for cleats or any other wearable piece of memorabilia.


Just my .02,
Jay

[jon_8_us]

The big difference is....and this coming from a collector, not a dealer/seller...

If I were to try on any of my GU jerseys, or take a few swings with my bats...I would disclose that information if I were to ever sell the item. That's common sense and common courtesy.


Most collectors are under the inpression that the player of said GU jersey/warm-up was the last person to ever have it on. That's what typically adds to the appeal of such an item.

None of us, certainly not me...wants some...hmm..to put this nicely...dealer who's trying his best to sell me on how great of an item this is, running around in the jersey, warm-up or whatever the item might be....right before he sells it to me.

Same goes for cleats or any other wearable piece of memorabilia.


Just my .02,
Jay

Agreed.I believe that dealers doing this is just bad business.And as for your disclosure of an item you may have worn you would be the first!
jon

[kingjammy24]

jon,

i've tried on some of my jerseys. by "try on", i mean put on for literally a couple of minutes. i haven't wear them around town, i haven't eaten in them, etc.

i'm a little more careful when handling my bats because i don't want even a speck of pinetar to come off. one of my bats, a joe carter, has a small red thread stuck to the pinetar. carter was known to wear batting gloves with a red-threaded back. i've done my utmost to make sure that that small red thread not be disturbed.

"My point is i believe this subject is being blown way out of proportion!Granted most of us aren't photographed while doing.But i can guarantee if you have items in your collection that you have bought from other collectors that they have been handled similarly to way that most of you are "digusted" by"

jon, you've missed one crucial point here: most of us don't do these things with other people's items. we do it with items we own. AMI did it with other peoples items and i'm guessing they didn't have permission. if i want to wear my roberto kelly jersey around the house while swinging my rickey henderson bat around like a maniac, then those are my items. i've paid for them and if they incur any damage as a result of my horseplay then it's my items that i've damaged. this is not the case when an auction house takes items belonging to consigners and plays a few rounds of whiffle ball with them. if you sent me a jersey to authenticate, how would you feel if you saw pics of me wearing it while wrestling with my friend? point is, if it's your item, then you've got the right to do what you wish. on the other hand, if someone has entrusted their item to you, then you clearly don't have this right. consigners expect that auction houses will treat their items carefully and with respect. clearly, ami didn't.

rudy.

[jboosted92]

Agreed.I believe that dealers doing this is just bad business.And as for your disclosure of an item you may have worn you would be the first!
jon


"I turn the lights down low...and hold my bat and there bat at the same time......

bow chicky bow wow"

[RyanZimmerman11]

Agreed.I believe that dealers doing this is just bad business.And as for your disclosure of an item you may have worn you would be the first!
jon

That's a shame, I thought there we other honest people out there :rolleyes: Joking aside, I'm far from new in the overall hobby of sports cards and memorabilia. I've seen some lowlife actions..such as overhearing a deal at a failry large and recognizable show telling his buddy how he removes autos from mulitsigned balls so that they sell more as single signed balls....despicable.

But as I said, I am not a seller or a dealer..just a run of the mill collector. So if I ever was in a bad way and was forced to sell my item, and I had in fact tried it on, I would want the poor sap that was buying to think he was getting any more or any less than what he was truly getting.


That and I am a FIRM believer in Karma ;)

[RyanZimmerman11]

jon,

If i want to wear my roberto kelly jersey around the house while swinging my rickey henderson bat around like a maniac, then those are my items.


Sorry, I know this is a serious topic...but I actually laughed out loud while picturing this....it was part Risky Business/part Major League :eek: LOL

[jon_8_us]

Sorry, I know this is a serious topic...but I actually laughed out loud while picturing this....it was part Risky Business/part Major League :eek: LOL

It can't be a serious subject because i'm not a serious enough guy ;).Rudy what you say is right on the money.I guess i just think of all my items being swung and/or tried on and the fact that everyone else probably does the same.These items are sold collector to collector so i guess we can expect a reasonable amount of these items to be worn/swung by others.But i must say that i also keep a very large amount of respect for my collection and am careful when i take a bat of the rack...
jon

[camarokids]

Great stuff Jon!

I wore my Mike DiFelice game used jersey with team letter to a Devil Rays game in April and my son spilled some chocolate ice cream on it .

No problem , a little spray stuff on the spots before throwing it the washer and dried it on low . Came out beautiful . Even got the dust stains out that were there on the top shoulders from when I bought it . It all came out .

I swing my bats , put on my fielders glove , played catch with a couple of them before as well . My son put on the TBTC batting helmets I have.

I did NOT try on my Jose Guillen game used cap though .

I was NOT impressed with AMI'S Catalog . Not disgusted either though , didn't bother me . I was impressed with the short mini-skirt though . I am sure they handled the stuff with care . After all we're talking money .....

[RyanZimmerman11]

Here's something...

I thought of this as a response to Jon saying we are all collectors..etc


Yes, I agree...collector-to-collector transactions....it should be expected that the jersey you're buying was more than likely worn/tried on.


But when buying from an auction house, any auction house, non of us should expect that their employees are running around the stock room trying stuff on, jousting with bats and God knows what else they do for kicks.


