Wouldn't that be interesting if the guy moves, the locker goes unsold and the collection is just stored there. Then he eventually runs into money problems and can't pay the monthly locker fees, and the locker then goes up for auction.
I don't know how the abandoned storage locker thing works, I've never been to one. But i think by law they have to publicly advertise the locker auction. So it might not be a bad idea to occasionally check on that, and if the locker comes up for sale down the road, ya might be able to steal it for maybe a few thou.
So if ya do check out that locker and don't make a deal, be sure to note all the pertinent info, locker number, etc, for possible future reference.
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
@Mickey71 said:
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
Couldn't a lawyer draw up the sales agreement whereby the buyer takes immediate control of the contents of the locker and the monthly storage fees? Then the buyer could relax and take care of removing the contents at his convenience.
I'm sure these storage facilities have seen it all before with custody fights, etc. I would think that they would be prepared after receiving the proper paperwork, to immediately remove the current lock, and place a new lock on there for the new owner of the contents.
The seller meeting with the attorney also shows good faith and reliability on the part of the seller. Don't forget this is a Craigslist deal. Even if the lawyer fees are a couple thousand dollars, which i don't think it would be that high, I think it's well worth it on a transaction of this size.
BTW - "He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw" is the type of dreaming i previously warned about that could get ya in trouble on this as far as overpaying. This seller isn't some babe in the woods like a little old lady who is selling her deceased husband's collection and she has no clue what anything is worth. This seller knows exactly what he's got, and if he had an item such as that, it would have been prominently mentioned and shown in the pics.
<<< Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. >>>
I do fully agree with you on this point.
Sure it's nice to have a father and son "bonding" type of thing with buying the cards, sorting the cards, and making a good profit on the cards. But that thought can't become a reason to possibly massively overpay for this lot.
Look at this strictly as a business venture, and if the bonding comes afterwards because ya each made some good money off it or found some nice collectibles to keep, well consider that an added bonus.
I have bought a few collections of that size. I am telling you now....when I see that many pictures, I would hope to see that many DIFFERENT items. I see a LARGE AMOUNT of duplication within the pictures. I looked through all of them and how many times did we see that run of 5 or 6 1987 Fleer Jordan's from different angles? I saw the Mantle cards in several pictures as well.
I'm sure there is a lot of bulk in those 5 row boxes. Who knows what is in those? They are probably all commons. From what I see I would not even go look for that price. Now...if the asking price was $30k, I would probably take a look and then probably offer him $20k maximum.....and I would be anxious at that!
@Mickey71 said:
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
Couldn't a lawyer draw up the sales agreement whereby the buyer takes immediate control of the contents of the locker and the monthly storage fees? Then the buyer could relax and take care of removing the contents at his convenience.
I'm sure these storage facilities have seen it all before with custody fights, etc. I would think that they would be prepared after receiving the proper paperwork, to immediately remove the current lock, and place a new lock on there for the new owner of the contents.
The seller meeting with the attorney also shows good faith and reliability on the part of the seller. Don't forget this is a Craigslist deal. Even if the lawyer fees are a couple thousand dollars, which i don't think it would be that high, I think it's well worth it on a transaction of this size.
BTW - "He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw" is the type of dreaming i previously warned about that could get ya in trouble on this as far as overpaying. This seller isn't some babe in the woods like a little old lady who is selling her deceased husband's collection and she has no clue what anything is worth. This seller knows exactly what he's got, and if he had an item such as that, it would have been prominently mentioned and shown in the pics.
Many good points. I just do not seriously know any stuff with lawyers where a few hundred dollars is involved. Just my very limited experience with them.
Although, I do think it's possible there are some nice items in there. Yes, I was dreaming about Roger....but maybe some other nice things. Probably nowhere near 130 K.
@Mickey71 said:
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
Couldn't a lawyer draw up the sales agreement whereby the buyer takes immediate control of the contents of the locker and the monthly storage fees? Then the buyer could relax and take care of removing the contents at his convenience.
I'm sure these storage facilities have seen it all before with custody fights, etc. I would think that they would be prepared after receiving the proper paperwork, to immediately remove the current lock, and place a new lock on there for the new owner of the contents.
The seller meeting with the attorney also shows good faith and reliability on the part of the seller. Don't forget this is a Craigslist deal. Even if the lawyer fees are a couple thousand dollars, which i don't think it would be that high, I think it's well worth it on a transaction of this size.
BTW - "He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw" is the type of dreaming i previously warned about that could get ya in trouble on this as far as overpaying. This seller isn't some babe in the woods like a little old lady who is selling her deceased husband's collection and she has no clue what anything is worth. This seller knows exactly what he's got, and if he had an item such as that, it would have been prominently mentioned and shown in the pics.
Many good points. I just do not seriously know any stuff with lawyers where a few hundred dollars is involved. Just my very limited experience with them.
Although, I do think it's possible there are some nice items in there. Yes, I was dreaming about Roger....but maybe some other nice things. Probably nowhere near 130 K.
