1957 Topps Basketball Set - Questions on Selling
 

Though I collect primarily baseball cards, I have some basketball and football cards from the 50s that I will be looking to sell in the next year or so. I sent a 1957 Topps Basketball set to PSA for grading. The "express" group came back with only 4s for Russell, Cousy and Heinsohn. If the grading is that tough for the other cards, I would guess that most will be 4s or 5s, with a couple of 3s and hopefully some 6s.
We are experiencing a wonderful "bubble" on the sale prices of especially the Russell cards, and to some extent Cousy. How long the "bubble" will last is anyone's guess. So, my questions and seeking your opinions:
1. Do I sell the Russell, Cousy and Heinsohn cards now, and go for today's prices (knowing they could go up further, or perhaps down)?
2. How would selling the Russell, Cousy and Heinsohn cards affect selling the rest of the graded cards in the set?
3. Should I wait for all cards in the set to come back graded (probably 2021), and try to sell as a set?
4. Does anyone see an increase in sales prices for some 50s football, like 1957 Topps Unitas RC and Starr RC?
Thank you in advance for your opinions. Would love to have a crystal ball! Jim

Generally you will get less for a set than the break value of the set. Always has been the case for mainstream cards.

FWIW, i think the Cousy is overpriced. Russell is a marquee card, but if the number makes you happy, sell. Don't worry about trying to time a market top. It isn't like you will be stuck with the cards: 1957s always sell well.

Sell individually. Check recent sales, there may be some correction coming---- Dr J RC sales have softened a bit, for example. Probably a good time to sell.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

1957 Topps Basketball Set
 

Thank you for your comments. Makes sense.

I’ve been waiting for the vintage sports card market to crash or plateau since 2004... both of my uncles have been waiting for it to crash since 1983. Is this a clue?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not only do complete sets usually sell too cheap, but people also tend to overpay for partial sets that are something like 266/330 (that don't include hardly any good stuff). I know the '57 hoops is a lot smaller; just generalizing.

So if you don't want to take the time to sell the commons/minors individually, you can still do ok offering the rest as one lot, after you sell the big cards.