Selling t206 collection question

[kllrbee]

Hey all,
I may or may not be going into a little financial trouble. I wont get into specifics, but may be out of work for some time.
So....with that said, I might consider selling my collection of T206's.
Id like to let the mods know that this is not a "for sale ad". I know that if i would like to sell, I need to post in the BST.

That is where my question come in. My collection consists of 450 out of the 520 I was going for (Demmitt/Ohara included). I am missing about 5-6 Hof's, about 20 SL's, with the rest being various commons (still need most, but not all of the toughies). All the cards are graded. Mostly by SGC, but some Psa as well, and maybe 3-4 BVG. Grades are all over the place with everything from authentic and poor to EX. Most are G-VG though. Couple tougher backs as well, but nothing serious (like a Uzit or Drum).

So....for those of you who have been doing this for years and are in the know, what is the best way of selling these?
As a complete lot? Broken into lots by grades? Broken into smaller lots? Individually?
Also Ive never dealt with auction houses and dont know how they "work", but would that be a good option? Ebay? Here on BST?

Fwiw, I had a number of dupes about 6 months ago that I sold on here and Ebay. I ended up having to sell them induvidually and, to be honest, I hated it....LOL. I do not like selling, packaging, running to the PO, etc....
Its just not my thing, selling is not for me. I felt it was more hassle than what it was worth.
So it would be much better for me if I could sell all at once, however unlikely that may seem.

Once again, this "hardship" may or may not happen, so this might be all a moot point. I would much rather go ahead and get the 70 cards I need for my 520 than have to sell off the 450 I have spent so much effort in obtaining. But I gotta do what I gotta do....

Any advice that you guys could give me really would really help.

Once again, this is not a FS post so please dont contact me with cards u might need.

Thanks Net 54!

[vintagecpa]

Two suggestions: 1. Negotiate with an auction house. They would know what would be best to sell individually and as a lot. You might not get as much as selling it by yourself, but they do all the work, and that is worth a few bucks. 2. If you know about what the lot should be worth (VCP), figure out how much it is worth to you to avoid shipping a ton of packages and sell the lot on BST at that level of discount. I would probably lean towards an auction house.

[Bosox Blair]

I'd say you would make a lot more money by selling them individually or in small lots yourself (BST/eBay). But if you have fully decided not to do this, I think the best thing is to put them into an auction with a smaller house (like Sterling or B&L). This way many of your cards - maybe even all of them - will be listed as separate lots. In my opinion, if cards like this got listed as a single lot at a big auction house (or anywhere), you would take a bad bath.

Good luck!

Blair

[iggyman]

Tough one and tough spot. In my opinion, to maximize $$$ selling individually and in small lots is the way to go, but as you have learned, that will require alot of work.

If I found myself unemployed and with no other options, I would start selling my collection slowly and surely (a combination of Net54 B/S/T, ebay buy-it-now's and straight auctions, and for anything high dollar a few auctions houses would be called). I obviously would have plenty of time on my hands, so the extra work/stress of selling individually should not be a problem. This scenario would give me some weekly cash flow, and perhaps prevent me from selling my entire collection if things turned around for me.

Large T206 lots just don't work well on eBay so I would rule that out. Sending a large lot to an auction house is a hit or miss proposition. They do all the work which is great, but I would say it's 50/50 on whether the hammer price will be satisfactory. If you need somewhat fast money, and find yourself working two jobs to make ends meet, a few large lots via an auction house is the way to go, but at the end of the day it might leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

That is all I've got....

Lovely Day...

[bbcard1]

First of all, everything is going to work out, so don't worry.

If you do sell, I would go the combo route...tough backs, high grade, major HOFers to auction houses...I have dealt with both Huggins and Scott and Dave at Baggers and like both a lot. Baggers actually charges no commission, but you have to have the right kind of stuff that his buyers are looking for to get a good bid. There are a lot of good places, but these two I have really liked.

A BST ad would take care of the bulk of the rest.

With the left overs, I think I would then package the rest of it in a few 5-15 card lots and put them on ebay...those have seemed to often go for more than the sum of their parts.

If the Ohara and Demmitt are ratty, I'm your man.

[Runscott]

First of all, everything is going to work out, so don't worry.

+1

I sent you a detailed response via PM, mainly because I have never consigned, so I didn't want to embarrass myself in public :) , but I guess I could stand the feedback on this idea:

True that the auction houses will know how to break out the lots, but buyers are not looking to pay retail for huge lots from auction houses. So figure 90% if you are super-lucky, then remove 20% juice and the consignor fee, and you're only taking home 55-60%.

If you sell them here, in very large lots, you can ask much more than that. Any mistakes you make in creating the lots would be offset by the additional amount that you could ask for the lots. You could start off with huge lots at closer to retail, then drop the price and/or split the lots down to smaller size, for the ones that don't sell quickly. You're looking at minimal packing and no extra fees.

[Texxxx]

I'm fairly new here but been around awhile. If you are going to be out of work then you should have more time to take care of the shipping and such. You will get more money selling them by them self and not in lots. Just think of it as a temp job until you get a new one. I hope things work out and you can keep working. And keep the cards!

[Zach Wheat]

Another Option not really mentioned here is to have one of the ebayers that regularly sell vintage guys sell the collection for you over a period of time. Howie (BuyThatCard) is a Net54 member. He has a sterling reputation.

You would probably have success negotiating a fixed fee from these types of sellers as it gives them a lot of exposure and they are always looking for product. In addition, since they do this all the time, they have a regular following. This also gives you a chance on parceling your collection off at any time and at your own pace according to cash needs - or going an alternate route if you are not happy with the results.

I have no association with Howard but he has a great reputation and might be the best avenue in terms of cost of selling versus your return. You can find his contact info easily as he is a regular Net54 member.

Best of luck what ever you decide.

Zach Wheat

[smtjoy]

Good luck and I hope things work out for you.

On selling your collection, I think your two best options are getting one of the smaller auction houses like B & L and Sterling to sell them individually for you, the only ones I would sell as a lot would be if you have a few beaters/auths. The second option would be to send them to one of the ebay consignors like Probstein123, Daves Vintage, etc and have them sell them the same way on ebay.

Both options will help maximize proceeds and minimize the work you will need to do.

[BleedinBlue]

I will echo a previous post and put my vote for selling individually and that you do it yourself. As was mentioned earlier, IF things go south, you will have time to deal with the mechanics of selling. Second, you will also get good at the mechanics of selling so that will become much less of a hassle than the first time through. Use USPS online and save trips to the post office. Trust me, it's well worth it to avoid having to deal with the post office. Thirdly, it will allow you to stop the process when no longer necessary. Perhaps selling a few high dollar cards will ease the cash flow crunch with minimal effort and when you find yourself back on your feet again you will be able to quickly re-acquire the missing pieces you sold off to tide you over. Trust me, I'm at 499/520 and in my experience, finding a replacement Cobb card is MUCH easier than finding a replacement SL'er or tough common.

[pgellis]

Some of the most recent posts are right on. I would sell individually. I know it can be a hassle, but it will maximize your revenue. The one idea to sell in lots is to combine beaters or "A" graded cards. Usually people looking to put together a beater set quickly are most likely to buy in lots. Nicely graded cards or HOFers are more likely to be purchased individually.
I know that for me, if there is a single that I am really after, if I see it in a group lot, I will just pass by that listing.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

[kllrbee]

Thanks for all the replies (and Pm's). Very good advice.

Ive got about a month before I know anything with work. I will see what happens then.

Thanks again everyone!