Jay

[kingjammy24]

i'll also use common sense and caution. i'm not going to put on a size 42 jersey that i could possibly stretch out. i've only put on a couple of my jerseys and simply stood in them for a couple of minutes.

jim yackel has repeatedly made known that he has a big issue with people buying gamers and regularly wearing them. i agree with him. it's one thing if every seller admitted they had worn the jersey for years, but most don't. you see pilling on a jersey and think it's from a player when it's really from a couple years worth of some guy rolling around on his sofa. or from a couple of auction house clowns acting like 3 yr olds.

"I guess i just think of all my items being swung and/or tried on and the fact that everyone else probably does the same.These items are sold collector to collector so i guess we can expect a reasonable amount of these items to be worn/swung by others."

jon, yes but you don't do it with other people's items that you don't even own. if i worked for an auction house, and handled other peoples items, then what i do with my own items has no bearing on how i should treat theirs. you can treat your own things any way you like but when you're entrusted with someone else's items then there's only one way to do it: with the utmost of care. if i feel like acting like an idiot then i can go home and do it with my own items, right?
johnny crow and giese didn't own those items. even if they're the sort of people who love to wear their own gamers around all the time, what on earth made them think it was ok to do that with other people's items and without their consent?

rudy.

[camarokids]

That's a shame, I thought there we other honest people out there :rolleyes: Joking aside, I'm far from new in the overall hobby of sports cards and memorabilia. I've seen some lowlife actions..such as overhearing a deal at a failry large and recognizable show telling his buddy how he removes autos from mulitsigned balls so that they sell more as single signed balls....despicable.



There is a service that advertises in Sport Collectors Digest that will have signatures removed for a fee ....Their Moto " Turn Foul balls into Home Runs" ..and they picture a Clemente signed ball , before and after !

Coin collectors can submit their coins to a conservator service to be "cleaned" (they call it conserving a coin when they do it). Owned by one of the grading companies , that's pretty convenient ! Clean your coin yourself and they will reject it . Won't even slab your coin nor assign it a grade . They return to you in a "body bag", but you are still charged the fee . If you know about coins , one big rule is . Do NOT clean or touch the surface of the coin. Leave it in it's original condition .

That rule kind of applies to our hobby and kind of does not . You don't want to touch your signed baseballs .

But as far as the game used items , as long as you do not harm the item or alter the original surfaces, it should not matter if you have touched, swung or worn or even caught a few balls with it ....

[hiramman]

Amen camarokids!

I've swung some of my bats, tried on and even worn one my game-used jerseys to a game(a common player of course and no ice cream was spilt on it - maybe a little beer) but that's what makes collecting fun. If you are collecting just so that your item is going to be worth big bucks in the future and you have your jerseys and bats in air-free sterilized glass sealed containers then you're missing the point of collecting.

The fun of collecting for me is showing others something special. Especially, say baseball fans that aren't collectors. They want to feel the bat in their hands because they've never seen or touched a real MLB bat. They want to feel the fabric on a game-used jersey. I'm not going to let them try the jersey on and where it around the house or out in the backyard as we play a little backyard baseball with the game-used Nolan Ryan glove, the game-used uncracked Hank Aaron bat, and the Sandy Koufax no-hitter game ball, but enjoying the hobby with others is what it is about for me.

And by the way, the "bow chicky bow wow" made me laugh out load.

[kylehess10]

I've actually never worn or used anything in my collection. I've held some bats before as if I were in a stance but I never swung it. And I never wore any of the jerseys I own neither.

[hiramman]

Kyle,

If one of your buddies comes over and wants to feel how your Griffey Jr feels on his head would you let him? You're telling me you never slipped it on your head, since the day you got it.

[hiramman]

Your Griffey Jr helent, I mean

[hiramman]

helmet - duh!!!

[RyanZimmerman11]

As of right now, I own 0 pieces of game used equipment and/or jerseys.

But I will say right now, that the second I do own a GU jersey...I'm tryin' that bad boy on lol

Like it's been said (and is immortalized in my sig lol)...it's mine, I paid for it :)

Would I let anyone else put on one of my GU jerseys? Not in this lifetime. The could "maybe" feel the material...but that's it.


Besides, I plan on having my jerseys framed and hung...once I find the ones I am looking for and buy them ;)

[kylehess10]

Kyle,

If one of your buddies comes over and wants to feel how your Griffey Jr feels on his head would you let him? You're telling me you never slipped it on your head, since the day you got it.


They ask me all the time. Even not too long ago my friend wanted some new pictures for myspace and he wanted to wear my Andruw Jones TBTC hat and Brian Jordan home jersey, and I ofcoarse said no. I never once slipped on anything, even the helmet. It's been in my case since I first got it (except for when I brought it to a show to get appraised)

[jboosted92]

As of right now, I own 0 pieces of game used equipment and/or jerseys.

But I will say right now, that the second I do own a GU jersey...I'm tryin' that bad boy on lol

Like it's been said (and is immortalized in my sig lol)...it's mine, I paid for it :)

Would I let anyone else put on one of my GU jerseys? Not in this lifetime. The could "maybe" feel the material...but that's it.


Besides, I plan on having my jerseys framed and hung...once I find the ones I am looking for and buy them ;)

i had some Jordan GU stuff..I put it on...drank some gatorade...drafted Kwame Brown in fantasy draft..then shot myself

[hiramman]

Woe Kyle! I'm suprised you haven't tried it on even once. I'm sure it's been tried on by someone other than Jr before you got it, so what would it hurt. I've got one game-used helmet and I tried it on and it fit pretty good. I think it would do a good job protecting me against one of Roger Clemens fastballs to the head.

