If you commit to buying, don’t come up with lame excuses for backing out……

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I met Mike Specht and Dave Grob on GUU. What wonderful guys, and so generous with their time and knowledge! And another treat was Bud Hillerich (of the famous bat making family) dropping in regularly to answer specific questions about bat order records. I have a Terry Felton GU bat, which is a real oddity because in the days of the DH, why would an AL pitcher on a team never close to post season play need his own bat? Bud answered my question, citing Felt's 2 orders of 2 bats each, pinpointing my bat down to the exact date it was ordered.

Those were fun days. Chris was a good guy too.

I check in on GUU daily, hoping to see somebody post. No activity. Brian Hillerich helped me with a few of my Arod bats. He was always willing to help anyone.

I remember when I first joined GUU. Just like many sites, when you're the new kid on the block, not much love. Got beat down over and over when I thought I knew what I was talking about. It was tough love, but that's how I learned and what made me want to pursue GU.

Fingers crossed it becomes a reality one day!

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by 3arod13

I check in on GUU daily, hoping to see somebody post. No activity. Brian Hillerich helped me with a few of my Arod bats. He was always willing to help anyone.

I remember when I first joined GUU. Just like many sites, when you're the new kid on the block, not much love. Got beat down over and over when I thought I knew what I was talking about. It was tough love, but that's how I learned and what made me want to pursue GU.

Fingers crossed it becomes a reality one day!

Yes, his name was Brian, not Bud. He used to get asked dozens of questions a month it seemed, and he answered every one. Mike Sphect had access to some of the shipping records and did likewise when he could. It really was a community.

But yes, I remember when somebody would post a picture of an item that wasn't right... there were people ready to bluntly opine what was wrong. Sometimes a couple of knowledgeable collectors would get into a disagreement, and I'd learn so much just reading their back and forth about why something was or wasn't correct.

I believe the whole "photo matched" thing originated at GUU, or at least, that was where it really took hold. One time Tim Byington posted a Bob Allison bat he had - and it was a clear photo match to the bat Allison was holding on a major magazine cover (Sport or Sports Illustrated.)

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Yes, his name was Brian, not Bud. He used to get asked dozens of questions a month it seemed, and he answered every one. Mike Sphect had access to some of the shipping records and did likewise when he could. It really was a community.

But yes, I remember when somebody would post a picture of an item that wasn't right... there were people ready to bluntly opine what was wrong. Sometimes a couple of knowledgeable collectors would get into a disagreement, and I'd learn so much just reading their back and forth about why something was or wasn't correct.

I believe the whole "photo matched" thing originated at GUU, or at least, that was where it really took hold. One time Tim Byington posted a Bob Allison bat he had - and it was a clear photo match to the bat Allison was holding on a major magazine cover (Sport or Sports Illustrated.)

Hard to say when and where "photomatching" originated as part of the overall hobby, but it was a thing among game worn hockey collectors for a while before GUU was created. I'd venture to say that game worn hockey collecting community has been ahead of the rest of the game worn collecting communities in a number of ways.

[JimmyC]

Originally Posted by icollectDCsports

Hard to say when and where "photomatching" originated as part of the overall hobby, but it was a thing among game worn hockey collectors for a while before GUU was created. I'd venture to say that game worn hockey collecting community has been ahead of the rest of the game worn collecting communities in a number of ways.

Believe you are correct on GU hockey and photo matching - and GU hockey seems to just be on fire the last few years….vintage GU Jerseys sell for a premium and I am regularly contacted by dealers and collectors to see if I want to sell anything…..getting tougher and tougher to find the good vintage stuff..

Relative to GUU, I am honored to have been involved with Chris Cavalier, Mike Specht, Rob Steinmetz, etc when I was a contributing bat expert for GUU…we attended several Nationals together….we helped so many people in the GU arena and provided clarity to what was legit - what matched factory records - what an index bat was - what was considered game use - number attributes - player attributes….on and on and on…..

The major dealers, authenticators and auction houses could not slide junk through like they could before….not calling anyone out - just saying a lot of suspect items came up in auction where our analysis had many items pulled, or had the description changed because of our work…..very proud of that….

Miss the old GUU - glad to see the positive thoughts and comments here in this thread….

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by JimmyC

Believe you are correct on GU hockey and photo matching - and GU hockey seems to just be on fire the last few years….vintage GU Jerseys sell for a premium and I am regularly contacted by dealers and collectors to see if I want to sell anything…..getting tougher and tougher to find the good vintage stuff..

Relative to GUU, I am honored to have been involved with Chris Cavalier, Mike Specht, Rob Steinmetz, etc when I was a contributing bat expert for GUU…we attended several Nationals together….we helped so many people in the GU arena and provided clarity to what was legit - what matched factory records - what an index bat was - what was considered game use - number attributes - player attributes….on and on and on…..

The major dealers, authenticators and auction houses could not slide junk through like they could before….not calling anyone out - just saying a lot of suspect items came up in auction where our analysis had many items pulled, or had the description changed because of our work…..very proud of that….

Miss the old GUU - glad to see the positive thoughts and comments here in this thread….

Yep. Hockey collectors were photomatching and using that term specifically for a while before GUU existed. For the past 15 or 20 years I'd guess, NHL teams have done a great (depending on how you look at it) job of washing various marks out of their jerseys, and players are issued more jerseys per season, but previously jerseys that would make their way into the hobby would often have a lot of repairs and other identifying marks that would make them particularly photomatchable. Vintage game worn hockey jerseys, particularly those that are "hammered" with lot of visible signs of use, are in great demand.

[JimmyC]

Originally Posted by icollectDCsports

Yep. Hockey collectors were photomatching and using that term specifically for a while before GUU existed. For the past 15 or 20 years I'd guess, NHL teams have done a great (depending on how you look at it) job of washing various marks out of their jerseys, and players are issued more jerseys per season, but previously jerseys that would make their way into the hobby would often have a lot of repairs and other identifying marks that would make them particularly photomatchable. Vintage game worn hockey jerseys, particularly those that are "hammered" with lot of visible signs of use, are in great demand.

You are so correct about repairs and other identifying marks that make them easy to photo match….I’d say 95% of my jerseys are either photo matched, fight matched (LOL) or video matched…..lots of recycling back in the day - lots of nameplates not matching the year of issue because of the reuse….just lots of wear, tear, rips, repairs, stitching, stick marks, etc….

Gotta love game worn hockey jerseys….

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I believe the whole "photo matched" thing originated at GUU, or at least, that was where it really took hold.

I actually thought that it was me that started it at Game Used Universe.

I had a Jorge Posada bat that I purchased from someone in Canada and they gave me the exact game in which they obtained it. I went back and watched it on TV and took photos (with an actual camera!) of Posada holding the bat in the dugout and matched up the grain on my bat to the photos. I posted about it and explained how I did it and people thought it was cool. Very shortly thereafter, there were people on the site offering photo matching services for a fee.