My dilemma

gregm13

All,

I'm looking through the catalog for the upcoming Masto auction - and see an entire 1955 Bowman set that has been autographed (lot 2632). There are three HOFers that I need, who are very tough to find; Jim Finks, Len Ford and Emlen Tunnell. I'm willing to pay top $ for these three cards, but can't afford to buy the entire set. My question is whether I can find out the identity of the person who buys the set so I can contact him and offer to buy the cards.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Greg M.

mikeschmidt

Dang - you have your Mastro catalog already? I'm jealous.

Bottom line: You have less than a 2% chance of finding out that information. You can blast a bunch of boards and try to find a partner for the deal - but a) it likely won't work unless it is someone you know and b) you may pay through the nose for the three cards you want.

Best bet would be to buy the entire set and then try and sell off the rest of the cards.

I mean - let's be honest. You are trying to cherry pick the cream of the crop. Three Hall of Famers, two of whom died over 30 years ago.

Not to mention that sets like these tend to have an extra premium associated with them if they are entirely autographed. Since it is nearly impossible to ever duplicate such an effort - some collectors [I don't know football auto. collectors that well] will often pay premiums to simply acquire someone else's efforts that does not need any more upgrading.

gregm13

<< <i>Dang - you have your Mastro catalog already? I'm jealous.

Bottom line: You have less than a 2% chance of finding out that information. You can blast a bunch of boards and try to find a partner for the deal - but a) it likely won't work unless it is someone you know and b) you may pay through the nose for the three cards you want.

Best bet would be to buy the entire set and then try and sell off the rest of the cards.

I mean - let's be honest. You are trying to cherry pick the cream of the crop. Three Hall of Famers, two of whom died over 30 years ago.

Not to mention that sets like these tend to have an extra premium associated with them if they are entirely autographed. Since it is nearly impossible to ever duplicate such an effort - some collectors [I don't know football auto. collectors that well] will often pay premiums to simply acquire someone else's efforts that does not need any more upgrading. >>



I total agree w/ your assessment - and I thought of buying the set and breaking it up - but it's worth more as a complete set (IMO). The Finks and Tunnell are not impossible to find - but the Ford is a toughie. I have never seen one for sale before.

Any guess as to how much that set will sell for?

Regards,

Greg M.

gregm13

I picked up the catalogs at the Sun Times show in Chicago yesterday. It was the first auction that I've looked through. I'm drooling over several items

Greg M.

Fuzz

Greg,
I won a lot from Mastro a few months ago. A couple of weeks later, I received an email from a woman at Mastro with an offer fro part of the lot that I had not even received yet (in fact it may have been before it was even mailed). Anyway the offer was generous compared to the total of the lot but the piece in question was one of the top pieces in the lot. I declined the sale and am quite happy with the lot. You can always give them a call and see what they say, but I suspect that any offer for the tough pieces out of a group would be declined. After all, that is probably what most people are bidding for anyway. they have just chosen to buy the whole for the few pieces.
Good Luck,
Fuzz

jradke4

Go for it if you can afford it. You could cut a deal with PSA to have the whole set graded/authenticated. I am sure MOSH could never beat you out of that set.