[sylbry]

I have a couple jerseys I wear. One is my first game jersey I bought nearly 20 years ago. The other is a 1984 Twins with number 57 on the back. Kind of cool to have a genuine pullover with Santana's number on it. They are both worn & cheap and would never be mistaken for anything of real value.

The rest hang in the closet. I don't think I could try them on if you paid me. True story: I came home from work a couple of months ago to find my wife wearing one of those jerseys, and ONLY one of those jerseys. The sad thing is when I saw her I thought to myself, "why did you have to pick that one."

Bryan

[sportscentury]

Personally, I don't do this. I view these items as American cultural artifacts that should be cared for in the same fashion as important coins, stamps, paintings, etc. However, if you paid your hard-earned money for an item and trying on a jersey or swinging a bat brings you enjoyment (or makes you feel closer to the game), then I don't see a problem with that at all.

Reid

[jon_8_us]

i had some Jordan GU stuff..I put it on...drank some gatorade...drafted Kwame Brown in fantasy draft..then shot myself

Wizards fan????That was hilarious!
jon

[TNTtoys]

I have a few thoughts regarding this topic with varying degree...

I own quite a few game worn jerseys. How I feel about trying them on or even wearing them is very subjective and much related to the individual item and not related to any philosophy.

Here is what I think:

1. Items I would not even go as far as try on/use:

Many of these are from the 70s and 80s where players were umm can you say smaller than they are now. There would be a risk of stretching them, popping a button, etc.

Higher priced items. If you spent half a paycheck for a jersey of your favorite superstar, would you want to take the chance of getting it ruined?

Cracked bats. If the structure of the item has already been compromised, I would not take any chance of holding it in a way that I could do any further damage to it.

2. Middle of the road items:

I might try on that $200 game jersey out of the cabinet that I have always loved -- enough to try on but not wear out of the home.

I'd try on the jersey that can easily be replaced -- take for example a common player from a year where his team wore many sets of 5 different style home & road jerseys

I'd hold that uncracked bat from my closet, as long as I felt that there would be nothing I could do to compromise it.

3. Items I would wear:

I have kept a select few jerseys in my closet that began as game worn jerseys but are legitimate parts of my wardrobe. These normally fall into two categories.

They are usually my favorite style spring training jerseys or BPs of common players or even players that did not make the team. One example is the 1987 Mets BP I wore recently from "unknown player #75" -- I love the year, the style, but wouldn't ever want to wear something of value. This one fits the bill perfectly.

They are sometimes items I have paid miniscule amounts of money for -- that bargain gamer that cost me $50-100 on ebay, etc. Again, not a star player jersey, but I could have also spent that same money on a Majestic Cooperstown Collection replica jersey... why not buy & wear the real thing instead?

Game issued jerseys -- no wear in the first place. If I am to add some "collector wear" to my jersey, no problem. I have not really bought a game worn collectible, so I am not really compromising the piece. I would certainly not pay high for these items either, and find that they are better value items than that Majestic retail authentic jersey on MLB.com that costs more.

One final point -- on the items in this section -- they are not for resale. If I have made a conscious decision to make a collectible jersey part of my wardrobe, it's mine for life.
I also would like to second Rudy's statement that we collectors have the right to do what we do to our items because we are the owners of them. If we entrust them to someone else (to sell on consignment or what have you), we expect that this other party will treat them with utmost care. We are not giving them our endorsement to handle them carelessly.
Could you imagine entrusting your $3,000 jersey to an auction house, that auction house takes it upon themselves to use it in a photo shoot, and somehow something goes wrong during that shoot and it is ripped... or stained... I don't see why anyone would take this kind of a risk with something that is not their own, period.

[metsbats]

I think a "try on" may be ok to some extent but a "wear" taints the jersey forever. If you wear a game used jersey to the ball park, to play ball, a birthday party ,etc the jersey is not what it is anymore. I'm very careful about preserving the original state of my game used jerseys to a point when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law two perfume mongers visit they are not allow in my room! When we cook I close the door to my room. And all these jerseys are in a plastic covering from Bed Bath and Beyond in my closet too.

Sounds like we need to ask sellers about "try on use" too. So here are some guidelines we all should adhere to:

- If the jersey is a pullover this constitutes 100% try on use. No way around it. Sure there may have been the chance that when the seller attempted to complete the try on his big noggin got stuck in the neck hole and he was never able to fully complete the try on, but whose to know for sure. Alway assume 100% try on use with pullovers. Give it a 10.

If the jersey is a button down then the guidelines become more complex.

- If the seller puts the button down on and does not button it rate it a 6.
- If the seller buttons it but does not fasten the velcro strips rate it a 8.
- If the seller buttons it with velcro attached then it's an 10.

Next ask the seller how long was the duration of the "try on"

- Less then 1 minute add 1 point
- Greater than 1 minute and less than 5 minutes add 2 points
- Between 5-15 minutes add 3 points
- "I don't know how long the try on was but when i woke up the jersey was still on me and I was sweating like a pig!" Recommended action: DO NOT BUY THIS JERSEY

David

[TNTtoys]

"I don't know how long the try on was but when i woke up the jersey was still on me and I was sweating like a pig!" Recommended action: DO NOT BUY THIS JERSEY
David


David,

I read this and immediately thought of an episode from the past where a seller was trying to pass a 1990 Scoreboard Jefferies as game worn because "there was evidence of sweat stains in the collar." Maybe the above happened to the former owner of the jersey???

