hypothetical

uniship · February 23, 2004 12:17PM

Your best friend of almost 20 years and main collecting buddy needs some cash to finally buy a house. He wants to dump all 250 of his psa cards with a total SMR of just under $12,000. He turns to you, who can spare the cash, and asks what you will pay for it. The cards are mostly mid grade baseball 50's-80's even distribution of stars and semi stars. Only one real marquee card is a 63 Mantle PSA 8 - there is a lot of stuff that would not get SMR on ebay, too much to mention, but still a lot of semi quality stuff too. Putting friendship aside, what is a fair percentage of SMR that you would offer if you were the friend that was being asked to purchase the cards.

All responses are appreciated.

qualitycards · February 23, 2004 12:29PM

UNI - its hard to say what a Fair % will be, as some items will always sell at SMR, while others less and others more.
To get the biggest bang for his buck, eBay them for him, and take a small % after expenses (Paypal & eBay fees).
This way you make a few bucks for your efforts and your friend gets every $ that he could...jay

uniship · February 23, 2004 12:40PM

Jay - I hear you - and thanks for the reply. He needs the money this month and he just does not want to deal with ebaying (he would if he had more time), I frankly want nothing to do with the deal because I have learned that friends and business dont mix so well, plus I am not really in the mood to ebay hundreds of lots, but at the same time, I want to offer him an out if he needs the cash. I am highly encouraging him to contact all the major dealers nationwide and get offers from them.

1420sports · February 23, 2004 12:58PM

Eric, put up the list of cards on this very forum, they may sell in a matter of minutes. Tell your friend to get that list together and post it.

goodriddance189 · February 23, 2004 1:00PM

i was about to say, offer them on here.

CW · February 23, 2004 2:09PM

Shoeless Joe's, as you probably already know, is great for
buying (and selling) mid-grade stuff.

MXracer · February 23, 2004 10:48PM

offer him $5k and then resell them on ebay yourself

dstudeba · February 24, 2004 9:41AM

I would give him a 7-8,000 dollar loan with the cards as collateral. That way he gets the money now, can sell them on eBay after the closing, and pay off the loan.

uniship · February 24, 2004 11:06PM

thanks for the feedback guys - good stuff. If I end up buying the collection, I'll field offers from you folks that have specific needs. Stay tuned.

helionaut · February 25, 2004 1:27AM

I wouldn't do it. If you buy them because you want to make them part of your collection, there might always be the question in his mind if he go tthe best deal, even if you pay whatever he asks. If you buy his cards with the intent to resell, then the friction can come about too easily. If you end up making money on the deal, he'll resent you for it. If you lose money, you'll resent him. Tell him to go straight to ebay or wherever, help him however you can, but transactions between friends, especially large ones, can go sour easily.

qualitycards · February 25, 2004 1:34AM

HELIONAUT has some valid points and I agree. Thats why earlier I suggested you should ebay them for him, charging him a small % (say 5-10% after expenses) for your work. If he needs money quickly, do as DSTUDEBA suggests and give him the money as a loan now.
Plus w/ eBay transactions are usually quick. If you posted some cards on Monday when you posted here, 7 day auctions would end in a few days and it seems that half or more of the winners Paypal the funds within a day. If you decide to broker them to a dealer, you won't get a payment til after you ship them and after they look over the lot and then they will send payment, and hopefully you'll agree w/ the payment offer...jay

GoSoxBoSox · February 25, 2004 1:37AM

I question why he wants to sell it to you at SMR? Is it because SMR is more than he would get on the open market? If so I ask how much of a friend he really is? If the open market value is better than SMR than he's looking to help you out and avoid sales fees. That's a win-win.

That said, the answer to your question depends on other factors. If he wants the cards back later and it's more like collateral for a loan than I'd say market value is fair to both. But if this is for you to permanently own I'd say the only fair price to you is whatever you're willing to pay for it.

In no way should a friend ask for a hand-out. Loan...maybe. Hand-out...no way. Maybe the best thing for you to do is help your friend sell the cards at the best possible price.

hypothetical

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