Prices of complete sets relative to singles

[bks14sr]

I’m always confused by the fact that complete sets are regularly cheaper than the equivalent summed singles pricing. I understand when buying singles, a person is able to cherry pick condition and typically has shipping associated. But still, a similarly spec’d complete set does not seem to pull the same money. It’s like people expect to pay for the star cards and be essentially given the rest. Is there no value for a set being intact?

Do others have the same experiences, or is this just me?

Thanks,
Bill

[JollyElm]

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

Darren you know how to keep us entertained

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Darren you know how to keep us entertained

Sometimes I think it's just we Long Islanders who seem to get it.

[bks14sr]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

Ahh, didn’t realize vintage cardboard was that abundant and priced on how they’re manufactured/packaged. Figured I’d get some bs responses. But I’ll hold out for actual, as I’ve dealt with plenty of solid people here.

[joshleon]

Originally Posted by bks14sr

Ahh, didn’t realize vintage cardboard was that abundant and priced on how they’re manufactured/packaged. Figured I’d get some bs responses. But I’ll hold out for actual, as I’ve dealt with plenty of solid people here.

I actually think Elm's response is a pretty good one. There are transaction costs inherent in every sale. Buy one set, one transaction cost, hence it's cheaper.

Another thought I had is to think about it this way: Which cards do people want?

99/100, when buying a 63 Topps card, are buying Aaron/Mantle/Mays over a complete set, or an Earl Francis card. The market for complete sets is much thinner. Therefore it makes sense that when selling a set, to most of the public you are selling the bluechip cards. Set collecting is more niche and won't demand a premium over the big cards.

[BCauley]

Me personally, I'd rather pay a little more piecing together a set by myself. It's a project, takes some time so it keeps me occupied, and I can pick each card that I want. Buying a full complete set is kind of boring to me.

I think less people are looking to build sets than there are people just looking for the pieces of the set so the demand is less. Just a guess though.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by BCauley

Me personally, I'd rather pay a little more piecing together a set by myself. It's a project, takes some time so it keeps me occupied, and I can pick each card that I want. Buying a full complete set is kind of boring to me.

I think less people are looking to build sets than there are people just looking for the pieces of the set so the demand is less. Just a guess though.

+1. I'm a set collector, and most of us enjoy putting the set together just as much (or probably more!) than owning the set. And if you are somewhat picky about card condition, like I am, there are bound to be a large number of cards in any complete set you would buy that you'd want to replace right away, which is a good reason not to pay "full" price for a complete set. I also think if a set was nice enough to be pieced out and sold card by card in a set break, it likely would be, so if it is being sold as a set there is probably a reason for that.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

Originally Posted by joshleon

I actually think Elm's response is a pretty good one. There are transaction costs inherent in every sale. Buy one set, one transaction cost, hence it's cheaper.

+1

[dfletch00]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

awesome - thats the best laugh I had all day and much needed given the shit going on... thanks Darren....Darrell... 2rs and 2Ls

[Carter08]

My main issue with set building, speaking from doing a gran total of 1 so far, is that it’s fairly annoying when there’s a card or two that just never pop up. I guess I need to have a few different balls in play to stay busy or pick a popular set.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Carter08

My main issue with set building, speaking from doing a gran total of 1 so far, is that it’s fairly annoying when there’s a card or two that just never pop up. I guess I need to have a few different balls in play to stay busy or pick a popular set.

Yep. What most people do to stay busy is come on Net54 and complain about random stuff.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

Yep. What most people do to stay busy is come on Net54 and complain about random stuff.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It is their hobby.

When I put the 55 Bowman set together the shipping cost was a huge part of putting the set together. For me the fun of putting a set together is worth the extra cost of just buying a completed one.

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I suspect it's for the same reason that buying 24 individual cans of beer is 'dumber' than simply purchasing a case of beer.

As I am almost exclusively a set collector/builder, I wholeheartedly agree with this analysis. My explanation always is around a car. A car already built costs much less than if you purchased all the individual parts and built it yourself.

I now like the beer analogy much better!!
Thank you.

[glynparson]

I’ll give essentially the same answer I just did in another thread. Prices are determined by supply and demand not just supply or demand.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

When I buy a set, personally, I'm not thinking about paying a premium, even though the cards may be rare and all the work of compiling it was done by someone else. I'm thinking, "group discount" or "package price." It certainly is harder to part out a set, but usually more lucrative than selling a complete set. As noted by a previous poster, many do like the challenge of choosing each card and building the set themselves.

[rand1com]

Originally Posted by bks14sr

I’m always confused by the fact that complete sets are regularly cheaper than the equivalent summed singles pricing. I understand when buying singles, a person is able to cherry pick condition and typically has shipping associated. But still, a similarly spec’d complete set does not seem to pull the same money. It’s like people expect to pay for the star cards and be essentially given the rest. Is there no value for a set being intact?

Do others have the same experiences, or is this just me?

Thanks,
Bill

Unfortunately, selling complete sets is tough for some of the reasons already mentioned here. Most set builders like the challenge of putting it together card by card and trying to match the set as closely to the grade they can afford as possible.

Most complete sets offered are a hodge podge of individual grades with an overall composite grade. NM cards offset by a similar number of EX cards yield an EX/MT set grade but there is a fair amount of variation from card to card.

I personally hate the process of building a set because half of the cards you think match your standard and purchase online wind up being over graded and you just re-sell them and try again.

I'm speaking only about raw sets/cards here.

I recently bought a large group of near sets from 1948 - 1970. Many of the high dollar cards had been sold individually by the family but the rest of the sets were sold in bulk.

A few sets were pretty close to complete so I decided to just complete them thinking it would add value.

Of course, although they were not missing many cards, they were missing the highest dollar cards. I completed the 1954 Bowman, 1955 Topps, 1956 Topps, and 1960 Topps.

I would have been much better off to have just sold the cards I actually bought in the original deal. You cannot get the big cards at a discount so I just tied up a lot more money with no real chance for additional profit.

Should have just consigned all the sets as purchased to Greg Morris to break individually. I'm sure I would have done much better as he gets more for most cards than the grade indicates it is worth and he will list each card individually.

Lesson learned.