I hear ya when it comes to lawyers. Most of them have a bad habit of finding clever ways to increase their legal fees. I've learned over the years dealing with lawyers, to ask them for legal advice and then instruct them accordingly, exactly what I want them to do, nothing more, nothing less. In this case, I would instruct the lawyer to draw up a simple sales agreement and that's basically it. Something his secretary could likely do.
As far as inspecting the box of cards at the lawyer's office. Many of them have a small conference room that can be used. The lawyer wouldn't get involved in any of the card inspection process, either at the office or if it's at the storage locker.
I agree with ya it's possible there are some nice items in there. For the 130k asking price, there had better be. However based on what i've seen so far, i doubt if there are any valuable "finds" in that lot.
My initial feeling about this and still is, is that this deal is better suited for somebody interested in opening up a card shop. You've got all the display cases, and the cards, posters, etc, can be sold at retail prices. You still need to get it at the right price, but being able to move it at retail in a store provides a bit more room for error. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this seller actually had perhaps a weekend flea market type card shop, and most of this was his inventory. Sorry to say in that case, the chances of a "find" or even a "nice item" buried in there is basically dead in the water.
In any event, if the OP does decide to make a deal, here's hoping for a very nice score.
@Mickey71 said:
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
Couldn't a lawyer draw up the sales agreement whereby the buyer takes immediate control of the contents of the locker and the monthly storage fees? Then the buyer could relax and take care of removing the contents at his convenience.
I'm sure these storage facilities have seen it all before with custody fights, etc. I would think that they would be prepared after receiving the proper paperwork, to immediately remove the current lock, and place a new lock on there for the new owner of the contents.
The seller meeting with the attorney also shows good faith and reliability on the part of the seller. Don't forget this is a Craigslist deal. Even if the lawyer fees are a couple thousand dollars, which i don't think it would be that high, I think it's well worth it on a transaction of this size.
BTW - "He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw" is the type of dreaming i previously warned about that could get ya in trouble on this as far as overpaying. This seller isn't some babe in the woods like a little old lady who is selling her deceased husband's collection and she has no clue what anything is worth. This seller knows exactly what he's got, and if he had an item such as that, it would have been prominently mentioned and shown in the pics.
Many good points. I just do not seriously know any stuff with lawyers where a few hundred dollars is involved. Just my very limited experience with them.
Although, I do think it's possible there are some nice items in there. Yes, I was dreaming about Roger....but maybe some other nice things. Probably nowhere near 130 K.
I hear ya when it comes to lawyers. Most of them have a bad habit of finding clever ways to increase their legal fees. I've learned over the years dealing with lawyers, to ask them for legal advice and then instruct them accordingly, exactly what I want them to do, nothing more, nothing less. In this case, I would instruct the lawyer to draw up a simple sales agreement and that's basically it. Something his secretary could likely do.
As far as inspecting the box of cards at the lawyer's office. Many of them have a small conference room that can be used. The lawyer wouldn't get involved in any of the card inspection process, either at the office or if it's at the storage locker.
I agree with ya it's possible there are some nice items in there. For the 130k asking price, there had better be. However based on what i've seen so far, i doubt if there are any valuable "finds" in that lot.
My initial feeling about this and still is, is that this deal is better suited for somebody interested in opening up a card shop. You've got all the display cases, and the cards, posters, etc, can be sold at retail prices. You still need to get it at the right price, but being able to move it at retail in a store provides a bit more room for error. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this seller actually had perhaps a weekend flea market type card shop, and most of this was his inventory. Sorry to say in that case, the chances of a "find" or even a "nice item" buried in there is basically dead in the water.
In any event, if the OP does decide to make a deal, here's hoping for a very nice score.
You should alert your local bar association if you suspect something. I can tell you from my 23 years in the legal profession that the exact opposite is true. Attorneys are more transparent in their billing practices than most other professional groups, due to a number of factors including professional responsibility standards, malpractice insurance requirements, and general industry pressures. I've given up trying to rehabilitate the image of attorneys in the general public's mind, and I endure plenty of lawyer jokes at social gatherings, but I'm proud of the profession and can tell you that its pretty much the only thing that is standing in the way of absolute tyranny (government, corporate or otherwise) in this country.
Kiss me once, shame on you. Kiss me twice.....let's party.
Boy, this is a tough thread. Not only have we learned that the seller is likely to rip us off, but also a lawyer we hire to formalize the agreement and Neil's son!
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Its been a long week normally and then throwing this maybe deal into the mix, well it's been busy?
So, change in plans, somewhat. My Son has a previous engagement after the Storage spot for Sat evening back in Vail made before this all came up (130 Miles Back). So if I flew in our time together might be Sat. Day only, not worth if to me for several reasons. Plus I am not sure we would have time for a real deep analysis.
So our new plan is:
I am not flying in, he will go to this with his buddy. He is going to live stream with me and I will take it from there. If it is a go at some point, I will fly in the following week when real plans can be made for transportation, ect.
After spending Numerous hours over the last two days looking at the 124 Photos, and squinting making some WAG's and some not so just by getting a general feel for the entire collection after going over and over what is Visible. I think we are looking at a substantially lower valuation then the Seller currently is asking, by Far! My offer, if tendered, it will reflect that reality.
