Should hard-to-complete vintage sets sell for a premium to breakup value?
 

I'd love to see the range of views on this question. We all can agree there should be no premium placed on, say, a complete 1985 Topps baseball set in VG-Ex condition. But what about hard-to-complete sets? Under what circumstances should they command a premium to their break-up value?

For example, hypothetically:
-- a 1952 Topps baseball set, all graded PSA 8
-- a 1933 Goudey set, all graded PSA 6 (or alternatively PSA 7)
-- a T206 set with common backs, all graded PSA 5
-- a complete T206 rare-back subset, all in mid-grade holders
-- a T206 Polar Bear set, all graded PSA 5 or better (extremely condition-sensitive)
-- a T211 Red Sun complete set in any condition (which to my knowledge does not presently exist)

Or for more recent sets, how about these examples:
-- a 1963 Topps baseball set, all in PSA 8 holders
-- a 1971 Topps baseball set, all in PSA 8 holders
-- a 1977 Topps baseball set (the year I first started buying packs), all in PSA 9 holders
-- a 1986 Fleer basketball set, all in PSA 9 or PSA 10 holders

Discuss!

I think only I really see a full set go for more if it's a very tough set - tough as in the cards are actually difficult to locate. A 1952 Topps set is not rare at all, it's just expensive.

For some of these in high grade, I would think the gap would be even bigger than normal between a sets break up value and it's all together value. 1952 Topps in PSA 8, the Mantle is what, like $10 million alone now? How many people would even consider paying it's 'full value' for a 407 card set and actually be able to do so? Breaking it up allows the big whales to get the big cards they want and the less enormously wealthy to bid up the 'regular' cards; it doesn't require buyers with absurd amounts of money that even few among the very tip top of the economic period could do. Buying a PSA 8 1952 set for anything even approaching it's 'true value' would be a large risk and take a massive amount of liquid capital.

The only one of these that might exceed it's breakup value would be T211, I think.

I think a mid grade fairly tough set should sell together for a premium. But I agree if with the post above that if the set has a whale card or two it’s not realistic to sell together and wouldn’t generate a premium.

The sets that should sell for a premium are smaller, difficult, and more rare pre-war sets to obtain. Think Regional, E-cards, smaller T-cards, etc. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of collectors that can afford a complete E94 set for example so you cut a big portion of buyers out who collect one or two at a time based on their budget. And often, if it is a significant set sold as a whole they don't usually make it to the market but is a private sale like Ryan's recent E107 Breisch-Williams purchase.

Traditionally, the sum of the parts was always worth more

I also agree that maybe some sets should likely sell at a premium to their break-up value, but it likely won't ever really happen for various possible reasons:

1. Overall cost. Buying an entire set all at once is already going to be way more costly up front and beyond many collector's normal budgets. Fewer potential buyers generally leads to less overall demand, and usually results in lower ending prices.

2. Dealers. Goes along with reason #1 in that if many collectors are unable to go after a complete set because of the high cost to buy it all at once, that will likely leave it more so to dealers with more readily available resources and cash who could possibly afford it. However, a Dealer will look to acquire and then resell the set to maximize their profit, which will likely come from breaking the set up. In which case, they will factor in the profit margin they expect to make and normally cap their top bid well below the expected break-up value of the individual cards in the set, so they can hopefully achieve the profit they want.

3. Collectors. Not as big a deal as items #1 and #2, but many collectors do seem to value the thrill of the hunt more than almost anything. And so aside from the up front cost, some collectors may not be as interested (or satisfied) in just buying a set someone else had the time and pleasure in assembling. And again, fewer potential buyers generally leads to less overall demand, normally resulting in a lower final price.

But all it takes are two interested and desirous bidders with really deep pockets to prove my points wrong.