Quality vs. Quantity

[Abravefan11]

I'm giving serious consideration to selling off my collection and consolidating it down to a much lesser number of items of better quality. Essentially going from a collection of hundreds of cards to 25-50.

For those that have done this have you been happy?

Any thoughts are welcome.

[FrankWakefield]

I've briefly considered such, and it did not seem attractive to me.

I was told of an old, long time collector, who years ago did something along those lines. He wasn't after quality (which wasn't the bugabear that it is now for some), he was after rarity. His goal was to have his entire collection in his shirtpocket. He'd not have a Wagner... but he could have gotten a 33 Lajoie then, the portrait Cobbs, O'Hara and Demmitt, portraits of Young, Mathewson and Johnson. A 52 Mantle. A 34 Gehrig and a 39 DiMaggio. E90-1s of Mitchell, Walsh, Graham, and Jackson... A fellow could have about a dozen killer cards that wouldn't take up much space. And that was his goal.

So he was going for rarity, not quantity. You're talking quality, not quantity. I think most folks today would agree with the quality angle. It seems that current card values support that. For me, it isn't so much the dollar value as it is who is on the card and which set it's from. The history of it all fascinates me much more than a slab number.

[barrysloate]

Tim- my suggestion is to sell from the bottom up. That allows you to still retain your better pieces in case you have a change of heart, and you can still raise money along the way. You won't miss the lesser cards as much and can always sell the better ones later if you need to.

[Tcards-Please]

I agree with Frank. I would much prefer to have a Cobb, Ruth, Jackson, Johnson, Mathewson in lesser condition than just a Cobb in NM condition.

[Abravefan11]

A quick clarification. By quality I didn't necessarily mean high grade. I personally value rarity over grade.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

I'm giving serious consideration to selling off my collection and consolidating it down to a much lesser number of items of better quality. Essentially going from a collection of hundreds of cards to 25-50.

For those that have done this have you been happy?

Any thoughts are welcome.

I've done exactly this and have been very happy with the results. I also don't have anything high-grade.

[Doug]

I've rarely had more than 20 cards at a time (other then when I attempted to put sets together early on) and I've really enjoyed collecting that way.

[jcmtiger]

I did the same thing, I had way to many cards. I probably still have too many, but managable now.

Joe

[hank_jp]

Tim - As I am in the process of selling my graded T206 set [hopefully to be replaced with a raw set], I am keeping those rare cards and unusual print errors that are so tough to find and that give me pleasure to own.
I know that most cards, even some of the toughies, are replaceable. However, I am satisfied with those cards I have decided to retain and with the pursuit of other rarities that I would love to own. I also enjoy focusing on putting together a decent condition back set so as to not feel totally disconected from The Monster.

Hank

[philliesphan]

I've significantly reduced the quantity of cards in my collection. Although I do have some examples that are high-grade, I more appreciate rarity and special pieces [in mid grade] than having tons and tons of cards.

I never appreciated the sheer quantity of cards I had -- and with a fewer number of pieces, each of them are special to me.

It is a good move, especially if you diversify enough that you don't end up setting record setting prices for whatever quality pieces you decide to acquire.

[T206Collector]

I sold off about 500 T206 cards, all graded by SGC, and got down to about 50 total, if you include my 32 autographed T206 cards. Before I started slowly compiling unsigned and low grade raw T206 cards, I was down to 22 graded cards. I used most of the funds to purchase Lionel Carter's Eddie Plank and a Magie error, as well as two dozen or so signed T206 cards. Occasionally I miss one of my Chase cards or a Lajoie. But those are so easy to get back any time I really want them. Once I started the sell off, it became surprisingly easy and comfortable to do.

Good luck!