It will come with a Reasonable Deposit at that time, the Unit will then be transferred to our/group ownership (Meaning My Son and the Current Owner) and a Multi Lock Hasp will be placed on the Unit and No Access then will be allowed without both parties present, each will have their own lock on the unit with both having to me opened for access. An agreement for this has already been drawn up.
A large portion of this collection is in a lot of Fluff Stuff that will bring almost Zero in flipping, so this has been taken into consideration. Not sure how far I want to transfer this crap, I do have a relationship with one of the Bigger Card shops in Denver, so maybe a deal is made hopefully I can move some of this cheap only having to take them from Co. Spgs to Denver!
Honestly overall this is a rather interesting Collection. I think the Owner did a decent job on whatever his budget was, assembling a quantity wise rather large collection. But when you see his "Graded 1986 Fleer Set and it has all been done with Grade B and C TPG's", well what does that say. So his hype of all these Pristine sets, probably some nice EX 6-NM 7 cards would be my guess, we'll see!
Once again the thing that Bulks this whole collection is a lot of the Fluff, which just isn't worth much. I am not going to open a Stand at the Flea market to try and squeeze the last drops out of a not so special collection. So what I offer is going to mostly reflect that.
So, this is where we are currently at, will update as necessary!
Yes it certainly isn't like one of those Mr Mint finds of complete 50's or 60's sets, unopened vintage wax, etc. I think we all agree on that.
Hopefully the seller realizes by now that trying to get 130k out of it, is a waste of his time and everyone else's time.
Remember, you're like Rick at Pawn Stars in this situation. The seller is coming to you to sell for cash. No matter how much you or your son may want it, just like Rick often says, if the deal isn't right, IE the asking price is too high, then you've got to walk away.
Did most of you read the description as well as viewing pics? It sounds like a lot of sets, but those would take a long time to view. Topps football set run from 1967-2015 with multiple sets in late 70s-late 80s. Now what are the chances the star cards you see in the case/pictures are FROM THE SETS and are not on top of the sets? Probably good. Topps baseball sets from 1973-2000 as well, with multiples in the 80s as well. Not talking 50s type value of course. I haven't thought about it since the day I last posted, but I am still looking at it from a standpoint of someone adding a huge amount of stuff to a personal collection, so figure you are paying a quantity discount off retail. To flip and make money, well I would say that everyone commenting that it is too pricy is probably right. If you are thinking you can get it for dealer pricing, with room to add profit and still flip at a fair price that will sell quickly, then it is probably not in the 130K range for sure. Still would make for one hell of an entertaining collection to go through. Who knows why he is selling. If legit, maybe he has to move for work or he needs fast money or any number of reasons. I don't buy things from Craigslist, so I can only go by stories I have seen people tell. I would love to have a look at this collection if I were close enough to do it without it costing me anything but some time.
I hope it is legit and a deal is struck. Would love to see updates as the collection is inspected and pieced out.
I took this from one of the descriptions. I didn't check, but guessing the other 4 descriptions were all the same and he just used the 4 additional listings to add the additional photos.
**Football Sets, including 1967-2015 topps football, some in multiples, major are as follows, 78(3) 79(3), 80(2), 81(5), 82(4), 83(4), 84(7) 85(4), 85(5) 86(7) many of the Topps are factory sealed from 93-15.
Also many more other sets from the other card companies, upper deck, fleer, Donruss, fleer ultra, Topps Stadium, Bowman, etc. from 89 to current.
Topps baseball 73–00, complete sets,a large lot of 1970 Topps and 71 with many duplicates. Some multiples of Topps baseball sets as well. 1981-89 multiples of each, many other multiples.**
I collect Steve Garvey, Dodgers and signed cards. Collector since 1978.
Here is an Update, after spending quite some time communicating to the Seller, this week, my Son is getting the distinct feeling that then the Seller is not negotiating in good faith for whatever reason it may be. He had re-iterated on numerous occasions he is not taking less that $130K period, then tonight just before my Son is to go down tomorrow, after being asked the bottom line, he claims he has "Several Potential Buyers at above $100K!"!
Well if somebody on the Boards is one of the ones sniffing around the deal, more power to you, just not from us!
Here is an Update, after spending quite some time communicating to the Seller, this week, my Son is getting the distinct feeling that then the Seller is not negotiating in good faith for whatever reason it may be. He had re-iterated on numerous occasions he is not taking less that $130K period, then tonight just before my Son is to go down tomorrow, after being asked the bottom line, he claims he has "Several Potential Buyers at above $100K!"!
Well if somebody on the Boards is one of the ones sniffing around the deal, more power to you, just not from us!
It was fun to Fantasize...For me and All!
Have a Great Evening
YeeHaw!
Neil
.
If he's bluffing, he'll be back. At this point, time is on your side.
The odds were not good for a deal here. Seller's value evaluation is way off and the logistics would of been a tough task to coordinate and complete. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
This seller, in my opinion, is not only a poor evaluator of card values, but a bad businessman as well.
I mean he's got a good prospect for the lot such as Neil and his son. The key is you first get them to look at the cards, with the hopes they get excited over the lot and either pay the 130k or make a generous offer.
