Consign with Probstein

[bobbyw8469]

I had the exact same set although in better shape. Typical mid grade set. Everything was around PSA 5 range. It brought around $1,400. Hope that helps.

[MattyC]

I sent a graded set to him once and it did incredibly well. I was paid immediately, with a spreadsheet explaining all cards and the hammers and fees. It was a great experience and the communication was also great.

[Shoebox]

Honestly I dont understand consigning with someone to do an ebay listing. I never bid more on an item because Probstein listed it. (whether perhaps I PAID more is subject to debate) I dont looking for items any specific person lists. I look for items I want to buy and when I find them I bid. Other than doing the time to list the item and handling the shipping of the product what service are you getting to justify giving up another 10% or however much on top of the 13% ebay/paypal take? Seems like you pay quite a bit to save an hour of your time.

[ALR-bishop]

Dustin --I have never sold anything on ebay, either myself or through a consignor. At this point I am strictly a collector. I am aware of the many threads here and on CU about possible shilling in some consignor auctions (Good for some sellers ? Bad for some buyers ?). I am also aware of the many threads here and on CU about the large number of unreasonable and even unethical buyers who have surfaced on ebay since their rules have changed to so favor buyers.

The main reason I would look to use consignors or auction houses to sell my collection if I decided to liquidate is to avoid dealing with buyers willing to abuse the current refund , return, feedback system as a club in seeking bargains from sellers

I realize there are many good buyers out there. I like to think I am one. But my temperament is such that I would prefer not to deal with the aggravation of selling direct on ebay, and would be willing to pay a commission to do so. Not sure if this would be a factor with other sellers

Al

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Shoebox

Honestly I dont understand consigning with someone to do an ebay listing. I never bid more on an item because Probstein listed it. (whether perhaps I PAID more is subject to debate) I dont looking for items any specific person lists. I look for items I want to buy and when I find them I bid. Other than doing the time to list the item and handling the shipping of the product what service are you getting to justify giving up another 10% or however much on top of the 13% ebay/paypal take? Seems like you pay quite a bit to save an hour of your time.

I have not consigned with Problemstein but I believe it is cheaper to consign with him than actually listing the items yourself. Rick gets a huge(?) discount from eBay because of the # of items he lists.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I have not consigned with Problemstein but I believe it is cheaper to consign with him than actually listing the items yourself. Rick gets a huge(?) discount from eBay because of the # of items he lists.

Both Rick and PWCC (as well as several other larger sellers) are members of the "Emerging Verticals" program with ebay, so yes, they do receive a greater discount on FVF than your typical "Top Rated" seller would.

[robsbessette]

It's not that I'm being lazy and just don't want to deal with it. I have a lot of money invested in this and want to get the most return possible. These large sellers get tons of volume. When I'm on eBay with my piddly 150 feedback I feel like sellers are deterred. But when they see a power seller like Probstein they feel comfort.

I personally don't follow this idea and seek out sellers with 10-20 feedback as I feel there are better deals to be had since people avoid them. I think it's worth the risk for the prices to be had.

I hope I can just move the whole thing on Net54 and don't have to deal with and eBay fees or commission. That would be ideal. So if anyone out there is looking for a master 1959 Topps set, you know where to look!

I wonder if I'd do better selling myself on eBay and breaking up the entire set and selling each card individually. It would take a ton of time, but if I can get the money back, that would be good. It would also probably help the high grade commons that get lost in the mix.

[kailes2872]

I wonder if I'd do better selling myself on eBay and breaking up the entire set and selling each card individually. It would take a ton of , but if I can get the money back, that would be good. It would also probably help the high grade commons that get lost in the mix.

In my recent nightmare experience, the time thing is what I underestimated the most when dealing with breaking up and selling smaller singles and lots.

Trips to the post office, trips for supplies, managing multiple deals at one time, etc. My respect for the guys that do this on a daily basis (and the tedium that goes with it) went up exponentially this past month. I remember when I was building 59. I bought a bunch of singles from Battersbox, but I would do buy it now and not put it in my shopping cart. They offer free shipping. One day, I was going through card by card buying and kept hitting BIN. During that time 6 of the cards were from them and, due to how I purchased, it came as 6 different packages.

Paul sent me a note asking that I use the shopping cart feature in the future - but I am pretty sure they broke even to lost money on me that day.

That is what life has become. Getting into arguments with the guy at the post office because the exact same package is $2 moe today than what it was last Friday. Trying to maximize what you can fit in a bubble wrap to maximize return while still providing secure shipping etc.

Unless you think that you can get nearly double on a card by card basis versus what you can get as a set, run to the hills. Avoid the temptation. Because once you sell the first card from the set, it is no longer complete and the long 572 card break begins.

Just one man's warped, beat down point of view...

[RobertGT]

Originally Posted by robsbessette

It's not that I'm being lazy and just don't want to deal with it. I have a lot of money invested in this and want to get the most return possible. These large sellers get tons of volume. When I'm on eBay with my piddly 150 feedback I feel like sellers are deterred. But when they see a power seller like Probstein they feel comfort.

I personally don't follow this idea and seek out sellers with 10-20 feedback as I feel there are better deals to be had since people avoid them. I think it's worth the risk for the prices to be had.

I hope I can just move the whole thing on Net54 and don't have to deal with and eBay fees or commission. That would be ideal. So if anyone out there is looking for a master 1959 Topps set, you know where to look!

I wonder if I'd do better selling myself on eBay and breaking up the entire set and selling each card individually. It would take a ton of time, but if I can get the money back, that would be good. It would also probably help the high grade commons that get lost in the mix.

The key cards in the set, the Gibson and Mantle, are both poor and the rest of the set is VG-EX. I hope you don't have that much money invested in this.

Probstein is not going to bring any more money on a low-grade set like that than you would get listing yourself on ebay, unless there is some of the aforementioned shenanigans that you often see with a Probstein auction. Prices are just really suppressed for easily found, low-grade material now.

I think your chances of moving it on the Net54 for a fair price are even less, as many people are simply looking to scoop up deals to flip on eBay. The few times I've attempted to sell post-war stuff on Net54 it was mostly the sound of crickets. Ebay may be a huge headache, but stuff does move there.

Where Probstein seems to do well is the ultra-high grade PSA-slabbed cards. But again, how many of those sales have legitimate bidding patterns? I think a lot of his problems have been well-documented here.

My advice to be would be to list it on eBay at the exact Buy-it-Now price you need on the set, or maybe a few hundred over it with a best offer. Then wait, wait, wait. Hopefully the gray-white variations will be a strong selling point. Good luck.

[Shoebox]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I have not consigned with Problemstein but I believe it is cheaper to consign with him than actually listing the items yourself. Rick gets a huge(?) discount from eBay because of the # of items he lists.

Ahhh! That is something I hadnt considered and since with high dollar items he offers a reduced commision I can see how that could be. In that case I would save the mlney and headaches for sure.

[Exhibitman]

Try sterling.