Gloves, the Economy and You

[Jimmy R.]

With high caliber gloves coming up for sale on eBay and some entire collections being liquidated, are these signs that the economy is truly turning down? How do you think this will affect the glove hobby? How will it affect you? Are you looking to slim down your collection or are you waiting for opportunities to pick up some gems? Sotheby’s had a terrible fine art auction this week, so the entire collectables market may be softening. What are your thoughts after looking into your crystal ball?

[vintagebrett]

It is definitely a buyer's market right now. I don't planning on trimming my collection down at all - I think it's a great time to add to my existing one - especially when my wife passes her final pharmacy exam next week!

Seriously, there are a lot of gloves on eBay that have sold recently that have gone a little lower than I thought. But on the other hand, very nice gloves are going for a lot more than I thought they would - there really doesn't seem to be a middle ground now. And the people winning the really nice gloves aren't eBay user names I usually see winning gloves.

[Jimmy R.]

I'm shocked that the white G41 Ruth went for only $2800. Either everyone who wants one already has one (not very likely) or this economy has aready slid into recession. This is one of the nicest G41's out there. Are you telling me that nobody could use this one to upgrade one they already own? If that glove only sold for $2800, people are hurting much more than I had originally thought. There will be a lot more nice stuff hitting the market out of necessity (unfortunately), and based on recent results, there will be bargains galore to be found!

[vintagebrett]

I was surprised at the ending price as well. I was guessing it would go for at least $4000. Great deal to the buyer!

[BretMan]

The economy has reached up and smacked me!

After nearly 25 years as an engineer for an automotive parts supplier, the plant I work for was recently closed and all of the employees were laid off. As volatile as the automotive industry normally is, the past few years have been particularly rough. The spike in fuel prices was the last nail in the coffin. As automative sales slid, so did ours. Our company operated four manufacturing plants and the reduced sales dictated that one of the plants had to go.

This will put a definite crimp in my glove buying for the foreseeable future. But I don't have any plans for selling off my collection, which stands at around 300 gloves. My severance package- and a wife with a well-paying job- should hold me through until something else comes along.

[nygiants]

Same here Bret...

I worked for a local textile plant for 35 years as a environmental systems operator and last month it closed the doors. I have a part-time job which i've had for 10 years now which mainly paid for my hobby. Now it will be my main source of income which in no way comes even close to the industrial job and in all likely hood will bring my glove collecting to a screeching halt..

Luckily, I am also receiving severance pay and its allowed me to pick up a couple of good gloves lately including the Toney glove that I had discussed in a previous thread. (the Lord works in mysterious ways).

[BretMan]

My part-time job for fooling around money is baseball and softball umpiring. With all the free time I had this summer I was able to work games just about every night of the week and multiple games for tournaments on the weekend.

The good: I was able to earn enough through this fun hobby to cover two months worth of household expenses.

The bad: It took me three months to do it!

So, it's not exactly a "career" option. Too bad, because I had a blast being out on the field almost every day of the week. But baseball season is over in the frigid clime of Ohio (except for some indoor ball I'm working).

Guess I'll have to find a "real" job!

[Centerfield]

So sorry to hear about the closings. Keep you heads up, you're not alone and remember that everything is cyclical... tides will turn in time.

[spedrunr]

i guess certain gloves are flooding the market. since i don't really track the pre-war models, i can't really say if that market has softened. as for the USA made rawlings minty's and rares, they seem to be on the rise.

H-webbers seem to be commanding some serious coin. mantles don't seem to be coming down at all, even the kids models.

[Centerfield]

Actually, I’ve picked up some nice gloves since this thread on the economy began, but far fewer than I had expected. Economic times may be tough, but there hasn’t been a huge liquidation of high end collectable gloves. It may be that the owners of these pieces have yet to feel any discomfort, or that like most commodities nowadays, higher inflation leads people to put their money in hard assets. In any event, I am surprised how few super-desirable gloves have come available.

[Mike_2007]

Ebay has been kind of boring lately... I used to have gloves on "watch" all the time but now rarely do...

[vintagebrett]

Another possible reason for not selling is maybe they think they won't have a buyer because of the economy.

[wjr953]

Is it just me, or are there an inordinate amount of brand new gloves showing up on eBay? I have been scouring the listings daily and have been hard pressed to find any decent (restorable) vintage gloves. Some early 70's and 80's stuff to be sure, but all fairly over-priced. I have to agree with the other poster who said that he used to have a whole bunch on "watch list". I'm lucky if I have two or three gloves on my watch list at any one time now. I also think the prices have gone way up on all gloves across the board in the last year too. That's good for sellers like me that have inventory to move, but not so good for buyers. For me, I'm being very, very selective about what I buy now. I set price limits on what I'm willing to spend, and unless the quality and the condition of the glove really blows me away, I stick to those limits. Too many people on eBay are trying to pass off junk gloves at high prices these days, trying to cash in on the trend of rising prices. After getting burned a couple of times, I have gotten very cautious. To all others who are active on eBay, I recommend asking lots of questions of the seller. If what they're selling is decent, they'll tell you so. If they don't answer emails, proceed with caution. If in answering emails, they're trying to be vague or sketchy about what they're selling, be careful. For any gloves that I put on my watch list now, I always run through the seller's feedback listing before I bid on anything.

br

[Mike_2007]

I agree. I think the king of overpriced gloves is "wagy35":

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-RAWLINGS-MI ... dZViewItem

Is he a member of this forum? If he is - no offense intended