[alanch]

Part of the reason I like buying the older jersey stuff. Makes me think there's a better chance that it's more legit.

I agree with you on that one. I seem to remember an article either in Beckett or some other sports collectible magazine that showed how companies got game used items in the late 90's/early 2000's. I believe they had a card company rep at various games collecting game used balls and possibly jerseys right on the sideline after the game.

[melcmd]

I'm kind of curious. I understand why it is such a big deal for the kids to have something worn by their favorite player. I personally do not pay for or sell something and market it as event or game worn. I feel the companies have screwed the collectors for years because of this attitude.

I'm not disappointed by my high end collectibles because I did not buy them for who wore it. I bought for the look that went along with the auto.

I've always doubted, based on how sloppy they can be and their customer service, that the companies were even putting the right player patch on a card.

How do you know that Aaron Rodgers' patch is not from some punter's jersey?

We believe this in good faith that the companies are being honest. They aren't!!!

To my original query, do you really care if a nice patch card has been worn by the players?

[slotman11]

Heres a few pics I had laying around and thought this would be a good time to pull them up.. this should give you an idea of how well there worn.. all those jerseys laying around on tables and now we know where they came from. I know they would have contests at the event to see how many each player could wear. and theres no telling how many were just.. well hmm.. he didnt "wear" this one. .. ahh dont worry about it go ahead and cut it up anyway. you can not convience me that an actually human could fit in that number 80 jersey.. well maybe ralphie may..

absolutely ridiculous... the card companies are ALL to blame if they are buying their so-called jerseys and memorabillia from shady dealers... their greed and absolute disregard for the collector will be the demise of this once great hobby, with their overpriced, overproduced, and FAKE so called game used, or "player worn" cards... this has gotten way out of hand, and who knows if you even have ANY actual patches etc, of YOUR player??? they could be anyones... they may even be cutting up generic jerseys for all we know... makes you wonder...

[alanch]

To my original query, do you really care if a nice patch card has been worn by the players?

IMO, I think if they are just going for looks with a card, they should just make manufactured patches and state that they are manufactured on the back and front of the card. If they are trying to pass something off as player worn, game worn, etc. then it needs to be either game worn or event worn by that specific player.

If I am buying a jersey card of a certain player, I want it to be a piece of jersey actually worn by that player and not a draft bust from the rookie photo shoot in 2005. Doesn't matter how good the patch looks to me, I am looking for something the player depicted on the front of the card actually wore, not just his picture with a piece of fabric from who knows where.

Some collectors just like looks though, so to each their own.

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absolutely ridiculous... the card companies are ALL to blame if they are buying their so-called jerseys and memorabillia from shady dealers... their greed and absolute disregard for the collector will be the demise of this once great hobby, with their overpriced, overproduced, and FAKE so called game used, or "player worn" cards... this has gotten way out of hand, and who knows if you even have ANY actual patches etc, of YOUR player??? they could be anyones... they may even be cutting up generic jerseys for all we know... makes you wonder...

The "relic" cards are a direct result of the overproduction and the mass amount of jerseys they have players wear at the rookie premiere.

Let's say at a given shoot, 1 rookie for the Chargers wears 80 jerseys. Just as an example let's say 20 of those jerseys are used in his cards during his rookie year and by his 2nd year, he scrubs out and isn't even with his original team. Now the card companies have 60 Chargers jerseys worn by some scrub that they don't know what to do with. Can't just toss them out because then you have wasted money and inventory. The answer is to make "relic" cards and slap Phillip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Dan Fouts, etc. on them and put the disclaimer on the back that "The relic contained on the front of this card does not come from any specifc event, game, or season."

Since the photoshoot jerseys are probably the cheapest things for the companies to get, that's what they do. The players wear so many jerseys, because the companies need those jerseys not just for cards of that specific player, but for their relic cards of star players as well. It is probably way cheaper to have 30 Brian Brohm event worn jerseys than it is to have 1 Aaron Rodgers game worn, so why not go with the 30 event worn and put them on cards featuring Rodgers, Woodson, Matthews, and so on. It's all about the bottom line.

As a result, I try to limit myself to cards that specifically state who wore the jersey, helmet, etc. and when/where it was worn.