Japanese mizuno mask for sale
 

Hello I am a former AAA (PCL) umpire. Before I started my last season, I had a former fellow Japanese umpire bring me over a Mizuno mask with the spider throat protector. Sense I have retired I have not umpired again... I am selling my mask to the highest bidder.

The starting bid is $550

This mask is very Rare and hard to get unless you have a Japanese connection... At one point in time I know that honigs was going to try to sell the same mask but the deal never went though...

Only serious bidders should reply to my e mail address at [email protected]

I will keep all bids open till sept 10th 2009. At that time I will announce the winning bid on this site.

Winner bidder will need to send money order and over night shipping is included in price once the money order clears.

If there are no bids received this mask will be placed on e bay with a starting bid of $700

I had a friend of mine just sell his mask for $1150 on e bay....

ALL BIDS MUST BE SENT TO E MAIL ADDRESS AS I WILL NOT RESPOND OR CHECK THIS SITE UNTIL I ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON SEPT 10TH

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BIDDING

$550..... I have the same mask and throat guard. Since I got the Nike mask, the mizuno has been shelved. Maybe I should get in on this and sell mine. I start the bidding on mine @ $549 ha ha

A grand for an umpire's mask? Really?!
 

You guys have your one mask for $550; I'll go with my two titaniums for $380. Actually $420 counting this set of spare pads that I acquired from this really cool umpire.

I'll just go with my Dyna-Lite Chrome Moly with the doeskin wrap-arounds that I acquired from this REALLY, REALLY cool umpire!

Thanks really cool umpire!:cool:

Good luck with that.

For $500, that mask better make my coffee too.

What exactly does this mask do that a Wilson or All-Star titanium won't do?

Dude: it's Japanese. :rolleyes:

Does that mean it bows to you before you put it on?

Paypal is good too... I have had a pay pal and e bay account for years... Just figured that I would offer the mask on here before and other sites before I had to pay commissions on e bay. Sure you can buy other masks. There are many great masks on the market but the only way you can get this RARE mask is to buy one being resold which is rare in it's self or go to Japan.

I have already received 3 bids.

Happy bidding

To bid outside of the safety of ebay and PayPal for something this costly is unduly risky. And to cite the reluctance to pay a nominal ebay fee as the reason to sell it outside of ebay is a crock.

Sell it on ebay, so the buyer is protected.

Nothing. It's just hard to find in America, so if you want to say, "I have a mask you can't get here," it's the one for you. If what you want is a lightweight mask you can easily find the ones you mentioned. I think the throat guard looks cool (just my opinion), but to me the mask is just another mask.

I do believe it was a rhetorical question.

I remember when the +POS SUL came out and everyone was just drooling over it. I have a $80 Honigs single bar, light weight and have been using it for years, and I don't plan to change.

There are no three happy bidders; there may be no Mizuno mask. And there is probably no retiring Japanese colleague.

After posting a harsh version of my earlier warning, I read some of the reaction from the other site to this same come-on, and I must say that I should have left the harsh version up there.

PayPal and ebay exist for a very good reason: They protect the buyer and the seller. The auctions are legitimate, and the bidders are truly happy.

This whole scenario gets more and more laughable with each reading. I'm gratified that none of us sucked it up and acted all impressed.

Brother, when you get drilled, I'm sure it feels virtually the same as when I get drilled. Premium masks of every brand are similar: they all protect; they all perform; they all look good; they all have comfortable pads. It comes down to a shade or a logo or a subtle feature that makes us jump at one mask or another. The Honig's single-bar is a perfectly fine mask.

When I first started out, I picked a mask because it had black leather pads. I wound up being one of those guys who prefers the two-tone or even the tan doeskin look. The silvery (or pewter-colored) bars? (I couldn't bring myself to write pewtery.) I deplored them at first glance. Mike Napoli of the Angels showed up with a Nike and I couldn't stand it. Then I saw the Wilson titanium umpire version and started to come around to it. Then I put one on and looked through it and I was essentially hooked on the silvery bar look.

So it's really a personal appeal and personal comfort issue. All the good ones protect.

Pretty sure I know GDubs, pretty sure he's legit, pretty sure I wouldn't buy the mask.

