Thinking about selling complete 1971 topps psa graded set

RoseInTheHall · December 29, 2014 2:22AM

Guys (FYI double post on PSA set registry forum)

I have the 34th best 1971 Topps baseball psa registered set (JMacs 1971 baseball) ... It is psa 7 or better (7.03 set rating). Every star is in 7 and no stars in 8.

Wanting to sell and re-invest the money into something that takes up much less space.

Can the experts please give thoughts to the best way to sell this? Also asking the experts to maybe estimate a price range this might be worth.

I always go back to Memory Lane or another auction house but wonder if that's the most economical way to sell.

Thoughts please and a Happy New Year to the board ...

Thanks, as always

Rick

PSASAP · December 29, 2014 3:33AM

You would probably realize a bigger gain by breaking the set up. You can negotiate a favorable rate with PWCC or Probstein, or maybe even Greg Morris, who sells mostly raw, but probably will sell graded singles.

gemint · December 29, 2014 3:52AM

VCP avarage is about $9k for a complete, all PSA 7 set. You might try offering it on the forums here at maybe a 5-10% discount off VCP. If you consign it to an AH, they'll probably want to either sell it as a complete set or group together the commons into a handful of large lots since they are small dollar items individually and then list the stars and lower pop commons separately. Probstein would probably be your best bet if you truly want to sell them individually. Keep in mind though that you'll probably be hit for 15% or more in consignment fees for the sub $10 cards.

Good luck!

dennis07 · December 29, 2014 5:13AM

Not that gemint needs to be checked behind but I ran the numbers as well mostly out of curiosity and he is spot on with his 9K number.
That number is surprising to me as the 1970 set in all 7's comes in around $4,800. I'm guessing the black borders are to "blame".
Anyway if I had a spare 9K lying around I'd be all over it. Good luck.

gemint · December 29, 2014 6:25AM

<< <i>Not that gemint needs to be checked behind but I ran the numbers as well mostly out of curiosity and he is spot on with his 9K number.
That number is surprising to me as the 1970 set in all 7's comes in around $4,800. I'm guessing the black borders are to "blame".
Anyway if I had a spare 9K lying around I'd be all over it. Good luck. >>

It's definitely due to the black borders. 1970s have colored borders but chipping isn't as obvious on them as '71s, so it takes a lot more damage to knock a 1970 card below a 7 than it does for a 1971. On '71s, the edge and corner damage is just contrasted so much more than with the gray 1970 borders. I think it's also a case of 1971 PSA 8s being much more expensive. I didn't check it but I think a PSA 8 set will run somewhere around $30k to complete while a PSA 8 1970 set is only around $12k. So I think a lot of collectors who would normally insist on 8s or better settle for 7s when it comes to 1971s due to the cost differential. That drives up demand for 1971 PSA 7s compared to other years where 8s can be had for marginally higher prices.

70ToppsFanatic · December 29, 2014 6:36AM

In terms of the years that are most susceptible to corner/border/edge damage there is no doubt that
1971 is the king. However 1970 is not all that far behind. The gray-borders are not much less forgiving
than the 1971s. I also consider 1963 and 1962 in this "elite" group of easy to damage, with 1968 also
getting an honorable mention.

seebelow · December 29, 2014 6:43AM

Gemint is 100% correct about how ah's will break it etc. I've discussed breaking some high psa vintage sets ('low six figure sets as a whole) and is what I was told.
Sure there will be cherry picking but they do try to maximize the low dollar commons.

esquiresports · December 29, 2014 8:39AM

At the PSA 7 level, I would consign this set with an AH you are comfortable with and ask for 0% commission sell-side (personally, I like REA and Heritage). This is in part because I think it is nice to be able to keep a nice set intact for someone to enjoy.

RoseInTheHall · December 29, 2014 8:59AM

I really appreciate the comments guys ... I actually thought the value would be a bit higher but probably some emotion built in there somewhere

I have never consigned before either with an AH or eBay member and would be nervous on such a large item in my collection but I think it would be fun to try ...

For those experienced AH users, what charges do they levy on seller? I have bought from AHs before and had to suck up a chunk in buyer fee %s but wonder how it works for sellers ...

Also, does the AH have the ability to market a full set in pieces or does the seller dictate how he/she wants it to be sold?

(gemint says ... If you consign it to an AH, they'll probably want to either sell it as a complete set or group together the commons into a handful of large lots since they are small dollar items individually and then list the stars and lower pop commons separatelyText}

53BKid · December 29, 2014 1:54PM

<< <i>In terms of the years that are most susceptible to corner/border/edge damage there is no doubt that
1971 is the king. However 1970 is not all that far behind. The gray-borders are not much less forgiving
than the 1971s. I also consider 1963 and 1962 in this "elite" group of easy to damage, with 1968 also
getting an honorable mention. >>

And '53 Topps would fit in where in your assessment?

70ToppsFanatic · December 29, 2014 8:30PM

<< <i>

<< <i>In terms of the years that are most susceptible to corner/border/edge damage there is no doubt that
1971 is the king. However 1970 is not all that far behind. The gray-borders are not much less forgiving
than the 1971s. I also consider 1963 and 1962 in this "elite" group of easy to damage, with 1968 also
getting an honorable mention. >>

And '53 Topps would fit in where in your assessment? >>

The "name square" of the 53T issue is probably the part you are think of with this. I did not include this issue
in my list (nor the 1954 Topps issue with the colored top edge). These issues are also more susceptible to
corner wear and edge damage than full white-bordered cards but I left them off my list because the number
of potential areas that are at risk is smaller for these issues (1953 - Only 1 corner and parts of 2 edges, 1954 -
Only the top edge along it's colored portion).

When I compared that to the other years (1971, 1970, 1968 and 1962 - All edges and all corners and 1963 - All or
part of 3 edges and 2 corners) I felt it was less of an issue.

However, both 1953 and 1954 Topps issues would face a greater potential of damage versus the full white-bordered
issue years.

RoseInTheHall · June 21, 2017 10:31AM

(Double Post also on set registry forum)
Guys
Circling back to this older post and have FINALLY made the decision to sell the full set on Memory Lane's Summer Auction. Shipped it out last week.
I thought long and hard about breaking up and selling individually but thinking this is my best bet
Wish me luck and, as always, thanks for the great feedback from a well educated forum

brad31 · June 21, 2017 10:38AM

1955 Bowman is up there too on border chipping. For baseball I rank it '71 Topps, '55 Bowman then '62 Topps.

dennis07 · June 21, 2017 2:16PM

Best of luck

psychump · June 21, 2017 3:41PM

"Shipped it out last week."
Could you let us know how and how much it cost to ship out a graded set of that magnitude? I am thinking of doing the same but it seems too nerve-wracking to deal with. I would have them come and get it! Thanks, Jim