1959 Topps complete set purchase what is your opinion?
 

I have been offered a complete 1959 Topps set in average vg-ex condition. Not graded. In fact it is the original owner who collected it in early 1960's. My questions are:

Would you break up a set that has great provenance from the original owner who collected it one card at a time when the set was newly offered?

If you would break it up, how much of a profit could one expect to make parting it up? (of course it depends on the purchase price but consider that I bought it at fair market value of $1500, for a VG-EX set and sell it at fair market value one card at a time. What percentage of increase could I expect?)

This is a wide open question that could go a million different ways. Most importantly, though, it's all about what the set looks like. The provenance doesn't come into play at all.

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but if I were you, I'd concentrate on assessing the key cards in the set. The Gibson rookie, the Mantles, the other 'major' HOF'ers, the high numbers, etc. That's where your profit will live or die. Ebay is weighed down with every 1959 common card, so that's going to be a long road trying to sell those, because everyone looking for specific cards has a wealth of options to choose from. So making your money off of higher grade stars and high numbers will make it profitable for you. The other guys will probably sit forever unsold…unless you group them together in lots.

Opinion
 

In my opinion, a mid-grade or lower set like this does not break up very well. Of course, if a star or two grades very high it would be worth "breaking out" or getting those graded. Considering the fees on eBay, increase on shipping, etc., you would likely be a loser if you were to break entire set with cards in this type of condition...$1500 sounds ok but not great--- and "breaking" it would yield not much more than this considering the fees, etc. not to mention the time to do so. $1 cards could also go without a bid.

I would think at $1500 a 1959 set would break very well. Lets break it down assuming all cards are solid VGs:

Mantle & Gibson in VG should be $500 total no problem ($500)

The Mantle All-Star and Mantle Action, $100 is extremely realistic ($600)

Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Mays AS, Aaron AS, Killebrew & Campanella those should bring $40 each ($880)

Several of $20 cards - Spahn, Musial, Koufax, Maris, Banks, Brooks R, Frank R, Corsair Trio, Banks AS, Killebrew, Yankees Team. ($1100)

A slew of $10 cards - I counted 21 real quick ($1310).

High numbers will easily bring $4 a pop (65-13 I counted above) (52*4) - ($1518)

That leaves all the commons and $5 cards like Skowron, Martin, Colavito, etc. as profit.

I think my estimates above are extremely conservative, except for many some of the $10 cards. Does anyone think my estimates above are wrong.

I strongly agree with these two statements. If you're buying it for yourself to keep, that's probably a fair price. If you're buying it to break up and turn a profit, I don't think it's worth your time. Good luck!

I'd disagree... I think you're way too optimistic on the pricing. Using Mantle and Gibson for example; check recent completed ebay auctions and I think that you'll discover that it's not difficult to find either of these cards, graded, in vg/vg-ex for less than $100 each; raw often considerably less.

Thanks guys. I do plan to keep it, and maybe even get it for a bit less than $1500, but I rarely like to buy anything if I cant at least get my money back. Thus my desire to be bale to resell if I had to. The time commitment in breaking it up does not concern me. Thanks again guys and gals for taking the time to respond. I am open for more responses if anyone else so desires.

1959
 

Check the Spahn DOB and H Sullivan copyright . There are 3 versions of each and some are worth more than others. Also there are some traded/ optioned variations to some of the cards ( they are listed in most checklists, including the PSA Registry master list), which also bring a premium if any are included.

Good luck on your purchase. It was the first Topps set I completed as thus a sentiment favorite of mine

Different peoples VGEX are ALL over the board. My VGEX would be mostly without creases if possible. Like the others, I don't see where you could make too much but for buying a set to keep and do a few upgrades on, anything in the $1500 for most 1950's/early 1960's Topps sets is a good entry price.