[metsbats]

David,

I read this and immediately thought of an episode from the past where a seller was trying to pass a 1990 Scoreboard Jefferies as game worn because "there was evidence of sweat stains in the collar." Maybe the above happened to the former owner of the jersey???


Nick,

Plus it's a pull over. Assume 100% try on use hence the sweat!

David

[suave1477]

Jon I think the reason for disgust and a point people are missing is this.

Do some collectors try on a Jersey and maybe swing a bat "YES"
But the difference between a Collector Vs. Seller/Auction house is this.

A collector may try on a Jersey for what a mere matter of minutes or swing a bat maybe one or 2 times. But is it really adding any significant use to the item "NO" and you would like to think the collector when they do decide to make use out of a Game Used item is a cheap low end item they are planning to keep for themselves. If they do decide to sell it you would hope they disclose that they themselves have worn it

A Seller/Auction house is purely in anyway not supposed to be trying on and wearing it around or doing anything of that matter with the item.

EXAMPLE if I go to a clothing store to buy a NEW shirt you better beleive there is a good chance some guy may have tried it on before you, But do we still consider the shirt new because it is back on the rack "YES"
But if the salseman himself is wearing the shirt and you want a shirt just like it and he takes off the one hes wearing and hands it to you "Do you still want it?"

Seller/Auction house for anyones info when advertising a shirt / anything else in a photo shoot. You better beleive he is wearing it for a period of time whether its an hour or all day. A photo shoot is not a cut and dry thing, its not 1 2 3 ok take the jersey off. It can take hours or all day and I am sure they are not putting on and taking off the Jersey.

So I think it becomes a turn off when you see it blatantly in your face that the Jersey is being worn or played with for a possible length of time of more then a few minutes by someone else other then the original player who worn/used the item.

So it is a very poor marketing technique to use, to sell these items and as someone else mentioned here I don't understand what message they were trying to get across or sales tactic they were using to show these items being on there bodies for a catalog or used on myspace.

JUST FOR ANYONES INFO I HAVE NEVER EVER TRIED ON ANY OF MY JERSEYS AND OF ALL THE BATS I HAVE I MAY HAVE ONCE OR TWICE SWUNG 1 OR 2 BATS.

[JasonM33]

I've been known to take a few swings with my Jose Canseco game used Cooper bat. I'm not going to sell it so I figure I can do with it as I please. I don't take it out and hit balls with it though. He he. That thing is the perfect length and weight for me. With the shaved handle it fits perfectly in my hands like it was made for me. I love it.

-Jason M

[Jags Fan Dan]

I will openly admit I have tried on both of my Brunell jerseys, for less than a minute each, just before I put it in the frame for posterity. I never considered it to be "damaging" to the jersey or value of the jersey. The value I don't really care about anyway, as I plan to keep the jerseys for the foreseeable future. I must admit, though, that when I first heard about people purchasing game used jerseys to wear around, I was very suprised that anyone would do that.

[possum]

I am first and foremost a game worn hockey jersey collector. I have lots of hockey equipment as well and have tried most of it on. I have a game used goalie mask that I've put on several times. I don't sit around watching TV or anything, but just to see what its like. As for the jerseys, I wear a different one to each game I attend (I'm a STH in Charlotte). I'm a drinker and a smoker, both of which occur at the games I go to. If I decide to sell a gamer that I've worn, it gets a full Febreze treatment followed by hanging in the garage for a day or 2 with follow up spray-downs if needed. I've worn one of my baseball jerseys out of the house, but it'll probably never leave my closet. The one hockey jersey I've never worn is from the 70-71 EHL season and the only reason is that I'm afraid to pull it over my fat gut.

I can't imagine I ever would have gotten into collecting this stuff if I didn't think I'd put it on. Those of you who are so obsessive about your jersey not being worn by you frankly confuse me. Isn't that part of what makes this hobby awesome?

[RyanZimmerman11]

I am first and foremost a game worn hockey jersey collector. I have lots of hockey equipment as well and have tried most of it on. I have a game used goalie mask that I've put on several times. I don't sit around watching TV or anything, but just to see what its like. As for the jerseys, I wear a different one to each game I attend (I'm a STH in Charlotte). I'm a drinker and a smoker, both of which occur at the games I go to. If I decide to sell a gamer that I've worn, it gets a full Febreze treatment followed by hanging in the garage for a day or 2 with follow up spray-downs if needed. I've worn one of my baseball jerseys out of the house, but it'll probably never leave my closet. The one hockey jersey I've never worn is from the 70-71 EHL season and the only reason is that I'm afraid to pull it over my fat gut.

I can't imagine I ever would have gotten into collecting this stuff if I didn't think I'd put it on. Those of you who are so obsessive about your jersey not being worn by you frankly confuse me. Isn't that part of what makes this hobby awesome?


I'm all for "trying on" my game used items but this is where I have to draw a line and say that the bolded portion above...well that's just plain nasty. No "lol", no smiley face....serious as can be...that's gross.

