Misery Loves Company - Any Stories About Taking a Loss at Auction?

[mechanicalman]

I've been back in the hobby for about three years now, and this week, I watched as a number of my early pick-ups were auctioned off through PWCC. These were some cards I bought mainly as "rookie" mistakes*, and ones I have since upgraded or just thought I could live without. (*Mistakes such as: buying the holder, not the card; buying lower grade than I could afford just to check a box; buying anything post 1912 outside of a PSA holder - yeah, I said it; buying anything from eBay Buy It Now; buying stuff at card shows just to buy something, etc...)

Anyway, needless to say, took a bit of a beating on the final prices. After the commission, probably lost $500-$600 or so when compared to my original purchase prices. I realize there are far worse lots in life than losing money on cardboard, but I wonder if anyone is willing to share similar stories of taking a loss when auctioning cards?

I know that the average experience level of the board members far surpasses mine, but we were all rookies once! Was thinking that any humble stories might make for an interesting thread (and selfishly make me feel better.)

Please note: NOT an invitation for anyone to jump on the soapbox and tell me what I did wrong. (I have a lot to learn, yes, but there are other threads for that.) Just looking for an honest dialogue about past mistakes.

[Leon]

You didn't do anything wrong. You had a cheap learning lesson. I had to have a 19th Century card where a total of 3 were known. I paid 25k for it privately and sold it for around 16k in aucton. Sweet deal, just not for me. And I could go on and on and on......Live and learn.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Leon

You didn't do anything wrong. You had a cheap learning lesson. I had to have a 19th Century card where a total of 3 were known. I paid 25k for it privately and sold it for around 16k in aucton. Sweet deal, just not for me. And I could go on and on and on......Live and learn.

Thank you for your honesty, Leon. I get the sense you more than made up the margin a few weeks ago! I know I tried to do my part... (e95 cCobb - Love it!)

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

Thank you for your honesty, Leon. I get the sense you more than made up the margin a few weeks ago! I know I tried to do my part... (e95 cCobb - Love it!)

That is a really, really great card. It has great centering and huge borders. I paid $2600 (privately) for it not too long ago. After juice it sold for $2692.

Overall my auction did very well (thanks to everyone who bid) and went a little above high estimates. Some really good friends got great deals and I made money at the end of it all. Not a bad hobby if you ask me. It is great to see some of my collection cards in good board members/friends collections. I just wonder how many I end up buying back? (actually, hopefully not too many, but no promises)

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

...
(*Mistakes such as: buying the holder, not the card; buying lower grade than I could afford just to check a box; buying anything post 1912 outside of a PSA holder - yeah, I said it; buying anything from eBay Buy It Now; buying stuff at card shows just to buy something, etc...)
...

I think it will help you to re-think the above ideas - some of your best deals are going to come through doing some of the exact things that you consider rookie mistakes.

Many of the beatings I take when re-selling have involved purchases that I thought were great ones. Unfortunately, the market told me I was wrong.

[packs]

Haven't had too many re-sale beatings but there have been plenty of times I thought I got a good deal on something that I didn't want, but figured I could make a buck on--only to resell the same card years later for the same price I bought it for.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by packs

Haven't had too many re-sale beatings but there have been plenty of times I thought I got a good deal on something that I didn't want, but figured I could make a buck on--only to resell the same card years later for the same price I bought it for.

That happens way to much -- whenever I try to buy something at what I perceive to be a value that I am not otherwise interested in, when I try to flip it it rarely if ever works out.

[arcadekrazy]

Part and parcel to the Hobby, I gather. I purchased, in a private sale, a really hard to find type card. I paid over $2,000. When I decided to part with my cards, this particular card sold, in auction, for less than $1,000.

Since I use disposable money for my collection, it wasn't the end of the world. Annoying, but not something that will bankrupt me. At the end of the day, I enjoyed owning the card and view the loss as a cost of deriving excitement from the chase.

[glchen]

I've set record lows for cards when selling them at auction whether it's my own store, starting at 99 cents or sending to consignment shops or major auction houses. Sometimes, it's all about hoping that the right people see your cards, and if not, you can take major hits.

[bbcard1]

I had a Carolina Bright back that I sold through an auction house…it was part of a lot and I paid an average of $500 a card or so. I selected the AH because I really like the seller and he has done well for me over the years, but this may not have been the right fit. It sold between $300 and $400 and I figured, what the hey, it was one of the lower grade ones anyway. The same card turned up at another AH just two weeks later and sold for about $1250. Ouch.

