little help please....In over my head to say the least!

VMFA115

For the past month I have been selling off select duplicate cards (on eBay) and while it works, it is not my favorite activity. Simply put, I enjoy collecting so much more than selling. But that has created a real problem…I have thousands of duplicates including almost complete sets of cards I need to sell. The main area with complete or near complete sets is all baseball; 1963, 64, 68, 69, and 70 although I have other cards in lesser quantity; all pre-63...



I know this has been addressed before but I am hoping for more definitive help from you gurus out there; what is the best route to take…, sell individually or as sets? Simplistically I know it is a question of time & effort (easier to sell as a set) and money (more money selling individual cards). What I would like to know is from experience, your feelings.



No question is easy; my plan is to sell on eBay. Most minimum bids from the auction houses are so far below value, often by 50-80%, it scares me. They do, however, usually realized income exceeding SMR; especially if there is no seller commission. So I guess I have a second question; am I making a mistake not going with the auction houses?



I plan to sell these cards/sets after the holiday. Almost all are a minimum of PSA-7 so should have good appeal. Also, most of the sets do have the star cards consistent with the overall set quality.



In advance, thank you for any and all help.



Dave C.

Griffins

Dave-
I'd be afraid that a large auction house would lump them all into one lot, so that only dealers with break up in mind would be able to get them. This would effectively wholesale them, and you'd take a hit on it.
Why not list them on a fixed price auction, or an ebay store. Cross market them here as well. I'm sure given your reputation for fairness along with your eye for quality will make anyone realize these are high end sets. Then, if you need to move them you can consign them to an auction house.
A good start might be to prepare a full list of what you have for sale- you'll always do better in direct sales, especially when you factor in your time.
Best of luck. You've already generated interest in one set.

1420sports

Griffins nailed it ....

open an eBay store for a month, and see what happens.

Bosox1976

PM sent.

gemint

Dave,

You may want to offer them here first. I may be interested in some myself.

John

ejguru

Dave:

I think having a convo with reps of the auction houses is simply due dilligence. The sheer volume of what you have may be able to give you some leverage (not only seller fees, but input on lot size and/or makeup) that one-item sellers never could sniff.

While I've never done the EBAY store route, folks I've spoken to seem to like it. As you know, offering cards to the PSA Board Members can never be called a mistake.

Best of luck either way!

Eric

CollectorChris

Dave,

I would avoid the large, well-known auction houses like the plague. This is for three reasons:

1. They will likely end up making more profit than you on these cards.

2. They will lump cards in a few big lots, which will turn off a lot of potential collectors who are seeking individual cards by the number.

3. Many collectors aren't even registered for the auction houses. On the other hand , Ebay is open to everybody.

The extra work you put into the Ebay listings and shipping them yourself will pay off handsomely. All the winnings go to you (save for their small fees). Your patience and diligence could realize you 30% to 40% more than if you had used a large auction house.

Personally, I would not use an Ebay store but instead would auction them off one-by one, year-by-year. For example, spread the 1963 near-set over eight nights (Monday through Thursday) during a two-week period. When you're done with that, work on the 1964's. This way you move the merchandise rather than have it potentially languish in a store for a long time. Another argument against a store is that you exclude potential bidding wars over a card. You may think of selling a given card at an Ebay store for, say, $150, but a couple of anxious bidders could drive it to $400 or more. We've seen this time and time again with the "gotta have it" bidders. Using a store, you won't even give yourself a chance to reap the rewards of this type of bidding.

Good luck!

Chris

sagard

It completely becomes an excercise of your time vs. maximizing your return. If your willing to put in the time, the first thing I would do is make an accurate inventory of what you have. Then I would price the items and list them here. Place premiums on the singles you know will sell easily and discount the others.

Take advantage of Ebay $0.10 listing days. Large lots with high BINs with the "Make offer" has given the seller a lot of flexibility. I have sold both a '53 Bowman and '58 Topps set this way and feel both the buyer and myself received fair deals.

If your time is more valuable, figure out a consigner on Ebay for your items. There are many here that would likely be willing to do it.

And if you want a quick start at chipping away, let me know your price on '63 Topps #288 and #435. Either PSA 7 or 8 would be fine.

Good luck on the sales, I'm sure they will go very well.

1967topps

I went thru this dilemma a little while back and decided to go with one big auction, rather than 609
auctions (1967set). I figured the extra cash possibly earned by individual auctions would be offset by the aggravation of
the possibility of 609 separate winners, i.e. no combined shipping at all, all the work to package each card.
Another factor for me was wanting to get it done this year, while the auction houses had lead times
in order to get those glossy catalogs out.

Do call the various auction houses though, Mastro, Memory Lane, Rotman are some I checked with.
One wanted me to drive the collection to Philly another did offer me to send using their FEDEX #

smallstocks

I agree with the first step of making a list and putting it on these boards. Generally, you will get a reasonable price, lots of interest, and pay zero fees.

Mike

RonBurgundy

I'd offer the cards up here first. You'll sell a considerable amount of them without having to go through the aggravation and fees of Ebay, the auction houses, and the like. I would be interested myself depending on what you have.