Ideas on How to Unload a 40 Year Old Collection

PoppaJ

Hi Everyone,

My sons and I have decided to part ways with our 40+ year old sports memorabila collection and use the money for other interests. We're asking for your opinions of the best and hopefully the easiest way to do it.

It consists of over 400 autographed baseballs (Aaron, Mantle, Maris, DiMaggio, Williams, Jeter, Arod, Ripken, Kluszewski etc), basketballs (Jordan, Bird), footballs (Montana, Bradshaw, Greene, Walsh), hockey pucks (Gordie Howe, Lemeiux, Gretzky), golf balls (Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, ChiChi Rodriguez, Arnold Palmer), tennis balls (McEnroe, Kournikova, Capriati, Agassi, Sampras), baseball gloves, baseball bats (Mantle, Griffey Jr, Aaron, Mays), football helmets (Unitas, Butkus), boxing gloves (Cassius Clay, Frazier, Foreman), softballs (Eddie Feigner) etc, all with COAs from Steiner and many that we obtained in person.

There are also 15 autographed full-sized Jerseys (Ripken, Aaron, Rose, Namath, Bradshaw, Hamm) in Penzoni cases all with Steiner COAs.

We have close to a dozen vintage baseball gloves (buckle-backs etc), football helmets (1920-40s), hockey gloves.

Autographed photos, mostly 8x10s with a few 16x20s, are in the 200-250 range; all with COAs or were obtained in-person by us.

Lastly, we have a little over 500 PSA Mantles from 1951-1969 in various grades with some PSA/DNA (My sons really don't want to part with the Mantles yet).

Okay, so let it rip...

How, who, where, and why?

We'd really appreciate your sincere help through suggestions.... although we expect to receive a few wise cracks along the way

Thanks, PoppaJ

Bosox1976

For that much stuff, I'd go with a big auction house like REA and negotiate zero sellers premium. Good luck.

edit:

Post some pictures here and all of the auction houses will be calling you.

VitoCo1972

Would you please post a scan of the Tiger Woods golf ball and let us know how you got it and when? It's a topic I have much interest in as it's a hard to come by item. As for sales, I would recommend Mastro Auctions.

dontippet

Probaby any of the big auction houses would be fine. If you search auction houses in this forum, you will probably get some good ideas. I definitely agree about negotiating a zero commission. With such a big collection, you may shop around to several auction houses. I don't know that much about them, but I know that some specialize in one particular area.

PoppaJ

Thanks Mike,

Right now we're just trying to get a few ideas before we take the plunge.

I'll certainly keep your suggestion under hat.

PoppaJ

PoppaJ

Hi Vito,

We'll get around to posting a few pics tomorrow or so.

I do know that the Tiger Woods ball was signed by Tiger at a Nike/Wheaties promo event in 1998. It was given to me by a close friend who happened to be a General Mills Cereal rep at the time. He and I used to attend a lot of local baseball card shows together. I actually turned down his invitation to attend the event to meet Tiger. Boy, if only I had a time machine.

PoppaJ

Hi Don,

thank you...

much appreciated,

PoppaJ

bobbybakeriv

That's some serious stuff! Good luck with it whatever you decide to do. Many of the guys on this board really know their stuff so I think you came to a good place for advice. Bobby

mickeymantle24

Can you let us see an scan of some of the Mantle psa/dna cards. Just wondering Thanks Mike. That is an awesome collection you have there!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck with the sales

storm888

Any of the big auction houses would be fine. Negotiate a ZERO premium.

I currently like Memory Lane, but all of the big ones are safe.

VitoCo1972

<< <i>Hi Vito,

We'll get around to posting a few pics tomorrow or so.