If you know gdubs, then you know how to get the same mask for a little more than a fourth of his "starting bid."

anyone that spent 1,000 dollars on this mask is probably not real bright.

I bought mine for 100 US dollars in 2005 and gave it to a buddy two years ago to start using.

idk if this is legit or not, but it's a lot of money to just sent to someone random. Also odd that, if I recall correctly "gdubbs" used to post strictly in all caps on the amlu and now has found grammar and lower case typing as well

I generally give my extra uniforms and gear to other umpires, or in one case, I put together a package of my original gear to get a guy started in umpiring. If I ever did sell something, I would sell it at something of a loss, knowing that I got some good use out of it, which is worth something.

So I can't relate to gouging a fellow umpire in some bidding war that is established by some bizarre story of a "friend," who sold his mask for $1150. Good grief.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR BIDS.... MASK HAS SOLD AND WILL NOW HAVE A NEW FACE YELLING BEHIND IT..... SORRY IT NEVER MADE IT TO E BAY.


INUmp
CAPS ARE FOR YOU SHOOTER...

There's a sucker born every minute.

... A quote that has always been falsely attributed to P.T. Barnum, a far too dignified fellow to have uttered it.

Why would you sell it at a loss when there are people willing to pay more for it? The mask is cool and some people are willing to pay a lot of money for it.

Because I have self-respect, respect for my peers and respect for this craft. I'm both lucky and thankful that I was raised better than to gouge my peers. You go ahead and operate that way, and I'll be dignified and honorable, instead.

I give gear (and uniforms) away, or sell it at a loss if I used it only slightly. I'm a lot more comfortable with that than I would be taking advantage of another umpire.

Me and the other 125 million people who use eBay will.

... :confused: ... Will what, gouge your peers?

In my best Dana-Carvey-impersonating-Johnny-Carson voice:

I did not know that!

Wikipedia backs it up though. Interesting as growing up I was a fan of the musical Barnum and that's a neat song from it.

Ok, back to your regularly-scheduled forum.

Thanks for evoking both Johnny and Dana Carvey---two major favorites of mine. Two thumbs up!

It's not gouging to sell something for what the market will bear.

It's also "worth" something to the seller to sell it for a lower price to help out someone. That "worth" varies by person and is generally higher if the buyer is in the same association and lower if it's a stranger on the internet.

You guys are talking past each other just because of your past history.

And, in the sense that you wanted me to moderate the forum, from where I stand most of the blame on this thread falls on you, Kevin.

Hmmm ... okay.

I've just never been one to walk away when someone is being picked on, and I seldom back down when I'm having my words, thoughts and intentions picked apart or twisted. I started out objecting only mildly to this guy's selling of this mask, but the more I read it, the more insulting it became. And I was far from alone. So I weighed in a little heavier, and it was disputed, and I answered. Sorry it got silly.

I suppose this thread is one thing, but this history involves a consistent pattern of disputes that I have not had a hand in starting.

You can call it whatever you want. I just put it up for auction and people can pay as much as they are willing to for the product. This mask auction is no different that the Riddell Power protectors which sell for $400; they are considered cool and it is worth spending a lot of money to look cool to the buyer.

Just an aside: Why did you create new user name to do this?

WOW!

My opinion just got reinforced better than the Bay Bridge.

Hey Kyle,

Do you use shirts with the State Assn. patch?

Nope, just a lowly LL scrub right now.

All righty then.

I'll find a recipient at the H.S. meeting. Thanks, man.

Call me silly, but if I had a used piece of equipment that could get me $500-$1000 I would do it in a heart beat, "brother" or not. Don't get me wrong, I've discounted a lot of my old gear for guys needing it, but if someone is going to place that high a value on it, let the bidding begin. I can see the arguement for putting it on here vs ebay with the protections and all, but save me the rightiousness and silly indignation.

Oh, yeah ... it's "righteousness and silly indignation."

Okay. So, if they're your beliefs or convictions, then they're valid.

I see.

Are you only fair-minded when you umpire?

The first item ever sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. To me that seems like something to throw away. But to someone who collects broken laser pointers it could be the one item needed to complete his set. So to him the laser pointer has much more value than it does to me.

