In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I made a new friend who is in the same hobby I am. He also collects Gretzky jerseys. However he only collects authentic jerseys not replicas. And he goes for the double tagged real deal Gretzky jerseys. He has some nice ones and some of those are now my jerseys...much to the how shall I put this... Um... "Joy" of my wife ha ha...she said I'm not allowed to talk to him for awhile cause every time I do I end up spending money. It seemed like every week almost, he was emailing me pictures of a jersey he wanted to sell and I was like "man, why you gotta keep doing this to me??!!" Now here's the thing, when he has something to sell me, it's worth every single cent he says but, when he's buying something, it's not worth as much as the person is asking. I find people like that interesting. Actually people like that piss me off, A LOT, but I'm using the word interesting because my dad is one of those people ha ha. Anyway when he'd email a photo of a jersey he'd say "any interest?" Of course I'd say yes! Then he'd ask the million dollar question...."what do you want to give me for it?" I hate that question. Honestly, nothing. I don't wanna give you a damn thing so just give it to me for free. Of course I don't say it but I really really want to. Then I say well, what are you wanting for it? Then he says make an offer. I say well idk how about $x amount. Then He comes back with well I was thinking more like this amount. And it goes back and forth like that. Now comes the best part. He explains to me why his jersey is worth what he's saying it is. So he gives me this big explanation about quality and worth and rarity and blah blah blah. I'm not saying I don't agree with some of his points but the value he gives them can occasionally be ludicrous. The truth is that they're worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. That goes for anything. You can put a price tag on it but that doesn't mean it's worth what you're asking. One particular time, I sent him an email with a picture of a sweet Nike Oilers Replica. This jersey was mint. It was made in the 90's using the same kinda material that Nike did in the 80's. The crediting was pretty good but the material was too new. The cool thing was that I bought this off of Classic Auctions so you know it's gonna be a legit quality item. Anyway I told him I wanted what I paid for it, $550. Of course he says it's not worth that much. Another funny part is he told me a Nike replica is worth max $600 only a few weeks prior to this conversation. Anyway, I said well what do you offer me? I'm at $550. He comes back with $475. That's $75 less then what I was asking for. Now I needed the cash more then the jersey so I agreed to that price. Of course the second he sees it he sees it he's all excited about it. He asks what I think about the Rangers Liberty jerseys. I say they're both nice and what not. So I knew I'd be getting an email in a few days of a jersey. Sure enough he sends me one. This one is of a Blue Liberty Rangers and one of those 1994 Gretzky 99 tour jerseys. I already have a Blue Liberty that's auto'd so not interested it that. Now the 99 tour jersey is neat. I like it and wanted one for a while. So I ask what he wants, he says make an offer, I say ok. Now before I get into this, I want to tell you that the week period he tells me about this guy who customizes jerseys and jackets etc and he has made some crests for people with vintage jerseys. I'll save this story for another post. It has to deal with an Authentic Game used Nike away jersey turned into a Gretzky. Anyway I tell him I'm not buying any jerseys right now cause we have a baby on the way plus I just spent a stupid amount of cash on a vintage away Nike Oilers Gretzky. So after him telling me that it's a rare jersey and blah blah I low ball him hard and say $500. I think a double tagged Gretzky jersey, regardless of its year and style is worth between $500 and $1000. There are some exceptions but not many. Now this 99 Tour jersey isn't an NHL jersey and it's not flashy or anything it's just one of those jerseys that I want for my collection. So he comes back with I want $12-$1300. I instantly say nope. Not interested. Maybe $800. He says I can't do less then $1100. I say well I can't but it anyway but I'll go $900. He says man I can't go low like that. $1100 lowest I can go. I tell him I'm at $1000 max. That's it. He says $1050. i say ok. But I can't get it until next summer probably. He then tells me that $1050 is way too low and I need to look at the exchange rate and blah blah and I say too bad. Not worried about exchange rate. We live in Canada. Shouldn't matter we deal on CDN $$$ not US$$. So I tell him I'm not going higher and I don't even want it till next summer anyways. So he says ok I understand. Haven't heard from him since. Haha this was only last week. And he was texting me daily all summer about buying and trading jerseys. The point I was trying to get at was an item is only worth what someone wants to or is willing to pay for it. That goes for pretty much any hobby. I hate how people use eBay or other auction sites as the only source of price reference. There are so many variables that can influence the outcome of an auction. Timing, people bidding, market etc way too many to consider. If these sites are gonna be reference then use the closed auctions or sold price. Again someone might be asking $3000 for something that's only worth $1000 but one sold like it for that price so it's worth that. When I buy something, I have no intention of reselling it however, sometimes I do resell. I'd like to think I'm fair with what I ask but people are forever wanting a deal. So I sometimes ask higher then I want and come down to what i really want for it and what I'd be willing to let it go for. Am I being a hypocrite? Perhaps, but I know you gotta have some wiggle room. Like I said something is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Thanks for reading! Keep that stick on the ice!
Atrain
Thanks for reading! Keep that stick on the ice!
Atrain
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