Advice on selling a bunch of cards to buy 1 big card (Added pics of what id sell)

Albertdidit

I am conflicted about making a purchase for 1 card and having to sell like 30 or 40 lower priced cards to raise the funds for it

I dont know if I will regret selling a mix of cards that I like in the $15 to $50 range to get 1 great card

I never had the following cards in any grade but have my eye on picking up one of these: (looking in ballpark of $850- $1000)

Jordan Fleer RC PSA 8

Gretzky RC O-Pee-Chee PSA 7

Jim Brown RC PSA 7

Pete Rose RC PSA 6

What do you think?

mattinglymint23

i'm trying to start my own consoldiation - i love the feeling of selling off bulk to acquire cornerstone pieces
you can always pick up the smaller items again later and have the chance to upgrade or cherry pick

do it!
get the Rose!

alifaxwa2

make the right choice of which big card to buy and you will be fine. I have done alot of consolidating like this lately. It was pleasing to have rarer, nicer stuff, than 30-40 items that are easier to find on any given day.

MilehighHOF

That is basically what I've been doing over the past couple of years. I used to have about 250 cards in my collection (excluding the boxes of 80s junk in the basement) and I now have about 60 cards. I sold lower graded stuff of lesser known HOFers and purchased nicer stuff of the more well known HOFers (Aaron, Mantle, Clemente, etc.). I enjoy my collection a lot more now than I did before.

mattyc_collection

I do it about once a year. My collection swells up with picks that I love, then a big target is acquired, then I sell a bunch of cards to add the big one, then I go back to adding pretty smaller cards...rinse & repeat, LOL.

Davis

I love the big card choices. I ended up acquiring 3 of the 4 you listed...but conceded about 1 grade below what you have listed. No Pete Rose yet for me...

Guru

I do this at the end of every year. I set up at a show in December and push out whatever I can there. The rest goes on Ebay. By the time January comes around I've always got enough to buy the stuff I want and some left over to buy inventory for the next year.

CenteredMantles

Do it. I am boxing up a bunch of $50-100 cards to help pay off the 52 Topps Mantle I just bought. The lower end cards sit in a box while the Mantle has slept in bed with me for the past 4 nights. My girlfriend is starting to suspect something is going on but I couldn't be happier.

cardcountry

Do it! It's easier to come up with $50 than it is $500. You can replace the less expensive ones more easily.

Jeff

mrmint23

Rose...6.5-7...focus on centering

itzagoner

<< <i>I do it about once a year. My collection swells up with picks that I love, then a big target is acquired, then I sell a bunch of cards to add the big one, then I go back to adding pretty smaller cards...rinse & repeat, LOL. >>



yeah. kinda like that. i think of it as binge - purge - regret - replenish......though lately nothing else seems to be following up after binge.

Albertdidit

Thanks for feedback. I was able to cut it down to 25 cards (the marino auto card is rare and 67 aaron are both over $100 so that helped out)
Im figuring around $800 for these after ebay fees - close enough to get a nicely centered Rose 6(which id prob pick of the 4 I mentioned)

The cards that would pain me the most is the Fouts RC and Murray RC really nice centering on those

So now that you see a visual of what id have to give up to get the Rose - do you all still say to do it?

Dnice

I have done this plenty of times. Sell multiple items from my collection to afford 1 higher quality card. Cards like the Upperdeck Griffey are a dime a dozen so you'll always see this around. I don't see anything too rare within that lot so I say go for it.

WillBBC

<< <i>i'm trying to start my own consoldiation - i love the feeling of selling off bulk to acquire cornerstone pieces
you can always pick up the smaller items again later and have the chance to upgrade or cherry pick

do it!
get the Rose! >>

flcardtrader

<< <i>Do it. I am boxing up a bunch of $50-100 cards to help pay off the 52 Topps Mantle I just bought. The lower end cards sit in a box while the Mantle has slept in bed with me for the past 4 nights. My girlfriend is starting to suspect something is going on but I couldn't be happier. >>



Thanks for the best line of the day....I really needed this chuckle.