Never should you allow a good prospect such as this to walk away over the phone.
@stevek said:
This seller, in my opinion, is not only a poor evaluator of card values, but a bad businessman as well.
I mean he's got a good prospect for the lot such as Neil and his son. The key is you first get them to look at the cards, with the hopes they get excited over the lot and either pay the 130k or make a generous offer.
Never should you allow a good prospect such as this to walk away over the phone.
it depends on how you look at it, imo. to us, 100%. of course, i can see a collector who is still in love and attached to his collection. he could be forced to sell via divorce, medical bills or any number of reasons we will ever know. whatever the reasons, i think its more along the lines of just not really ready to sell which in his defense would make him a great businessman to himself.
when youre ready, youre ready. when youre not, youre not. and when youre not or even forced to, youll find any number of reasons to blow up the deal.
@stevek said:
This seller, in my opinion, is not only a poor evaluator of card values, but a bad businessman as well.
I mean he's got a good prospect for the lot such as Neil and his son. The key is you first get them to look at the cards, with the hopes they get excited over the lot and either pay the 130k or make a generous offer.
Never should you allow a good prospect such as this to walk away over the phone.
it depends on how you look at it, imo. to us, 100%. of course, i can see a collector who is still in love and attached to his collection. he could be forced to sell via divorce, medical bills or any number of reasons we will ever know. whatever the reasons, i think its more along the lines of just not really ready to sell which in his defense would make him a great businessman to himself.
when youre ready, youre ready. when youre not, youre not. and when youre not or even forced to, youll find any number of reasons to blow up the deal.
Good points.
In any event, it was an interesting, entertaining thread.
I say you save yourself the hassle and some grey hairs and just pass this up. If it was a no brainer - great deal - then yes, but I am not seeing that here. Lets put this thread to bed and move on.
@professorpuck said:
Sorry to say, but it was clear that this was not going to end well from the second sentence of the first post:
"The listing is on CraigsList ..."
It really is telling. It smelled even fishier when it was mentioned the collection has been moved into storage. You would have to be crazy to move a 130K collection into public storage.
Successful coin BST transactions with Gerard and segoja.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
What do you do with it if you are moving and don't have the time and/or the means to move it or the space for it at your new destination? Public storage is pretty secure I would think, especially since unless you are being watched when you load up your space, nobody has any idea what is in there. I had mine in storage twice for moving purposes. My two concerns were climate controlled (heated) and I bought one of those circular locks so cutting it would be much harder, if at all possible. Never had any issues while my stuff was on lock down.
@professorpuck said:
Sorry to say, but it was clear that this was not going to end well from the second sentence of the first post:
"The listing is on CraigsList ..."
It really is telling. It smelled even fishier when it was mentioned the collection has been moved into storage. You would have to be crazy to move a 130K collection into public storage.
That is a good question. As I looked through the photos initially, I was sucked in by the volume of the collection, even if there is duplicate images. Even if I had a lot of what I saw, the thought of picking it all up new again is exciting. I saw value as a collector, not a seller. I also see people online showing their new pick-ups and when prices are shared, I see what looks like over paying a lot. Right now, this collection is probably valued at higher than any one of us would think if you just tossed the stuff up on ebay and rolled the dice, but prices will and it seems are already settling back down some from post covid premiums.
I think about my own collection and how much I have spent on it in 40+ years (did not keep records and probably glad I didn't). Even if I just looked at the time when I got back into it as an adult (1993) where I was spending adult money and not just a few packs as a kid and used 28 years, that is $4600/Yr average to reach spending $130K. That is less than $400/Month. How many people spend that on fast food lunches/dinners, coffee, booze and/or cigarettes each month, maybe toss in a few lotto/scratchers?
I don't know what I would reasonably like to get from it if I had to sell it somewhat fast. I honestly don't have an answer in my head and shudder to think the effort it would take to come up with one either. I don't even know what a break even point would be, nor would it really matter at this point. I have what I would consider to be a bargain based collection, all of my childhood collection srtill intact, lots of stuff purchased smartly at the time of issue over the years and getting in on ebay early enough to find great deals that have all but disappeared now. I scoured card shops and shows for years hunting bargains that have turned out nice value wise over time. I don't have all the big money cards, because I collected what I liked, but I did tend to seek out the unusual and odd. A lot of that has exploded in value. I have also spent "premium" money on certain items I really wanted at times. It's bulky too, but well under 1 million cards if I had to guess and put a ceiling on it. Lots of bulk junk from my 90s buying binge but also vintage, oddball, HOFers, autographs, some memorabilia, etc. A little of everything but primarily baseball. This collection reminded me a little of mine, but definitely different in what we each added along the way.
I can think of pockets of stuff that have great value, although taking the time to sell it right would certainly net a much better overall price, maybe that is not possible. I think any large collection like this is going to be view as or purchased with the expectation of selling a good chunk off to recoup costs, either as a flip opportunity or because you saw something you really needed but also saw an opportunity to get your money back reselling the rest. I also think in terms of selling to an end owner, not a middleman who needs to make a profit. This guy may be thinking that the collection is worth (to other collectors) more than $130K, but that is the price he needs/wants. If it came down to dealers essentially telling him it's not worth that and they'd need to be in at half that to make any money or no collectors come along willing to drop that much, he faces a tough choice. Take a hit and sell it for much less than he'd hoped, wait it out and see if the right buyer comes along soon or just figure out a way to keep it.
