Trading Quantity for Quality (or Vice Versa)

[mintacular]

Has anyone traded away a large portion of their collection for 1 key card or conversely swapped/sold 1 in exchange for a larger lot? Any regrets regarding this transaction? Thanks for sharing your story.

[T206Collector]

I had the entire T206 set, minus Wagner, Plank, Magie and Doyle. I sold about 400-450 of them in order to get this Plank and a Magie, which I later parted with. I have never regretted this decision. The sell off was much more fun and much less painful than I thought it would be.

I have sold cards in the past that I miss, but none from that sell off. One of the tricks is holding onto a handful of cards that you really love. Put them aside and hold on to them through the sell off.

[Mollys Dad]

What I do ocassionally is sell off a lot (maybe 4-7 cards) and take the proceeds and buy a super card. (Super to me anyway). Regrets? One. I once sold a lot of about 8 cards and when I got the cash in hand, a financial emergency arose that took all of the cash and I didnt get to use any of the proceeds for cards. There was a PSA 7 69' Mantle in that lot. Not a rare card, but I wish I had something to show for it.

~Missin' my Mantle

[B O'Brien]

In a way, I do this a lot. Not to the extreme of tons of money worth of cards, but more bulk. I will buy a bunch of cheap stuff over a year or so, so it does not bother me $$ wise, and then sell it all at once and buy one nice card in return.

If I try and save the money up over the year, I get bored with no new cards coming in to play with. I find it fun and it keeps me busy. It also gives me more people to talk to and make deals with outside of the usual circle.

But in reverse, I am sure that if I offered up my Lenox Johnson to whoever had the biggest stack of beaters in return, I would be kicking myself! I guess it all depends on the target or your collecting goal. I would LOVE to have a HUGE beater hoard, but I can bring myself to part with any of the 20 or so nice cards that I have.

Cool question and hope all is well,
Bob

[bbcard1]

I have worked it both ways but I once traded a low grade Walter Johnson for a bunch of new stuff that is virtually worthless now. Reggie Sanders rookie anyone? Funny, but I think you tend to remember the bad deals more than the good deals.

[David W]

I once traded several 1955 All American football including Grange, Rockne, and the Horsemen for a bunch of Cory Snyder, Eric Davis, Todd Worrell rookies.

Hey, full Beckett on Snyder, Davis, and Worrell was a lot higher than the AAFC cards. I thought I ripped the guy off........

[rdixon1208]

As Bob said earlier in the thread, I also do this once in a while. I'll buy cards in the $15 - $100 range because I like them at the time. After enjoying them for a while, I sell them and buy something nicer. I recently sold off 10 or so cards and used the money to buy a nice E95 Plank. I don't regret it at all. Even if I don't get all my money back on the sale....I just consider it "renter's fee".