Opinions requested-How to sell off a High Dollar collection?

BigDaddyBowman · July 17, 2009 1:45PM

As several of you know, I have a pretty nice collection of graded vintage football...pretty much all of the key cards(missing a few) from 1935-1959 and some of the key 60's and 70's as well. All are either PSA or SGC graded...most in the 7-8 range. A rough estimate of SMR value would be over $50,000.

My wife and I are contemplating taking advantage of the depressed real estate market in the Cleveland area and "buying up." If we put our house up for sale soon, we might be able to catch a first time buyer who can use the $8,000 federal tax credit and buy our home....which is a typical (about 1900 SF) home. We would be looking to buy a much larger home to better fit my family of 5...which in this market is much more difficult to sell...and we might be able to buy for a "great deal."

Anyways back to cards.....selling my card collection would really make for a nice down payment on a home So I am considering it. Beleive it or not, my wife really does not want me to do this....she knows how passionate I am about it...but I am more of a realist and I realize how much....lets say 25 or 30 grand would make a difference for us..especially when you consider the savings on a 30 year mortgage.

Have any of you sold off an extensive collection? Any remorse afterwards? How did you sell it off? piece by piece or as lots or as an entire collection? I want to avoid fees as much as possible so I would prefer to stay away from ebay..but it might be a necessary evil. I really don't want to deal with an auction house. I have thought about taking the collection to the national which is 10 minutes from my house and trying to sell it there...but I doubt dealers will give me the price I want for it. What do you guys think? Suggestions, reccomendations?? This would be like selling off a child for me LOL I know that I will have many feelings of regret...but at the same time..if it is the "right" thing to do for my family, then it would be worth it.

SidePocket · July 17, 2009 1:51PM

You can always replace your collection but I don't know if you'll ever see a better combination of low housing prices and low rates. Good luck!!!

bbcemporium · July 17, 2009 1:52PM

Piece it off on eBay. In my opinion, that is how you'll get the max value for it. Try to do it in one or two big auctions and you will attract a lot of attention and get customers buying multiple pieces.

Cldroescher · July 17, 2009 1:53PM

Set up your own section in the selling forum and list your top 100 or so items.
Either have a price set or ask them to send you offers via PM.
Then take paypal and it's done.
Just my suggestion...

storm888 · July 17, 2009 2:05PM

I might do some test-marketing on the BST board.

Then, I would use EBAY.

Using BINs, I would price the stuff at "reasonable" numbers.

Using auctions, I would start the bids near the final price that
would be acceptable to me.

..............

While RE prices are in the toilet, so are MANY collectible
prices.

By mid-2010, govt incentives are VERY likely to be
MUCH more generous for ALL classes of homebuyers.

My current sense of the situation is that is a MUCH
better time to sell cards than it is to buy MOST RE.

jeffcbay · July 17, 2009 2:12PM

<< Set up your own section in the selling forum and list your top 100 or so items.
Either have a price set or ask them to send you offers via PM.
Then take paypal and it's done.
Just my suggestion... >>

That is actually a great idea. Talk about avoiding seller's fees!

I hate to see you sell your collection, but I guess priorities are priorities. When I got laid off last spring, I wanted to sell my Ripken collection because I was worried about the mortgage. My wife talked me out of it, and I'm VERY glad she did.

Unfortunately, selling your home here in Ohio is going to be almost impossible, even with the tax credit for first-time home buyers. I know how bad the housing market is down here in the Canton/Massillon area, and I imagine the Cleveland area is even worse right now. The entire price of your card collection may be the same (or lower) than the difference in what you could sell your house for if you waited a year or two. In my opinion, this is only a buyer's market for people who don't already own a home, or investors who have the extra cash to buy low now, and sell high later.

Either way, good luck!

EB22 · July 17, 2009 2:22PM

I would list it on ebay, using the fixed price listing and put a high price with the best offer option. Good luck!

PoppaJ · July 17, 2009 2:33PM

Hi Ryan,

Just looking at your amazing collection and how proudly you have it displayed, tells me that selling it would somehow come back later to haunt you.

With interest rates as low as they are, and real estate selling below par, I'd try to find a way to buy your new home with the least damage to your collection, if any at all.

I have a friend that parted with his massive graded silver dollar coin collection, a few years back, and every time we get together, he's always talking about how much he wished he had kept it.

Of course, if there's no other option .... then, whatever you and your wife agree to should be the way to go.

Cldroescher's suggestion sounds great should you decide to sell.

I'm sure you'll receive a few other good ideas from the group.

I've thought about selling off my Mantle collection many, many times, but my sons keep reminding me of how much I love it and how much it means to me and them.

I really hope everything works out for you and that somehow you find a happy medium with no regrets.

Good luck,
PoppaJ

jzimmerman85 · July 17, 2009 2:34PM

the depression is going to last through 2015, no need to hurry

Boopotts · July 17, 2009 2:45PM

<< the depression is going to last through 2015, no need to hurry >>

This is my feeling too. As the old saying goes, 'don't try to catch a falling knife'. Real estate prices aren't going to shoot up to the moon anytime in the near future, so wait until they at least stabilize before you buy. This is particularly true for you, since you (like I) live at ground zero (i.e., the Rust Belt) of this miserable economic contraction.

