Me: The Skinny, The Scoop and the 411 (in that order)
MikeLeamer
Posts: 236 ✭✭
Howdy all,
This will be a wandering diatribe about my former and current hobby interests with a few questions woven in for good measure. I spend a lot of time reading the board and am really kind of impressed with the collection of knowledge on here, as well as the generosity and willingness to give opinions and advice about all things hobby related. Okay, on with the boring stuff.
My name is Mike, I'm a 42 year-old kid who'd been a collector of things for as long as I can remember. I used to be an avid football card collector until the internet made it seem a little too easy to find the white whales in the big bad world. That didn't stop me until later. I was introduced to eBay in 1997 and have been a seller on there ever since (seller ID: lingling). I've been in love with the internet since its inception, mostly because it made it possible for a dude in Juneau, Alaska to sell sports cards all over the world - and buy them as well. A lot of them. Like I said, I used to be a collector but kind of shifted into the buying and selling mode (although I still LOVE to bust boxes, cases and collections to find hidden treasure) and my once glorious collection became inventory, more or less. I also think that having to sell chunks of my collection at various times for numerous reasons (rent/food when unemployed, moving out of state, moving again to a different city, and having money to buy Christmas present a few years), it kind of killed my spirit on the collecting part.
I still buy collections when I can with the idea to make some kind of profit on the venture. I cannot explain the joy I get out of initially breaking down a collection and looking for cardboard gold. I digress.
Over the years, I've developed a real love-hate relationship with eBay. Okay, I mostly hate them for jacking up their fees for small store owners so many times that the niche I'd carved out for myself wasn't profitable any longer. I closed my store a few years back and haven't been too active on there of late, although I'm planning to begin some pretty heavy selling as soon as I get my 149-card sub back. I think that focusing on turning my cardboard hoard (closets and closets full of boxes, packed with lovely and random things) into slabs and then into cash. I've got a long way to go and slabbing is expensive, but I've got enough to keep me going for years even if I don't buy any more (which is ridiculous)... this leads me to some random questions for the collective genius on the board:
With PSA cards (not the mega-jackpot, anyone-would-pay-a-fortune-for kind), do you find a better return by low-start auction and letting them go, or by fixed price with buy-it-now? I've gone both routes over the years and still can't decide. If the card is rare, I certainly don't mind waiting for the right collector to come along and make an offer, but I also would like things to turn over at a decent pace. For instance, please take a look at my listings if you feel so inclined (BIN w/best offer) and tell me if you think someone will eventually make offers on these or if some should just go under the gavel.
As much as I'd love to have graded cards that sell for thousands upon thousands, my goals are relatively simple with my newfound love for grading. I plan to submit most of my cards that are suitable for grading via bulk subs at $6 or $7 and would like an overall average sale of $30 to $40. Again, I hope for huge ones, but I'd be thrilled with that long term. I've had the bulk of this collection for years, so it's all been bought and paid for long ago and I'm not even really considering the overall average cost of the cardboard itself right now, just the grading cost weighed against the sales price. Truth is, I'm trying to put enough savings together to put money down on a house in a year or two.
I know this is a whole lot of blah blah blah, but any discussion (even if it's as rambling as my own) would be appreciated and enjoyed.
Thanks,
Mike
This will be a wandering diatribe about my former and current hobby interests with a few questions woven in for good measure. I spend a lot of time reading the board and am really kind of impressed with the collection of knowledge on here, as well as the generosity and willingness to give opinions and advice about all things hobby related. Okay, on with the boring stuff.
My name is Mike, I'm a 42 year-old kid who'd been a collector of things for as long as I can remember. I used to be an avid football card collector until the internet made it seem a little too easy to find the white whales in the big bad world. That didn't stop me until later. I was introduced to eBay in 1997 and have been a seller on there ever since (seller ID: lingling). I've been in love with the internet since its inception, mostly because it made it possible for a dude in Juneau, Alaska to sell sports cards all over the world - and buy them as well. A lot of them. Like I said, I used to be a collector but kind of shifted into the buying and selling mode (although I still LOVE to bust boxes, cases and collections to find hidden treasure) and my once glorious collection became inventory, more or less. I also think that having to sell chunks of my collection at various times for numerous reasons (rent/food when unemployed, moving out of state, moving again to a different city, and having money to buy Christmas present a few years), it kind of killed my spirit on the collecting part.
