New here - to the forum and to the cards

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Posted By: Grandpas Cards

Hi everyone!

Recently my Mom pulled out her Grandfather's old baseball cards with the intent of probably selling them. After receiving an offer of $1400 for all the cards (approx 220 of them) we decided to do some research to see if they might be worth more than that.

I started an online gallery of the cards and have about half of them loaded so far. I hope to be finished this weekend getting them all uploaded. Some of the photos are a little distorted. I assure you the cards are not bowed or skewed as some of them look. My Mom had them stored in sheets of plastic sleeves and I photgraphed them a sheet at a time which means the end ones got a little distorted. I didn't want to handle the cards individually and photographing them all individually would have taken forever.

I plan on taking requests to individually photgraph the potentially more valuable cards to be able to allow a better look at them.

I realize this is a forum of collectors, and I am technically only the inheritor of a collection we plan to sell, but I figured I'd get more honest advice here than if I contacted more of the commercial type buyers and auction houses.

Essentially I'd love to know if there are any gems amongst our cards, if there are some that are worth paying to have graded before I sell them, and any other advice anyone is willing to offer. It breaks my heart that the T205 Ty Cobb looks like someone carried it around in their pocket!

I've done some research online so I do have some general ideas about the different types of cards. Actually, the ones I can find the least information about are what I have determined are Caramel E102's. They are not branded and say they are a set of 25 players. If I remember correctly, I've got another 8 or so of them that I haven't uploaded yet to add to the 9 already up. Also, one of them, the Magee, has a very strange back to it. It says something about prize-fighters, but is off-center.

Here is the website link to the gallery so far. Check back later in the weekend if you are interested, by Sunday evening I plan on having the rest of the cards put in.
http://www.kegski.us/tobaccocards/index.php

Thanks everyone in advance for any advice!

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Posted By: Tim Newcomb

You've come to the right place for good advice--

and you were certainly right not to take the $1400 offer! The E102 Wagner and Cobb are worth at least that by themselves.

Tim Newcomb

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Posted By: Marc S.

You did well by not selling for $1,400. Some of those T-206 Hall of Famers would fetch a nice price if sold individually, I think.

I sent you an e-mail offline. I'm a Philles fan, and have an interest in that E102 Magee.

Cheers

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Posted By: jpcw

someone tried to take advantage of you. you have some very nice/valuable cards.

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Posted By: David Vargha

I am assuming that you have never sold vintage baseball cards before. As such, listing them on eBay by yourself would likely draw skepticism and much lower bids. If I were you, I'd find a very reputable dealer who will take them on consignment for a standard percentage and sell them through him listing them on eBay. It will be alot less hassle and will likely net you far more money.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Good instincts! The top 10 cards are worth well more than the $1,400 offer you didn't take. I'm sure that you'll get lots of offers for those cards. Are you interested in selling any of the cards.

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Posted By: BlackSoxFan

no kidding, man there are a bunch of crooks in this business. Anyway, i dropped you a note to your email, get back to me at your leisure and welcome to the board.

Regards,

Black Sox Fan

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email me

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Posted By: Grandpas Cards

Wow, thanks for all the responses so far! Now I'm going to work extra hard to get the rest of the cards loaded up as quick as I can.

Anyone who has sent or sends an email will get a response at some point this weekend. I am doing the legwork (or finger work - computer keyboard), but the cards belong to my Mom, so everything will get run past her first, and then we'll make some decisions.

If anyone makes an offer or notes an interest in a specific card, I will deal with them on a first come - first served basis.

She is definately interested in selling, it's just a matter of how she finally chooses to do it.

Thank you for the input and interest so far! Like I said, I'll definately respond to everyone, just give me time to talk to the boss!

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Posted By: Brian E.

I suspect the E102 Cobb alone would fetch double what you were initially offered for the entire lot. If I recall, my E102 Cobb in VG condition (SGC 40) was $2600 or so.

It's interesting to see that all the T206's are either Tolstoi or Polar Bear.

Brian E.

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Posted By: BlackSoxFan

No problem ... you're sitting on some great stuff!!!! Just remember, take your time and don't let anyone pressure you with a deal!

