Work in the Sports Memorabilia Industry

Steiner Sports is accepting resumes to join their sports memorabilia team. I found the listing on their facebook fan page.

The listing doesn't specify if they are looking for help running their autograph shows, in store help, or someone to help their blog and social media exposure.

If you're interested, check out their sites and send an email to: acohensmith@steinersports.com with Steiner Sports Resume in the subject line.

Be a Fan and Get a Gift Card

Steiner Sports is giving away gift cards every day. To win, just become a Facebook fan by clicking here.

It looks like today's freebie went to someone who answered a trivia question correctly. Steiner announced the heads-up via their Twitter account.

Shea Stadium is Warming Up the Wrecking Ball

For a price, Mets fans get a private tour of Shea Stadium to begin calling "Dibbs" on pieces of the old park. Thanks to Amazin' Stories for posting this on their blog.

This Dibbs process is just like the scenario that plays out when a coworker is leaving the company. After the initial shock, people slowly start to look at that person's desk for things they'd like to take. Soon, post-it notes start popping up on staplers, tape dispensers, calendars, and other useless work items!

If you join the MeiGray Group Premier Club for a $2,500 minimum purchase deposit, you can have a private tour of Shea next week to view thousands of items that will be for sale (lockers, signs, etc.). Of course, you have to be at Shea Stadium next week to be a part of the dibbs process.

I called MeiGray Group today and their customer service was great. After the Premier Club tour, the remainder of the Shea Stadium items will be go to a public sale on Mets.com or the MeiGroup web site.

I guess this MeiGray Group deal would explain why Steiner never returned my call. MeiGray is going to send me a catalog of items that do not sell when the tour is over. If you're interested, call 888-463-4472.

Collecting Stadium Memorabilia

Sports Collectors Digest has an interesting article for collector's waiting to collect a piece of Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium.

The Yankees and Mets are in negotiations with the city to sell as much of the stadiums as possible before hitting them with the wrecking ball.

I would think Steiner Sports will have some involvement. Steiner sells everything Mets and Yankees on their site from used jerseys to locker room chairs. I sent an email to Steiner Sports today and asked if they would be involved in this effort. I'll post a response as soon as I hear.

I talked to Steiner Sports representatives at an MAB show last year. At the time, they told me they hoped they would be involved and they were also in negotiations with the city and the teams. Rumors on the message boards last year said that NY Mets season ticket holders were offered their season ticket seats for $800 a piece!

I have a jar of Yankee Stadium outfield dirt that I'll blog about later this month. I picked it up during a tour of the stadium in April, 2002.

Steiner also has a deal with the Dallas Cowboys, but so far, Dallas has been selling the seats to Texas Stadium through the team.

If you want real memorabilia from Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, or other stadiums that get demolished, don't purchase the "last season" marketing branded t-shits, coins, and plaques. That's not memorabilia or a collectible, it's probably not worth the material its made out of. However, I think it would look great if you get some the last season branded baseballs signed by Mets or Yankees legends.

There's a great article about the new Yankee Stadium in the current SportingNews magazine. It's still on book store shelves if you want to read more about the revenue and how new stadiums have changed the way baseball teams make money.

All Star Game Brings Steiner Marketing

If you are unsure about the location of this year's MLB All-Star game, then you aren't on Steiner's mailing list! Yesterday I received my about my 3rd Yankee themed All-Star Game Steiner marketing piece through the mail.

Steiner is promoting their All-Star game baseballs with mostly Yankee autographs. The biggest surprise price: Robinson Cano signed All-Star game baseball = $149.99 vs. Yogi Berra All-Star game baseball = $110!

I know there are some kind of price/demand metrics that probably determine this to be the most profitable for Steiner, but are people really paying $40 more for a Cano baseball than they are for Yogi?

Tiger Stadium Deserved Better Than This

The remains of Tiger Stadium are getting tossed around Detroit's City Council like a hot potato.

A nonprofit group has been circling the bases trying to find $15 million to save part of Tiger Stadium before the wrecking ball cracks the outfield wall. A council agreement with demolition companies gives the nonprofit group until June 1 to raise part of the money - $369,000 to save the dugouts and homeplate.

I wish the corner of Michigan and Trumball could be turned into a museum. Baseball (before Tiger Stadium even) has been played there since 1895. Where are we in society and where is the state of baseball when we could lose the baseball history of Tiger Stadium and Yankee Stadium in the same year?

Last year Schneider Industries auction house was given permission by the city of Detroit to sell some pieces of Tiger Stadium. From what I read online, Schneider was not prepared for the web traffic and their site crashed in the early hours of the auction.

The opening bid on a pair of seats was $279.00... not bad, considering that Yankee and Shea Stadium bidding will be 2x that amount! (Steiner are you listening?) I wish I had known about this a year or so ago. I'd rather have some of these pieces in my house than in a Michigan scrap pile.

Tiger Stadium's fate deserves better, Tiger fans deserve better, and the history of the game deserves better. Detroit needs to get its act together and preserve this historic landmark before it becomes home to another house project or casino.

A more detailed city council battle story was posted today on the Detroit News web site. That is where I found a lot of this information.

Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium Proceeds to Charity

According to Monday's NY Post, the ownership of Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium is being negotiated between the city of New York and the team's owners in order to maximize profits at the fans' expense... again.

Currently, the city owns the actual stadiums.

The teams are trying to lock-up the ownership of their facilities so they can get the majority of the profits by selling everything can of ball parks before the wrecking ball swings through. You can expect the Yanks and Mets to sell everything including: seats, signs, and sh*tters.

What is the Steiner Sports role in this?

I'm not sure how Steiner Sports may be involved. They currently sell everything game-used that deals with the two New York teams. When I talked to Steiner Reps at the National Card show in Cleveland and at an MAB Show last year, they said they were in negotiations with the city to be the broker of these items.

So it sounds like once again, corporate attorneys are fighting to see who can rip off fans the most. I'm worried about prices for these items will go insane. If the team, the city, and (maybe) Steiner are all asking for a percentage - this could get really expensive.

Instead of lining the pockets of the Steinbrenners, Wilpons, government, and (maybe) Steiner... I'd like to see these the sale of these items benefit the local charities! Proceeds from the destruction of these parks should go to Bronx and Queens based charities. They put up with the traffic, parking, and noise... why not let their community benefit from the wrecking ball?