First Large-Scale Card Purchase ... Advice Desired.

PasadenaMudSlide

Greetings. A local guy closed two (2) card shops in early-2000s. His inventory fills most of his basement and a rented storage unit. Has a vast array of stuff: T206s (about 30), '50s Bowmans, Venezuelas, vintage OPCs, Deckle, Tattoos, coins, tall boys, unopened, Sunoco stamp books, along with just a load of Topps from '52 on, etc. '64 baseball went straight from packs to top-loaders. While sharing his collection, he continued to produce inventory that even seemed to surprise him. Of course, with this deal comes the mass-produced 80s wax and a ton of other stuff that will be difficult to move. He has thrown out a figure that I believe to be reasonable for the entire haul. I will, of course, need to find an area to store this monstrosity and will need many hours to simply cull through everything. Question: do I try to talk down the asking price given my concerns? I can certainly cover the cost, but am not sure I want to accept such a huge undertaking. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

LarkinCollector

I've never needed to rent storage, so haven't factored that in, but I usually try to buy large collections at around 30% of retail to hopefully double up after shipping/eBay or AH fees to at least get paid for my time. For the 80s junk, I would try to bundle it all up and sell in one lot on Craigslist or similar for a couple hundred bucks and avoid fees for a storage unit.

JoeBanzai

It boils down to your time. How much you have and what you think it's worth.

Not enough information here to give any detailed advice. If you have the time to go through it all, and think you can make a profit, negotiate the best price you can and roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Let us know what you have when you figure it out. I would be interested in Venezuelans if they are PSA 5ish or better.

Good luck!

jfkheat

With the amount of work it will take to go through and sell that much, if you can't at least double your money, it is probably not worth messing with. I would want to see how the stuff is stored before making any decisions. If it has been sitting in a non climate controlled basement and rental space there may be a lot of damaged cards.
james

ndleo

1980s junk wax sells well on ebay at less than $10 box. I would sell them as a lot and use UPS to save on s&h.

PasadenaMudSlide

thehallmark

I've done this before on a slightly smaller scale but with the same basic breakdown of inventory. While I am perfectly content having done it once for the experience, I would never do it again because of all the time it takes to really do a great job of maximizing the results.

Break it all the way down to a likely range of expected $ per hour profit and then weigh that number against the other things you could be doing with that same amount of time. Depending on what else you've got going on in your life, it may not really be worthwhile.

All that said, there's really no feeling in this world quite like putting some music on and sifting through a mountain of cards for hours at a time.

Smittys

if the price is reasonable go for it. Life is short and it's not all about money. The fun and thrill factor plays in too.
Just put yourself in his shoes and treat him fair as you want or yours want to be treated.
I get i paid to much all the time yet I make a nice profit, but I don't need to double or triple my money.
Good luck and POST PICTURES when you get it.

bobsbbcards

<< <i>I would be interested in Venezuelans if they are PSA 5ish or better.

Good luck! >>



Dibs on all Venezuelans in PSA 4.5 or less.

VintagemanEd

I bought a collection in about 1992 of all 80's stuff. Filled the bed of a pickup
And the back seat of the extended cab. I will always remember
The fun I had..... Paid $1,000 for all and worth every penny.
It took 6 months to go through nice and slow! Loved it

PowderedH2O

What Smittys said. It ain't all about the money.

PasadenaMudSlide

timpatg

I would pay just to help look through all that

zep33

WOW!!

Did you buy it?

jackstraw

Looks like a lot of fun to go through all that.

PasadenaMudSlide

The other half of the storage unit.

Yes, I pulled the trigger.

1976ToppsCollector

<< <i>

Yes, I pulled the trigger. >>



you shot him?

Meatloaf

<< <i>It boils down to your time. How much you have and what you think it's worth.! >>



+1

I did this before...made out on $$$ side, but time costs made it a challenge on my family.

If you do not have the time, then don't do it, regardless of projected return.

Bosox1976

Love it!!!

Please keep us posted.

Don't be afraid to donate to non-profits for legitimate tax writeoffs - this old thread has a little insight. It is a solid way to get a good return on your time - while helping a non-profit out at the same time. It is not cash in hand, but is nice come April - unless you are in the AMT zone.

sdsalezman

You should load up the junk wax on a barge and dump it in the Atlantic :-)

Good luck with the vintage.

SultanOfSwat

<< <i>You should load up the junk wax on a barge and dump it in the Atlantic :-)

Good luck with the vintage. >>



Wait! Where have I heard that one before? Hmmm........

dtkk49a

I would love to see multiple YouTube videos showing you sorting through it all . Just like on Storage Wars on TV. Collectors would be riveted. Please do that for us.

PasadenaMudSlide

Back of unit ...

RookieWax

any pics of the loads of junk wax you mentioned?

PasadenaMudSlide

PasadenaMudSlide

PasadenaMudSlide

PasadenaMudSlide

lahmejoon

More more!

shagrotn77

<< <i><<

Yes, I pulled the trigger. >>



you shot him? >>



You, my friend, get a cookie. That was funny!

PasadenaMudSlide

halosfan

Looks like fun!!

Bill82

<< <i>Looks like fun!! >>



Yes it does,good luck.

PasadenaMudSlide