@bobbyw8469 said:
If he is asking $130k for his collection, it makes me wonder what mine is worth. Seriously.
I collect Steve Garvey, Dodgers and signed cards. Collector since 1978.
@Mickey71 said:
The biggest problem would be grading some cards if there were nice ones in those sets. I don't see $10 or less grading maybe ever again.
I agree, you would almost have to hit the show trail, at least he has some cases.
Successful coin BST transactions with Gerard and segoja.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
@Mickey71 said:
The biggest problem would be grading some cards if there were nice ones in those sets. I don't see $10 or less grading maybe ever again.
agreed. and above that, when $20-$25 grading does finally comes back in lets just say 8 months, you still wont get them back for another 12. thats 2 years of money sidelined doing absolutely nothing. and a sheer gamble w how things are being graded these days. insult to injury is lets just say there are 10k cards worth grading. whats the tally just on 10k cs1s these days? not cheap, im sure. and what happens if the new grading fee is $35 vs $20 or even $25? talking $100,000+ in additional costs.
with the current state of the hobby w/ grading backlogs and the universal shortage of raw materials for supplies, it would have to be the deal of the century for me to even consider taking on something like this. even 50% of asking, which seems to be the consensus under normal circumstances, wouldnt cut for me.
now it would be fun to go thru, no doubt. just not w the pressure of having to recoup the initial investment.
@mrmopar said:
What do you do with it if you are moving and don't have the time and/or the means to move it or the space for it at your new destination? Public storage is pretty secure I would think, especially since unless you are being watched when you load up your space, nobody has any idea what is in there. I had mine in storage twice for moving purposes. My two concerns were climate controlled (heated) and I bought one of those circular locks so cutting it would be much harder, if at all possible. Never had any issues while my stuff was on lock down.
@professorpuck said:
Sorry to say, but it was clear that this was not going to end well from the second sentence of the first post:
"The listing is on CraigsList ..."
It really is telling. It smelled even fishier when it was mentioned the collection has been moved into storage. You would have to be crazy to move a 130K collection into public storage.
The point is when moving you keep a 130K collection on the down low, you don't advertise it on Craig's. This isn't Craig's from 15 to 20 years ago, for the last 5 - 10 years it's been loaded with scammers, and they know every trick in the book. The old warning of if it's to good to be true 90% of the time applies here.
Successful coin BST transactions with Gerard and segoja.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
@professorpuck said:
Sorry to say, but it was clear that this was not going to end well from the second sentence of the first post:
"The listing is on CraigsList ..."
It really is telling. It smelled even fishier when it was mentioned the collection has been moved into storage. You would have to be crazy to move a 130K collection into public storage.
The point is when moving you keep a 130K collection on the down low, you don't advertise it on Craig's. This isn't Craig's from 15 to 20 years ago, for the last 5 - 10 years it's been loaded with scammers, and they know every trick in the book. The old warning of if it's to good to be true 90% of the time applies here.
I don't think that this is even a 'too good to be true' situation. There was nothing beyond quantity of bulk to justify the valuation of the collection. I couldn't imagine spending that kind of money for a flea market purchase when eBay has countless opportunities where you could actually make real money as a six figure player. Thankfully someone else is dealing with this guy's nightmare.
Comments
Afternoon,
Two things of Course:
Thanks All Again!
YeeHaw!
Neil
And here's my lovely wife Jenny.
Wouldn't that be interesting if the guy moves, the locker goes unsold and the collection is just stored there. Then he eventually runs into money problems and can't pay the monthly locker fees, and the locker then goes up for auction.
I don't know how the abandoned storage locker thing works, I've never been to one. But i think by law they have to publicly advertise the locker auction. So it might not be a bad idea to occasionally check on that, and if the locker comes up for sale down the road, ya might be able to steal it for maybe a few thou.
So if ya do check out that locker and don't make a deal, be sure to note all the pertinent info, locker number, etc, for possible future reference.
Evening,
And it could be Darrel of Storage Wars (Guilty Pleasure looking at collectibles), gets it like that 3 Mil he got in Comics many years ago!
YeeHaw!
Neil
Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. Forget the lawyer part. Lawyers don't fart for hundreds of dollars. They want thousands to do anything and viewing cards and stuff from storage sheds is going to take an entire day. Do it in 1 time slot. You will need your own plan and be prepared to make an offer after you see the stuff. He either accepts or declines. You may need a UHAUL if the deal is made. If he accepts, be prepared to get the funds then. So if it involves a bank the weekend may not work. Once the container closes you are out. Under no circumstances do you leave without the stuff if a deal is made. My advice is just have a total of 3 guys with you when you arrive at the storage unit. Don't bring any large amount of cash and basically no need to be packing. With 3 guys present you don't want to scare anybody. My feeling is that there are some overall nice items; but no where near an offer 130 grand. You are also going to need tables and chairs. This is going to be a huge undertaking. Is the unit inside or outside? If outside weather could also be a factor. As to the weird pictures....there are a ton of people who are scatterbrained and not very organized. He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw. You never know.
