Need help selling my collection
 

I turn 65 Friday and after about 55 years of collecting I've decided to sell the bulk of my collection.

I'd like to know what some of you sages recommend.

I will be getting rid of complete or near complete sets from 1933 Goudey to 1980 Topps, all baseball. Generally very nice cards. All raw, although many were once graded but I freed them from their cages. (I do keep the grading strips with the cards).
I have reached out to a couple of consigners, Greg Morris and Probstien, pretty pricey but maybe the way to go.
I'd like some advice please.

Thanks, Bob

Contact fellow member Aquarian Sports Cards. Scott owns a smaller AH and might be just what you are looking for. I have bought and auctioned stuff through him with zero problems.

Try contacting Al or Andrew at Love of the Game. I bet they can beat the Ebay Sellers' rates, and will provide you stellar service in every possible way.

Here's the contact info...

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/contact/

Best of luck!

Consignors
 

When you say pretty pricey, the standard buyers commission is now 20% which for better items is frequently made up for by the greater publicity and marketing an auction house will bring. Sellers commissions are negotiable to a greater degree and sometimes can be waived depending on what you are selling and how much it expected to go for. In some rarer cases a part of the buyers commission can be refunded to you the seller but that usually means big ticket items (over 100K) which some of your sets may qualify for. Good luck and enjoy your sales. Its fun to see things go to new owners who will appreciate them ! Rocky

To me it sounds like the OP is interested in consigning these (or a good chunk of the collection) for individual sale, since he mentioned Greg Morris and Probstein, both who mainly auction individual cards.

Greg Morris is definitely a viable option, as is the previously mentioned Scott at Aquarian (auction house name is The Collector Connection). My favorite is Brockelman Auctions (who at 0% sellers commission definitely is an attractive feature), but a place like Sterling Sports Auctions could also be a reasonable choice as well (but, as far as I know, some sort of sellers commission likely).

Maybe a mix of auction houses would be the ticket, being that this collection seems quite wide-ranging in eras and popularity/value, and since some sets would likely be best breaking up, while perhaps the later ones to be actioned as complete sets.

brianp(arker)-beme

+1 Agree regardless good luck

It's a part of the hobby that seems to not get much attention. I certainly haven't looked into it that much, but probably wise to keep an eye on that side of collecting.

Recommend probstein only if you have graded cards. Do not send raw.

I went from zero graded cards to a couple thousand within 2 years (2013 to 2015) I still love the feel of baseball cards in my hands. But without grading I know you will leave alot more than the 20% buyers premium on the table. Belive me I know the counter arguments but you are only going to sell these once. And the numbers don't lie. For expensive cards ( up to you to decide the number ) you are going to get more and sell quicker with graded cards vs Raw.
Talk with some of the Auction houses they are not all the same. Heritage and REA definitely know what they are doing. And for some high value cards they remove all seller fees and talk about some buyer premium going to you. But strictly business and not as flexible as smaller joints. Al from love of game is honest and helpful and that goes a long way. ( full disclosure Al is listed in my instructions to sell most of my memorabilia). I have used most of the major Auction houses over the past 9 years. I wanted to get real life experiance dealing with each of them and if you send me a pm I will discuss my experience not my opinions my experience. It hurts letting it go more than I thought, good luck to you.

I don't have a recommendation for how to sell your cards but...

You absolutely *MUST* get the higher dollar cards graded. Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Koufax, Jackie, etc. Get them graded. You will get a lot more money than you would ungraded. Guaranteed.

I would go with a smaller auction house like some of the ones already mentioned here if you want really good service.

Most of the auction houses who have an in with the grading companies will get the better cards graded unless you tell them not to. They do that to generate the most money for you as well as for them.

The collection you described will definitely get you a very low or no seller cost if you shop it around. The problem with any of them is that they will grade the better cards and likely lot up the rest of each set in a single listing and you will not like what that part of your collection brings.

Also, the process is long from beginning to end with the big auction houses.

Greg Morris brings very good money for raw cards on Ebay and does a good job with pictures. They will list every card in a set break as far as I know and although there will always be cards that fall below the Mendoza line, overall they do very well. If you really don't want to grade cards, they are a viable option.

The auction houses will run your complete sets just as they are if you insist on not grading(which they will charge you for)but complete sets overall are weak at present.

Some of the sets you mentioned such as the '33 Goudey will bring good money even raw but other sets will fall through the crack.

Good luck with your liquidation.

People are all giving good recommendations here.

I have yet to manage to do any business with Al at LOTG, but have heard nothing but good. When even your competitors praise you, you just might be doing something right! I've been in this business a long time, and Al's is the lone auction house I've heard only good things about from everybody.

As to Greg Morris. I've been a buyer for years. Again, I haven't sold anything through them, but everyone I know who has done so has been content. I can tell you that as a buyer, it's rare that I ever win anything, as Greg almost always gets higher prices than I'm willing to pay. I am usually bidding on 1950's-70's commons from him. It sounds like you have a lot of that sort of material. You might be best served to send such cards to him for your best return, as cards will be sold individually. The auction houses will tend to bulk a lot of this stuff in group lots, which isn't the best idea for you.

This is all good advice, do yourself a favor do not sell it on marketplace. I honestly think you’ll do alright with your collection as is, skipping the grading, but don’t get me wrong if you have big ticket items the grading will fetch you more if you have the time.

I've never sold anything through a consignor, but I will say I'm pretty much constantly amazed at the prices Greg Morris can get for raw vintage on eBay. I've yet to see anyone else sell high grade or even midgrade raw for close to graded prices for so long. There are Youtube videos out there as tutorials for working with Greg, it all seems pretty straightforward.

People used to say the same thing about PWCC.

I don't remember PWCC ever dealing pretty much exclusively in raw cards. GM gets the prices they do because they are one of the few large sellers whose raw grading is trusted.

Thanks to all who posted and the guys I spoke to. Much sage advice out there.

After much consideration I have opted to send my cards to Greg Morris. I will advise after it is done as to how it goes.

Thanks all, Bob

Good luck with the sale Bob.

PWCC isn't Greg Morris.

Good luck to the seller and auction company.
.

I just completed a large sale of cards through Greg Morris. Took about three months and they pay in a decent amount of time.

Do not think you are going to get top dollar for each and every card. Many cards will surprise you for what they go for, both high and low.

Be prepared to have some cards come back that do not meet their minimum standards, and pay for that service. These standards differ by year and sport.

Overall I was happy, as the hassle of selling each card myself, packaging them up, and shipping them individually seemed daunting.

To summarize, if you want to move your cards quickly with little to no hassle, GM is a good way to do it. If you are trying to maximize each item, then do it yourself.

I favor a hybrid approach to maximize return.

I would get the star cards graded by PSA and sent to a major auction house, and send the commons to GM to be sold individually.

Umm you aren’t going to get much cheaper than probstein. But since they are raw I’d recommend Greg Morris.

I would have contacted some of the major houses. Completed raw sets from the 30s through the 70s in good condition would do well in any major auction. You probably could have consigned them with no fees.