Reputable buyers of entire collections

[Rich Klein]

How quickly you need the capital.

I agree with Adam as to protecting yourself in the auction route. I can also tell you that many dealers will pay close to what you get in an auction (after the fees are taken out) and you get money immediately. I'll point out that someone like Brian Wentz as an example (BMW Sportscards); will pay you a fair price immediately on the spot in case you don't want to wait to go through anything. You mentioned both Steve Hart (BBCE) and Kit Young, I know both of those people for many years as well and both are class acts in the hobby as well.

But it sounds like your dream is to sell to a collector who will sell the duplicates to pay for his/her purchase.

I'll also point out that in an auction situation; you will also want to maintain as much control over how your lots are slotted as possible as well. Orioles 1954 (James) works for Bill Huggins, who I have known for more than 30 years and is as good as anyone in the auction business.

Frankly; if you have the time and the inclination; the best way to maximize your investment is to sell it yourself through various means: I'll also include the BST (Buy/Sell/Trade) boards here. EBay is a way to get bids in, etc.

I think what I'm saying and the board is saying is the decision is yours. Sit down; think about what you want to do and decide as to the method of selling. Once you figure out whether

1) You want to do it all yourself (EBay; BST, etc.)

2) You want to sell the lot to a dealer immediately (BMW, BBCE, Kit, etc)

3) You want to go the auction route. (Ebay; BST, etc)

Once you figure out what you want to do (and frankly all three of these routes are possible because of what you have). Then proceed to step two; which is figuring out WHOM you want to deal with in each situation.

Regards
Rich

[cdn_collector]

On two separate occasions I have liquidated my collection because I felt the value was getting too be too much for me to justify. Now to be fair, in my case we were talking about significantly smaller values, but when I looked at having a safe with $3-5K of cardboard in it and outstanding student loans, car payments, etc. it was too much.

In one case I sold the collection off in pieces (also traded some of it), and in another, I sold to a dealer. Both routes worked. Both routes got me reasonably fair value (selling in pieces was better than to a dealer, but I knew that going in and wanted the money fast with no hassle).

In the end, I only had one regret: Because I wasn't leaving the hobby, I kept a few cards that I knew I'd never replace. There are a couple others that I wish I had kept that would not have drastically affected the net value. Five years later, I am still in the hobby, my student loans and car payments are gone, and I sure wish I had a couple of those cards back. In some cases, I *could* buy them back for more than I sold them for, but in at least a couple cases, I know those cards aren't for sale. My saving grace is that I know they have found "good homes".

Bottom line: Regardless of how you sell, if there's a chance you may still collect, or you aren't selling because you need the money, keep the ones you think you may regret selling later.

Regardless of what route you take, good luck.

Regards,

Richard.

[E93]

Consider the twenty solicitations you have already received from dealers and auction houses since posting here. . Seriously though, it looks like you are getting good advice here.
JimB