"GOOD LUCK"
Offer 55k. See what he says. If he immediately says ok, 100k - then keep negotiating carefully
My collecting blog: http://ctcard.wordpress.com
Couldn't a lawyer draw up the sales agreement whereby the buyer takes immediate control of the contents of the locker and the monthly storage fees? Then the buyer could relax and take care of removing the contents at his convenience.
I'm sure these storage facilities have seen it all before with custody fights, etc. I would think that they would be prepared after receiving the proper paperwork, to immediately remove the current lock, and place a new lock on there for the new owner of the contents.
The seller meeting with the attorney also shows good faith and reliability on the part of the seller. Don't forget this is a Craigslist deal. Even if the lawyer fees are a couple thousand dollars, which i don't think it would be that high, I think it's well worth it on a transaction of this size.
BTW - "He may have a 72 football set in a box with a GEM Staubach raw" is the type of dreaming i previously warned about that could get ya in trouble on this as far as overpaying. This seller isn't some babe in the woods like a little old lady who is selling her deceased husband's collection and she has no clue what anything is worth. This seller knows exactly what he's got, and if he had an item such as that, it would have been prominently mentioned and shown in the pics.
<<< Make sure you and your son are on the same sheet of music. Many families don't act right when 130K is involved....sorry to say that. >>>
I do fully agree with you on this point.
Sure it's nice to have a father and son "bonding" type of thing with buying the cards, sorting the cards, and making a good profit on the cards. But that thought can't become a reason to possibly massively overpay for this lot.
Look at this strictly as a business venture, and if the bonding comes afterwards because ya each made some good money off it or found some nice collectibles to keep, well consider that an added bonus.
Would anyone here put their cards in a storage facility where others could learn the location/content?
I have bought a few collections of that size. I am telling you now....when I see that many pictures, I would hope to see that many DIFFERENT items. I see a LARGE AMOUNT of duplication within the pictures. I looked through all of them and how many times did we see that run of 5 or 6 1987 Fleer Jordan's from different angles? I saw the Mantle cards in several pictures as well.
I'm sure there is a lot of bulk in those 5 row boxes. Who knows what is in those? They are probably all commons. From what I see I would not even go look for that price. Now...if the asking price was $30k, I would probably take a look and then probably offer him $20k maximum.....and I would be anxious at that!
$130K? I just don't see it.
Shane
id feel safer subbing them all to psa to be reholdered. i feel like theyd be safer there for the next 18 months vs a storage unit.
What graded cards that can be seen do not appear to be high grades and most are from sub tier grading companies. To me that is a red flag on quality.
Many good points. I just do not seriously know any stuff with lawyers where a few hundred dollars is involved. Just my very limited experience with them.
Although, I do think it's possible there are some nice items in there. Yes, I was dreaming about Roger....but maybe some other nice things. Probably nowhere near 130 K.
I hear ya when it comes to lawyers. Most of them have a bad habit of finding clever ways to increase their legal fees. I've learned over the years dealing with lawyers, to ask them for legal advice and then instruct them accordingly, exactly what I want them to do, nothing more, nothing less. In this case, I would instruct the lawyer to draw up a simple sales agreement and that's basically it. Something his secretary could likely do.
As far as inspecting the box of cards at the lawyer's office. Many of them have a small conference room that can be used. The lawyer wouldn't get involved in any of the card inspection process, either at the office or if it's at the storage locker.
I agree with ya it's possible there are some nice items in there. For the 130k asking price, there had better be. However based on what i've seen so far, i doubt if there are any valuable "finds" in that lot.
My initial feeling about this and still is, is that this deal is better suited for somebody interested in opening up a card shop. You've got all the display cases, and the cards, posters, etc, can be sold at retail prices. You still need to get it at the right price, but being able to move it at retail in a store provides a bit more room for error. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this seller actually had perhaps a weekend flea market type card shop, and most of this was his inventory. Sorry to say in that case, the chances of a "find" or even a "nice item" buried in there is basically dead in the water.
In any event, if the OP does decide to make a deal, here's hoping for a very nice score.
You should alert your local bar association if you suspect something. I can tell you from my 23 years in the legal profession that the exact opposite is true. Attorneys are more transparent in their billing practices than most other professional groups, due to a number of factors including professional responsibility standards, malpractice insurance requirements, and general industry pressures. I've given up trying to rehabilitate the image of attorneys in the general public's mind, and I endure plenty of lawyer jokes at social gatherings, but I'm proud of the profession and can tell you that its pretty much the only thing that is standing in the way of absolute tyranny (government, corporate or otherwise) in this country.
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
Boy, this is a tough thread. Not only have we learned that the seller is likely to rip us off, but also a lawyer we hire to formalize the agreement and Neil's son!
Punt
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Morning,
Its been a long week normally and then throwing this maybe deal into the mix, well it's been busy?