Regards,

Black Sox Fan

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email me

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Posted By: leon

Since Grandpa's cards is new to the board and this is an extraordinary circumstance it can stay on the main thread. (sales generally go in the Buy/Sell/Trade section). I would remind everyone to always do due diligence in your transactions. This board, as ebay does, always operates under the premise of caveat emptor....good luck...

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Posted By: identify7

Check back on what David Vargha said. I think that it is good advice. David may be able to help or help steer you to someone that can.

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Posted By: Damian

Honestly top money will come if you get them graded professionally or at least the Hall of Famers. Use PSA and or SGC. If you know someone who does ebay and has good feedback, have them list them for you once they are graded. You'll be able to get top $$ yourself this way without much in commisions. E-mail me if you like and I can walk you through grading options and process. Great cards by the way!!

Damian

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Posted By: David Vargha

I'm not a dealer (although I do buy and sell on eBay), so I wasn't talking about myself in this context. A reputable vintage dealer would also advise you on what to get graded and would probably do that as well (for cost) in order to maximize $$ for the both of you.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: Don J

My advice: Get all the caramels graded by SGC (approximately $10 per card) and most of your tobacco HOFers (the common beat up tobacco cards are not worth getting graded at this time - those can be sold in lots). Then consign them on Ebay to someone with a good feedback rating that is willing to list the cards for you. A reasonable dealer fee would be about 10-15% after Ebay, shipping and listing fees.

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Posted By: Anonymous

For anyone who is interested, I finally loaded all the cards into my gallery.

Whew, that took a lot of work!

Thanks to everyone who offered advice, and to those who made offers via email, thank you again for your interest. I will be sure to post in the B/S/T area should the cards become available thru Ebay or direct sell.

It's been an interesting few weeks learning about these cards and I admit I will kind of miss them when they are gone. I can't afford to pay my Mom what they are worth, but if I could I do believe I'd be a new collector!

Thanks again!

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Posted By: quan

that'd be the best bang for the bucks. any individual offer you have there are probably at least half a dozen more people out there interested in the same card(s). I only checked out the caramel section but it looks like you have some scarce cards such as the e102 schmidt wagner throwing etc.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

As much as I would like to take the consignment, David Bryan (davidvintage) is a great choice, drop him an email if you are looking for someone to sell the cards.

Lee

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Posted By: T206Collector

I would start by submitting the best ones to SGC, because they know vintage cards the best and their holders are great:

http://www.sgccard.com

For an $8-$10/card investment, your sales will increase exponentially.

Then I would go with someone on this Board that would sell them for you on ebay, with a moderate commission. Keep in mind that if you want to sell them yourself on ebay, but don't have much feedback, you can still probably do quite well if you link your auctions to the B/S/T thread here. That way, you will be reaching a prime audience of vintage card collectors, as well as whatever driftwood floats by on ebay at the time of your sale.

Whatever you do, do not sell the cards in a lot. The cards should be sold individually. All you need to know is that dealers buy in lots for the break-up value. If you want to save a little time on the commons with corners missing, put lots of 2 or 3 together. But never couple a Cobb with another card; and never couple a tobacco card with a caramel card -- some people only collect a certain player/brand/type.

Keep the auctions to individual cards with individual descriptions and you will do just great.

Oh, and the best move you made (other than not selling for $1,400) was to make a post here. Plenty of knowledgable people will offer you free and expert advice without asking for anything in return.

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Posted By: identify7

Here is my recommendation: The cards have been in your family for 100 years. They have appreciated well over that interval. They will likely continue to do so.

If you need cash for expenses, sell the worst cards first. If you want cash to invest in something else - please tell me what that is - I am interested in investment opportunities better than 100 year old baseball cards.

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Posted By: T206Collector

The key is somehow predicting when they are going to burst.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/17/news/economy/housingstarts/index.htm?cnn=yes

I would also say that (1) humans do not invest in 100 year cycles -- we'd all be dead; (2) the increase in baseball card values over the past 100 years will not be matched over the next 100 years.