Please let me know your Ebay ID so that I can be sure that I never buy a GU jersey from you.


Thanks.

[hiramman]

What cracks me up is those that say I tried on, but only for 1 minute or I took 1-2 swings with my bat. Like wearing it for 5 minutes or taking 20 swings is going destroy item. Give me a break. Way to serious for me.

The gamer I've worn to games was a non-roster player that never made it. Why buy a replica, when you can wear the real thing cheaper?

If you're so worried about your collectible that you want try it on, touch it, or swing it, you're missing out on the best part of this hobby. To believe that everyone's game used jersey comes straight from the players back to your hands without being touched or tried on is a joke. To believe that your game-used bat comes straight from the player without being rolled around on the lockerroom floor, some storage room floor or even some other collector's floor is crazy. You probably wouldn't want to know where all of these prized collectibles have been before you got your hands on them.

There are very few of us that receive these collectibles straight from the player on the field. Those are very special circumstances, but to be honest, if some bench warmer hands you his bat after he grounds out in a game, will it be any more valuable than the same player's similar bat selling on ebay. To you it will be, but to everyone else it will still be the same bat with a nice story.

Why worry about it. Enjoy it. It's a hobby, it's supposed to be fun!!!

[flaco1801]

you guys are insane. do u really purchase a game worn jersey thinking the player was the last person to wear it? the items are usually washed. next thing we are gonna see is ads stating game worn jersey of joe schmoe garaunteed to be last worn by him. and the value of a jersey is gonna be decreased because others have worn it? gimme a break. next is 1974 game worn and hasnt been worn since 1974. this thread is just asking for more lunacy. buy it, wear it, enjoy it life is too short.

[camarokids]

They ask me all the time. Even not too long ago my friend wanted some new pictures for myspace and he wanted to wear my Andruw Jones TBTC hat and Brian Jordan home jersey, and I ofcoarse said no. I never once slipped on anything, even the helmet. It's been in my case since I first got it (except for when I brought it to a show to get appraised)

I agree Hiramman , seems more than a few of you guys are taking this stuff way TOO serious . These items were used to play a game , sometimes a very boring game .

Kyle you have some nice stuff , take them out the cases , they need to breath .

They are feeling lonely and need to be held .... :D.... JK KH10...

These are items that can possibly have (if I may, in your honor, jake33) blood , spit , urine and other bodily fluids on them ....:eek: .... you may want to wash it first ??

[RyanZimmerman11]

Ok, this topic is starting to spin out of control with assumptions. Let's focus here people.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody here said they believe the player was the last to wear a GU jersey before they get.


What this thread has seen is two factions.

Group A - Feels "trying on" a GU jersey is ok, but "wearing" it is taboo.


Group B - Sees wearing your GU jerseys to games, parties, clubs etc is acceptable.



It's all a matter of preference. Or as they say....to each their own.


Personally..this is what I will do with my jerseys. I will purchase them (along with a matted jersey frame). When it arrives at my door, I will open the package like a little kid on Christmas morning. :) They I will try my newly purchased GU jersey on (provided I can fit into it..I wear a 56). Then, I will marvel at it for a few hours..maybe a day...who knows. Ultimately, it will end up in a frame hung on my office wall.

Thankfully I don't plan on buying a limitless number of jerseys ;) I might run out of wall space. But, in the event that I wind up owning 10 or more Zimmerman jerseys...the few that mean the most to me will be framed and hung...while the others will be hung in my closet.

As for other items..the same rule of thumb applies. I will get them, enjoy them, then place the autographed items in a protective case and put them on a shelf. The non-auto'd items will simply be placed on a shelf or hung on a bat rack. You get the idea.


Rest assured that I hold no dillusional beliefs that Mr. Zimmerman is, was or will be the only (or last) person to have worn any of the items I plan on buying. But, you can also be just as sure that whomever I buy from had better not let me find a picture floating around the Internet of him/her wearing my GU item while playing footsies with his/her co-worker.

Since I'm paying X amount of dollars for something (seldom cheap), I expect a certain amount of professionalism from those whom I buy from.

I certainly would not expect them to be wearing the item while drinking and smoking, then I win/buy it and they suddenly make a mad dash for the FaBreeze bottle.


Like I said...professionalism. Whether you're a dealer or just a collector looking to sell an item....there are do's and don'ts that should be followed.

I sell baseball cards. You don't see me eating hot wings while handling them. Then wiping them off with a Bounty paper towel before I list them on Ebay.



I could make analogies all day, but I won't.

[kingjammy24]

i once heard someone on this forum say that, in reference to game used items, it's not so much that we own these items, as much as we hang on to them and preserve them for the next generation. i thought it was a great quote.

i share reid fontaine's mindset that these items are no different than any other cultural artifacts that you'd see in a museum. there's a desire to preserve and pass on these tangible pieces of history. what's the difference between jackie robinson's rookie jersey and a rembrandt? why would you treat one any differently than the other? i've never heard anyone who collects ancient greek urns say that the fun part of the hobby was filling them with water and sticking flowers in them. the fun part of the hobby for them was in possessing such an incredible piece of human history.

that said, i realize that people collect for different reasons. some apparently see the "fun" part of this hobby in being an adult walking around town wearing a gamer or in watching their toddler catapult a spoon full of pudding onto a jersey that clinched their hometowns only division title. for others, the fun part is in feeling that, although you don't have the budget of a museum, you're still keeping a inherant and colorful part of american history alive by preserving these pieces. it'd be as inaccurate to call one group "too serious" as it would be to call the other group "irresponsible".

noone's talking about an expectation that items come directly from players. they're talking about an expectation that previous owners didn't wear them while mudwrestling with the family dog. there are antiquities out there, hundreds of years old, that have passed through dozens of hands and yet not sustained any damage. it doesn't matter how people have owned an item but rather how they've taken care of it. i've seen several high-end paintings that have passed through many hands. strangely, i've yet to see a van gogh or a rembrandt with a big peanut butter stain.

rudy.