I do know that the Tiger Woods ball was signed by Tiger at a Nike/Wheaties promo event in 1998. It was given to me by a close friend who happened to be a General Mills Cereal rep at the time. He and I used to attend a lot of local baseball card shows together. I actually turned down his invitation to attend the event to meet Tiger. Boy, if only I had a time machine. >>



Ok, I anxiously await the post. I'll likely make you an offer if you're interested and I can get a third party opinion on it first. I have 37 unique Masters champions on golf balls but Mr. Woods, I do not - although I have 5 other autographs that I received from him. Thanks.

nightcrawler729

I'd be interested in a Mantle if you did want to sell, or in the Bradshaws potentially...

justinstaff

i would love to have a shot at it first (would certainly be the easiest). i tried to send you a personal message but your pm is off. send me an email and we can go through there (columbusjustin@yahoo.com)
thanks

blacksoxfan

Robert Edward Auctions is an excellent recommendation.

yankeeno7

I would try to sell as much as I possibly could privately. You have a ton of great stuff there so it should be very easy to find buyers.

VitoCo1972

<< <i>I would try to sell as much as I possibly could privately. You have a ton of great stuff there so it should be very easy to find buyers. >>



As much as I hate to agree with a Yankees fan, I agree with yankeeno7. For the mid-profile stuff, why pay auction house fees? Come up with your own sale prices, post scans and put the word out here and on about 7 other boards (Beckett, Net54 etc.) Let's say you sold me the Tiger Woods ball, why would you want to pay 10-15% of the final sale price to an auction house? Plus, I can afford to pay YOU more than I can an auction house because I wouldn't have to worry about a buyers premium. Furthermore, setup a paypal account. Offer incentives for cash purchases (like 2% off or so) because you'd be losing 5% to paypal anyway.

VikingDude

Wow, that is some good stuff. If you're doing a few scans, I wouldn't mind seeing the Maris ball. Also, when you do decide to go with one of the auction houses, definitely do a plug on this site.

lsutigers1973

I would also suggest setting up a Paypal account and posting some of the low to mid range stuff here on the BST board. I assure you that you will get a lot of attention with decent scans/photos posted. Plus, I may fight Mike to the death for the Tiger Woods ball and maybe a Nicklaus ball. This is a very safe place to buy and sell memorabilia without all the fees (accept Paypal).

Texoma

ebay? paypal?

you kidding me?

for a collection like that I got 2 words for you:

Sothebys

Christies



Hope you're not offended by the thought of you (and your children and your grandchildren) all taking early retirement!!!

PoppaJ

Hi Guys,

I'm trying to upload a few pics via attachments, but I keep getting a message saying that I must first enable attachments.

How do I do that?

Thanks,
PoppaJ

bman90278

Welcome to the boards!

I think you have some hot items in which you could sell many of the items to our members here on this board. The items you have should be sold individually and not as a group. That way you can get the max dollar amount for each item and not trying to force someone into a high dollar purchase for things they might not want in a group sale. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to sell them private party.

What do the others think about this question I have..... I really think you and your sons should invest in getting the high dollar items PSA autentic certified so you can get max dollar and people will know they are real. I think some people could be suspicious when they see HOF sigs from a new seller. You have had the collection for 40 years right? Take a little time and do it right and listen to the members on these boards. We have some very sharp and generous people here.

bman90278

<< <i> Hi Guys,

I'm trying to upload a few pics via attachments, but I keep getting a message saying that I must first enable attachments.

How do I do that?

Thanks,
PoppaJ >>

Did you upload the photos in photobucket or somewhere online?? If not, that's what u need to do.

PoppaJ

<< <i>Welcome to the boards!

I think you have some hot items in which you could sell many of the items to our members here on this board. The items you have should be sold individually and not as a group. That way you can get the max dollar amount for each item and not trying to force someone into a high dollar purchase for things they might not want in a group sale. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to sell them private party.

What do the others think about this question I have..... I really think you and your sons should invest in getting the high dollar items PSA autentic certified so you can get max dollar and people will know they are real. I think some people could be suspicious when they see HOF sigs from a new seller. You have had the collection for 40 years right? Take a little time and do it right and listen to the members on these boards. We have some very sharp and generous people here. >>




The entire collection spans 43 years; started collecting with my dad in 1965 ... he was a huge Mantle fan! I collected nothing but Mantle cards as a teenager.

My sons and I have been discussing whether to sell everything except the Mantle cards, but we aren't diving in until we're really convinced of the best way to do it.

