question on a huge buy

tonylags

I am evaluating a very large deal; I am the buyer; seller claims "market value" is approx 150-200k. We all know the time it will take to go through and sell through an enormous collection like this. I've seen some glimpses, From what I have seen thus far their assessment is probably accurate. Mostly raw although 200 or so slabs. It's comprised of all sports and non sports too, some vintage not much. I am seeing it in pieces since both of our preview times are somewhat limited at the moment. My question, where should my buy range be; I want it to be a win-win? I've haven't done a deal this size and just trying to come up with a fair # for both of us. Again, the time to go through & sell through/break up this collection, even if I wholesale it out will be tremendous. Feel free to PM me. ........opinions desperately needed. Thanks.

Cakes

I have never done a deal this large, but I have done 10K deals and in general you want to be at half of what you think it's worth. You can be up front with the person that you think it's probably worth double what you are offering but you are the one dishing out a large amount of money knowing it will take time and a lot of work to get your money back. Keep in mind the cost of grading, verifying, sorting, researching, shipping, etc...

You need to be careful, do you know the person who is selling? If not do you have any law enforcement friends that could accompany you? Luckily for me one of my sons was in the Marines, in Afghanistan, and is now a Cop and knows how to handle himself so it helps in high risk situations.

Good luck. I have never regretted the 3 collections I bought but the 10K one was a lot of work and took years to make my money back.

Mickey71

I think 40-50% if it is not ultra prime stuff. Doesn't sound like high grade Mantles etc. so you will be doing a lot of work. Plus the market is really high right now. Good luck with whatever you choose.

blurryface

ive only bought one collection like this. and basically only because of 10 or so cards. its been wonderful and worth every penny. you already sound like you know the time its gonna take and the work involved. so whatever you think that is, ball it up, throw it out the window bc it will probably be 5 to 10x’s that amount of time and effort.

but, there’s silver linings too. among other things, this collection came w about 100 jack nicklaus psa 8 rcs. at the time of purchase, they were prolly valued at $100 each. well, i never got round to moving them out until this past year or so. prolly sold 10 or so over the past year that have basically paid for everything. it has by far been my best pick up ever. biggest pain though too. but tons of fun too.

so i guess what im saying, dont feel rushed to liquidate everything either bc the future, unseen payoff could be monumental.

proper storage and a detailed organized system will be your best friend.

craig44

I would send a word of caution if many of the key cards are raw. I would want to see in person (with ruler) if at all possible.

as far as valuation, I would be in at around 40% or so. you will have your funds tied up for some time and there will be significant leg work involved in selling this collection. While 40% may sound low, it can give you some protection in the event prices drop during the time it takes you to sell the collection.

tonylags

saw a good chunk, tons of value, tons of time involved to sell through and break up. 90's bbk inserts {rare one's like rave, pink rave, approx 200 kobe rookies, etc} pokeman 1st edition stuff, 80's sets, baseball stars and rookies, jordan's, kobe's, etc, auto's, vintage football, baseball etc....probably 500,000 cards.
5% pre 85 {all sports/non sports inc netpro, 82 wrestling etc}
70% 1985-2000 {mostly basketball}
20% non sports, pokeman, magic, etc
5% auto & memorabilia

Cakes

@tonylags said:
saw a good chunk, tons of value, tons of time involved to sell through and break up. 90's bbk inserts {rare one's like rave, pink rave, approx 200 kobe rookies, etc} pokeman 1st edition stuff, 80's sets, baseball stars and rookies, jordan's, kobe's, etc, auto's, vintage football, baseball etc....probably 500,000 cards.
5% pre 85 {all sports/non sports inc netpro, 82 wrestling etc}
70% 1985-2000 {mostly basketball}
20% non sports, pokeman, magic, etc
5% auto & memorabilia

Those are all hot items, makes it tough to lose.

Are you sure it's safe? 75 - 100k is expensive.

tonylags

I believe so; it's a lot of money I agree, there's some solid value in the slabbed stuff already from what I am seeing.

CdnOsfan

This will be very interesting to watch! If it works out, a new thread showing what you got and what you end up selling everything for would drag on forever but be very interesting to us all.

tonylags

i will post if 7 & when it closes

GreenSneakers

I watch a decent amount of Pawn Stars. Start at 50% of low end value range and walk away at 75% of low end.

Cakes

@GreenSneakers said:
I watch a decent amount of Pawn Stars. Start at 50% of low end value range and walk away at 75% of low end.

What ever you do, do not pay 75% of the perceived value. Right around 50% is fair to both of you. He has probably already spoken with the local card shop and only been offered 25 to 30%.

tonylags

I'm doing my homework on what I've seen so far. I must admit, I was impressed, which is really saying something since I've been buying and selling for 15+ years.

tonylags

I kept asking; "where's the vintage" , you know 50s & 60s. I did see a 62 mantle. Probably a 5-6.

tonylags

any other opinions??

Bosox1976

Don't sleep on the Pokemon/Magic - lots of $$ changing hands there every day. If they aren't your usual cup of tea, probably worth doing some ebay research. Good luck with the deal.

dontippet

In your first sentence, you say the seller claims $150-200K value. I would have to prove that to myself before offering on the deal. If he's off by $50k, you're in a world of hurt. the other thing I see is that your list probably includes the cream of the crop. The 1990 Score Hockey isn't going to be mentioned. I don't mean to sound pestimistic, but I'd have to prove the value to myself before purchasing.

stevek

The best way to do it is this. Don't have visions of sugar plumbs which will cloud your judgment. Calculate the value as if you were simply a third party appraiser, so you can come up with an accurate assessment.

After that, figure out what your time and material is worth, and what profit margin you need to make the deal worthwhile to you.

Making sure you don't send the money, and the seller sends you nothing or perhaps none of the most valuable cards, is another matter.

tonylags

Saw more today, and it's a lot of good stuff, like mentioned above. Although, I just keep thinking to myself "oh my, the time it's going to take to sort/sell through this collection"

I offered; they countered; I offered to meet in the middle.........................................now I wait as they think about it.

magician45

I'd put that much money into commodity or dividend stocks, but that's just me. If you love cards I would say just be sure who you're dealing with. A lot of scammers out there, especially when you are talking that much money. Card market is hot now, try to buy and sell before the market crashes again.