[TNTtoys]

I share the notion that these items are a piece of history... and I treat my pieces as such. I would not place my 1987 Dwight Gooden jersey over my head. It is and always will be a special item that I look to preserve, hang on my wall, pass down to little Nicky, etc.

However where I cross the line from collectible to "article of clothing in my wardrobe" is that 1987 jersey of similar style that was worn by "unknown player #75." It's a team jersey, it was worn in batting practice or spring training, it may have been recycled through the minors... but the bottom line to me is that it is not history. There is no story to it. No player that I have ever heard of has worn it. Nothing special about it other than a style that I like, and certainly a very nice upgrade to the Sand Knit, Rawlings or Majestic replica / retail authentics of the time. I could even wear a new "throwback" jersey that bears the likeness of an old classic... but again, why pay Mitchell and Ness prices or buy the Majestic Cooperstown Collection without likeness to the original when you can have the real thing, and pay less for it.

[camarokids]

retail replica jerseys are $299.00 a piece at Tropicana Field . For the unsuspecting masses . What a waste when you can get a common players gamers for $165 at Ball Park Heroes and elsewhere....

[richpick]

Personally, I don't do this. I view these items as American cultural artifacts that should be cared for in the same fashion as important coins, stamps, paintings, etc. However, if you paid your hard-earned money for an item and trying on a jersey or swinging a bat brings you enjoyment (or makes you feel closer to the game), then I don't see a problem with that at all.

Reid

Wow Reid,
American Cultural Artifacts? This seems a little strong for most items! If your are talking about a Willie Mays game used jersey or something in that category I agree but you believe all game-used items are American Cultural Artifacts?

[RyanZimmerman11]

Wow Reid,
American Cultural Artifacts? This seems a little strong for most items! If your are talking about a Willie Mays game used jersey or something in that category I agree but you believe all game-used items are American Cultural Artifacts?


If everyone that owned a Willie Mays GU jersey in the 50's-60's ran around spilling mustard on them while wearing them at the family cookout, what would we have today?

Not many nice Mays GU jerseys, that's what.


So what's wrong with me taking extra care of my GU Zimmerman jerseys? Hopefully 55+ yrs from now they'll still be in great shape....and either he'll be a HOF'er or the equivelent of Dale Sveum. ;)

[richpick]

i once heard someone on this forum say that, in reference to game used items, it's not so much that we own these items, as much as we hang on to them and preserve them for the next generation. i thought it was a great quote.

i share reid fontaine's mindset that these items are no different than any other cultural artifacts that you'd see in a museum. there's a desire to preserve and pass on these tangible pieces of history. what's the difference between jackie robinson's rookie jersey and a rembrandt? why would you treat one any differently than the other? i've never heard anyone who collects ancient greek urns say that the fun part of the hobby was filling them with water and sticking flowers in them. the fun part of the hobby for them was in possessing such an incredible piece of human history.

I disagree

that said, i realize that people collect for different reasons. some apparently see the "fun" part of this hobby in being an adult walking around town wearing a gamer or in watching their toddler catapult a spoon full of pudding onto a jersey that clinched their hometowns only division title. for others, the fun part is in feeling that, although you don't have the budget of a museum, you're still keeping a inherant and colorful part of american history alive by preserving these pieces. it'd be as inaccurate to call one group "too serious" as it would be to call the other group "irresponsible".

noone's talking about an expectation that items come directly from players. they're talking about an expectation that previous owners didn't wear them while mudwrestling with the family dog. there are antiquities out there, hundreds of years old, that have passed through dozens of hands and yet not sustained any damage. it doesn't matter how people have owned an item but rather how they've taken care of it. i've seen several high-end paintings that have passed through many hands. strangely, i've yet to see a van gogh or a rembrandt with a big peanut butter stain.

rudy.

I disagree kingjammy with the bold statements above. First of all you go buy a Rembrandt painting and I will buy a game-used Jackie Robinson uniform and we will swap. If you are stating that both are historically important I agree but the Rembrandt painting is far more important than the uniform becuase there will be only 1 of that painting painted in the 17th century. How many Robinson uniforms are there?

Your second point about high-end paintings is also not accurate. Most works of art in museums have undergone restoration work. Smoking, oily hands, punctures, paint cracking, poor stretchers, etc. have caused numerous amounts of damage to paintings but expert restorers have spent many hours and considerable cost to the owners to restore these paintings.

Do you remember recently when Steve Wynn the owner of Wynn Las Vegas had friends over to view his Picasso painting which he had just sold for $139 million dollars and he put his elbow through the painting? Accidents happen to all collectibles I just find it hard to believe that forum members are so upset that a collector slips on a jersey for a few minutes when card companies are cutting up the jerseys which in essence is removing them out of the hobby for good.

