Need Advice Regarding Selling My T206 Set
 

Hello Folks,

I am in the process of getting my T206 set graded for eventual sale. Sadly, I am missing the Big 6, but I have the remainder of the set.

As you would expect, conditions vary from Nr Mt to Poor.

What do you propose is the best way to maximize the value I obtain for the set, while balancing the amount of time and effort I have to put into selling the cards? Should I put the entire set up for auction or should I sell each of the HOF's individually and then sell the commons in large lots?

I am looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks in advance,

John

Depending on how valuable your time is, you might not want to sell it one card at a time. If it averages vg/ex or better, you might consider one of the larger auction houses. They will also pay for the grading and you could save yourself some $ that way. You can also consider the multiple offers and inquiries you have probably already received since posting.
JimB

Thanks E93. No offers yet!

I haven't had the cards graded, so maybe I should check with auctions houses first. I didn't think about them paying for the grading services.

Which auction houses have the best reputation / deal structure for sellers?

Thanks again.

John

I had a top ten set a few years ago when t206's where going for crazy prices. Best decision I ever made was to sell it at that time.
What I would do is sell anything less than vg-ex in large groups raw. All HOFers and southern leaguers, send to either psa or sgc, whichever is best right now.
How I sold mine was this. On the PSA website they give you access to most everyone's e-mail in the set registry. So, register your set on there and write up an e-mail and cut and paste it to a bunch of people on there. Tell them what the name of your set is and that it is for sale.
I did this in the summer of 2006 and within a week I sold 90% of my 400 cards to just a few people. All from the set registry without paying a dime in fees or Paypal. Had them all send me checks and didn't ship any cards till it cleared.

PhilliesPhan,

You rock. That is very insightful.

I collected these cards in the 1970s and early 1980s and I have been out of the hobby since that time. As such, all of this is new to me.

I had planned to have PSA grade the cards. I spoke with the President (Joe) and he is a great guy.

Great suggestion. I will try this approach, as I don't have anything to lose. If I don't get traction within the PSA Registry, I can always pursue the auction approach.

Thanks!

John

If you piece it out, you should consider NOT grading the cards less than a solid G...I am working on a low grade set and prefer unslabbed and I think a lot of others do as well.

I prefered raw cards when I built my set also, but to be fair I prefered them because they were available for less than comparable graded cards. That may play into this guy's answer because he is now a seller, not a buyer.

.
 

After grading fees are factored in, it may be more profitable to sell lower grade commons raw.

That's what I was trying to say...if a card is going to go for $10 to $25, why bother to send it in...not only do you spend money on grading that will not realize more money, but you also delay the proceeds without any real profit.

John

One consideration(already mentioned) above is one of the larger auctions. I sent a large group of T206 to REA this year and they broke it down into 2 large groupings(one strictly T206, the other combined with other prewar cards I had sent).

The lots sold for better than I imagined, though I had duplicates(including HOF's). .

This is just another suggestion based on my experiences.

Frank

Is it STILL true that the auction houses will pay for grading--or is that a myth?

I have heard they will have it done, but charge you accordingly out of the sale proceeds.

What are the facts these days?

Thanks Guys
 

My thanks to everyone who posted a reply and sent a private message.

I am leaning toward getting the VG+ cards graded and attempting to sell them via a eBay dealer who has a good customer satisfaction score.

However, I remain open to additional suggestions.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to share their thoughtful comments. I really appreciate it.

Cheers,

John

phillies*phan seems to have the best suggestion. may take a little legwork on your part but you won't necessarily have someone else take about 15% out of your sales (8% ebay+3% paypal+ cosignment fees).

Grading fees...
 

Yes, there are auction house's that pay grading fees without renumeration. We have sent several submissions in gratis for our upcoming auction.

Scott

Thanks Scott--Glad to know the facts.

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Nobody has mentioned it yet, but we would love to see them in the B/S/T :)

if you are getting your t-206's graded, do yourself a favor and go with SGC. For aesthetic reasons alone, they have the nicest holders.

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Jim,

I have to respectfully disagree. If the primary reason for grading is resale (which is what it sounds like here) I'd be willing to bet quite a bit that the seller would get more money for slabbed PSA cards than for comparably graded SGC cards.

In fact a group of T206 collectors (myself among them) recently bought and broke a T206 set that was mixed PSA and SGC. We purposely assigned a 10% discount to any commons that were SGC.

As much as I like SGC (and use them exclusively), PSA graded pre-war cards still bring more than SGC IMHO. SGC is the choice among posters on this board, it seems, but a lot of collectors still prefer PSA although I think the gap has narrowed somewhat. SGC holders ARE much better looking aesthetically and you don't have sliding cards like some PSA holders. Plus I believe SGC does a better job spotting trimmed cards although I sometimes disagree with their assessments.

T206
 

i have to agree with Scot and Bob.
since you're talking money, you'd best do as they say methinks.

all the best,

barry

I second the B/S/T
 

I had just planned to list about 20 T206 cards on ebay last night, all graded 4, 5 and 6. A few hours before I did that, I made a B/S/T post with all the cards, and asked for what I really wanted to sell each for. Within an hour or so, I had racked up $800+ in sales and only had to list 15 last night. It is a simple, low cost alternative and it takes almost no effort to list them here. Heck, I didn't even post scans -- I just emailed scans to people who were interested in specific cards. Then, a few hours later, I pulled down the B/S/T listing and put the remainder on ebay -- 1 card at a time, $.01 starting bid. We'll see how it goes when they end Sunday night...