Meigray Expo 2018

[SnakeOiler12]

No "buy one, get one of equal or less value free" either? 

Double bummer! 

[amonte78]

Was hoping for a higher discount on GI's than 20%, so I'll paSS on this one

[NYIJM29]

Stuff doesn't sell 50% off --> Let's make it BOGO so people need to buy 2 jerseys!!!

Stuff doesn't sell BOGO --> Let's make the sale only 40% 

[Flyers845]

Meigray you suck.

I'll still be at the expo though. 

[OneJerseyMemorabilia]

I

 

Edited September 26, 2018 by OneJerseyMemorabilia

[jsh139]

It’s their business to do with what they want, but this year’s sale sucks, IMO. I’ll be passing. 

[NYIJM29]

26 minutes ago, jsh139 said:

It’s their business to do with what they want, but this year’s sale sucks, IMO. I’ll be passing. 

For sure. It is just disappointing.  When it is all said and done, they can do whatever they want with their inventory, but the argument always remains the same.  They are holding a lot of jerseys that are over a decade old hostage.  I don't see the point in not marking down 6100 cuts / pre-first lockout gamers / pre-Edge down to 60%+.  I am sorry an Oleg Kvasha isnt a $350 ever, especially not now (I offered them $160 for one, maybe 2 years ago and they said no).  In how many industries is inventory that is 10+ years old worth the same as it was when it was first put out for sale?

Edited July 13, 2018 by NYIJM29

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, NYIJM29 said:

For sure. It is just disappointing.  When it is all said and done, they can do whatever they want with their inventory, but the argument always remains the same.  They are holding a lot of jerseys that are over a decade old hostage.  I don't see the point in not marking down 6100 cuts / pre-first lockout gamers / pre-Edge down to 60%+.  I am sorry an Oleg Kvasha isnt a $350 ever, especially not now (I offered them $160 for one, maybe 2 years ago and they said no).  

It’s an interesting business model for sure. First in, first out is a general principle of retail.   The reason for that is, nobody cares about your old stock, and you’ll get stuck with it. Granted, sports collectibles are not the same as general merchandise in that “vintage” stuff has appeal to certain collectors, but if it’s been 10 years and nobody’s bought a Kvasha jersey, it’s priced too high and you should lower it. 

I don’t understand why they are just kind of sitting on stuff, like someday someone will have an epiphany and buy an old Kvasha jersey at full price. 

[LondonGardens]

I certainly don't know how much their stale inventory is worth but accounting rules say they it is recorded on the Balance Sheet at cost (less any accumulated depreciation, if there is a basis for that), but NOT at the listed sale price.  The large amount of old jerseys they have might only be a tiny % of their assets, especially if the old TI that they appear to have en masse were acquired at a discount or even free in consideration for what they do.  If the storage cost for an old jersey is nill they they represent basically all profit when they move.  Problem with that is cash flow, but if all the auctions on current stuff cover all the bills and salaries and then some ,it may explain why they can sit on them.  Just speculation on my part, but II can see how frustrating it is for collectors to see all the old stock they seem to have.

Edited July 13, 2018 by LondonGardens

[lhg39]

Their approach is different than almost all others. Steiner, for example, usually tries to move left over inventory at the end of each season. I don’t know that there is anything they can do to really move 10 year old jerseys of common players, but I don’t see how sittting on them at original retail price or putting them on sale at less of a discount than in the past makes any sense, most of those jerseys will simply never move. It is almost as if they don’t want to send out a message that if you wait 10 years you can get something really cheap, so instead, they just keep it.

[Devilsguy]

They can afford to sit on old inventory. They are not exactly hurting. Look at the SCF finals jerseys this year. They sold 4 jerseys within a day of being available that were $35K each. Plus they pretty much sold out of both the Vegas and Caps finals jerseys so how much is that combined? Add to the fact that people forget they sell quite a bit of NBA gamers where commons start at $1K along with Vegas warmup pucks where they get $100 a pop, they can certainly afford to sit on a bunch of 5+ year old gamers and not feel the pinch.

[lhg39]

19 minutes ago, Devilsguy said:

They can afford to sit on old inventory. They are not exactly hurting. Look at the SCF finals jerseys this year. They sold 4 jerseys within a day of being available that were $35K each. Plus they pretty much sold out of both the Vegas and Caps finals jerseys so how much is that combined? Add to the fact that people forget they sell quite a bit of NBA gamers where commons start at $1K along with Vegas warmup pucks where they get $100 a pop, they can certainly afford to sit on a bunch of 5+ year old gamers and not feel the pinch.

Sure, they clearly can. They have been and are doing it. I just don’t understand the end game. The odds of the value going up on any of these is minimal. Why not just move them and get what you can. I suppose, perhaps, that all of those jerseys provide the “wow factor” to their warehouse.

[NYIJM29]

Even thought they are selling big ticket items, they still need to pay for that inventory, insurance on it, employee salaries, etc.  Though, I do think the NBA auctions are strictly commission-based.  The stuff that is decades old or survived multiple sales is already paid for. Just dump it and get some of the cash back so you don't need to expand the warehouse or pay insurance on it. Maybe they are saving it for the grab bags.  Easier to maximize value that way.  But again, we don't know their costs + overhead.  