Richard

[both-teams-played-hard]

I just find it hard to believe that forum members are so upset that a collector slips on a jersey for a few minutes when card companies are cutting up the jerseys which in essence is removing them out of the hobby for good.

Now, that's a good point!

[Eric]

I agree that cutting up the jerseys is the biggest injustice being done of all.

However, I think points are getting confused here. The original point was that people can choose to do whatever they want to the items in their collection, but in the case of AMI recently, it seems to be pushing it a bit to be using pieces for photo shoots and screwing around.

If you want to defend swinging a bat in your own collection, that's one thing, but if I were running an auction house I'm not sure I'd be happy seeing the boys in the back room screwing around like that.

Yes, the hobby is supposed to be fun, but there's something to be said for running a company professionally.

That's my opinion.
Eric

[hiramman]

I agree that cutting up the jerseys is the biggest injustice being done of all.

However, I think points are getting confused here. The original point was that people can choose to do whatever they want to the items in their collection, but in the case of AMI recently, it seems to be pushing it a bit to be using pieces for photo shoots and screwing around.

If you want to defend swinging a bat in your own collection, that's one thing, but if I were running an auction house I'm not sure I'd be happy seeing the boys in the back room screwing around like that.

Yes, the hobby is supposed to be fun, but there's something to be said for running a company professionally.


That's my opinion.
Eric

I agree with Eric 100%. I have no problem with wearing my non-roster jersey around, but my 1985 Clemens home jersey is being well maintained. I like to have fun, but I'm also not stupid.

I think this thread is great. I love seeing the vast differences in everyone's opinions. It's just like our hobby. Some folks collect one thing because it's important to them, while others collect totally different items for the same reason.

And by the way Ryan Zimmerman11, if you're a size 56, I don't think you'll be fitting in one of Zimmerman's jerseys. I'm a 50 and just can't seem to squeeze into some of my jerseys and wouldn't try. I like fun, but I'm also not crazy!

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE HOBBY FUN!

[RyanZimmerman11]

I agree with Eric 100%. I have no problem with wearing my non-roster jersey around, but my 1985 Clemens home jersey is being well maintained. I like to have fun, but I'm also not stupid.

I think this thread is great. I love seeing the vast differences in everyone's opinions. It's just like our hobby. Some folks collect one thing because it's important to them, while others collect totally different items for the same reason.

And by the way Ryan Zimmerman11, if you're a size 56, I don't think you'll be fitting in one of Zimmerman's jerseys. I'm a 50 and just can't seem to squeeze into some of my jerseys and wouldn't try. I like fun, but I'm also not crazy!

THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE HOBBY FUN!


I hear ya on that ;) That's why I said if I could...lol

[karamaxjoe]

This thread may go on forever so I figured I'd join the party.

First I'd like to say I disagree with the AMI models wearing the flannels in the catalog. The two concepts don't go together and if I'm in the mood for that kind of stuff, I'll just grab a mens magazine. I prefer my hobby to be clean.

Secondly I think we are going a little overboard on the concept of trying on game used jerseys. How many flannels in your collection were probably recycled to the minors and had a number of no name players use them. Does this make the jersey any less valuable or it's authenticity compromised? Most of the wear from game used flannels comes from the fact that someone in the minors beat the crap out of it. It would be great to know the jerseys in my collection went straight from the original player to my hands, but that's impossible. The first jersey I ever received originated with the White Sox and was donated to my father-in-laws American Legion Team. The jersey probably saw action for one major league season and three semi pro seasons. I don't believe this compromised anything with the jersey and I'm happy with it just the same.

Finally I do rate my stuff right up there with art. We wouldn't be collecting all this stuff if we didn't have the same passion as an art collector. Handling a piece of art doesn't compromise the piece and trying on a game used jersey is just the same.

Mike

[Nathan]

I think that I recognize that my own role is simply to hold onto and preserve something for the future.

Let's take the example of the #75 Mets jersey that's been brought up. If that's in my hands, it's not going anywhere on me. Personally I wash my hands before handling anything so I don't introduce enormous amounts of microscopic material onto an item. But let's say there's some sort of unique history to what would normally be regarded as a common item. What if a #75 Mets jersey is from, say, the only player to ever come from a certain small town in Idaho? What if he's the first Major Leaguer to have a parent born on a certain Indian reservation? Just because I regard something as common doesn't mean it is.

I have two hockey jerseys in my collection that would be considered "common". One is from a goalie who dressed for nine games and never saw the ice during a game, and the other is a from a guy who played in one pre-season game before being sent to the minors (where he's remained ever since, two years later). Why do I treat these gently? Because those are the first two guys from an entire country to make it onto NHL ice, and these are the jerseys they wore for their own personal first game. I'd be steamed beyond belief if I found out that someone had bought one and used it in pickup hockey or something because it's nothing special to them.

If something happened along the way as a result of improper storage by the team or a bad load of laundry by the equipment manager, that's disappointing by at least it's in a team capacity. For someone to add wear (insignificant as it may seem to be) by wearing it around the house or to a game or whatever...I don't go for it. Not spilling beer doesn't mean that there isn't still damage being done. Heck, they don't let the Constitution or Declaration of Independence be photographed with a flash. Would one picture hurt it? No, but the accumulated effect of many pictures would.

