Quote:
Originally Posted by obcbobd
perhaps a list of dealers or auction houses along with contact info. I suppose this is especially important for collectors who have family that have no idea what their collection is worth. Those family members could be easily taken advantage of.
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This is the truth. Recently I was given a referral to a lady whose brother had left her his collection. She had to get it out of his house quickly because she was selling his house as well. So I gave her a contract with what highlights I could see at a quick glance. I could have robbed her blind. The biggest example would've been her 1955 Topps set, which I had actually spotted and listed on the contract. The set was only VG but the Clemente was sharp. I called her and let her know it made more sense to buy a lower grade Clemente for the set and get hers graded. Spent $750 doing just that. Set sold for the right amount and then we got a 7 on the Clemente rookie. She made thousands of extra dollars. She NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN if I had done everything the same and just kept the 7 for myself. Of course, I would've known and apparently that makes me different from some other auctioneers/companies. If you don't know someone in the auction business you trust, make sure you leave your family the contact info of a friend in the hobby to protect them. You HAVE to have someone you trust in those situations.