[LondonGardens]

What I'm curuous about is apparently they are going to basically give away NHL blanks for $40 as part of the Expo. I assume those are the TI ones on eBay that are listed at a full price in the $120 -$250 range.  Some of those seem quite old - they won't sell them for 50% - 70% off, but will just give them away at the expo?  I can imagine how someone might feel who recently bought one at full price, lol. There seems to be little logic to how the sales on those come and go.

[Devilsguy]

I wonder if part of the reason is that if they start heavily discounting older ones they will receive angry calls/emails from collectors who feel that now Meigray is devaluing their collection

[NYIJM29]

2 minutes ago, LondonGardens said:

What I'm curuous about is apparently they are going to basically give away NHL blanks for $40 as part of the Expo. I assume those are the TI ones on eBay that are listed at a full price in the $120 -$250 range.  Some of those seem quite old - they won't sell them for 50% - 70% off, but will just give them away at the expo?  I can imagine how someone might feel who recently bought one at full price, lol. There seems to be little logic to how the sales on those come and go.

In the past, they usually don't give away the nicer 2.0s.  Usually old 1.0/2.0s of the Preds, Isles, Avs, Flyers, Caps, Stars, Oilers pre-redesigns. 

 

1 minute ago, Devilsguy said:

I wonder if part of the reason is that if they start heavily discounting older ones they will receive angry calls/emails from collectors who feel that now Meigray is devaluing their collection

It is an interesting theory, but if they marked down the older stuff I would buy and be thrilled to add the few missing pieces.  I know my mid-2000 Isles are not worth what I paid.  

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, LondonGardens said:

What I'm curuous about is apparently they are going to basically give away NHL blanks for $40 as part of the Expo. I assume those are the TI ones on eBay that are listed at a full price in the $120 -$250 range.  Some of those seem quite old - they won't sell them for 50% - 70% off, but will just give them away at the expo?  I can imagine how someone might feel who recently bought one at full price, lol. There seems to be little logic to how the sales on those come and go.

If they straight up sold TI blanks for the $40, they would have blown out whatever they had. I’m good on Edge jerseys, but if they sold them st that price, I’d potentially buy two or three of each home and road. 

Instead, they give them away as a nice gift to the limited number of people who attend the Expo. You don’t get to choose team of size as I understand it.  So I get their logic. 

 

[LondonGardens]

So, I'm guessing that a bunch of those show up on eBay, as only some will luck out with a free Expo blank that is their size or not a duplicate that they don't want?

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, LondonGardens said:

So, I'm guessing that a bunch of those show up on eBay, as only some will luck out with a free Expo blank that is their size or not a duplicate that they don't want?

Yup. Usually at pretty good prices too. 

[Devilsguy]

A lot of those free expo jerseys end up on eBay because of two reasons: 1) people get jerseys of teams they don't care for and 2) typically the sizes they give out on the bigger side. Out of like the 8-10 free jerseys I have gotten over the years only a couple of them have been smaller than a 58.

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, Devilsguy said:

A lot of those free expo jerseys end up on eBay because of two reasons: 1) people get jerseys of teams they don't care for and 2) typically the sizes they give out on the bigger side. Out of like the 8-10 free jerseys I have gotten over the years only a couple of them have been smaller than a 58.

I assume they have more stock because the bigger sizes don’t sell as well. 

I know if I got one that was not my exact team and size, it would probably be up for sale that evening. 

[LondonGardens]

Thats kind of odd. If they would mark down the old 1.0 & 2.0s to say $60, they would move them pretty quickly to people who want them in the right, size and they would actually rent more money.  It would also save the Expo attendees the bother of selling for those who don't want them. Maybe there should be a sticky thread on here to exchange/sell the ones people get Saturday and don't want?

Edited July 13, 2018 by LondonGardens

[Guest Dr_Puck]

It's been real interesting to watch some of that old inventory on MGG's ebay page. I still see the same jerseys go up repeatedly with no bids at $99.00. I still don't envision another flash sale, though. 

[mfitz804]

16 minutes ago, LondonGardens said:

Thats kind of odd. If they would mark down the old 1.0 & 2.0s to say $60, they would move them pretty quickly to people who want them in the right, size and they would actually rent more money.  It would also save the Expo attendees the bother of selling for those who don't want them. Maybe there should be a sticky thread on here to exchange/sell the ones people get Saturday and don't want?

It probably could happen right in this thread, although the mods may want it over in the Trading Post. I bet someone could start an Expo specific thread over there to get it done. 

 

[NYIJM29]

I don't think you need to "pay" to attend the Expo or Warehouse sale.  It is just if you want the "free" jersey & coupon (which will probably have a lot of fine print this year) you pay $40.   For $40, the blank is totally worth it, even if you are not a fan of the team.  That being said, if anyone gets a 2.0 or two in the Isles "water wing" jersey in any size smaller than a 58+, find me and let's trade!