It is time for me to sell my 1956 Topps Master set to work on another quest

NeilDowney · March 3, 2007 9:03AM

Hi Guys! Now that I have started to narrow down the list of pre-war sets that interest me, it has become painfully clear that I need to sell my beloved 100% complete 1956 Topps Master set. I don't have the type of budget that would allow me to keep it along with going after any of the great pre-war sets. This set consists of 3 PSA 8s, 339 PSA 7s and 12 PSA 6s. None of the cards have any qualifiers. All of the PSA 6s are checklist variations that are needed to make it a Master set. Anyone that has seriously tackled this set has quickly learned that it is a super tough set to get in high quality, even in a PSA 7 or even a PSA 8 holder. Just some of the challenges with these cards are rough cut edges, chipped edges, off centering, diamond cuts, wax backs and print streaks. All this before you even decide if you want to collect cards #1-#100 in white back or gray back form. My set has 97 of the first 100 cards as clean white backs. I also have 10 of the 12 checklist variations as white backs. Many of you know that I have spent years putting this set together with the intention of minimizing most of these manufacturing defects. I don’t want to say that all of my cards are the best PSA 7s ever slabbed. There are almost no 1956 Topps cards ever printed that don’t have some minor flaws to them. I will say that I have bought and sold over 1,500 PSA 7 1956 Topps cards over a 4 year period in search of the best cards that I could find for my set. Anyone who knows me as a collector or any seller that has gotten one of my thousands of emails with questions about the cut and how clean the cards are can attest that I am a pain in the butt when it comes to wanting the best that I could find. Needless to say, I have worked hard and long to get cards of this quality and it would be my pleasure if I could help the many 1956 Topps friends that I have made along the way fill some of the holes in their sets. It would also be nice if I could give a jump start to anyone would has been on the fence about starting one of the most beautiful sets ever printed. I’d like to do this sale on a first come, first served basis. My Basic and Master sets are on the PSA set registry under the name Neil B. Downey and Sons Collection. I have posted scans of all 354 cards. If anyone is interested in any of the cards from my set, please PM me or email me at nbdowney@msn.com with your wish list, questions or inquiries. Thank you for your time, Neil

Wondo · March 3, 2007 9:11AM

pm sent

Gonblott · March 3, 2007 9:23AM

sent a pm

perkdog · March 3, 2007 9:50AM

pm sent as well

WinPitcher · March 3, 2007 9:52AM

Good luck Neil.

I can say that I had the pleasure of buying from Neil long ago.

Steve

NeilDowney · March 3, 2007 11:42AM

Hi Steve, I only hope that you were happy with every card that I sent you. Neil

fandango · March 3, 2007 2:05PM

Neil, good luck in your future endeavors!!!

FB · March 3, 2007 10:27PM

Neil,

I'm sure with the attention that you've paid to centering and overall card condition makes this set probably the nicest within its grade. I figured that I'd shoot you one last congratulations on a job well done before you dismantle this incredible collection of cards. What have you decided to collect next? Or are you still making that decision?

Frank

NeilDowney · March 4, 2007 4:07AM

Hi Frank, I missed you at the Reading show. I hope that you are well. I am leaning towards the 1933 Goudey set. Perhaps in a PSA 3-4 if I can. I haven't decided which pre-war set for sure yet. The pre-war sets are very different than the 50s sets in more ways than player content. I am learning more about them everyday and hope to call myself a pre-war collector someday soon. I still love the 50s sets very much. However, I'd like to start a set with some more historic importance and more of a legacy feel to it. Perhaps it can be best described as "a set bigger than myself". Neil

RonBurgundy · March 4, 2007 11:36PM

Neil - why would you sell your '56 set when you just recently completed it? I can understand the desire to work on something else, but you've invested a lot of time, effort, and money into building the set. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but selling it so soon kind of makes it a wasted effort.

Ron

lostdart58 · March 5, 2007 12:11AM

<< <i>Neil - why would you sell your '56 set when you just recently completed it? I can understand the desire to work on something else, but you've invested a lot of time, effort, and money into building the set. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but selling it so soon kind of makes it a wasted effort.

Ron >>

From what i see this seems to be his modis operendi, finish and then sell. Seems like a complete waste of 4 years to me.................He shouldn't name his sets "& sons" since their is no legacy being passed on..............

...to each his own I guess.....

