[Rich Klein]

How quickly you need the capital.

I agree with Adam as to protecting yourself in the auction route. I can also tell you that many dealers will pay close to what you get in an auction (after the fees are taken out) and you get money immediately. I'll point out that someone like Brian Wentz as an example (BMW Sportscards); will pay you a fair price immediately on the spot in case you don't want to wait to go through anything. You mentioned both Steve Hart (BBCE) and Kit Young, I know both of those people for many years as well and both are class acts in the hobby as well.

But it sounds like your dream is to sell to a collector who will sell the duplicates to pay for his/her purchase.

I'll also point out that in an auction situation; you will also want to maintain as much control over how your lots are slotted as possible as well. Orioles 1954 (James) works for Bill Huggins, who I have known for more than 30 years and is as good as anyone in the auction business.

Frankly; if you have the time and the inclination; the best way to maximize your investment is to sell it yourself through various means: I'll also include the BST (Buy/Sell/Trade) boards here. EBay is a way to get bids in, etc.

I think what I'm saying and the board is saying is the decision is yours. Sit down; think about what you want to do and decide as to the method of selling. Once you figure out whether

1) You want to do it all yourself (EBay; BST, etc.)

2) You want to sell the lot to a dealer immediately (BMW, BBCE, Kit, etc)

3) You want to go the auction route. (Ebay; BST, etc)

Once you figure out what you want to do (and frankly all three of these routes are possible because of what you have). Then proceed to step two; which is figuring out WHOM you want to deal with in each situation.

Regards
Rich