[mybuddyinc]

Yes, mid - $x,xxx range

-- Yes

Lived and Learned --

[Econteachert205]

sometimes when i sell a card for a loss, which doesn't happen a ton but does happen, I figure out how long I owned it and try to consider it more as renting a card. The works especially well for cards I upgrade, it's a rental place holder card and the fee is my loss but the benefit is having a set filled.

[conor912]

I'm sure if I was to think about it longer, I could come up with many more, but these were the first to come to mind. I almost always take a loss when I:

1) BIN from Ebay or a retail dealer
2) try to flip low-grade cards
3) buy a card with the intention of upgrading it

My wife spends all her money on clothes and weird face creams. With that in mind, even if I take a 75% loss on something, it's still 25% more than her return, plus my cards never run out or go out of style. As mentioned, I consider any loss to be just the cost of the joy of having owned it.

[bbcard1]

When i buy to resell, I almost always screw it up. Been at the game a long time…should know better…but almost always cut it too close to the bone. I prefer to sell once I upgrade. I usually treat that as found money and it doesn't bother me as much.

[Rickyy]

I think many if not most all can relate to this... I've thinned out some stuff and taken hits on them with auction houses. Interesting I've also sold some stuff on my own, where I made a little money (so can't complain really!), but if I found out later that if I probably sold it through an AH....I would have gotten more..

Ricky Y

[GasHouseGang]

A friend of mine in the hobby decided to put together a 1933 Goudey set. He further decided to make it a strict PSA 6 set. Which meant sometimes buying SGC graded cards and paying for a cross over. By the time he was finished he had right around $80K into it. It was a beautiful set. He finally decided to sell it through an auction house, which sold it as a set. It ended up selling for around $50K! I felt so bad for him.

[pokerplyr80]

I recently sold a few cards at auction. Some went for more than I paid but I took a decent hit on a couple (10-20% of what I had paid). When you factor in ebay or AH fees on both transactions though it's hard to come out ahead unless the card has increased in value significantly.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

A friend of mine in the hobby decided to put together a 1933 Goudey set. He further decided to make it a strict PSA 6 set. Which meant sometimes buying SGC graded cards and paying for a cross over. By the time he was finished he had right around $80K into it. It was a beautiful set. He finally decided to sell it through an auction house, which sold it as a set. It ended up selling for around $50K! I felt so bad for him.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. When you decide to go strict one TPG/one grade, you're really backing yourself into a corner and it's going to cost you (and most likely big time) in the end.

[bnorth]

When I first joined this site I caught the T206 bug. After I bought about 40 of them I realized I did not like the set and sold them as a lot just to get rid of them. I lost about $200. I probably could have sold them as singles or small lots like I bought them and broke even.

[steve B]

No big losses, one of the benefits of having a small budget.

But I have had losses on some stuff. And a few things I should have waited a while to sell.

But overall I try to follow the advice I got from the stamp dealer I used to go to (Still do, I just don't get to hang out in the shop 2 days a week since I moved out of state)

1) You can make money with anything if you buy it right
2) While it helps to really know some stuff really well you don't have to be an expert - you just have to become a good guesser.
3) Don't marry your mistakes, move them along, take the loss and the lesson.

I've seen that in action, and benefitted from it a couple times. Back when just about anything would sell well on Ebay he had a big box of mostly junk football cards with a price label the went from something like 175 down to 50. He asked if I wanted it and when I said I wouldn't really be able to give him an offer that wasn't almost insulting he said don't be shy, I know I messed up. 20 bucks and the box was mine. sold it as 200-400 count lots at around $5 each and did pretty well.

That pretty much made up for a few other small batches of great stuff that didn't do well at all. Like the plastic "parking for ____ fans only" signs I bought from a local liquidator type store. Only a buck each, how could I go wrong.............By buying any of them because they must be the least wanted sports item ever.

Steve B

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Leon

That is a really, really great card. It has great centering and huge borders. I paid $2600 (privately) for it not too long ago. After juice it sold for $2692.

Overall my auction did very well (thanks to everyone who bid) and went a little above high estimates. Some really good friends got great deals and I made money at the end of it all. Not a bad hobby if you ask me. It is great to see some of my collection cards in good board members/friends collections. I just wonder how many I end up buying back? (actually, hopefully not too many, but no promises)

I bought my first 2 cards from my 1st collection back last night. That didn't take long . It was 2 cool D311s from our BST......thanks Brian!!

[Exhibitman]

Over the long haul it tends to even out. I bought quite a few items at the absolute market top. Liquidating them has been painful. I try to time those sales with sales of highly appreciated items so I don't feel so bad overall. On the plus side if you run your card sales as a legit business endeavor a nice loss for the year can offset other income. I always prefer to make money of course.

