Cashing in a Starting All Over

[ejharrington]

You should go card by card. If a card would net you more money today than you would pay for it today if you didn’t own it, sell it. Otherwise, hold.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by ejharrington

You should go card by card. If a card would net you more money today than you would pay for it today if you didn’t own it, sell it. Otherwise, hold.

I like it well said !

[bnorth]

Yes and no as I only sold off my graded cards. I still sell some raw cards to buy other cards/bats but the graded was a purge.

I sold off all but a few oddball graded cards and used the cash to buy around 30 Wade Boggs bats. It was the best decision for me. The cards just sat in piles that I rarely looked at. I made a display that holds 20 bats that is in my living room that I really enjoy being able to look at any time I want.

Only negative is I need to build another bat display that I need to convince my wife would also look nice in the living room.

[icurnmedic]

My reluctance to sell hinges on the fact that if I sold some of my higher end items, there is no way I could replace, both out of scarcity and the fact that the cards are so darn high, and do not appear to be lowering , at all.

If I needed to sell though, Im not as "attached" as some of the collectors on the forum.

I have never been able to afford being attached, LOL.

Good luck with your decision.
Thomas

[jfkheat]

I sold off a big part of my collection in 2020 & 2021. I am in the process of selling the rest now.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

I'm relatively new to prewar baseball, but collected vintage basketball for the last 40 years since I was a kid. Got practically everything, but....

There was a time when I cashed in on many of my nicest cards. I sold maybe 20 of my highest valued cards in favor of another financial transaction. Cash came in wonderfully handy, but with the best cards gone, my collection felt incomplete and insignificant, even though I still had many nice cards and sets.

I repurchased everything again in the last 8 years, but at a lower grade as I couldn't buy a Wilt Chamberlain PSA 7 rookie, George Mikan SGC 5, or Jordan graded 9 rookies reasonably anymore. I do have some regret not holding on to items that are now $20K a piece and unobtainable. When I see one of these formerly owned items change hands at auction and read the write ups, my stomach turns!! Oh well, life is about choices, right? Other things are more important than collectables.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

I'm relatively new to prewar baseball, but collected vintage basketball for the last 40 years since I was a kid. Got practically everything, but....

There was a time when I cashed in on many of my nicest cards. I sold maybe 20 of my highest valued cards in favor of another financial transaction. Cash came in wonderfully handy, but with the best cards gone, my collection felt incomplete and insignificant, even though I still had many nice cards and sets.

I repurchased everything again in the last 8 years, but at a lower grade as I couldn't buy a Wilt Chamberlain PSA 7 rookie, George Mikan SGC 5, or Jordan graded 9 rookies reasonably anymore. I do have some regret not holding on to items that are now $20K a piece and unobtainable. When I see one of these formerly owned items change hands at auction and read the write ups, my stomach turns!! Oh well, life is about choices, right? Other things are more important than collectables.

I know what you mean about your collection feeling incomplete after selling some of it. About 12 years ago, I sold a run of Bowman sets and some pre-war sets to help pay for a major house renovation we were doing. I always felt the loss to my collection, so after a few years, I started building them back and eventually was able to replace everything, but it cost a lot more than what I made selling them. In the end, I was happy to have everything back and hope to avoid having to sell again.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by icurnmedic

My reluctance to sell hinges on the fact that if I sold some of my higher end items, there is no way I could replace, both out of scarcity and the fact that the cards are so darn high, and do not appear to be lowering , at all.

+1000. This is the conundrum/rub

I do think things are alarmingly expensive and in the short term it may not be a bad idea to take some chips on the table. But my experience is that over the last 35-40 years, the good cards have continued to go up in value. Long term, I think Cobbs, Ruths, Wagners, Jackson, HOFers from blue chip sets and rare stuff of HOFers are worth more tomorrow than today. So the decision to sell is permanent - if I sell something, I will likely not get it back. You can’t take it with you, so the question is: Is there a better use for the money, either as an alternative investment or personal (tuition, house, retirement, other interest, etc)

[boneheadandrube]

Who's going to be buying these cards for THAT much more in the future?

[bks14sr]

I actually just reached out to REA to start moving some cards. My reasoning is seeing recent APRs and I got an allocation for a car I’ve been wanting. I have been stressed out about selling and constantly flaking about posting anything, but the cleared funds will be enjoyed. I’d love to eventually get some of what I plan on selling back, but I’ll be changing my approach to collecting next go.

[samosa4u]

Weren't you telling people that you were getting out of the hobby back in 2019?? I do remember you selling off some big cards on this site, including a 51' Bowman Mantle.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by ejharrington

You should go card by card. If a card would net you more money today than you would pay for it today if you didn’t own it, sell it. Otherwise, hold.

Agreed, with the proviso that if the card is one I believe has potential for increases better than what I could earn otherwise over the next decade, I will hold it.