1420sports · March 5, 2007 5:09AM

Gotta agree with Ron and Jami ...

why sell when you do not even know what you want to collect?

cmoking · March 5, 2007 6:34AM

I'm not sure why you guys are giving Neil a hard time with him selling his cards. Maybe he collects differently than you, but it's all personal preference. I don't see how any method is correct or incorrect.

RonBurgundy · March 5, 2007 6:44AM

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, just that I don't understand it. Something I said once while discussing the nuances of Sex Panther cologne with my colleague Brian comes to mind: "That doesn't make sense."

Stay classy,

Ron

perkdog · March 5, 2007 7:04AM

I would be willing to bet that he enjoys the challenge of building a set, not everyone can afford putting together more than one. Kinda like a guy climbing a mountain and after all that effort he climbs right back down, right?

Good for you Neil, enjoying and doing what YOU like.

1420sports · March 5, 2007 7:32AM

Cmoking - I did not see any personal attacks on this thread or anyone really giving him a hard time, only a few people making some suggestions or asking questions.

He has been actively letting the board know for many, many years that he is collecting the set, and it comes as a surprise that he is now selling the very same set so quickly.

NeilDowney · March 5, 2007 7:48AM

Hi Guys, Thanks for your posts on my thread. Perkdog is correct in his statement. I can't afford to put $15K-$25K into a set and then let it sit on the shelf collecting dust. I love the ride and the adventure of collecting a set. Then I try to find a different one that is just as great to collect next. If I don't sell the first one, I don't have the cash to pay for the next one. The set had been complete over a year ago but not with all 7s. The last 13 cards took me over a year to find and to afford to pay for. The rest of the set was collecting dust that whole time. I decided 6 months ago to tough it out and complete in all 7s, then sell to pay for the next set. I'm only 47 so it is a bit too early for me to retire as a collector, nor would I want to. By the way, the reason that I put the "and sons" in my set title is because I think that we all need to be reminded once in a while that this life is not all just about us. My two sons are my whole world. I love collecting cards but I would sell them all if one of my kids got sick. I believe that my true legacy is not the cards, but the hundreds of little league practices, plays at school, rides to their friends house and scaring away the monsters under their beds at night. I put in real time and real effort with my kids and as a result I have two of the greatest sons that any father could ever pray for. The greatest collection that I ever put togther only had 2 cards on the checklist (3 if you count my wife). That's my family or as I say on the PSA set registry - Neil B. Downey and Sons collection. Thanks for listening, Neil

GDM67 · March 5, 2007 8:38AM

I took a look at it last night. (Lots of scans, very much appreciated.)

It's a beautiful set. Whatever you decide to do with it, congratulations on assembling it.

RonBurgundy · March 5, 2007 8:47AM

Neil - good post. While you collect in a different way than I do, I salute your love for the hobby.

Ron

RipublicaninMass · March 5, 2007 9:56AM

I think it would be a huge $$$ losing proposition. Dont large graded sets usually sell for less then ebay/smr costs depending on all those tough lo pops etc. I would be curious to know how much of the original investment you could get back. I am currently doing the 55 topps set in psa 7, which is a much smaller set, I would be curious to know if you kept track of how much you spent, and then see what you got for the set. i know mothing beat the joy of collecting, and the hunt, ebay wins, raw finds etc. But curious nonetheless!

1420sports · March 5, 2007 11:30AM

FWIW, I have never been nor will I ever be a set collector, but I did enjoy hearing about this set's progress - almost to the point where I was awaiting completion. I could never take on such a task - I tried a few times but lost interest. Couldn't do it. Neil did. Just surprised that he is selling it.

Good luck on the sale.

cmoking · March 5, 2007 11:54AM

"giving him a hard time" was too strong of a phrase for me to use in my previous post. no hard feelings guys.

Wondo · March 6, 2007 12:47PM

<< <i>I think it would be a huge $$$ losing proposition. Dont large graded sets usually sell for less then ebay/smr costs depending on all those tough lo pops etc. I would be curious to know how much of the original investment you could get back. I am currently doing the 55 topps set in psa 7, which is a much smaller set, I would be curious to know if you kept track of how much you spent, and then see what you got for the set. i know mothing beat the joy of collecting, and the hunt, ebay wins, raw finds etc. But curious nonetheless! >>

Interesting point - I think vintage sets (1950's) stand a great chance of being money makers at or above SMR if they are nice for the grade. People appreciate quality, especially at the "bargain" grades of 6 an 7. 8s get pricey. Neil will get most if not all of his money out of the set if the cards are as nice as claimed - after looking at the scans, I believe they are. I am much more familiar with the 1956 set than the 55, but parallels exist because they are chronologically back-to-back. Both sets feature the same design style, although I think the later set is much more attractive - and people like attractive cards. SMR is a nice guide for the average card, in fact it might be high. I oftern buy groups of 6s and 7s at 60%, but I get very few eye poppers. Quality always sells - buy the card not the holder.

