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-   -   Would you pay a premium for a prewar complete set(subset) (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=247813)

greco827 11-20-2017 11:36 AM

Would you pay a premium for a prewar complete set(subset)
 
So in the modern card world, sets are far cheaper than trying to crack packs or put together a set, and you can get one substantially cheaper already collated than if you tried to put it together yourself. Most likely because the bulk f the set is junk, and you're doing the seller a favor by taking 750 junk cards off his hands to say you have a set.

However, in the prewar world, this is very different. Assuming they are in an acceptable condition, even the most common of cards is collectible. This being said, would you pay a per-card premium if you were to buy a complete set/subset of cards? Such as a T206 PD150 set, or SL set, or portrait set, or whatever floats your boat. Assuming all cards were equal or close in quality, and sold for an average of $100 per card, would you pay, say, $125 card to save yourself a few years of chasing them down, or would there still be a "bulk rate discount" for lack of a better term?

swarmee 11-20-2017 03:18 PM

I would still expect it to get a discount. Main reasoning: the majority of people wanting to buy it will already have some percentage of those cards in the same grade. So they would then be getting duplicates, and would need to resell the duplicates.

kmac32 11-20-2017 03:22 PM

It’s all about the hunt so more fun to collect the set yourself

rats60 11-20-2017 03:38 PM

If it was something like a Ty Cobb back run, I could see asking a premium. If you are talking about a subset with common players, then expect to give a discount.

darwinbulldog 11-21-2017 07:33 AM

I think, as the OP suggests, it's largely a function of how much the cheapest cards are worth. For a 1979 Topps set, with commons worth $0.01, you get a discount for buying the complete set. However, when I've seen auction houses offer a set both ways simultaneously (set break into individual lots and a single lot for the complete set), the higher price has generally gone to the complete set rather than to the sum of its parts. I wouldn't expect that to happen with, say, 1934 Goudey in VG or T205 in Gd, but if the individual commons are worth $50 instead of $15, I think that's enough for the bulk discount to evaporate and indeed for the discount to flip over to a slight premium.

But it would be interesting to see what would happen if you hit the territory of a set worth millions of dollars. That might shrink the pool of potential bidders enough that someone could pick up a complete (524) PSA 5 T206 set for less than the cards would have brought as 524 separate lots.

rhettyeakley 11-21-2017 08:12 AM

It all depends on the set. I have sold rare sets or near sets for a premium as it took 10-15 years to accumulate the parts and may not be reproducible unless one is to pay up. That being said any mainstream issue should sell at a discount vs its parts.
-Rhett

sterlingfox 11-21-2017 08:22 AM

I agree with Rhett.

Sets that would be excruciatingly painful (10+ years or more) for a collector to put together themselves should bring a premium, whereas sets that can be assembled fairly easily will typically be sold at less than the sum of their parts, as most collectors would rather put it together themselves.

Leon 11-21-2017 08:33 AM

Mile High Auctions is breaking a set of T3s right now and selling them both ways, individually or as a set, whichever ends up higher. My guess is the individual cards will be a higher total at the end. It's not a rare enough set to have a premium, imo. (as others have noted too concerning less rare sets)

puckpaul 11-22-2017 04:24 PM

i think it depends on the condition and the difficulty of completing the set. i would pay a premium to have a complete set that was difficult to put together. i say condition, because a set like T3, if i ever finish mine, and its well constructed with no creases, nice corners, and good registration across the board...i wouldn't part with it for less than a premium. If the set is still doable as it was constructed, which the T3 would be, than i say a slight premium. if its really tough, a greater premium.

yes, the chase is nice, but many sets are tough to put together consistently, and there should be a premium for the effort when finished.

pokerplyr80 11-22-2017 06:43 PM

I don't think I could afford to buy most prewar sets I'd be interested in, but I could see it being worth a premium if the pieces rarely come available for sale. If I had the funds and wanted the set enough I would be willing to pay a little extra

Leon 11-23-2017 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puckpaul (Post 1723014)
i think it depends on the condition and the difficulty of completing the set. i would pay a premium to have a complete set that was difficult to put together. i say condition, because a set like T3, if i ever finish mine, and its well constructed with no creases, nice corners, and good registration across the board...i wouldn't part with it for less than a premium. If the set is still doable as it was constructed, which the T3 would be, than i say a slight premium. if its really tough, a greater premium.

yes, the chase is nice, but many sets are tough to put together consistently, and there should be a premium for the effort when finished.

You might be right on the T3s but I would be a bit surprised. I am putting together a very well centered T205 set, which if you have looked at enough T205s, you know is not an easy task. If I sold the whole thing (I probably will when I am through, except Cobby) I doubt I sell it as a set. To me it's not a lot different than the T3 set in that respect. Just not enough collectors looking to buy a whole set. It would probably be bought by a dealer to break it up as that is usually the best way to maximize your return on investment.

ps.. Same thinking goes for subsets too.

puckpaul 11-23-2017 09:35 AM

mile high has only 79 cards (and no boxers). i wouldn't call that near complete, but that is me...misleading. for what its worth, most of the "set vs individual cards" auction "contests" that have been done in hockey at Classic have gone in favor of the sets. not sure that means much as that format lends itself to the set bids i think, since people (like me) feel like its often useless to get worked up pursuing an individual card or several when that won't matter possibly. not a fan of the format. make a decision and go with it!

greco827 11-28-2017 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puckpaul (Post 1723014)
i think it depends on the condition and the difficulty of completing the set. i would pay a premium to have a complete set that was difficult to put together. i say condition, because a set like T3, if i ever finish mine, and its well constructed with no creases, nice corners, and good registration across the board...i wouldn't part with it for less than a premium. If the set is still doable as it was constructed, which the T3 would be, than i say a slight premium. if its really tough, a greater premium.

yes, the chase is nice, but many sets are tough to put together consistently, and there should be a premium for the effort when finished.

This is along the lines of what I was thinking. Say a Hindu Brown SL set of all 34 cards, or an Old Mill SL set of all 48. Something not unobtainable, but not a quick collection either. What if they were all graded the same? Say PSA 4 or SGC 5 or whatever. Every single one the exact same grade. I think that would bring a premium as well.


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