Thoughts on how you would auction a large group of unopened items

MacrosB

This is especially pointed toward people who buy and/or sell unopened material, but if you were thinking about auctioning a large amount of older unopened material through one of the auction houses, would you:
auction it all at once or put only 2 or 3 items out per auction and do it over time? If you did it all at once ould it lower the prices because people would be splitting available money over more items? Just curious on what you think. Thanks for your opinions.


Jim

1980scollector

I would only offer one box per auction at a time unless you have a sealed case to offer.

You will profit more if you put it into the market a little bit at a time in my opinion.

Dboneesq

I think a bit at a time is best as well, especially if you are in no rush to get the money and you can spread it out over a couple of years. HOWEVER, I think if you have a price in mind you may want to offer it here first. Possibly a better deal for both the purchaser and you.

Griffins

I think you have to define "older"
If they are packs from the '50's most certainly trickle it out a bit- especially if they are of the same year.
If it's from the late '60's or 70's I think you'd be safe in groups or lots.
Just be sure to get the right auction house for the material, and have a say in how it is lotted.
Either way I think you'd do better to offer it privately first or at fixed price on ebay.

MacrosB

Well its not anythung I am looking at doing in the near future as I have mentioned before its not a question of needing money but at sometime you might need to make room for stuff. And I was talking about early 60's to early 70's boxes. But also, if you were doing packs, do you think that they would have to be graded because no one would trust an ungraded pack even of an auction house said it was legit?

And as a second thought, as I move on up in age, do you all have a written or discussed plan with your wife or kids on how to handle your collection if something happens to you? I know at this point if something happened to me, my wife would have no idea how to handle selling any of my stuff and would probably be easily taken advantage of.

Jim

flatfoot816

I always thought the best way was to parcel it out. Then jerseyfive sold his amazing collection in 1 swoop thru Mile High. Probably 300 packs --mostly baseball--spanning '53-'75. And the prices were very strong for 90 percent of the auction. I do agree private sale is best bet 1st

MacrosB

And I understand your thoughts on private sells but on items there isn't really alot of previous sales on I don't know how you come up with a price while an auction might maximize what you get because you get it out in front of more people. Like whats a 65 last series in 62 wrappers baseball box value? Maybe there have been more auctions of these items than I know of. Also, while it is better to keep things together, if you were thinking from a purely financial perspective, is breaking up a box into individual packs better than selling the box as a whole?

Jim

grote15

You will almost certainly realize a higher profit if you parcel out the lots, as larger lots will tend to limit your bidding pool and if you flood the market all at once (see 1964 Stand Up packs and 1975 Conlon mini cases), you won't get as much per unit as you would otherwise, unless you are in need of money now.

Edit to add: in a case where you have a truly rare box like a 65 wax box containing all packs in '62 wrappers, I do think you should keep that box intact, as that kind of item should be kept whole, imo.

WinPitcher

<< <i>Like whats a 65 last series in 62 wrappers baseball box value? >>




huh?

grote15

< Like whats a 65 last series in 62 wrappers baseball box value? >>




huh?

Topps used 1962 wrapper late in the year in 1965, similar to what they did in 1976 with 1974 wrappers.

Griffins

I would expect an auction house would take care of having the packs graded if that would maximize bids.

In regards to your question about family selling items, I have a plan I've gone over with my wife. She has a list of several friends to call that would help her sell everything based on current market, which auction houses are not under indictment, etc.
And I know I"m on the call list for a few friends in case of an untimely death.
Not entirely related to cards, but from having a very close friend that died in an unexpected accident way too young with a large estate and small children and no will, please, if you have anything and especially if you have kids please make out a will and leave instructions. Not doing so makes a painful event exponentially more so. It can happen to you.

MacrosB

<< <i>

<< <i>Like whats a 65 last series in 62 wrappers baseball box value? >>




huh? >>








Jim

WinPitcher

If it was me, depending on the quantity I'd probably parcel it out slowly.

Especially for the early 60's stuff. Again, depending on quantity I'd have PSA

Grade some packs and sell them off here and there, always with an eye to maximize

my profits. For instance I'd put a couple up on ebay, sell those then wait a while

sell a couple more and so on. I'd let the market dictate the value for them

I'd also call someone like Steve Hart and see what his offer is first, maybe sell him a little

and use his offer/info as a reference.

Good luck.

swartz1

sell it yourself...

maximize profits...

plenty of people on different boards that would purchase direct...

70ToppsFanatic

Sounds to me like a GREAT group break/rip!!!!

All you need to do is contact Mike

Dpeck100

I think if you are going to sell them individually I would get the packs graded or authenticated. They may be 100% real and you should get more if they are confirmed legit.


I am not a pack expert by any means but if you look at realized prices for individual packs they go for a great deal more when they are graded and confirmed they have never been tampered with.

1980scollector

I would get the packs graded by PSA.

Those packs look clean and fresh.


I would go to the National in August and hand deliver it to the PSA booth.

I am impressed with how crisp the packs look in the box.

How long have you owned it?

MacrosB

82 or 83



<< <i>I would get the packs graded by PSA.

Those packs look clean and fresh.


I would go to the National in August and hand deliver it to the PSA booth.

I am impressed with how crisp the packs look in the box.

How long have you owned it? >>

1980scollector

I hope you do very well if you do decide to sell.

