Complete set sales price?

Wayne8348

I had asked a question that kind of got lost in another thread and I would be curious to know what others thought. If somebody auctioned or sold a complete 1960's baseball set in all psa 8 what would it sell for?

a) Below smr because the number of potential buyers are very limited plus it takes away from the "thrill of the chase".

b) at smr because smr is accurate (dont laugh)

c) Above smr because of the difficulty it tool in assembling the set.

I am interested in what everyone thinks and why they might think it would sell either above or below smr.

Thanks,

Wayne

metsfan

Wayne(good name):
Just saw a 1961 topps set on ebay sell for $8100. It had 119 graded cards (i believe they were 8 or better). so this set would probably sell for at less then SMR in psa 8. SMR is $23,475. Of course the seller said the commons were 7-8.
You wont see many sets graded for sale. Its kind of like a quantity discount. Just my thoughts.

Wayne

FB

Wayne,

Using the 61 set from Metsfan as an example - I'd bet you see that set get up into the $15,000 - $16,000 range with dealers being the main bidders. We were lucky to see Vargha's 49 Bowman set remain pretty much intact because another collector took the opportunity to buy it as a unit.

But, I think that it would be way too tempting for dealers to buy the 61 set for the break up value. You can move 8's all day long on eBay.

Just my two cents...

69topps8

I think it also depends on the scarcity of the set. A PSA 8+ 1952 set would probably go for close to SMR while a PSA 8+ 1973 set would probably go for well under SMR. For the most part, I think a graded set will bring in more money by breaking it up but then there's the effort of listing all those auctions unless you have a built in customer base to move the inventory through direct sales.

mikeschmidt

I would respond like this:

A) I don't care how the set would sell relative to SMR. The bottom line is that SMR is way too far off on too many prices to make it a relevant guide to anyone that would put that sort of money into building, selling or purchasing a set.

2) History seems to sugest that people who have high grade sets do not recoup their investment. Or, better yet, the breakup value of a completely graded set often (significantly) exceeds its final auction price. That is why a large percentage of such sets typically end up in the hands of dealers -- who can then efficiently distribute the pieces to maximize their profit.

Wayne8348

Mike Schmidt- I see what you mean. I kind of thought that their wouldn't be a premium placed on the set for it being very difficult to put together but I was curious as to what others thought. So if an entire set was listed for sale it would most likely sell to an investor who would buy it at a premium to split it up and resell the individual cards. Makes sense.

Wayne

zardoz51

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole

Scoop

Zardoz, I agree that goes for my '56 Topps set, but what about my '56 vette?

r00kies101

Unless it's the 1986 Fleer basketball set in PSA 10s...in that case it will go for over 10 times the SMR!!!

waitilltheytrytosell

A lot depends on the kind of set being offered. The problem is that most sets aren't a pure 7 or 8 set. You always seem to have a few cards missing, a few qualifiers, a few raw, a few graded by someone else, and a few that fall below the desired grade being assembled. Another huge factor is the desirability of the set being offered. The 1949 Bowman set recently offered is a good example of that. Many dealers would have stayed clear from bidding on that set because there was no clear indication on Ebay or the set registry of any sort of active market for breaking the set. On the other hand, if you were to offer a complete 1971 Topps PSA 8 set, you would have dealers going crazy for it, and it would go for a large premium. Another problem is who can be involved at the higher price levels. Most collectors can afford to spend a few bucks now and then over the course of a few years to assemble a set, but few can drop $20,000 or $30,000 at one time to pick up a set all at once. Marketing, timing, and patience is also a big factor. Sets should sell for a premium. Sets can sell for a premium. Sometimes though you need patience. Dumping it on Ebay and hoping that two guys show up who both want it badly, and who both have ample funds available at the time, is a big gamble. Keeping a set together may be a noble thought, but the seller just wants to sell it for the most amount of money, and shouldn't be concerned what the buyer does with it.

CDC4

I think a lot depends on what set it is. A 1952 Topps set graded all 8's would be hard for many people to buy in one big purchase, so the number of bidders would be only a select few with a large amount of disposable cash. If the cards were broken up many people could afford to buy a couple cards and thus you would probably get more than if it was sold as a whole set. Plus you would probably get better prices on the "Low" pop commons in your set because many set builders would be going after them, where as they would not necessarily go buy a whole set to obtain a few scarce PSA 8 cards.

purelyPSA

If you had an item like this to sell, where would you sell it? Ebay would likely be out of the question, at least for me. Mastro? Or would you turn to some other option?

Davalillo

I would pay a premium to smr for any 1960s set or mostly complete set in psa 8. If anybody is willing to sell any of the 1960s sets in psa 8 please contact me.
I am in the process of sending in and receiving back from psa all commons from the 60s sets that I think could grade an 8. While I expect to get a lot of 8s, I know from history that I could turn over all duplicates for SMR or better.
And Wayne, I would buy your 1965 psa 8s for 110% of SMR.

Davalillo

SayitaintsoJoe63

The way I look at it is this......I am putting together the '63 Topps set. Buying card by card...lot by lot...over a period of time mostly off eBay, and through a small network of dealers who know me and what I'm looking for. If all of a sudden, I came into a ton of cash, and had unlimited funds to spend on cards, and saw a complete PSA graded 8 set come up on eBay......I would probably pass. The thrill of the chase is what drives me, and I would imagine, most of you. There's something about finding that elusive obscure common you've needed for 6 months in your grade, that is so sweet. The satisfaction we all get from "The Hunt" can't begin to be replaced by buying the whole set already put together for us by another collector. Sure.....it would be a nice thing to own.....but is it really what drives us?
I think basically it's something that takes us all back to the days of opening that brand new fresh wax pack when we were kids, and trading and putting our sets together way back when we used shoeboxes to store them in. So....I guess I would say, I would pay less for the whole than for the sum of the parts.

qualitycards

John - I agree there is a certain "rush" when one nabs an elusive card thats on a want list. But if the thrill is in the chase, once the set is completed, the thrill might disappear. True a completed set is an achievement of time, finances and determination, and perhaps it is hard to put a price on that.
But it is nice to know that there is a market for the card sets we covet, so Davalillo has entered with an interesting dilemma. Something to ponder.

Davalillo - Email me at your leisure, i have a few questions.... jaycos@qualitycards.com ...thanks jay

SayitaintsoJoe63

Right you are Jay......Once we complete that set.....then we pick out the other set we want to build, and let the rush start all over again....This addiction has no stopping point!! HeLLLLpppp!!

qualitycards

John - The stopping point is finances or lack there of...

Wayne8348

Davalillo,

I had tried to email you the other day - can you contact me at wayne840@insightbb.com.

wayne