We've always enjoyed reading the different threads in this forum and decided to get a few ideas.

So far, everyone's had a lot of great info and suggestions.

Right now I'm trying to upload a few pics but can't figure out how to "attach a file".

A message comes on telling me that I must first enable attachments????

As soon as I get a reply.... I'll try again!

60 is not a great age to be figuring this stuff out!

hofautos

you cant upload them here, only provide a link where they are uploaded. if you don't already have them uploaded anywhere,
upload them to http://photobucket.com/
once you get them there come back and ask and someone else will tell you how to show your pics..i have to run to work

photobucket is a great free site to share your pics...you will want to do this anyway possibly to show family pics to relatives, travel pics, etc...

oaktown

Feel free to email me the pictures and I can host them for you.

Allen

How many 1952 Topps Mantles do you have?

PoppaJ

<< <i>

<< <i> Hi Guys,

I'm trying to upload a few pics via attachments, but I keep getting a message saying that I must first enable attachments.

How do I do that?

Thanks,
PoppaJ >>

Did you upload the photos in photobucket or somewhere online?? If not, that's what u need to do. >>




Hi, I loaded them in Photo Bucket .... now what?

thanks!

oaktown

Under the pic you want to show, copy the link next to IMG Code and paste it into your message.

Repeat for each picture.

bman90278

You go to the message text box and click on the photo picture. You then go to photobucket and click on the photo to make it full size hen you post the image link, it should look like this, http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm192/bman90278/pk1.jpg?t=1213974722. You paste the img link when you click on the photo box. I get the link by using my netscape browser by right clicking the mouse over the photo and select view image. That gives you think photo link.

Great people here, I see many answers coming up at the same time!

PoppaJ

<< <i>How many 1952 Topps Mantles do you have? >>



Hi Allen,

We have 11 1952 Topps Mantles.

Being a huge Mick fan back in 1965, I only collected Mantle cards.

My best friend at the time, Randy, was a huge Snider fan and always tried to convince me to collect the Duke's cards.

Not sure if he's alive or dead today (haven't kept in touch), but I know he's probably at least sick thinking about it now!

I said WE have 11, but actually my sons will have to wait til I'm with the Mick before they get their hands on them.

All 11 are in a Safe Deposit Box at my Bank. ( I have one son that's doing his best, at age 22, to convince me that selling a few of them now would make his life a tad better.... to which I humbly reply "BS!"

PoppaJ

VitoCo1972

Either that or you can just link to your whole photobucket page - if it's all photos that you want people to view. To post a link to an external site here, just open up a new post in this thread. Click on the HTTP button - paste your link into it - then a second window will pop up and type in the name of your link (i.e. - My photobucket). Then just post the message.

Allen

Sounds like you are sitting on a large fortune with the Mantles and an even larger one with everything else. Good luck with everything.

PoppaJ

PoppaJ

<< <i>Under the pic you want to show, copy the link next to IMG Code and paste it into your message.

Repeat for each picture. >>



Hi Oaktown,

thank you so much...

your suggestion was pretty simple to do ... even for me

Thanks to everyone else too!!!

Great bunch of guys!!!

PoppaJ

bman90278

Nice picks. I'll take it all. I just need to win the lottery!

oaktown

<< <i>

<< <i>Under the pic you want to show, copy the link next to IMG Code and paste it into your message.

Repeat for each picture. >>



Hi Oaktown,

thank you so much...

your suggestion was pretty simple to do ... even for me

Thanks to everyone else too!!!

Great bunch of guys!!!

PoppaJ >>



Great stuff!

PoppaJ

VitoCo1972

Private Message sent Poppa

artistlost

Wow...it's times like this that I wish I had a couple of million hanging around (that my wife didn't know about of course)...

Great stuff...you should do VERY well on the collection and I will agree with the rest of the board that a major auction house is you best road to take.

mathew

PoppaJ

<< <i>Can you let us see an scan of some of the Mantle psa/dna cards. Just wondering Thanks Mike. That is an awesome collection you have there!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck with the sales >>



Hi Mike,

all of our Mantle's are in a bank safety deposit box....

not much fun there, but at least safe!

here's one that we were going to sell on eBay....