Thanks so much for the picture.

grote15

I second the individual pack grading idea as I'd love to purchase one!

corvette1340

I think you could do as well or better selling them to a private buyer that will come to you and bring cash. PM sent.

Toro

You have an immense collection of older unopened material that many would want. Yes, you can make more money selling individual graded packs, especially with the older stuff. However, keeping key boxes intact like the 65/62 box, seems wise. Maybe working something out with Steve of BBCE privately for him to vouch for whole boxes would be best in that situation. Either way, you'll have many buyers. Don't forget to let the boards know when you want to sell those cases to make room! I'm sure we can do a group rip!

StarPaxMan

Jim, i think the first thing you should do is checked what series the 1965 box is,, there is a great chance
that those are high # packs only, in which case non of us would have realistic idea of what would be worth
but it would be eye openning!
Jose

1980scollector

<< <i>Jim, i think the first thing you should do is checked what series the 1965 box is,, there is a great chance
that those are high # packs only, in which case non of us would have realistic idea of what would be worth
but it would be eye openning!
Jose >>



I also like the idea (pointed out by Torro)of Steve authenticating for a fee and sealing it up. Then selling it as a whole to a private collector with very deep pockets.

swartz1

<< <i>< Like whats a 65 last series in 62 wrappers baseball box value? >>




huh?

Topps used 1962 wrapper late in the year in 1965, similar to what they did in 1976 with 1974 wrappers. >>




learn something new everyday on these boards...

cpamike

<< <i>Not entirely related to cards, but from having a very close friend that died in an unexpected accident way too young with a large estate and small children and no will, please, if you have anything and especially if you have kids please make out a will and leave instructions. Not doing so makes a painful event exponentially more so. It can happen to you. >>



Great advice as always Griffins. A will is a must especially when children are involved and both spouses pass away at the same time. You want to make sure your kids are taken care of the way you want and not leave it up to the courts or other family members. In regards to my own collection, I have specifically listed out what each of my two sons are to get so there will be no issues on how to fairly divide it up.

As far as your first question. I would sell the older unopened material in 3 to 4 item increments. I would sell complete boxes as opposed to individual packs, as high end collectors will pay just as much as you would get selling the packs individually. My answer would change if there are stars showing on any of the packs of course as these would fetch a premium. If you wanted to sell them yourself privately, one way to maximize the price if you sold off complete boxes would be to send them to Steve Hart and have him authentic them for you. Don't know what he would charge, but it would definitely help when selling them.

Best of luck with everything.

70ToppsFanatic

Jim,

In all seriousness, you are probably sitting on several items that are probably 1 of a kind (or at least very, very, very limited
quantity left). I kind of feel like we have some responsibility to make sure that some of these items survive after we're gone
for future generations to be amazed by.

With that in mind I would suggest trying to keep items like these intact, at least at first if/when you decide you need to sell them.
After trying it that way, if you cant get any takers then you can always take a different approach. For items that there are still
dozens of I feel less concerned, but when its down to maybe 10 or less it just seems like all efforts should be made to keep them
whole if at all possible. It would be a real shame if a box like that complete 1965 Topps box were to be broken.

With that in mind, I would probably start with the private sale route working through B/S/T here, net54baseball and Ebay and
put values on each item based on what I though was fair/reasonable. I'd probably do 1 or 2 at a time. If anything failed to move
that way then I'd consider an auction house or breaking it apart.

Best of luck on this, and please keep us posted as I am sure there are many here who would be seriously interested.

handyman

Keep box whole and raw and sell it on a major auction house. You should get 12k+ for that box alone

MacrosB

<< <i>Jim, i think the first thing you should do is checked what series the 1965 box is,, there is a great chance
that those are high # packs only, in which case non of us would have realistic idea of what would be worth
but it would be eye openning!
Jose >>



I have tried to look through the backs of the packs in the past on these and other boxes to try and determine series and I was able to make out two cards which were both high number series so i would guess that is what this box is.

I thank everyone for the advice given. That is an interesting idea of having them authenticated and then sealed up and marked. Wonder if Steve might read this thread and mention if he would be willing to do that. I have to stress that I am not looking at selling them at this time but just gathering info in case I ever decide to move some older items. I would be curious if anyone had any ideas on pricing of some early 60s boxes like 60 1st series, 65 high numbers or 62 wax box. Do you think it would basically be single price pack x 24 or is there a premium or discount for a whole box? As I mentioned on the BST board awhile back I am still thinking of running a couple of breaks on some cases of some early 80s stuff. Guess I will have to come up with a better idea on pricing since the 81 FB cello break didn't quite work out. Once again thanks for all your help.

Jim

1980scollector

I think you will get a premium as an intact box authenticated by Steve and sold to a private collector with lots of cash.

I would be willing to bet Steve would love for you to bring it to him and let him see the packs/authenticate them.

Please keep in mind I have no money to buy these(so my judgement is not clouded) and only want to give you some free advice.

I think you would get record money for the 1965 high number box if you get it authenticated and sell it at a quality auction house(not Ebay).

Your box is just so nice it would be bring insane money.

There are more than a few people with alot of money that want that very box and would pay top dollar for it.


Just my two cents.

handyman

There is a premium for a full box YES.
Packing out is ideal but it takes years. And you have to give PSA 500.00 or so. Whole box at auction should do better for money in hand and everything in mind . Just my opinion.
1960 1st series. Id say 10-14K as well as a whole.