It might 'seem' like real estate prices can't get any lower, but who knows? Price here in S.E. Michigan have literally reverted to about 1990 levels, and that's in NOMINAL dollars. I wouldn't have thought that was possible three years ago, but here we are. If you get sell of your collection, get into a nice place for $120K, and see all your equity evaporate in the next 18 months then you'll REALLY be kicking yourself for moving your collectibles.

storm888 · July 17, 2009 2:47PM

<< the depression is going to last through 2015, no need to hurry >>

................

Yup.

BOTH cards and houses will likely fall much further out of favor
between now and then. If so, selling MANY cards is a better
play than buying ANY houses.

..........

I would NOT sell key slabbed-cards that are in nice condition,
unless I needed money for living expenses.

Housing starts were up a bit today, AND the inventory of
foreclosures is not likely anywhere near what it will be in
2011.

Maybe the govt can buy all of the houses from the banks
and give everybody a "free" house.

Everything is not OK.

Boopotts · July 17, 2009 2:54PM

"I would NOT sell key slabbed-cards that are in nice condition,
unless I needed money for living expenses.

Housing starts were up a bit today, AND the inventory of
foreclosures is not likely anywhere near what it will be in
2011."

Not trying to hijack, but looking at today-- or this week, or this month-- isn't, I don't think, very helpful. There will be all kinds of surface noise from day to day, but the long term trend for housing is still very bleak as homeowners continue to deleverage. At the very least, I'm sure we can agree that there's no rush to get into a house right now.

Also, I would feel comfortable holding on to high dollar cards that were slabbed by companies that are publicly traded. I would be much more leery of holding slabs from companies that are privately owned, particularly if the economy continues to sour.

storm888 · July 17, 2009 3:24PM

"...but the long term trend for housing is still very bleak as homeowners continue to deleverage...."

///////////

Yup.

As of June 2009, the banks have written off - or made provisions
to write off - an amount equal to about 6% of the unsecured
consumer debt that was on their books in the summer of 2007.

UNLESS those consumers were ONLY "over-leveraged" at 6%, there
is a BUNCH more to be "deleveraged."

We prolly ain't seen nothing, yet. That's why there is no hurry to
buy a better house, if you already have one that works.

CASH rocks - and will for some time - no matter what the Gold Bugs,
stock pumpers, and TV cheerleaders say.

Boopotts · July 17, 2009 3:35PM

<< "...but the long term trend for housing is still very bleak as homeowners continue to deleverage...."

///////////

Yup.

As of June 2009, the banks have written off - or made provisions
to write off - an amount equal to about 6% of the unsecured
consumer debt that was on their books in the summer of 2007.

UNLESS those consumers were ONLY "over-leveraged" at 6%, there
is a BUNCH more to be "deleveraged."

We prolly ain't seen nothing, yet. That's why there is no hurry to
buy a better house, if you already have one that works.

CASH rocks - and will for some time - no matter what the Gold Bugs,
stock pumpers, and TV cheerleaders say. >>

Awesome post, I couldn't agree more. Particularly about being bullish on gold.

cardbender · July 17, 2009 3:40PM

If you have a few months to move your cards, I would try setting up an ebay store with reasonable but not giveaway prices. The auction route can be brutal at times these days. The BIN prices have worked great for me over the past couple of years and you get your price. Since you know the market you collect, half the battle is over as you know what the cards typically sell for in their respective grades.

You'll have fee's to contend with, but you can easily factor those into your price structure. Plus, I'm sure you will get plenty of offers that you can possibly take off line to avoid some fees too.

Since most of your collection is high grade vintage football cards, most of those buyers are knowledgeable and know what the key cards really sell for. Maybe only auction the very rare or low pop cards. The rest use BIN's.

A few years ago I needed some money for a fairly large deal, so I worked out a deal my buddy who was a fellow collector and sold him a good chunk of my Baseball card collection. It was all cash, no fee's. I then used that money to partially fund another deal that has paid me off big time over the years.

I sold off the cards at the following rates :

100% SMR for 1950's
90% for the 1960's
80% for the 1970's cards.
These were all PSA 8's and 9's. Mostly of key HOF'ers
and a few rookies. Many of the cards were purchased raw
by me in the early 1990's, so I was into them for the right number too.

I was a very picky collector and my buddy was able to get
quite a few cards bumped from 8's to 9's, so in the end the
deal was a winner for me and him. This was five years ago, before
half point grading, before VCP, etc...

Good luck with what you decide to do.

MBMiller25 · July 17, 2009 10:54PM

Ryan, I agree with Storm, I would start with the BST boards, and then move over to the Bay. BTW, PM Sent.

edmundfitzgerald · July 17, 2009 11:07PM

I once sold off about 25,000 worth of nice stuff for something similar. Found it to be very rewarding because I was
doing something for the family. I would recommend keeping your most prized possessions, let's say about 10% of your
collection. So instead of selling the whole thing (50,000), sell 40,000 instead. This will probably put your mind at peace
because your mind will be attacked if you go all in either in selling or not selling.

