Will/Has the GU market become over saturated?

[zooat2]

- I began wondering about this question the other day as I was looking thru the JO Sports and Steiner websites. There are SO many jerseys, line up cards, bases, balls etc.. that probably will never be sold, because they are either a) too expensive or b) too many out there....etc..

- So I was wondering what my fellow experts/hobbists thought about this question..do you any of you wonder about it as well?...

[yankees.stub]

- I began wondering about this question the other day as I was looking thru the JO Sports and Steiner websites. There are SO many jerseys, line up cards, bases, balls etc.. that probably will never be sold, because they are either a) too expensive or b) too many out there....etc..

- So I was wondering what my fellow experts/hobbists thought about this question..do you any of you wonder about it as well?...

Here is my take on this situation:

If we are talking about GU inserts in packs, then YES it is over saturated! It has been for years!


As for actual game used jerseys, bats, cleats, etc... it might look over-saturated but it is not. If Steiner and other sporting company willing to lower their profit margins, I know there will be more collectors/dealers will jump at the opportunity.


If they have 10 Jeter GU bat at $1000 each, I will buy them all. Wishful thinking.


Same can be said for Mariano GU WS jersey - if it is under $2000, I will buy a couple!


So again, it is the VERY HIGH price marks that makes these items become unattainable for just any JOE SHMOE!


Just my .05 cent!

[TDKID]

Here is my take on this situation:

If we are talking about GU inserts in packs, then YES it is over saturated! It has been for years!


As for actual game used jerseys, bats, cleats, etc... it might look over-saturated but it is not. If Steiner and other sporting company willing to lower their profit margins, I know there will be more collectors/dealers will jump at the opportunity.


If they have 10 Jeter GU bat at $1000 each, I will buy them all. Wishful thinking.


Same can be said for Mariano GU WS jersey - if it is under $2000, I will buy a couple!


So again, it is the VERY HIGH price marks that makes these items become unattainable for just any JOE SHMOE!


Just my .05 cent!

That's a good point. So you're saying that the high prices cause items to sit, thus causing the market to look over saturated. And these high prices only allow a select(deep-pocketed)group are buying. I totally agree with you, and I think it would come down to dealers lowering their high profit margins.

[legaleagle92481]

- I began wondering about this question the other day as I was looking thru the JO Sports and Steiner websites. There are SO many jerseys, line up cards, bases, balls etc.. that probably will never be sold, because they are either a) too expensive or b) too many out there....etc..

- So I was wondering what my fellow experts/hobbists thought about this question..do you any of you wonder about it as well?...

Yes and no. The lower end items like the lineup cards, bases and balls are defintely oversaturated and unless the item was used in a significant game (Playoffs, allstar game, major milestone) to me they are a dime a dozen. As far as jerseys I think it is just the prices that keep them on the market. Only a small group of people can afford to pay several grand for a dirty shirt especially in this age of high taxes and unemployment and declining home values. Especially in alot of cases when the player is a common player like Dwight Lowery for $1,000 on JO. If you notice the big stars and/or big names sell well for the most part. JO has no Mangold, Revis or Sanchez Jets jerseys on their site. Nor do they have Percy Harvin, Tomlinson, Gates, or Rivers. They have one Favre and two Peterson's left from the whole year, at 20 and 8.5 k respectively (they had several others of each at various points during the year). They sold out of Brees at 5k well before the Super Bowl. Steiner charges even higher prices and they have only a handful if any of the biggest stars. Many players such as Brady, Moss, both Mannings, any Steeler, Raven, Packer, cardinal (football) or Texan rarely come onto the market at all. Nor do most big name NBA players (except for the occassional MEIgray one game only jersey on NBA Auctions) or any Pittsburgh Penguin.

[dcgreg25]

I don't think the market has become oversaturated yet....though I think things may be heading in that direction. It becomes simple supply and demand. Teams will continue using more jerseys as long as they can sell them and make a profit.

I do think it is interesting to see how some teams/leagues have capitalized on this better than others. In some situations this has created a significant gulf between values of jerseys from certain teams depending on how much the teams make available. Overall, I think the extra attention teams pay to GU collectors is great making more quality product available.

[mbrieve]

I think there is tremendous area for growth in this hobby. Yes, in some instances, the market has become over saturated, but I really do think demand is going to spike in the next couple of years.

There has been a natural progression that a number of collectors have taken: cards to autographs to game used. I think this represents the fact that card companies were the first to overproduce/oversaturate the market, then it was the autograph business (although, with autographs, there is a maximum amount that can be produced, unlike cards), and now you are seeing teams/leagues turn this into a profit center (but, again, there is still a limit to the amount of items that can be produced).

I think as more collectors find relatively inexpensive ways into the hobby, you will see more people collecting game used. Just my .02

[skyking26]

Demand far exceeds supply. Back in the day a player had 2 home and 2 road jerseys per season. Today the players where countless more, but still not enough to satisfy all the collectors.

Example: Adam Dunn of the Nats. I only know of 1 Reds jersey, light use, on the market. Know of different guys who own a Reds, but not many out there. Thome? A few show up with BPH, but point is, the player still needs to wear/use the item and there just are not enough out there...

[David]

Yes, but that doesn't apply to vintage players.

[zooat2]

I think there is tremendous area for growth in this hobby. Yes, in some instances, the market has become over saturated, but I really do think demand is going to spike in the next couple of years.

There has been a natural progression that a number of collectors have taken: cards to autographs to game used. I think this represents the fact that card companies were the first to overproduce/oversaturate the market, then it was the autograph business (although, with autographs, there is a maximum amount that can be produced, unlike cards), and now you are seeing teams/leagues turn this into a profit center (but, again, there is still a limit to the amount of items that can be produced).

I think as more collectors find relatively inexpensive ways into the hobby, you will see more people collecting game used. Just my .02

- Great points! I totally agree...

[gingi79]

Yes, but that doesn't apply to vintage players.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

There will never be another jersey worn by a retired player. Therefore there are only a set amount of them in the world and an inability to increase the supply.

I think line up cards are an excellent collectible. I bought the Braves card from the day my wife and I were married. We went to our first game in Atlanta on our honeymoon and if it ever pops up, I'll buy that one too. When my unborn children go to their first game, again getting that.

I know the Mets had (have?) a program where you can get a ball used in the game, a base used in the game and the lineup card from the game all framed together beautifully. It's expensive but who here wouldn't want that from their first game with their dad? (or other significant person)

Bottom line? There were only a few items from your favorite game. You'll never see your first game again. In that sense, it can't be over saturated for you. For others, a June 12th game used ball is no different than an August 1st and any other game from the last 25 seasons. One man's white whale is anothers over saturated mess.