people seemed pretty excited about this a few weeks ago when it was announced and everyone was talking about it... but now its being torn apart... gloves a glove. I dont see why a little wrinkle is such a big deal but i guess it is what it is...
Date Duke and I were having a convo and it kind of pertains to this....
For the most part, USA glvoes are worth big $$ minty because no one thought ' hey, ill keep this new and in 20 yrs itll be worth a ton'.
There is a pattern to ALL collectibles that are not made of precious metals...
Before people collect or think to preserve, things can be worth something.
As soon as that item is deemed to be 'worth money' there is a spike.
Once the company itself recognizes there is $$ to be made as a collectible it will pump out as much as it can and bleed it dry until the trend has ended.... at which point nothing is worth anything because the bubble has burst and no one will care any more.
Wilson has been at it with the GOTM, but this is the start of Rawlings realizing its collectible potential.
Sadly, its all down hill from here...
Pick your trend! Baseball cards, Beanie Babies, Starting Lineups, Sports Picks, Star Wars toys etc etc...
Lets use baseball cards for example...
Whats worth something? Pre 1970 cards..
Why? Because they were thrown out, put in bike spokes, played with etc .
No one thought to save them and as a result few survived so when the hobby took off, everyone was scrambling for a limited supply in good condition (much like usa rawlings for example)
Then companies started to take notice and pumped out as many as they could and more than people needed or wanted even if they thought they needed them. Each company would put out many different series each year. There is enough 1991 donruss printed to go all the way around the world. People started thinking of it as an investment and bought cases and put them in storage unopened so they could put their kid through school on it someday.
Now? they are worth less then they paid in the early to mid 90s and thats even with inflation.
Eventually people stopped caring and the hobby imploded. People jumped off the bandwagon and cut their losses.
It eventually came back a bit and there were hardcore guys who never left, but its nothing like the old days when candy distributes stocked them and every gas station you went to had a nice selection.
The hobby still exists, but everything thats not an autograph or jersey piece is essentially filler and even those are watered down and not really worth anything. If you collect, its for fun- not to make $$.
With the exception of maybe game used equipment ( which, is still worth more if its back from when people didnt think about saving/collecting it) or maybe shoes- which i know nothing about but it seems to thrive... every hobby has followed the same pattern.
So, unless you have a pro dept glove or something 1 of 10 or something, odds are gloves wont make you rich.
All these limited editions rawlings is pumping out? not very limited. Most can be replicated by making a custom.
Now, 10 yrs from now all these poeple will have kept their 'limited' gloves on a shelf so they wont be as difficult to obtain because people are aware of it and because so many gloves are being kept mint - it wont have the same 10 or 20 year spike in price like gloves that are from 10 or 20 yrs ago to current, in the now.
This is common sense to most, but for the people complaining about a small issue in their craftsmanship if it bothers you because you are ocd about it thats totally cool. But if you are concerned because itll be devalued thats just silly. This is a glove, its made to be used. Collect what you like to collect because you like it and it gives you joy. Not to save it for 10 years from now to cash in on a sale. You arent the only one with that idea lol. Nothing coming off of the production line at the moment will be worth much and when horween becomes common place among custom and people arent searching for it, even that minty pro200-1 you might be hoarding wont be worth much more than a glove because everyone can buy one. The old ones should still carry value because of how they came to be rare and extinct, but when the hype dies down and not as many people are competing for them who knows if they will still be a constant value gain.
There will be exceptions, super low # exclusives, something that cant be replicated with a custom, autographed or game used gloves... but all in all this isnt a way to get rich. Its a way to have fun. I really think that someday after the fad is passed these 'special' gloves will just be bought for normal glove prices to use like they were intended. The hard core guys who just appreciate leather will still be there and probably trying to seek out what is collectible ( older gloves, pro dept and the like) and maybe when the dust settles it wont be all that different from 5 yrs ago before this glove collecting trend became a thing.
I could be wrong, but this has happened SSSOOO many times with anything 'collectible' my $$ is on history repeating itself.
