The biggest problem with buying a St. Louis Blues jersey, or any pro sports jersey really, is the person wearing the real version will only be there for a finite amount of time. That is why personalized jerseys started picking up in popularity.
When I was a kid, I thought having a personalized jersey was stupid. You never played for the team, after all. Then, I got a Wayne Gretzky jersey and it was only good for about three months.
Kudos to those of you who still wear your clown jerseys with 99 on them. I could not bring myself to do it then and the jersey just kind of got retired to the basement after awhile.