As for the OP'er.....I wish I could part with the stuff I have accumulated over the years to add precision to my collection. I am to much of a set builder to part with much of it. The good news is, I am still gainfully employed and just need to re-focus my future purchases to include only the bigger tickets within our hobby.

Easier said than done though as I can always find something of interest in the BST board.

ClockworkAngel

<< <i>Do it! It's easier to come up with $50 than it is $500. You can replace the less expensive ones more easily.

Jeff >>



Agreed. Quality over quantity....

psychump

I would re-think the Rose rookie. I have a one and it is a underwhelming floating head shared with 3 other rookies. Very overrated in my opinion. I would be very excited with any of the other 3.

flcardtrader

The opposing view would say....keep those biggies, save $100 per month, and go after the really BIG hits after doing some strict budgeting. Believe it or not, that's how I managed to stop smoking cigarettes.

I was a long time smoker and got tired of saying, "I cannot afford this or that".

Come to find out, I spent a bunch of $$ every day on cigarettes, coffee, and other things to "fuel" my day.

Not anymore - now I buy unopened from members on this board

Albertdidit

<< <i>I would re-think the Rose rookie. I have a one and it is a underwhelming floating head shared with 3 other rookies. Very overrated in my opinion. I would be very excited with any of the other 3. >>



It does bother me somewhat but I was a Rose fan growing up. If i had to knock 1 off the list would be Gretzky since im not as big a big hockey fan

Albertdidit

<< <i>The opposing view would say....keep those biggies, save $100 per month, and go after the really BIG hits after doing some strict budgeting >>



Its a good idea but I was also thinking of taking it 1 step further and getting 2 cards on that list and selling another 25 cards. That would really be depleting my collection and would be 2 cards as opposed to 50. Ouch. But i still think of maybe doing it

KendallCat

<< <i>I am conflicted about making a purchase for 1 card and having to sell like 30 or 40 lower priced cards to raise the funds for it

I dont know if I will regret selling a mix of cards that I like in the $15 to $50 range to get 1 great card

I never had the following cards in any grade but have my eye on picking up one of these: (looking in ballpark of $850- $1000)

Jordan Fleer RC PSA 8

Gretzky RC O-Pee-Chee PSA 7

Jim Brown RC PSA 7

Pete Rose RC PSA 6

What do you think? >>



Interesting topic and it boils down to what YOU really enjoy and not the masses. If someone came up to you and put the Jordan rookie on one side and the other cards you currently have on another and said "for $900 you get to choose one or the other" what side would you take?
With finite funds you have to make tough decisions, and every 6 months or so I will make a list of my top 5-10 cards to acquire and what they will cost me. I rank them in terms of priority to my list, and I try to be flexible. If card # 3 comes up and it is really strong I will get it, but I make sure to leave enough saved in case #1 shows up. As Murphy's law would have it once you spend money on a card or cards inevitably your key one pops up

When I was heavy into buying and going to the National every year for my big purchases( long before Ebay was big and card shops still existed) I would save up a certain amount and go after 3-5 big cards or 1-2 huge cards on my list. I would buy say a '54 and 55' Williams in PSA 8 plus a few smaller cards like a 56 Robinson and 65 Clemente. If say a '53 Mantle in PSA came up I would change my plan. The main thing was to have a plan, have some options off of it if necessary, be patient, and have the discipline to stick to it. One thing collectors do that harms themselves is they like to buy stuff all the time, and when their dream card comes up they don't have the funds left/sell a bunch of things at 70-80 cents on the dollar to pay for it.

The keys are:

*Have a plan for what you want and what YOU like.
* Collect the best examples you can find even if it means spending a hair more than you want to at the time.
* Buy the card and not the grade.
* Stick to your plan and be disciplined.
* Help others along the way - it creates more fun for everyone and brings new people into your life.
* remember it is a hobby and have fun with it.

halosfan

I'd take the Fouts and Marino here

Ndoggy88

<< <i>I am conflicted about making a purchase for 1 card and having to sell like 30 or 40 lower priced cards to raise the funds for it

I dont know if I will regret selling a mix of cards that I like in the $15 to $50 range to get 1 great card

I never had the following cards in any grade but have my eye on picking up one of these: (looking in ballpark of $850- $1000)

Jordan Fleer RC PSA 8

Gretzky RC O-Pee-Chee PSA 7

Jim Brown RC PSA 7

Pete Rose RC PSA 6

What do you think? >>



Get a Jordan fleer rookie Psa 8 you'll be happy you did!

