Imagine scouring yard sales, Goodwill stores, and thrift shops and turning your treasure hunt into a million-dollar business. That’s exactly what the people at FC Goods did. Today, they purchase approximately 300 vintage baseball gloves per week and turn them into amazing pieces of art, including wallets, keychains, belts, and more, all assembled by hand.
The company also makes custom pieces as a great way to remember a moment in time or a special person. Perhaps the most moving story of a custom piece has its origin story within FC Goods itself.
“One of our employees ran an amateur baseball team along with his brother,” said General Manager Jason Reisdorfer. “Unfortunately, his brother passed away in a car accident. His equipment bag was in his trunk and as the family was going through his belongings, they found one of his old baseball gloves. FC Goods took that glove, sent it to our manufacturer and made it into several pieces including a couple of wallets and some key chains. They were distributed to family members, and they love the fact that they’ll always carry a piece of him.”
FC Goods turned another custom project into an amazing video.
Aside from custom pieces, it’s the attention to detail that sets Fielders Choice Goods apart from their competition. The company is big enough to be able to turn around its products quickly but small enough to add a personal touch to each item.
“The craftsmanship is amazing,” said Reisdorfer. “But customer service on the back end is a huge priority. Mandi deals directly with any customer requests looking for specific attributes, like lots of glove markings or special names or darker/lighter leather. She goes above and beyond to make sure every customer is 100% satisfied and if they aren’t, we refund them, no questions asked.”
FC Goods works with a best-in-class manufacturer in the Dominican Republic to turn baseball gloves into keepsakes. The craftsmen take each glove apart and refurbish the leather before making each piece by hand and returning it to the FC Goods fulfillment center in South Dakota. The company is always looking to expand its product line and many of the suggestions come from customers.
“We had someone contact us and ask, ‘Hey…can you make a golf card scorecard holder out of my glove?’” said Reisdorfer. “There’s a never-ending list of ideas…and we’re hoping to be able to bring most of them to fruition.”
Of all the products in the FC Goods line, Reisdorfer’s favorites are the items from The Vault. “I personally go through and hand-pick our Vault items that come back and highlight the signatures of all our favorite old players. There’s just something cool about having “Mickey Mantle” on your wallet and pulling it out and having the register clerk ask all about it.”
Thanks so much to the folks at FC Goods for taking the time to talk and you can check them out here.