[possum]

I'm all for "trying on" my game used items but this is where I have to draw a line and say that the bolded portion above...well that's just plain nasty. No "lol", no smiley face....serious as can be...that's gross.

Please let me know your Ebay ID so that I can be sure that I never buy a GU jersey from you.


Thanks.
First of all, I don't wear them out to bars, restaurants, etc, so don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say I pass out in a pile of my own vomit with the jersey on. Secondly, we're talking about minor league hockey jerseys here. If I owned an 84 Mike Bossy, an 86 Gooden, 85 Clemens, or a Jackie Robinson rookie I wouldn't wear it. That's the point I made by saying my 70-71 EHL championship Checkers shirt won't get worn by anyone. But the guy I got it from was the stick boy then and he wore it when stationed in Korea for several years. Even wrote his last name in the collar. But you know what? When I took it to the Meigray Expo 2 yrs ago another collector proudly let me display it next to his Johnstown EHL shirt.

I fail to see how me wearing a shirt (with sometimes several undershirts) is nasty. I fail to see how me enjoying my collection should allow you to publicly boycott my sales. Especially when its very clear that we don't even share the same collecting interests. Oh wait, you don't have a collection yet. You sure have posted a lot in a topic that doesn't concern you. I am very careful not to let other smokers put burn marks/holes in my shirts and if a drop of beer or whatever is spilled, I'm quick to hand clean it in the sink. Don't make judgements when you don't know the whole story and furthermore, don't disparage my name over something you know nothing about.

[both-teams-played-hard]

First of all, I don't wear them out to bars, restaurants, etc, so don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say I pass out in a pile of my own vomit with the jersey on. Secondly, we're talking about minor league hockey jerseys here. If I owned an 84 Mike Bossy, an 86 Gooden, 85 Clemens, or a Jackie Robinson rookie I wouldn't wear it. That's the point I made by saying my 70-71 EHL championship Checkers shirt won't get worn by anyone. But the guy I got it from was the stick boy then and he wore it when stationed in Korea for several years. Even wrote his last name in the collar. But you know what? When I took it to the Meigray Expo 2 yrs ago another collector proudly let me display it next to his Johnstown EHL shirt.

I fail to see how me wearing a shirt (with sometimes several undershirts) is nasty. I fail to see how me enjoying my collection should allow you to publicly boycott my sales. Especially when its very clear that we don't even share the same collecting interests. Oh wait, you don't have a collection yet. You sure have posted a lot in a topic that doesn't concern you. I am very careful not to let other smokers put burn marks/holes in my shirts and if a drop of beer or whatever is spilled, I'm quick to hand clean it in the sink. Don't make judgements when you don't know the whole story and furthermore, don't disparage my name over something you know nothing about.
All very good points!

If I bought a Zimmerman jersey and it smelled of B.O. Should I wash it or preserve thy funk? The answer, of course is "wash it". ALL jerseys have laundry instructions for a reason. Yes, it is a miracle that we sports collectors have found a woman at all. Good luck to all you single guys with smelly shirts with the sweat stains of other men. Woolite is from the earth. It was put here, by god, for you and me..

Wear your jerseys, swing your bats, let the wind blow through your hair...

[skipcareyisfat]

let the wind blow through your hair...

...unless you're wearing a game used hat

[LWMM]

I only collect Jonny Gomes, and thus only have four jerseys---of these, two were minor league jerseys bought during or right after a game (auctioned during the games), and I don't wear them; they haven't been washed, and one reeks of sweat 6 years later.

Of the other two, I am fine with wearing them, and do; I always wear an undershirt, and don't unbutton the jerseys (I put them over my head instead). Perhaps it has small portions of non-Gomes sweat and/or DNA as a result; I really don't care.

In regards to AMI, I actually found it somewhat funny, enough for at least a grin. I can understand concerns with it, however, and also believe, as with most, that it was not in their best interests to do so.

If no physical signs of non-player wear exist, does that make the entire stigma mental?

[Eric]

This thread reminded me of the story of a player who did exactly what's being discussed here.

Here are the details from a USA story about David Wells from 2001

The 37-year-old Wells — a mountain of a man at 6-4 and listed at a conservative 235 pounds with massive tattoos of likenesses of his kids and late mother on his upper body, and a goatee thick enough to carry a flock of birds for the winter — fully plans to escort the Chicago White Sox to their first World Series title since 1917.

The only question in Wells' mind is whether he should break out a glove from Shoeless Joe Jackson's collection, wear one of Luis Aparicio's old gloves or bring one of Nellie Fox's old bats.

"He has always been obsessed with baseball," says close friend and agent Gregg Clifton, "and has such a passion for baseball history. That's why he wore that Babe Ruth cap.

"Everybody thought he was crazy, but he did it out of reverence for the Babe."

Oh yeah, the cap.

Who could ever forget the time that Wells bought the Ruth cap for $35,000, and instead of putting it away where it'll always be preserved, Wells showed up wearing it in an actual game before Yankee officials ordered him to remove it.

Something about it not being part of the regulation uniform.

"Leave it to you, Boomer," New York Mets pitcher Al Leiter, Wells' former teammate, told him. "Only you would wear that cap and drop the value down to nothing."