BigDaddyBowman · July 19, 2009 1:46AM

Thanks guys...I really appreciate the suggestions. I have alot of thinking to do about this. My concern in selling on here or ebay is that the great cards are cherry picked and easily sold and I am left with alot of less popular cards to try to unload.

My wife and I decided to wait until next spring to try to sell(and buy) , which gives us enough time to really prep our house for sale, and will allow us time to save some cash for the down payment.

I am going to begin by selling of things in my collection that are less important to me, and see how the sales go.

thanks guys.

Stone193 · July 19, 2009 2:56AM

Good luck Ryan.

I've always said I would part with some high dollar cards if I needed the cash - but with respect to my state of mind and my collection?

It might be easier to sell a kidney.

mike

PowderedH2O · July 19, 2009 4:25AM

I guess I am in the minority here. I sold off my entire collection twenty years ago with the intention of replacing it in a year or two when things were better for my family financially. Well, the market changed for cards and the things I sold went up dramatically and I've never been able to replace them. I sold a 1952 Topps Mays that would probably fetch a PSA 7 for $150. Ain't getting that one replaced. Ever. A 52 Bowman set which would probably grade 4-5 I sold for $300. Yep. Never getting those again. Anyway, if you MUST sell things, sell stuff you can replace without a lot of trouble.

Sam

Cardman222001 · July 19, 2009 4:49AM

I would say that listing on ebay for 30 day duration with best offers accepted gives you some flexibility and less stress on final price since you control it.

cardbender · July 19, 2009 9:37AM

Ryan, another thing you might want to do is sell the worst cards first (not that you have any dogs in your collection), but like you said about getting stuck with the slow movers.

Try moving those cards first, see how that goes and then you can always sell off your better cards when the time is right.

I've always went by the adage, sell the worst first. If you have doubles on some cards, sell off the lower grade or weaker card first. Also sell off the newer cards first, like the 1970's first, then work your way back to the 1960's cards and so on. I would always keep the oldest for last.

Like Poweredh20 said, many times you may not be able to buy back in at a good number if you wanted to start your collection over. So selling off the cards that mean less to you or might be the less desirable cards first, might be the way to go.

Good luck!

BigDaddyBowman · July 19, 2009 3:25PM

The liquidation has begun...
Just listed a bunch of 60's and 70's HOFers and HOF RC's in the buy-sell-forum

thanks to everyone who gave me advice.

CDsNuts · July 19, 2009 3:34PM

I like going against conventional wisdom- I'm actually going to sell my house and buy more cards. The key to making money is to zig when they think you're going to zag.

jeffcbay · July 19, 2009 3:58PM

<< I like going against conventional wisdom- I'm actually going to sell my house and buy more cards. The key to making money is to zig when they think you're going to zag. >>

YES!!

JackWESQ · July 19, 2009 4:08PM

<< I'm actually going to sell my house and buy more cards. >>

That's not quite fair. Even with no house, you still have a nice restaurant to shack up in and store your cards.

/s/ JackWESQ

CDsNuts · July 19, 2009 4:22PM

That's not quite fair. Even with no house, you still have a nice restaurant to shack up in and store your cards.

I like where you're going with this. I could even have my customers bust junk wax looking for PSA 10s while they're waiting on their food. Sure my wife and kid have to live in a broom closet, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

Allen · July 19, 2009 7:00PM

+1 for a 2:22 AM Lee comment.

flatfoot816 · July 19, 2009 8:51PM

what's your user ID...

linky to auction?

djspann · July 19, 2009 11:57PM

Good luck, Ryan, you have a great collection!

Doug

Morgoth · July 20, 2009 12:39AM

I was considering moving to San Francisco recently. I couldn't for the life of me find a reason to buy over renting when looking at their housing market. Even living in Indiana with how the values have fallen. I can rent, put the money I save versus a mortgage in the bank, and in 5 years be able to put 20K down on a house when things stabilize.

I don't know if owning a home is all it's cracked up to be anymore, especially when I am likely to move every 10 to 15 years.

As far as selling goes, I wouldn't rush anything. I would also contact some of the folks on the registries that need your cards. You might be able to sell some to collectors directly. Also, go to card shows like the National. It is a good way to directly sell w/o any fees.

BigDaddyBowman · July 20, 2009 12:53AM

<< Good luck, Ryan, you have a great collection!

Doug >>

thanks Doug...as of now I will probably keep the higher grade key cards that will be tough to replace down the line..so hopefully I will still have a collection..just a little smaller at the end.

metrotheme · July 20, 2009 5:49AM

Are kids / collectors that are growing up now going to have the same interest in the vintage players as middle-aged collectors now that still want this stuff? Think about the new collectors and their value on history in general, not just sports. That should answer your question about when to sell.

BigDaddyBowman · July 22, 2009 7:41AM

SPAM...J

just added a bunch of 50's Hall of Famers and HOF Rookies to the sell list

check out buy-sell board if interested

Thanks to everyone who has purchased from me already and helped me inch towards my goal.

Opinions requested-How to sell off a High Dollar collection?

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