PoppaJ

PoppaJ

<< <i>Wow...it's times like this that I wish I had a couple of million hanging around (that my wife didn't know about of course)...

Great stuff...you should do VERY well on the collection and I will agree with the rest of the board that a major auction house is you best road to take.

mathew >>



Hi Mathew,

thank you for the kind words and your valued input ....

PoppaJ

BunchOBull

That's quite the eclectic mix of sports history you're sitting on. Beautiful stock, thanks for sharing. Good luck in the process, whatever you choose to do.

PoppaJ

<< <i>Wow, that is some good stuff. If you're doing a few scans, I wouldn't mind seeing the Maris ball. Also, when you do decide to go with one of the auction houses, definitely do a plug on this site. >>



Hi,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you on the Maris ball, but it's hidden somewhere amongst 400 others.

I tried to get my sons to alphabetize them all, but they looked at me like I was nuts!

As soon as we locate it, I'll post a pic

PoppaJ

lsutigers1973

I want the PSA 10 Tiger UD rookie and the auto ball. Click on the little lock on this message and send me a private message regarding a price.

blades3

If you sell the Tiger ball separately, make sure to give us all a crack at it. I want it to.

That being said, I would consign it all to a major auction house. The more you sell it off in pieces to private collectors, the less chance you have of the auction house giving you a great deal. Give it to an auction house, let them authenticate it, let them sort through it, put it in lots, market it and worry about answering questions and tracking down winning bidders. Don't worry about paypal, ebay or any of that stuff...just send it to the auction house and get a big, fat check in a few months.

PoppaJ

<< <i>If you sell the Tiger ball separately, make sure to give us all a crack at it. I want it to.

That being said, I would consign it all to a major auction house. The more you sell it off in pieces to private collectors, the less chance you have of the auction house giving you a great deal. Give it to an auction house, let them authenticate it, let them sort through it, put it in lots, market it and worry about answering questions and tracking down winning bidders. Don't worry about paypal, ebay or any of that stuff...just send it to the auction house and get a big, fat check in a few months. >>



Hi Steve,

thanks for your valued input....

sounds like the majority of the board agrees that a major auction house is the way to go.

as for the Tiger ball... we have no idea at all of it's value and we would certainly not be offended if you guys make us offers via PM.

after a few days of offers, we should have a general vicinity of price hopefully.

PoppaJ

lsutigers1973

PM sent with a link for Tiger auto balls. Thanks again

VitoCo1972

Well, this may be too much competition for me on the Tiger ball. I'll probably make you an offer once PSA/DNA has been consulted, but there's no need for me to bid against 3 other guys. I just don't have that kind of jack lying around. I know exactly what they go for. If you have other golf stuff and need consultation as to it's value, I probably have one of the top 25 golf collections in the United States in terms of autographs. One of these days I'll start a thread to catalog all of it for you.

PoppaJ

<< <i>Well, this may be too much competition for me on the Tiger ball. I'll probably make you an offer once PSA/DNA has been consulted, but there's no need for me to bid against 3 other guys. I just don't have that kind of jack lying around. I know exactly what they go for. If you have other golf stuff and need consultation as to it's value, I probably have one of the top 25 golf collections in the United States in terms of autographs. One of these days I'll start a thread to catalog all of it for you. >>



Actually, we only have about 7 autographed golf balls, all from HOFers and Tiger; plus we have a couple autographed caps, photos, and Kroger Senior Classic multi-signature items.

I'll try to get some of them posted and I'd appreciate your input as far as price.

thank you!
PoppaJ

smtjoy

I would for sure go with a major auction house, esp if the item does not pop up for sell a lot. Selling otherwise you just leave money on the table.

jay0791

What a collection. You should have no problem selling most of the stuff here on the psa boards.
It would benefit both buyer and seller.

By the way....sounds like some of you guys have serious auto's of golf. May I ask a question. How would I go about getting a magazine I have autod by jack nicklas? I would like a few extra things on it besides hs name.

Does he have a company that does it? About what would it cost?

any input would be appreciated. jay