I still buy collections when I can with the idea to make some kind of profit on the venture. I cannot explain the joy I get out of initially breaking down a collection and looking for cardboard gold. I digress.
Over the years, I've developed a real love-hate relationship with eBay. Okay, I mostly hate them for jacking up their fees for small store owners so many times that the niche I'd carved out for myself wasn't profitable any longer. I closed my store a few years back and haven't been too active on there of late, although I'm planning to begin some pretty heavy selling as soon as I get my 149-card sub back. I think that focusing on turning my cardboard hoard (closets and closets full of boxes, packed with lovely and random things) into slabs and then into cash. I've got a long way to go and slabbing is expensive, but I've got enough to keep me going for years even if I don't buy any more (which is ridiculous)... this leads me to some random questions for the collective genius on the board:
With PSA cards (not the mega-jackpot, anyone-would-pay-a-fortune-for kind), do you find a better return by low-start auction and letting them go, or by fixed price with buy-it-now? I've gone both routes over the years and still can't decide. If the card is rare, I certainly don't mind waiting for the right collector to come along and make an offer, but I also would like things to turn over at a decent pace. For instance, please take a look at my listings if you feel so inclined (BIN w/best offer) and tell me if you think someone will eventually make offers on these or if some should just go under the gavel.
As much as I'd love to have graded cards that sell for thousands upon thousands, my goals are relatively simple with my newfound love for grading. I plan to submit most of my cards that are suitable for grading via bulk subs at $6 or $7 and would like an overall average sale of $30 to $40. Again, I hope for huge ones, but I'd be thrilled with that long term. I've had the bulk of this collection for years, so it's all been bought and paid for long ago and I'm not even really considering the overall average cost of the cardboard itself right now, just the grading cost weighed against the sales price. Truth is, I'm trying to put enough savings together to put money down on a house in a year or two.
I know this is a whole lot of blah blah blah, but any discussion (even if it's as rambling as my own) would be appreciated and enjoyed.
Thanks,
Mike
0
Comments
My eBay Listings
<< <i> I love chicken teriyaki, bacon and beer. The end. >>
In that order??
<< <i>I love chicken teriyaki, bacon and beer. The end. >>
Do you love SPAM?
<< <i>
<< <i> I love chicken teriyaki, bacon and beer. The end. >>
In that order??
Oh, hell no.
My eBay Listings
My eBay Listings
Good post, both insightful and humorous
BTW, awesome-looking Millennium Falcon card. Not something I collect, but I recall back to all of the Star Wars cards I had as a kid, and it sure makes me wish I had them back!
Now I mostly collect football, and hope to concentrate on autos. I also collect coins, so you'll seem me on the coin forums here, too.
<< <i>you lost me at howdy >>
Just imagine my surprise.
My eBay Listings
Yeah, I've been building a PSA completed auction database for the past several months so I can refer to sold prices long after they drop out of eBay's viewable archive. I think that because eBay changes stuff so often, I feel somehow that there's a new better way to get stuff sold. History tells me that there is no real rhyme or reason to what sells when and for how much - so I suppose I shall just continue trying different prices and listing styles as I go.
I appreciate your comments and look forward to future jibber jabber.
My eBay Listings
<< <i>and... "I don't like SPAM" >>
I think Maurice was implying the link in your OP may/can give the impression you're spamming the main forum. I don't know your intent but if you're looking for a warm welcome, I suggest editing it out just to be on the safe side.
Otherwise, howdy!
<< <i>
<< <i>and... "I don't like SPAM" >>
I think Maurice was implying the link in your OP may/can give the impression you're spamming the main forum. I don't know your intent but if you're looking for a warm welcome, I suggest editing it out just to be on the safe side.
Otherwise, howdy! >>
Ah! How very indirect. No, it wasn't my intention to spam anyone. I've edited the link out of the OP and apologize. I'm rather new to the board and wasn't aware what might constitute spam on here. I've seen many ask what others thought their graded items might sell for and I was curious if my listings seemed out of line price-wise. Sorry everyone, newbie slip-up.
My eBay Listings