Considering selling everything - Final Update/Tally

[autograf]

The first thing to do is nothing. Sit back for 3 months and just forget it like it didn't happen. You said that you are fine, so just chalk it up. We all make mistakes. After chilling out for a while, try to sell as much of the collection you bought as you can. If you sell $6k, then you made a $7k mistake. Sell $10k, you made a $3k mistake. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water right away as the old saying goes. Try the BST here and sell of some stuff. There's lots of people very interested in vintage autographed stuff. Take your time and ask people for help when you need it. Study ebay completed auction prices on autographed stuff and educate yourself on what you think you don't know. Hopefully, you can minimize the problem and amount of money you're out and move on from there. Don't compound one bad decision with another......
Good luck!

[uniship]

Originally Posted by autograf

The first thing to do is nothing. Sit back for 3 months and just forget it like it didn't happen. You said that you are fine, so just chalk it up. We all make mistakes. After chilling out for a while, try to sell as much of the collection you bought as you can. If you sell $6k, then you made a $7k mistake. Sell $10k, you made a $3k mistake. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water right away as the old saying goes. Try the BST here and sell of some stuff. There's lots of people very interested in vintage autographed stuff. Take your time and ask people for help when you need it. Study ebay completed auction prices on autographed stuff and educate yourself on what you think you don't know. Hopefully, you can minimize the problem and amount of money you're out and move on from there. Don't compound one bad decision with another......
Good luck!

Exactly.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Kevin, I had something similar happen to me, however, not quite to the extent. I bought a run of vintage(50s-60s) cards (sight unseen) for several thousand dollars. The condition was hyped by the seller. When I received the cards and went through them, I had the same sick feeling I imagine you experienced. I too did not want to back out as I felt that I had made a commitment, so I was stuck with them.

Over the past 15 years or so, I have bought nearly 2 dozen deals like this and had never had a concern....the difference between these other deals and this one was that I normally buy from people I have had other satisfactory transactions with. I owned the fact that I hoped that this deal would be just like all the others...it was not.

I did exactly what Tom recommended, and that was absolutely nothing for several months. I finally sorted the cards out and began the tedious process of selling them on ebay as singles as I realized that this was my only chance to recoup my original investment. As Tom also mentioned, I studied previous sale prices and listed the cards with reasonable fixed prices in order to maximize my profit. I actually found some hidden gems (ie 64 Flood) embedded in the lot which helped me to increase my revenue. When it was all said and done after listing all of the cards, selling most of them, I not only covered my original cost, my ebay expenses, but made a profit equal to the amount I originally spent. The time I spent listing and selling these cards were my greatest expense, but the profit I cleared covered that time quite easily.

In the end, I added some cards to my collection(not as many as expected), and then earned some money to add more cards to my collection.

As Tom mentioned, take some time before you make any emotional decisions and then carefully look through the lot, you maybe sitting on a goldmine and not even know it. Good luck with this.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by autograf

The first thing to do is nothing. Sit back for 3 months and just forget it like it didn't happen. You said that you are fine, so just chalk it up. We all make mistakes. After chilling out for a while, try to sell as much of the collection you bought as you can. If you sell $6k, then you made a $7k mistake. Sell $10k, you made a $3k mistake. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water right away as the old saying goes. Try the BST here and sell of some stuff. There's lots of people very interested in vintage autographed stuff. Take your time and ask people for help when you need it. Study ebay completed auction prices on autographed stuff and educate yourself on what you think you don't know. Hopefully, you can minimize the problem and amount of money you're out and move on from there. Don't compound one bad decision with another......
Good luck!

+1. Very nice suggestions.

Kevin- As I have said, this won't be your biggest financial mistake in life. (most likely). I could name a dozen I have done and came out ok, and I am a little fish on a budget. Just be glad you didn't buy some restaurants.....or get out of the stock market at the exact wrong time. Don't let this one issue completely stop you from collecting. There is more good than bad, by far, in the hobby. Chalk it up, recoup what you can, sit back and reflect for while, then come back with a bit more experience and yours eyes a bit more open. It's ok. And I moved this thread so others can have a cautionary tale to consider when doing their own deals. Many, if not most times, they aren't what they seem.

[abothebear]

I did a similar thing this week, except that it was one card, and it was only a $25 purchase. My self-frustration about it, and especially the emotional disparity I experienced between the excitement of finding a deal on a card I have been looking for for 3 1/2 years and the low of realizing that the condition was much worse than I thought and that I overpaid, makes me feel a lot worse about it than it probably should. And right now, in the moment, I have no joy about finding the card (and completing my set!). I can only imagine what it is like for you with a purchase that large.

But... it sounds like you have a good plan. And if you can 'erase' your mistake in a year's time then you are doing pretty good.

If you are like me, it is the losing when you thought you won that is the biggest blow. But this too shall pass.

