Game Used, but also by John Doe...

[Dohboi]

I have pondered this for a while.

Ever so often I find some game used equipment that I would love to buy for my collection.

Only to find out that yes they were actually used by the player, however also by the current owner.

To me that just kills it.

I understand sometimes you can get used sports equipment cheap and re use for yourself in leagues and stuff. Its a great idea.

I just get a little sad about it. 2 times now I have found Labarbera pads for sale.. and both times the current owner used them for their own leagues.

So how do you feel about that?

Chance

 

[bobbyp6565]

I think goalie gear is reused in adult leagues much more often than other gear. Assume (and hope) the seller told you ahead of time that he'd used the pads after Labarbera had used them and didn't try to pass them off as all game-worn by the original player?

I've encountered sellers that used gloves or sticks that were very lightly used by the player whose name was stamped/embroidered on them and then tried to pass them off as heavily game worn items - but seeing heavy pilling and wear on a left glove and none on the right for a player who was a left-handed shot or a left-handed blade added to a player shaft for a player who was a right-handed shot, made identifying the true use of those items fairly easy.

Good luck in your search -

 

[czech20]

I can see your point for sure, but I have a Pavelec collection of many game used items. I got sick of using my own goalie pads, tried his on and was hooked on them. Doing that saved me $2600, and I really enjoy using them. Its just that pro quality you have to pay a lot of money for. I got the pads for $600. I have a matching glove I use as well, but I am not that fond of it. So it is back on the shelf. Not all of the items are being used, but some are.

But...I would tell anyone down the road that I did wear them. Some may be bothered by it, and some may not. But disclosure is very important. And to add to it, many of the items have been cleaned of puck marks etc. by sellers, not realizing that they take away some of the "photo match" goodness. So there are many things that can happen to items, but in this day and age, players are changing gear so often, that some of that game used ownership excitement gets lost. Just too much of it out there. I have 5 Pavelec gloves, and one blocker, pads, pants and sticks. And most of the goalie gear has been worn by someone in addition to the player embroidered on it at least once.

A good example. A person I play hockey with goes to the Jets games and buys the game used sticks, takes them home and cuts them down for his kid to use in league hockey. At first his kid was like "no way are you doing that to a Jets gamer", but in actuality, it is saving the dad tons of coin because he gets the lightly used sticks for a fraction of the cost of a new one of the same quality. The kid is now fine with it. They are just rotating so many game used items, that it just doesn't seem to mean as much anymore in the new NHL and the money making that goes along with it.

Vintage gear in my mind is different. I have a game used Tretiak stick, but no way am I bringing that on the ice to give it a try. lol. I think then and now are large part of the difference on why items are being worn by people. Goalies, like myself, are a weird bunch as it is, and I agree, there is usually a really good chance that we put any game worn items on at least once, to get that pro feel if not just for 60 minutes.

 

[bigben913]

There is a pair of Gretzky gloves on eBay that the guy says he and his kids used for years, washed so many times they are falling apart. Not gretzky game worn really anymore imo

 

[timber09]

I think it really depends on the player - unfortunately for a guy like Labarbera, there are probably a lot of folks eyeing up his stuff at auction to get it for the sole purpose of wearing. Fantastic gear at a significant price drop.

Couple years back, I was looking to buy a new helmet and shield (as I had never wore a shield in the past and was really pissing my dentist off apparently) - anyway, I was buying a couple other jerseys at an auction and noticed a Drew Miller helmet shield combo and picked it up for $60 - now I just wear that for rec. I have no intention of ever selling it but there could be a Drew Miller fan out there somewhere who is not real happy with me.

Another guy I play with had a connection with the Coyotes and wears Turris helmet and pants, another guy has family in Buffalo and has some old Sabres gear as well. I am sure it's a pretty common occurrence.