[glchen]

I'll give a few different answers here...

Scenario 1: I'm tired/not interested in the hobby anymore, and want to sell.

Don't sell. Put your collection in a closet, and wait a year or so, and see if this passes. Sometimes folks just need a break from the hobby for various reasons, and come back more energized afterwards. Those cards that you sell might be awfully hard to get back if you become interested in the hobby again.

Scenario 2:
A year has passed, and I really do want to sell and/or I need the money to spend on more "worthwhile" things for my family/me.

Still, try to keep your very favorite cards (if you have any), but then plan on selling the rest. Try to categorize your collection into "big ticket" items that would sell for more than $500 per card, and then smaller items that may need to be sold as part of a lot. Send emails to the various auction houses with the listing of what you have, whether they would be willing to sell it for you, and what seller's commission they will charge. Go with the auction house that gives you the lowest seller's commission (+ buyer's premium), has the best responses to you, and is willing to work with you to maximize the value of what you want to sell. For example, if you are a player collector, you may not want to dump all of your collection in one massive auction as it may flood the market. You may want to have the auction house sell your collection slowly over a few auctions. Also, if you need the money quickly, check into how quickly you will be paid after the auction completes. Finally, don't be afraid to split your collection over multiple auction houses/vendors.

Scenario 3: Estate planning for your family.

Preparing for the scenario where you get hit by a bus tomorrow, and your family has no idea the value of your collection, which auction houses are good/honest, etc. I would have 1-2 auction houses prepared beforehand in case a scenario like this happens, so that you can tell your family who to go to in this situation. For example, I like Heritage because it's a big auction house, and I've been grandfathered into 0% sellers commission. I've always gotten very good service from them, and they run many auctions per year, so there's flexibility. I think REA would also be good because of the peerless service that Brian Dwyer has always provided. You just don't want someone scamming your family saying that they'll buy your collection for $X dollars, and they are really doing a favor for your family by taking all this junk away.

Good luck in whatever you decide!