To me it seems like umpgdubs3 was very fair with his selling of the mask. This is a luxury item which has a high demand and a low supply. It isn't at all like selling .5 liter bottles of water for $40 after a hurricane when there is no drinking water. He is selling the mask at the normal price that the mask usually sells for in the US. If he was being unfair he would have lied and said that they usually sold for much more than they really did.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

Drop it.

Then I'm not fair-minded? Because I don't believe in gouging a peer.

I see. I'm just trying to learn how to understand all this new stuff.

Open for starting bid of $100: Clean Mizuno Mask
 

Used hollow tube light weight, navy blue Mizuno Mask with black Mizuno harness and famous Mizuno "golden-M" brand name patched onto the front of the chin pad velcro strap and one famous Mizuno "golden-M" stitched onto the harness. One of the first lightweight masks from Mizuno to hit the market, if not the first to hit the market. Sold as is.

I paid $15 each for a group of ten masks available ten years ago when the MSRP was $49.99 or 59.99 each {Wilson brand also available}. Its probably worth $100 to someone willing to pay that much for a Japanese made/brand mask made 10 years ago. A value addition to any mask collection. You can't go "skimp" on protection.

Buy it now: $200, free shipping and I'll throw in soft velvet cloth, drawstring storage bag to hold and protect personal valuables {glasses, watch, wallet, keys, etc.} when mask is in use. Bag may double as soft polishing cloth.

Serious offers only!

I have to ask, how is it gouging to sell something for what the market will bear? Is it gouging to sell my used car to a college kid for $1000, assuming that's what the market value is?

How do you define gouging?

I was going to dig out my notes from an Econ class, but I found this first. This is very close to what they taught at Oregon:


During and immediately after crises such as natural disasters, various parties will claim that someone is price gouging. What is price gouging, anyway? How do professional economists define it?

The answer is that there is no objective definition. Economists--who specialize in price theory and the behavior of markets and can study these things ad nauseum--have no definition for it, either. In fact, economists have avoided the term as if it were a social disease. A review of all the microeconomics textbooks on Neutral Source's bookshelf reveals that none have as much as an index entry.

A skeptic might retort that this illustrates the real-world irrelevance of economics. Neutral Source believes otherwise. Rather, the concept of price gouging is irrelevant to economics.

Wikipedia defines price gouging as:

a term of variable, but nearly always pejorative, meaning, referring to a seller's asking a price that is much higher than what is seen as 'fair' under the circumstances. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a felony that obtains in some of the United States only during civil emergencies. In less precise usage, it can refer either to prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. In colloquial usage, it means simply that the speaker thinks the price too high, and it often degenerates into a term of demagoguery. Non-pejorative uses are generally in reaction to what the writer believes is an unjustified restraint on the market.

I meant nothing about your opinion, which you are entitled to have and to express, about "price gouging."

Only about "So, if they're your beliefs or convictions, then they're valid."

More than once (this thread and the recent "do you wear a cup on the bases?" thread for example) you've seemd to imply that only your belief and conviction were valid. And, not only have you expressed your belief (agian, you're allowed to do so), you've repeated it over and over and included some disparaging remarks about others in doing so. That's the activity I'm asking you (and others) to stop.

Gotcha.

Thank you ... and a tip of the creased, black six-stitch.

Hopefully this thread keeps going and going. Lots of great content in here.

If someone says they're being grilled, it doesn't mean they are actually on a grill being cooked, but everyone who hears the term knows what is meant by it.

When too high a price is charged for something, and someone like me calls it gouging, even though the particular offense is not in keeping with the kind of activity that is commonly associated with its literal translation, it is still fairly easily determined what is being described. I also define it as gouging specifically due to its being done umpire-to-umpire.

I also attest that the what-the-market-will-bear approach to draining people of every drop you can has had rather devastating results. Look around. It does not work.

Kevin,

To my way of thinking, he wasn't "gouging".

It comes down to the diference between need and desire.

If an individual or group has temporarily (or permanently, I guess) "cornered the market" in something that other people need and charge an "excessive" price for it, to me, that is "gouging".

