Can anyone honestly say....

[Exhibitman]

"Can anyone honestly say that you've built a vintage set (70s and older) brick by brick, lot by lot, filling in singles here and there, etc. and were able to later resell a complete vintage set HIGHER than the dollars you put into it?"

Well, I could do it now. My 1969 basketball set is worth many times what I spent assembling it.

[GasHouseGang]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

"Can anyone honestly say that you've built a vintage set (70s and older) brick by brick, lot by lot, filling in singles here and there, etc. and were able to later resell a complete vintage set HIGHER than the dollars you put into it?"

Well, I could do it now. My 1969 basketball set is worth many times what I spent assembling it.

I always though vintage basketball was too cheap. But what the heck has happened to the prices! Wow.

[frankhardy]

Even if you are collecting for the enjoyment of the hobby and not for an "investment".... From a financial perspective it can at least be a decent "savings account". Some cards may not go up in value, but if you collect what you enjoy then most of the time you can at least get back out of it close to what you put in it. I have no plans of selling my collection but if I did it would be a nice chunk of change that I have accumulated over the years.

[avalanche2006]

Ok, so do you think that someone who has a exmt to nm set, that is focused on centering, would make more by selling the cards individually?

[Seven]

Originally Posted by avalanche2006

Ok, so do you think that someone who has a exmt to nm set, that is focused on centering, would make more by selling the cards individually?

I think it depends on the set to be honest. Some vintage cards have certainly taken off price wise. I also think the original post has to deal more with buying than selling. A lot of times it's easier to swing deals on lots of cards rather than buying a set card by card. There will always be exceptions to this rule.

For an example look at the most recent REA auction.

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=68928

It contains a Groat and Bartirome. Now if you were to buy unsigned copies of those cards individually, you're looking at the 600-800 range for the Bartirome by itself and the 200-300 range for the Groat by itself. Both of these cards are paired in this lot along with two others and they are all signed. Sometimes it makes sense to buy cards in groups.

[Rich Klein]

I also think, and this is a difficult concept for many people, is if you want to make a profit for building a set then:

BUY THE KEY CARDS 1st. The odds are the best cards in the set will continue to go up in price or hold their value while the easiest cards will have minor increases or none at all. The easier cards will also be a bit more available both in the short and long run.

So if you are going to build a 57 Set from scratch as Pat Mentioned; These would be the 1st 10 cards I'd buy (this list is not in order but just names coming to my mind instinctively) : Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Bunning RC, Brooks Robinson RC, Frank Robinson RC, Mantle/Berra 407, Dodgers Sluggers 400, Colavito RC and Ted Williams. We can disagree on a card or two within this list but you should get this gist.

The sooner you purchase the key cards, the better off you are if your goal is turn the set into a profit venture.

Rich

[1952boyntoncollector]

Yeah some of the star cards may make you money but the commons will kill you.

Also you forget, if you take 20 years to compile the set..you cant expect to get your money back if sell all in a year. If take 20 years to sell, you will do better but nobody wants to sell sets in a 20 years process the way the assembled it over 20 years....time is money as well