So, change in plans, somewhat. My Son has a previous engagement after the Storage spot for Sat evening back in Vail made before this all came up (130 Miles Back). So if I flew in our time together might be Sat. Day only, not worth if to me for several reasons. Plus I am not sure we would have time for a real deep analysis.
So our new plan is:
So, this is where we are currently at, will update as necessary!
Thanks
YeeHaw!
Neil
Yes it certainly isn't like one of those Mr Mint finds of complete 50's or 60's sets, unopened vintage wax, etc. I think we all agree on that.
Hopefully the seller realizes by now that trying to get 130k out of it, is a waste of his time and everyone else's time.
Remember, you're like Rick at Pawn Stars in this situation. The seller is coming to you to sell for cash. No matter how much you or your son may want it, just like Rick often says, if the deal isn't right, IE the asking price is too high, then you've got to walk away.
Good luck!
Did most of you read the description as well as viewing pics? It sounds like a lot of sets, but those would take a long time to view. Topps football set run from 1967-2015 with multiple sets in late 70s-late 80s. Now what are the chances the star cards you see in the case/pictures are FROM THE SETS and are not on top of the sets? Probably good. Topps baseball sets from 1973-2000 as well, with multiples in the 80s as well. Not talking 50s type value of course. I haven't thought about it since the day I last posted, but I am still looking at it from a standpoint of someone adding a huge amount of stuff to a personal collection, so figure you are paying a quantity discount off retail. To flip and make money, well I would say that everyone commenting that it is too pricy is probably right. If you are thinking you can get it for dealer pricing, with room to add profit and still flip at a fair price that will sell quickly, then it is probably not in the 130K range for sure. Still would make for one hell of an entertaining collection to go through. Who knows why he is selling. If legit, maybe he has to move for work or he needs fast money or any number of reasons. I don't buy things from Craigslist, so I can only go by stories I have seen people tell. I would love to have a look at this collection if I were close enough to do it without it costing me anything but some time.
I hope it is legit and a deal is struck. Would love to see updates as the collection is inspected and pieced out.
I took this from one of the descriptions. I didn't check, but guessing the other 4 descriptions were all the same and he just used the 4 additional listings to add the additional photos.
**Football Sets, including 1967-2015 topps football, some in multiples, major are as follows, 78(3) 79(3), 80(2), 81(5), 82(4), 83(4), 84(7) 85(4), 85(5) 86(7) many of the Topps are factory sealed from 93-15.
Also many more other sets from the other card companies, upper deck, fleer, Donruss, fleer ultra, Topps Stadium, Bowman, etc. from 89 to current.
Topps baseball 73–00, complete sets,a large lot of 1970 Topps and 71 with many duplicates. Some multiples of Topps baseball sets as well. 1981-89 multiples of each, many other multiples.**
Evening,
Here is an Update, after spending quite some time communicating to the Seller, this week, my Son is getting the distinct feeling that then the Seller is not negotiating in good faith for whatever reason it may be. He had re-iterated on numerous occasions he is not taking less that $130K period, then tonight just before my Son is to go down tomorrow, after being asked the bottom line, he claims he has "Several Potential Buyers at above $100K!"!
Well if somebody on the Boards is one of the ones sniffing around the deal, more power to you, just not from us!
It was fun to Fantasize...For me and All!
Have a Great Evening
YeeHaw!
Neil
.
If he's bluffing, he'll be back. At this point, time is on your side.
>
Successful transactions on the BST boards with rtimmer, coincoins, gerard, tincup, tjm965, MMR, mission16, dirtygoldman, AUandAG, deadmunny, thedutymon, leadoff4, Kid4HOF03, BRI2327, colebear, mcholke, rpcolettrane, rockdjrw, publius, quik, kalinefan, Allen, JackWESQ, CON40, Griffeyfan2430, blue227, Tiggs2012, ndleo, CDsNuts, ve3rules, doh, MurphDawg, tennessebanker, and gene1978.
If he is asking $130k for his collection, it makes me wonder what mine is worth. Seriously.
Sorry to say, but it was clear that this was not going to end well from the second sentence of the first post:
"The listing is on CraigsList ..."
The odds were not good for a deal here. Seller's value evaluation is way off and the logistics would of been a tough task to coordinate and complete. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
This seller, in my opinion, is not only a poor evaluator of card values, but a bad businessman as well.
I mean he's got a good prospect for the lot such as Neil and his son. The key is you first get them to look at the cards, with the hopes they get excited over the lot and either pay the 130k or make a generous offer.
Never should you allow a good prospect such as this to walk away over the phone.
it depends on how you look at it, imo. to us, 100%. of course, i can see a collector who is still in love and attached to his collection. he could be forced to sell via divorce, medical bills or any number of reasons we will ever know. whatever the reasons, i think its more along the lines of just not really ready to sell which in his defense would make him a great businessman to himself.
when youre ready, youre ready. when youre not, youre not. and when youre not or even forced to, youll find any number of reasons to blow up the deal.
Good points.
In any event, it was an interesting, entertaining thread.
I say you save yourself the hassle and some grey hairs and just pass this up. If it was a no brainer - great deal - then yes, but I am not seeing that here. Lets put this thread to bed and move on.
