Having thoughts of selling my collection that includes multiple Nolan Ryan cards

[Ryanexpress68]

I've been collecting baseball cards since 1975 and was a huge Nolan Ryan fan. My collection has multiple cards in each year of him. I also have notable player rookie cards including Bench, Fisk, Schmidt, Seaver and many more. I have realized that my son is a runner but does not have any interest in baseball cards. This is my first venture into selling any of my cards. I'm not desperate to sell but would like to get value for my collection by selling to an actual collector. I will be providing pics and some of my cards are graded but I'm not a big fan of the grading process and fear sending my Ryan rookies out to someone else. Any insight on how to go about this would be helpful. Thank you.

[quitcrab]

No problem selling raw cards I buy raw cards and completily understand its buyer beware. I would be interested in the Seaver Rookie if you decide to sell. I am working on a 67 set. Thanks Scott
Quitcrab@optonline.net

[Ryanexpress68]

Thank you for the response. I have been trying to upload photos but I am unable to. As far as selling individual cards, my preference would be to sell my complete collection but that might be a tall order.

[wdwfan]

I understand selling your collection individually would be time consuming and a tall order. But to be honest, you'd get way more value over someone wanting to buy the entire lot. Some of the "dealers" you see buying collections offer next to nothing for them.

So the best bet, if you could, would be to piece it out. Plus, look at it as getting to spend more time with your collection and getting to go through it some more. Now that I say that though, it might be easier just to cut the cord if you will instead of dragging it out over a couple months/years.

But I'd still consider selling individually. Maximizes your profits more.

Originally Posted by Ryanexpress68

Thank you for the response. I have been trying to upload photos but I am unable to. As far as selling individual cards, my preference would be to sell my complete collection but that might be a tall order.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Ryanexpress68

Thank you for the response. I have been trying to upload photos but I am unable to. As far as selling individual cards, my preference would be to sell my complete collection but that might be a tall order.

The photo has to be 1.2MB or smaller to upload or you will gt a error.

[bbcard1]

Piecing it out is time-consuming and requires and investment in time and money (selling fees or show set up). Your chances of finding a collector who will pay say 75% of the retail of the collection is next to none. Also, everyone always thinks their house is worth more than it is, their kids are prettier than they really are, and their cards have greater value than they do.

This is not to dissuade you from trying to sell your collection, but understand it is not easy. Selling my collection is likely to be my retirement job. I expect that with hard work I may get 50% of its value...better on key pieces, of course, but far less on others. I sold a collection for a friend who met an untimely death. I think I probably got 60% of the value out of it, but it took more than a year and I had a couple of buyers who were generous in light of the situation. The upside is I made some great friends along the way.

Good luck! Selling anything is work. That's why the people who do it make a profit.

[Ryanexpress68]

Thank you for your response. What would be your suggestion for selling cards individually? Ebay? Card shows?

[Santo10Fan]

Originally Posted by Ryanexpress68

Thank you for your response. What would be your suggestion for selling cards individually? Ebay? Card shows?

I would not recommend eBay. The sales tax implementation has been a fiasco for buyers and sellers alike. For example, if you sold me a $2,000 card, I would have to pay like $150 in sales tax. Ebay collects the tax directly from me. You do nothing.
IF you take my payment via paypal and I return the item, you will have to refund me the $150 out of your own pocket and then wait for a invoice credit, basically store credit. You will never get the money back in cash equivalent. To top it off, Paypal includes the tax for your gross % fee.

[JollyElm]

Definitely look at completed, sold auctions on ebay to see what cards like yours (same shape, etc.) generally sell for. Then after you arrive at prices you think are pretty fair, offer some for sale here on the B/S/T, so you don't have to worry about all the fees involved on the 'bay.

Good luck!!

[Elderwood17]

Originally Posted by Ryanexpress68

Thank you for your response. What would be your suggestion for selling cards individually? Ebay? Card shows?

As others have said it is not easy to sell cards and generally you don’t get as much as you initially expect to. However, it sounds like you are not in a hurry so you can take your time and make a few small sales either on this site, eBay, or through other collectors you have met along the way.

Good luck!

[chalupacollects]

My two cents, assess your collection, price some cards out and try selling here on BST first... its free and if you don't get the prices you want you can pursue other avenues... one note collectors will pay more than dealers as they typically are not as concerned with the profit motive...