Ndoggy88

Quality over quantity.
Buy the best and rarest you can afford.

swish54

I'm in the process of doing this as well. I used to never sell anything, but recently changed my ways of thinking a little. My thought now is would I rather have 20 $5 cards that just sit in a box that I could care less about or 1 $100 card that I really like. I've been doing this for about 6 months (I'm in no hurry) and picking and choosing which cards I list to try and maximize my profits. For example, was randomly looking through a box and came across a middle relievers auto that I didn't know I had. Figured if I didn't even know I had it, what good does it do me. Waited until that team made the playoffs and listed it, got like $12 or so for it when it normally wouldn't sell for $2.

Albertdidit

Thanks again for all the feedback. Im going to take my time think it over and well see maybe by X-mas i will have sold all this and have added a great card to my collection

Jakt

I've always been a fan of selling off the bottom half of a collection and improving the top half. My advice would be to get as many Fleer Jordan Rookies in high grade as you can.

Ndoggy88

<< <i>I am conflicted about making a purchase for 1 card and having to sell like 30 or 40 lower priced cards to raise the funds for it

I dont know if I will regret selling a mix of cards that I like in the $15 to $50 range to get 1 great card

I never had the following cards in any grade but have my eye on picking up one of these: (looking in ballpark of $850- $1000)

Jordan Fleer RC PSA 8

Gretzky RC O-Pee-Chee PSA 7

Jim Brown RC PSA 7

Pete Rose RC PSA 6

What do you think? >>



The fact that you are asking if you should sell your cards for one mediocre card means that you probably want to.
In the end you should decide what you want do as you don't need strangers to tell you what to do.

Albertdidit

I know probably anything less than a BGS 10 Jordan is mediocre

Scottiec2288

This is a really good idea. The problem is trying to get good value on the cards you have. You have some really nice cards I hope it works out for you. Good luck

Ndoggy88

<< <i>I know probably anything less than a BGS 10 Jordan is mediocre >>


A Hank Aaron Psa 10 rookie is acceptable too

jasoneggert

I just did tho recently. Sold about 4 Jackie Robinson cards (all vintage duplicates) and few other cards to fund a 1952 Robinson PSA 5.

So happy I did it.

-Jason

KendallCat

I have some nice high end 60's and 70's HOF cards in PSA 8+ as well as some Williams, Clemente, and Aaron's in PSA 5-7 from the mid 50's that are nicely centered that I am going to move in the spring to add to the funds for a run at a Ruth, a Gehrig, and a couple of Mantles from 56-58 in PSA 8-8.5. As long as I keep finding nicely centered cards that I can make a profit on if I don't keep them I should hopefully do ok with my pickups to move up.

Albertdidit

Sound like a bunch of great cards you have KendallCat

Ndoggy88

<< <i>I am conflicted about making a purchase for 1 card and having to sell like 30 or 40 lower priced cards to raise the funds for it

I dont know if I will regret selling a mix of cards that I like in the $15 to $50 range to get 1 great card

I never had the following cards in any grade but have my eye on picking up one of these: (looking in ballpark of $850- $1000)

Jordan Fleer RC PSA 8

Gretzky RC O-Pee-Chee PSA 7

Jim Brown RC PSA 7

Pete Rose RC PSA 6

What do you think? >>



How's your search for one of these top cards in the hobby going?

KendallCat

<< <i>Sound like a bunch of great cards you have KendallCat >>



Thank you for the note, and trying to build the collection back up again - sold pretty much everything back in the early 2000's. In looking at recent sales of the '53 Mantle in PSA 8 at over $20k and Aaron rookie at over $15k in an 8 kind of wish I had held on to those cards about now

Of course like all of us there are different eras and times in our life where our obligations and priorities are different, and now I enjoy it because I am using what little knowledge I have left to help my youngest son build his collection up. Good thing about kids is they try to emulate their parents, and he only collects stuff from the 50's-70's like his pops!