When somebody tries to sell something "scarce" that nobody needs, but some people "want" (some of them pretty badly, apparently) for an excessive price, I don't see anything unethical, immoral, or otherwise "unsavory" about it.

Nobody made you the "jello sheriff". Take it outside.

JM

I agree this wasn't gouging. The original poster was not the sole source or even a primary source for the mask. He was looking for an amateur umpire with more money than brains or a pro umpire who was too impatient to wait the required time to get the mask for $150.

According to him, he found one or the other.




Edited to fix a major brain fart.

Geez, I thought I just explained my use of the word "gouging." You're right, there is a distinction between the common use of the term and the specific practice of overpricing a necessary commodity in a disaster.

I guess we'll just call it fleecing.

Wow. Talk about a screw up...I guess my parents should be asking the state of Oregon for their money back.:D

Thanks for the humor along with the skewering. It made the embarrassment a little more bearable.

I didn't intend a skewering. It was just a typo. But sometimes typos can be funny...

This is where I was going, thanks.

A fair market will not drain people of every drop, nor will a smart marketeer. The what-the-market-will-bear approach works well when suppliers aren't artificially suppressed by excessive regulation.

I think we've just about exhausted the "gouging vs. free market" debate. (Well, not exhausted it, but reached the poitn where it's likely to turn into a more-rancorous exchange). And, since the mask has been sold, I think it's time to let this thread die.

That's very, very funny.

Excessive regulation ... :D

So that's what's to blame for its obvious failure in recent years ... excessive regulation.

:D

I guess now we've truly exhausted it. Wow. Smart marketing artificially supressed by excessive regulation. That's great stuff.

Kevin, I'd love to have this discussion, but as Bob is the moderator, I'm going to agree to drop this. Suffice it to say I wasn't very clear in my last post, as your post here makes it obvious that my point wasn't made well.

Snaqs: don't expect the last word. :rolleyes:

Yes, we all know that you can sell anything you want at any price the market will bear. That wasn't the point Kevin was making, and that seems to go over everyone's head apparently.

The point is, the guy was selling a mask at 3 to 4 times what it was worth, which is truly indeed ripping people off, no matter how you armchair, wannabe economists try to spin it. Kevin would have, at the very most, sold it for what it was worth and not a penny more. I know this because I know of his character personally.

You can call it "gouging" or any other term you want, or maybe that term is not technically correct. Who cares. And yes, there was someone stupid enough to buy it at the high price, which proves, as Mr. Umpire and someone other than P. T. said, there indeed is a sucker born every minute. But the guy who sold it was the "suckee."

~sigh~
 

Steve:

While you have the right to have your opinion I can respectfully disagree.

"If" this mask was a piece of art and was on auction @ Christies Fine Art it could go for a price more than "what it was worth" and it would simply be a news item in tomorrow's fish wrapper.

I just can't buy into your philosophy that people should not profit (no matter how greatly).

I am certainly not a "wannabe economist" (nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) but I would expect that if I auctioned off my Carlucci Original Chest Protector and Leg Guards I would certainly get more than I paid for them and possibly more than their "worth." ("Worth" is an interesting issue in itself -- how can you establish "worth" for someone else's need or desire.)

Although I greatly respect both you and Kevin I just can't agree with you on this specific issue.

T

Yes, you probably would expect more money than you paid for your Carlucci gear, since it is no longer available unfortunately. The Mizuno mask is still readily available in Japan and Korea. You can get them from anyone who lives over there. They are already overpriced to start with. Again, the guy has every right to get all he can from the sale of his mask. That doesn't make it right. It's not a piece of art, it's umpire gear.

Steve
 

If you ever get a chance watch the movie:

"Who the #%&*^* is Jackson Pollock

It is a great study in placing a value on a questionable item. The movie itself is a piece of art.

As I have sold several pieces of my own work I am too sometimes surprised at the value some people attach to objects.

T

Even wannabe economists understand that the price for something in Japan can be very different than the price for that item in the United States.

In Minnesota, Comcast just came out with what ties for the fastest in the US at 101Mbps speeds for $370 per month. In Japan one can get 160Mbps for $60 per month.