[oldjudge]

It really is not surprising that people have losses. If you buy and sell an item at a major auction house, and it hammers the exact same amount you are down at least 20%. If you figure in that you were the high bid when you won the item, and without you bidding the item would have gone for at least one increment less, the loss, with everything else held equal, can be even more.

[majordanby]

the hobby goes through peaks and valleys - not too many cards/players/sets, at least these days, witness continual increases or sustained values.

I got into T3's when they were super hot in the mid 2000s - I had to sell them off several years later for financial reasons and it wasnt pretty.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

It really is not surprising that people have losses. If you buy and sell an item at a major auction house, and it hammers the exact same amount you are down at least 20%. If you figure in that you were the high bid when you won the item, and without you bidding the item would have gone for at least one increment less, the loss, with everything else held equal, can be even more.

I always say if you haven't lost on a sale then you haven't bought and sold enough .

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Leon

I always say if you haven't lost on a sale then you haven't bought and sold enough .

Touche....I used to work for a roofer that says you haven't really worked until you've fallen off a roof!! Kinda extreme, but same thing!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Touche....I used to work for a roofer that says you haven't really worked until you've fallen off a roof!! Kinda extreme, but same thing!

Tip for all roofers- Don't pick up a piece of 4 x 8 plywood on the top of a house when it's windy. I still have a scar on my hand from that while riding a piece to the ground.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

Tip for all roofers- Don't pick up a piece of 4 x 8 plywood on the top of a house when it's windy. I still have a scar on my hand from that while riding a piece to the ground.

The same could be said for trying to hold onto a heavy duty cafeteria table when on top of a walk in freezer. Just let it go because if you don't, you might end up under part of it when it crashes!

There has to be some analogy here for those who heavily invested in the junk wax era.

[rocarroll]

This example is more to get a general opinion of going form an auction buy to ebay on a higher value card and whether or not people have had good experiences making money doing that. It wasn't my card but I was highly interested in it a few months back so was tracking it. So I feel for the seller because I've had that happen to me before. It was the Vic Willis with the UZIT back that was for sale in REA's last action that sold for $3,600 (with juice) just sold on Ebay for $3,250 a week ago. Seller must have really needed to get out of it to sell it so quick. Its hard to come out on top when you buy a card like that at an auction, have to pay the 20% fee, flip it soon after on ebay and then eat the 10% fee plus the 3% pay pal fee (and the PWCC consignment). After fees you walk away with $2,827 on a card just bought for $3,600. Almost an $800 loss plus it was consigned to PWCC so that takes out some more. You figure that card was over $1,000 in the red after that. Beautiful card though and who ever bought it has a gem

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by conor912

This doesn't surprise me one bit. When you decide to go strict one TPG/one grade, you're really backing yourself into a corner and it's going to cost you (and most likely big time) in the end.

i always find it interesting that when someone compiles a set in the past 3 years or so they think magically they will get more in bulk then they paid per card. Collecting sets isnt a money maker......why have all the 1933 goudeys, its a hobby thats why.

if want to try to make money (or have best chance to lose little as possible ) you just get all the ruths you can get.......also when buying card by card for a set..you forget you arent bidding anymore, so thats one bidder gone from the auction already...

[glchen]

Originally Posted by rocarroll

This example is more to get a general opinion of going form an auction buy to ebay on a higher value card and whether or not people have had good experiences making money doing that. It wasn't my card but I was highly interested in it a few months back so was tracking it. So I feel for the seller because I've had that happen to me before. It was the Vic Willis with the UZIT back that was for sale in REA's last action that sold for $3,600 (with juice) just sold on Ebay for $3,250 a week ago. Seller must have really needed to get out of it to sell it so quick. Its hard to come out on top when you buy a card like that at an auction, have to pay the 20% fee, flip it soon after on ebay and then eat the 10% fee plus the 3% pay pal fee (and the PWCC consignment). After fees you walk away with $2,827 on a card just bought for $3,600. Almost an $800 loss plus it was consigned to PWCC so that takes out some more. You figure that card was over $1,000 in the red after that. Beautiful card though and who ever bought it has a gem

The PWCC consignment fee of 10% (for graded cards that sell between $3-4K) includes the paypal fees. So the loss was ONLY $3600 - (3250 * 0.9) = $675. Still not pretty, of course.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by glchen

The PWCC consignment fee of 10% (for graded cards that sell between $3-4K) includes the paypal fees. So the loss was ONLY $3600 - (3250 * 0.9) = $675. Still not pretty, of course.

right the time to buy the card is when someone HAS to sell it..