As to moving a set after completion, that's all I do. I cannot afford to own these cool things, but it is neat to rent them.

Just my .02

John

NeilDowney · March 7, 2007 2:13AM

Hi Guys, I kept perfect records of all the purchases that I made for this set. I do this for all of my sets. I know exactly how much I paid for the cards along with the shipping and even how I paid for it (money order or Paypal). I think that it is part of the fun to keep a type of scoresheet on how I am doing vs market value and SMR (which is not always right - duh). The sales have been going well. I have sold almost 100 cards and thankfully all but one of the buyers were fully aware of the market values for the cards that they wanted. I only had one person call me a jerk-off for not selling them a card for half of it's value. It has been great working with smart collectors while selling this set. It would have been much more painful if I was having to fire sale the cards just to get rid of them. I must say though, what a beautiful set Topps printed in 1956. I only hope that the next set (perhaps the 1933 Goudey set) brings me as much pleasure as this one did. Neil

lostdart58 · March 7, 2007 2:58AM

<< <i>only had one person call me a jerk-off >>

packCollector · March 7, 2007 5:44AM

One of the best sets ever made , the great thing about htis set is that it is a great design with great looking cards. There was tons of production so finding them is fairly easy which makes demand very high. Having built 85% of this set in 8's in less than 6 months , I can say that there is a lot of fluctuation in each grade. PSA is very lenient on some aspects and cards that don't have appeal will sell for a discount . Cards that look great no matter the grade will always bring good money. I looked for quality in 8's and when I sold I did very well since even though pops are sky high , so is demand and there are many collectors that buy the best card in the grade , not just the grade. good luck with the sale , I am sure you will do very well

perkdog · March 7, 2007 7:18AM

Agreed it is a beautiful set, definately one of my favorites. Question about the Mantle card maybe someone can answer, whats the deal with the fans in the stands? Some are standing at attention while a few others are reacting to the ball? Were these drawings or cuts from photos?

NeilDowney · March 10, 2007 7:07AM

I'm not sure about the fans in the background. The one thing that I know for sure is that the picture used for the Mantle card is from his rookie season. I always found that fact to be pretty cool. Most can never afford a real Mantle rookie card but having one of these could make it less painful. Sorry guys, mine is already sold. Neil

perkdog · March 10, 2007 7:13AM

From what Rookie card? It has no resemblance IMO to his '51 Bowman or '52 Topps....????

perkdog · March 10, 2007 7:13AM

You must mean a regular picture right?

mrbud60 · March 10, 2007 10:28AM

just completed a $1,000 deal with neil and everything went smoothly.cards are as described[very nice] and cards were shipped professionally.thanks neil,will be buying more when i build up my paypal account.gil

NeilDowney · March 10, 2007 12:29PM

A series of photos were taken from his rookie year to be used for future card sets. The one used for the 1956 Topps set was one of those photos. Sorry if I wasn't clear with my first statement. Thanks Mrbud60, I'm glad that you liked the cards that I sent you. It was my pleasure to do business with you. Good luck with the rest of your set. Neil

NeilDowney · March 11, 2007 1:30PM

Hi Guys, I finally completed the master list of what 1956 Topps cards I have left for sale and their prices. If anyone would like to recieve a copy of the excel file, email me at nbdowney@msn.com - Thanks, Neil

perkdog · March 11, 2007 2:08PM

Neil, I will take a copy of that. cb3302fan@aol.com

perkdog · March 12, 2007 7:04AM

My card arrived today! A very nice Duke Snider, smooooooth transaction. Thanks again Neil, I will be in touch for more. With all these losers ripping people off on the boards here you might need refferances, well you can certainly use me.

Thanks again, Paul

mrbud60 · March 12, 2007 10:30AM

neil,i will take a copy of the excel file.you can send it to mrbud60@comcast.net thanks,gil

It is time for me to sell my 1956 Topps Master set to work on another quest

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