It really is telling. It smelled even fishier when it was mentioned the collection has been moved into storage. You would have to be crazy to move a 130K collection into public storage.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
What do you do with it if you are moving and don't have the time and/or the means to move it or the space for it at your new destination? Public storage is pretty secure I would think, especially since unless you are being watched when you load up your space, nobody has any idea what is in there. I had mine in storage twice for moving purposes. My two concerns were climate controlled (heated) and I bought one of those circular locks so cutting it would be much harder, if at all possible. Never had any issues while my stuff was on lock down.
That is a good question. As I looked through the photos initially, I was sucked in by the volume of the collection, even if there is duplicate images. Even if I had a lot of what I saw, the thought of picking it all up new again is exciting. I saw value as a collector, not a seller. I also see people online showing their new pick-ups and when prices are shared, I see what looks like over paying a lot. Right now, this collection is probably valued at higher than any one of us would think if you just tossed the stuff up on ebay and rolled the dice, but prices will and it seems are already settling back down some from post covid premiums.
I think about my own collection and how much I have spent on it in 40+ years (did not keep records and probably glad I didn't). Even if I just looked at the time when I got back into it as an adult (1993) where I was spending adult money and not just a few packs as a kid and used 28 years, that is $4600/Yr average to reach spending $130K. That is less than $400/Month. How many people spend that on fast food lunches/dinners, coffee, booze and/or cigarettes each month, maybe toss in a few lotto/scratchers?
I don't know what I would reasonably like to get from it if I had to sell it somewhat fast. I honestly don't have an answer in my head and shudder to think the effort it would take to come up with one either. I don't even know what a break even point would be, nor would it really matter at this point. I have what I would consider to be a bargain based collection, all of my childhood collection srtill intact, lots of stuff purchased smartly at the time of issue over the years and getting in on ebay early enough to find great deals that have all but disappeared now. I scoured card shops and shows for years hunting bargains that have turned out nice value wise over time. I don't have all the big money cards, because I collected what I liked, but I did tend to seek out the unusual and odd. A lot of that has exploded in value. I have also spent "premium" money on certain items I really wanted at times. It's bulky too, but well under 1 million cards if I had to guess and put a ceiling on it. Lots of bulk junk from my 90s buying binge but also vintage, oddball, HOFers, autographs, some memorabilia, etc. A little of everything but primarily baseball. This collection reminded me a little of mine, but definitely different in what we each added along the way.
I can think of pockets of stuff that have great value, although taking the time to sell it right would certainly net a much better overall price, maybe that is not possible. I think any large collection like this is going to be view as or purchased with the expectation of selling a good chunk off to recoup costs, either as a flip opportunity or because you saw something you really needed but also saw an opportunity to get your money back reselling the rest. I also think in terms of selling to an end owner, not a middleman who needs to make a profit. This guy may be thinking that the collection is worth (to other collectors) more than $130K, but that is the price he needs/wants. If it came down to dealers essentially telling him it's not worth that and they'd need to be in at half that to make any money or no collectors come along willing to drop that much, he faces a tough choice. Take a hit and sell it for much less than he'd hoped, wait it out and see if the right buyer comes along soon or just figure out a way to keep it.
The biggest problem would be grading some cards if there were nice ones in those sets. I don't see $10 or less grading maybe ever again.
I agree, you would almost have to hit the show trail, at least he has some cases.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
Looks like the million card hoard I practically gave away.
At least I came close to breaking even.
Unless you/he can see it in person and take the time to evaluate...
Why hasn't it already been graded? What was cherry picked?
What if your some wants all the cherries?
Easy pass for me.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
agreed. and above that, when $20-$25 grading does finally comes back in lets just say 8 months, you still wont get them back for another 12. thats 2 years of money sidelined doing absolutely nothing. and a sheer gamble w how things are being graded these days. insult to injury is lets just say there are 10k cards worth grading. whats the tally just on 10k cs1s these days? not cheap, im sure. and what happens if the new grading fee is $35 vs $20 or even $25? talking $100,000+ in additional costs.
with the current state of the hobby w/ grading backlogs and the universal shortage of raw materials for supplies, it would have to be the deal of the century for me to even consider taking on something like this. even 50% of asking, which seems to be the consensus under normal circumstances, wouldnt cut for me.
now it would be fun to go thru, no doubt. just not w the pressure of having to recoup the initial investment.
The point is when moving you keep a 130K collection on the down low, you don't advertise it on Craig's. This isn't Craig's from 15 to 20 years ago, for the last 5 - 10 years it's been loaded with scammers, and they know every trick in the book. The old warning of if it's to good to be true 90% of the time applies here.
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
I think Craigslist has an autographed Bible, and a 52 Mantle with Babe Ruth's autograph on it for sale.
I don't think that this is even a 'too good to be true' situation. There was nothing beyond quantity of bulk to justify the valuation of the collection. I couldn't imagine spending that kind of money for a flea market purchase when eBay has countless opportunities where you could actually make real money as a six figure player. Thankfully someone else is dealing with this guy's nightmare.
Anyone ever go inspect this hoard?