[Econteachert205]

Kevin, I have had similar things happen in stock investing and real estate. I think it's important to fight through it. I'd sit with the stuff you just bought, inventory it, estimate reasonable prices for each item, then slowly work through selling it. Just ABC basically. If the money was for a car for your child, you can probably earn back enough to get a perfectly usable one. Good luck!

[barrysloate]

All of us who have bought and sold baseball cards over a long period of time have made mistakes like this. I've overvalued plenty of things and have taken losses on them.

Tom gave the best advice: readdress this collection after you are no longer emotional about it. Now would be a terrible time to sell it because you are not able to look at it objectively. If you are angry at yourself for doing this you are going to compound the problem by making poor decisions selling it. Wait some period of time, sell it for the best price you can, and just accept the loss. And no reason to sell your whole collection over it since you say your finances are still fine.

Just step away from it for the time being. This doesn't sound as bad to me as it does to you. If you bought a stock and it went down you wouldn't beat yourself up over it. It just happens.

[ibuysportsephemera]

All great suggestions from other Board Members. I have been actively buying sports memorabilia since 1986 and have had "buyers" remorse on a number of occasions. However, my motto is that you need to make some bad deals to score the really good ones. Good luck with your liquidation. If you have any neat vintage paper items from the purchase, PM and let me know what you have.

Jeff

[kailes2872]

Thanks for the feedback. This is some great advice. I think the most frustrating thing was just how stupid I was. This wasn't something where I got robbed (in the literal sense). My wife didn't want me to take the trip for this reason and I said "trust me". She did and I did this. This want something where I got conned with counterfeits. I saw the stuff. I knew it was light but despite that I still rolled out 146 100 dollar bills.

I said trust me, I've got this. And I was a total doofus. I was the guy that I have made fun of. I am an educated, pragmatic guy. I see downside and risk in everything and my risk meter broke. When I came to, it hit me hard. It was like I had a 5 day out of body experience. I didn't sleep. My adrenaline pumped and now I am crashing.

The guy was really nice. He thought he was giving me a great deal. I wish he would have taken one of the other calls and got a reality check but what is done is done. He had a wife and a small child and they were trying to get enough for a down payment. He didn't want to sell. His wife was forcing him to. He was somewhat of a simpleton. He had trouble with your/you're, to/too, there/their. In my head, I thought that he was just unaware of his value. I was going to capitalize on the fact that I had better information. God has a sense of humor as I sure look like the simpleton in the situation

In speaking with my wife, we came to am agreement. Perhaps this was God working through both of us. He was praying for a blessing and was willing to sacrifice his collection. God answered his prayers through me while reminding me to check my pride and arrogance at the door and to keep my day job. Coincidentally(?), the flight was almost cancelled on Wednesday morning. There was a mechanical issue and a 2 hour delay. At first they said that it was not going to leave until 11 which wouldn't allow me to make my return flight. He provided an out for me, but I was blinded by visions of this collection and the riches it would bring.

All I wanted was some 56 commons. Then I got this grand idea that I would sell off the rest and use the white. meat to build out the rest of the sets. I had been waiting on 54-56 and was fired up. Over the next 18 months, I was going to get my PSA 6 Clemente, Aaron, Banks, Koufax etcetera. Now, I get to tap the breaks. But, 14 grand would have bought nice mid grade sets of all three. Not very smart.

In the end, it is about 1% of net worth, 10% of liquid cash and half of my savings. It does not change the game but it is out of character and that is why I am kicking myself the most.

Take care and thanks - you have saved me the money on the therapy session and I need to save up 14,600 so I can start collecting again ��

[ksabet]

I think I overvalue just about everything I come into contact with. I am a collector heart and therefore make a terrible part time dealer.

I take solace in the fact (i know sounds terrible) that my wife overvalued her business and and we took a six figure loss a few years ago. We have recovered but alas I can make a lot of card mistakes and still remind her of hers.

[kailes2872]

Actually, forget everything I just said.

While looking through the very low value very beat up pre war book of about 50-70 cards, I found this Wagner!

Here we go easy street!

[DHogan]

Time heals all wounds. Some leave scars. It sounds like you have a great wife.

[bobbyw8469]

I didn't do enough research to understand just how low the A cards went for.

Don't believe this statement one bit. If the card looks really nice for the grade, some collectors could care less if it has been trimmed. I'm not saying they have ulterior motives, but it is a chance to get a really nice looking card for lesser money than they would pay if it got a numeric grade.

[robw1959]

Originally Posted by kailes2872

Thanks for the feedback. This is some great advice. I think the most frustrating thing was just how stupid I was. This wasn't something where I got robbed (in the literal sense). My wife didn't want me to take the trip for this reason and I said "trust me". She did and I did this. This want something where I got conned with counterfeits. I saw the stuff. I knew it was light but despite that I still rolled out 146 100 dollar bills.

