Will set collectors dry up the supply?

[jefferyepayne]

It also seems like as long as the split up value of a set is worth more than the set as a whole, there will be incentive for set collectors to split sets up when they decide to sell.

I personally have always scratched my head at the notion that a complete set is worth less than the individual cards. I understand the whole "carrying cost" argument for common cards and how inventory works for dealers but in most antiques and collectibles, complete sets of things garner a premium when they are difficult to put together. I haven't compared set prices to individual card prices for very old card sets but would hope that at some point there is a premium for complete sets.

Is that now true for some sets or not? Is there a trend toward or away from sets having a premium? Just curious.

jeff