Most sought after BB set from 1948-56??

leadoff4 · February 23, 2007 2:23AM

I'm visiting a gentleman this weekend who has all the baseball sets from 1948-56. Specifically, he has 48 Bowman, 49 Bowman, 50 Bowman, 51 Bowman, 51 Red Backs & Blue Backs, 52 Bowman, 53 Topps, 54 Topps & Bowman, 55 Topps & Bowman, and 56 Topps. He also has some 50s football sets also. They are in decent shape also as I have purchased 4 1954 Topps BB singles from him. Any ideas on what I should focus on? He also has several non-sportscard sets from the 50s. I know he mentioned Davey Crockett but not sure what else.

bigfische · February 23, 2007 2:52AM

Are you looking to buy for your collection or to sell?

leadoff4 · February 23, 2007 2:59AM

Sell

Gonblott · February 23, 2007 3:19AM

Hmm.....if hes selling I am really interested in some sets, email me at gonblott@aol.com. Scans would be nice too =P

bigfische · February 23, 2007 4:01AM

Go thrugh the checklist and see which has the most hof rookies, that would be my first choice, then look for hof non rookies.

bigfische · February 23, 2007 4:01AM

I also think 55 bowman is undervalued, i love that set.

MorrellMan · February 23, 2007 4:08AM

If I were you - this is what I'd do:

Have a beer with him; several, preferably.

Then check the sets for condition. If they're all the same condition, skip this step.

Make sure the sets are complete. Often times, people represent complete sets that have already been slightly cherry picked.

If he has Crockett cards, check to see if they are the green backs. Much harder to find than the orange backs.

Make sure he's drunker than you before negotiating.

leadoff4 · February 23, 2007 4:10AM

Gonblott, email sent w/ scans

stown · February 23, 2007 4:17AM

<< <i>I'm visiting a gentleman this weekend who has all the baseball sets from 1948-56. Specifically, he has 48 Bowman, 49 Bowman, 50 Bowman, 51 Bowman, 51 Red Backs & Blue Backs, 52 Bowman, 53 Topps, 54 Topps & Bowman, 55 Topps & Bowman, and 56 Topps. He also has some 50s football sets also. They are in decent shape also as I have purchased 4 1954 Topps BB singles from him. Any ideas on what I should focus on? He also has several non-sportscard sets from the 50s. I know he mentioned Davey Crockett but not sure what else. >>

PM me if he has some 55 Topps All Americans, please

storm888 · February 23, 2007 4:35AM

Usually, the best policy is to try to buy everything.

Try to get the seller to bid against himself.

"Once we agree on values, I always pay cash right away."

"So, have you decided approximately what kind of money you
would like to have for the whole collection?"

Do whatever is necessary to rope the seller into making the
first dollar-quote.

When a seller simply will not give-up his bottom line, you
can shift to a discussion of "book values" and try to force
him to tell you what percent of that number he "would like
to have."

Then, move the discussion to grade-levels of the cards.
"Good" condition means something other than "good"
to most one-time sellers. Use that to your advantage
in using the price guides. Show the seller what the
guides say "good" cards retail for.

Cash is king. If you cannot at least double or triple your
money on large buys, they are seldom worth making. Most
one-time sellers need the cash alot more than you need the
cards; it is expesnive to run ads to buy cards, and it is
expensive to run ads to sell cards. Always concentrate on
making LOTS of money to compensate for the expense and
the effort.

Non-sports heats up almost daily.

All of your profits must be made on the buy-side, not the sell-side.

Stone193 · February 23, 2007 4:39AM

<< <i>Make sure he's drunker than you before negotiating. >>

Most sought after BB set from 1948-56??

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