I said trust me, I've got this. And I was a total doofus. I was the guy that I have made fun of. I am an educated, pragmatic guy. I see downside and risk in everything and my risk meter broke. When I came to, it hit me hard. It was like I had a 5 day out of body experience. I didn't sleep. My adrenaline pumped and now I am crashing.

The guy was really nice. He thought he was giving me a great deal. I wish he would have taken one of the other calls and got a reality check but what is done is done. He had a wife and a small child and they were trying to get enough for a down payment. He didn't want to sell. His wife was forcing him to. He was somewhat of a simpleton. He had trouble with your/you're, to/too, there/their. In my head, I thought that he was just unaware of his value. I was going to capitalize on the fact that I had better information. God has a sense of humor as I sure look like the simpleton in the situation

In speaking with my wife, we came to am agreement. Perhaps this was God working through both of us. He was praying for a blessing and was willing to sacrifice his collection. God answered his prayers through me while reminding me to check my pride and arrogance at the door and to keep my day job. Coincidentally(?), the flight was almost cancelled on Wednesday morning. There was a mechanical issue and a 2 hour delay. At first they said that it was not going to leave until 11 which wouldn't allow me to make my return flight. He provided an out for me, but I was blinded by visions of this collection and the riches it would bring.

All I wanted was some 56 commons. Then I got this grand idea that I would sell off the rest and use the white. meat to build out the rest of the sets. I had been waiting on 54-56 and was fired up. Over the next 18 months, I was going to get my PSA 6 Clemente, Aaron, Banks, Koufax etcetera. Now, I get to tap the breaks. But, 14 grand would have bought nice mid grade sets of all three. Not very smart.

In the end, it is about 1% of net worth, 10% of liquid cash and half of my savings. It does not change the game but it is out of character and that is why I am kicking myself the most.

Take care and thanks - you have saved me the money on the therapy session and I need to save up 14,600 so I can start collecting again ��

Thanks for your letter, Kevin! I have reached a point where I am pretty much content with my collection as it is. But your letter is a reminder of what CAN happen when you don't see the big picture.

I remember how it all started for me - how I listed a raw T206 Christy Mathewson White Cap on Yahoo! Auctions of all things! That was back in 1999. It was the last of my vintage cards at the time as I had sold off the rest thinking that my interest in the hobby was gone for good. The knuckleheads on Yahoo! thought it was a fake because it looked so nice, so it went for only $165 even though it probably would have graded as a 4-5 . . . it was that nice. Well that sale just ticked me off because I had originally paid $300 for the card and thought I would at least get my money back on it. I had already been ripped off a few times by some of the Yahoos and the $165 sale of that great Christy Mathewson was the last straw!

The anger I felt was, I'm afraid, passion buried deep down inside. And it spawned a new desire to get back into collecting - maybe just to get even and then some! So I began to collect again, although for the most part I took a different direction. Whereas my previous collection consisted of mostly '50s HOFers and that Matty, my focus shifted to mostly '60s HOFers and pre-war HOFers. I now have graded Hall of Fame players from every decade, 1900s-1970s. I do have a several vintage sets and subsets I've assembled as well.

Eric Liddell, the great Olympic runner said, "I feel God's pleasure when I run." In some sense I feel that way about my collection as well, that it is pleasing to God in one sense - that it validates what God reveals about the human condition. By that I mean that if we feel an insatiable ongoing desire to collect, it only validates the fact that we are all made of the same stuff - immortal stuff, that is. And that lack of complete satisfaction exists precisely because we have been created to be at least somewhat discontent and unfulfilled until we enter into God's eternal kingdom forever. In the mean time we need to maintain a healthy perspective and balance on collecting so that it does not dominate our lives and our time and our MONEY!

You obviously have a great wife; mine would have killed me over a huge deal going south like that. The only way I justify my collection is by telling her that it's an investment that is only going to appreciate. I'm in the minority, but I'll weigh in and say that your situation was probably a wake-up call from the Lord. Not that it's time for you to stop collecting all together, but perhaps it's time to restore some balance and perspective, and give this little hobby a much lower priority in your life.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Leon

+1. Very nice suggestions.

Kevin- As I have said, this won't be your biggest financial mistake in life. (most likely). I could name a dozen I have done and came out ok, and I am a little fish on a budget. Just be glad you didn't buy some restaurants.....or get out of the stock market at the exact wrong time. Don't let this one issue completely stop you from collecting. There is more good than bad, by far, in the hobby. Chalk it up, recoup what you can, sit back and reflect for while, then come back with a bit more experience and yours eyes a bit more open. It's ok. And I moved this thread so others can have a cautionary tale to consider when doing their own deals. Many, if not most times, they aren't what they seem.

+1 exactly! Mistakes are part of collecting, and I think we've all gone in at times with too much enthusiasm and insufficient knowledge. It's not the end of the world!

Best of luck to you,

Larry