Based on what you've shared about your collection, it sounds like you're stuck.

It's not economical to get them graded, at least not based on current values and costs to grade. And yet you don't want to have to deal with the process of cataloguing and marketing them yourself once you get too old for this [stuff].

Assuming that you're still a ways off from that day, I would probably vote for putting off any decision, and instead worrying about it when you get closer. There's really no easy solution today, and it's possible that something will change between now and then where a better solution will arise. Values for your items could spike or costs to grade could fall (either of which could make grading a better option), new selling channels could appear for raw cards, thermonuclear war could make it all moot, or the computers could stage an uprising and destroy all of humanity. Lots could happen that might change your calculus and approach.

So in the meantime, I'd just enjoy what you have, and reserve that problem for another day that is hopefully well into the future. And if you put it off forever until it's everlastingly too late, then hopefully your heirs will have the energy to manage it. And if not, then my guess is that you probably will have more important things to be worried about.

It really comes down to how much you want to spend, how many cards you want, and how easy they are to sell. Like the old saying goes, pick the two you want because you can't have all three.

Raw cards are way cheaper and you can easily have 3-5X of the same exact card for the price of a singe graded version. So you can get a very impressive collection for the price of a small stack of cards in plastic slabs. Could also enjoy a few cards you really like that are easy to sell. Heck you can even do a little of both.:D

Thank you both for some very good advice and thoughts on this. I appreciate you.

Yes, I am stuck but Ben, you have an excellent solution as mentioned, I can collect t my raw cards bit also maybe get a few graded cards of my favorite cards such as a 54 Hank Aaron or 55 Clemente or a 68 Seaver and I really like a 64 Pete Rose. Then I can have the best of both words. I can leave the 51-59 topps to my heirs one day to do whatever they want with it. If they put the box in the trash so be it but at least the nicer bigger cards will be slabbed for resale. I think this is the perfection solution for what I want to accomplish with my collection. Thank you!

The following approach worked for me in a similar situation.

At one point, I had over 10,000 comic books. It was really just a mountain of boxes. I derived no pleasure from having them all.

I made the decision that it was time to downsize. I started with a single box and began going through the comic books, one by one. With each book, I asked myself a rather simple question:

If I never see this book again, will I really care?

If the answer was yes, I held it off to the side.

If the answer was no, I put it one of two piles:

1. Sell individually
2. Sell as part of a lot

Fast forward three years, and roughly 85% of the books have sold. I made a little money and cleared out a whole lot of space.

The best part? I still have every single thing that I really like. The collection went from 10,000 plus books down to less than 300.

I realize this doesn't help you with the logistics of selling your cards. However, it may help you when starting to whittle down your collection.

Hey Eric,
Yes, this actually helps out tremendously so thank you for your thoughts on this.

It helps out because it gets me to start thinking that quality vs quantity might actually be a better approach. I wonder if there will be more jou and happiness in simplicity? Meaning having a smaller more awesome more focus collection versus a bunch of cards. Kind of like the old saying of would you rather have four quarters or one hundred pennies. I also read somewhere on here the following quote which might be the key secret to all of this. It read “Top to bottom, your collection will be way more impressive, easier to store and keep track of, and easier to sell when the time comes” thank you again. I appreciate you.

10,000 comic books is quite the collection! Fun to hear about your adventures in thinning the herd.

I know that Adam (exhibitman) has a rule that if he hasn’t looked at it in a year then it’s time to get rid of it.

My own personal rule is that if I forget that I have it, and when I stumble across it realize that I’m not really attached to it, then it’s probably time to find a new home for it.

Fun fact:

Comic books are often kept in “long boxes” - a standard sized storage solution for that hobby. When full, a long box weighs approximately 50 pounds. 10,000 comic books, when stored in typical bag/board holders, will fill approximately 40 long boxes.

So, I’ve sold a literal ton of comic books. That’s 2,000 pounds I’ll never have to lift or move…ever again.