Prices of complete sets relative to singles

[cardsagain74]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

Your memory is correct. Especially with graded sets, the sets seem to sell for more than the singles would cumulatively. Occasionally a bargain can be found. There was a near 1968 PSA baseball set with BP that finished around $20k (sans top 10 cards) in the recent Memory Lane auction. Obviously, over the past year, the cost/value of graded sets has increased due to the grading costs of commons.

Over the past year raw set prices seem to have doubled. For example, mid-grade 72 baseball sets could be had for around $1500, today the same set would bring $2500-3000.

Complete sets have done better lately (relative to the underlying value), but your numbers are skewed. They haven't doubled in just the last year.

For the '72 you mentioned, a lot of ex+/ex-mt raw sets have gone for 2300-2400 on ebay in the last three months. A year ago, those sets would've sold for 1700-1800. And that's the type of 30-40% increase that I've seen across the board for many vintage sets. Anyone spending 3000 for a "mid grade" '72 really overpaid.

Plus the underlying breakup is still a bit higher than those recent sales. Even before factoring in the transaction costs of building one.