Advice on selling welcome.

[corky8484]

I've 'lurked' here for the last 5 years and really enjoy the conversations. Getting deeper into my senior years and figure it's time to sell my card accumulations (don't consider myself a collector - but enjoy cards).

I grew up in NY and have plenty of cards from 1957-1961 (majority won by flipping or bought at the time). Eventually I'll want to sell those (my 'kids' don't want to inherit them, go figure).

Additionally I have a bunch of cards from an elderly neighbor who passed in 1970 (he was the original owner) ... see my net54 album in my profile for his cards.

I now live near Vancouver, BC. Advice needed on:

1. selling cards individually vs in bunches;
2. fixed price vs auction;
3. raw vs graded;
4. where to sell them.

My thinking on some of this so far:
1. individually ok as it gives buyer more flexibility - if in a bunch, how to group them?
2. fixed price easier for me to track, but auction might help if I screw up pricing it too low. Also putting an initial price on a card seems a bit subjective. I'm looking to pass along the cards at a price fair to both of us, not looking to squeeze the buffalo nickel so tight as to squeeze the - well you know what i mean.
3. These are all raw - I know a few will do a lot better graded (Ruth, Cobb(s) for instance). Getting cards graded from Canada difficult (PSA not available here) plus added risk of paying additional duties when cards returned.
4. I did ebay from 1998-2004 for things from dad's estate (not cards) - then it got bad there. I prefer selling here or face to face (have sold on the non-sports sister site).

I'm sure many of you have already considered these issues and maybe more that I missed. Any thoughts most appreciated.
Rick
corky8484 (I collected corkscrews for years, thus 'corky')

[cardsagain74]

My opinions:

1. Individually unless you need money faster (lots usually go for a discount)

2. "Fixed price" unless, again, you need the money faster. Auctions usually get you the lowest end of current market prices, unless you're a big-name house

3. Graded, unless you're dealing with cards worth less than maybe 50 bucks each. And the higher value they are, the more getting them graded becomes worth the effort and $

4. Start here, since it saves you about 10-12% in ebay fees. Not sure of the exact amount since I've never sold on there yet, but plenty here can correct me. Anything that you don't sell easily on here, move to ebay. Plenty of forum people handle their selling that way, because it often gives you the best bang for your buck. Or, you can list here and ebay simultaneously, but at a higher price on ebay (also common)

[oldeboo]

1. selling cards individually vs in bunches
More money individually, easier in groups. You see people trying to sell large groups on here, then move to individually if no bites. There are dealers or set collectors that might buy large lots. Another option is to list them all individually and offer 10% off on groups of 5 or more as an example.

2. fixed price vs auction
Auction will move it at a determined time no matter what at a relatively decent market price. Fixed will get you what you want, but of course it's tricky to pinpoint not too low and not too high, have to do your research. You see a lot of sellers on here start high and drop their prices periodically. It basically ends up being a reverse auction. At some point the price gets low enough someone will pull the trigger close to what it's worth.

3. raw vs graded
There are knowledgeable enough collectors on here to pay you fair prices for raw cards, but I'd generally expect prices a grade or two lower than graded. Just depends if it's worth the time and effort for that extra cash. Since it doesn't seem that you're overly worried about maximizing profits, I'd just sell raw, unless there are no takers at a reasonable price.

4. where to sell them
Start here with fixed prices and price drops if needed, then move to Ebay and let them rip at auction to move them.

Looking forward to seeing what you list

[swarmee]

Try COMC.com out for selling as raw cards. I'd only send them cards you expect to sell for at least $3 each. But you will not have to do much work (just mail them in and then price them once they're loaded) and then they will mail them to all the buyers themselves.

[bnorth]

Please don't use COMC.

I would sell them all on here to make it way easier. Sell the better cards separately and the cheaper stuff in lots.

To price go to eBay and see what similar cards really sold for. Then knock 10% off that and list them. They should sell fairly quickly.

[corky8484]

Thanks for the swift replies so far - giving me plenty to think about . . .

[bmattioli]

From your post looks like you have sold before on EBay and here in the Non sport section correct? There are many ways to sell of which you've done, what was your issue?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by bmattioli

From your post looks like you have sold before on EBay and here in the Non sport section correct? There are many ways to sell of which you've done, what was your issue?

Probably no issue, but this question will get him several PMs with offers. I know I seriously though about making an offer on all the strip cards.

[corky8484]

Originally Posted by bmattioli

From your post looks like you have sold before on EBay and here in the Non sport section correct? There are many ways to sell of which you've done, what was your issue?

Hi Bruce - you're right I've done Ebay 15-20 years ago (the good ol' days) and some selling on the non-sports site ... the 4 areas I outlined are a bit different than what I was concerned about with the non-sports and wanted to get feedback ... appreciated the discussion - had wondered about COMC, etc. ... Guess the baseball ones are 'favourites' while the non-sports ones were 'just cards'
thanks for your reply

[corky8484]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Probably no issue, but this question will get him several PMs with offers. I know I seriously though about making an offer on all the strip cards.

Hi Ben - I did want to introduce myself and let folks know I wanted to sell some stuff. You took the idea further (thanks? but I'd want to be upfront about condition etc as possible and listing them a few at the time may be the best way (better photos front and back, etc).

So I guess maybe this is just this 72 year old's attempt to establish some familiarity and trust with the group and begin to disassemble all the goodies accumulated over the years so it doesn't just end up in the yard sale (Covid permitting) after I'm gone. Bet I'm not the only one here.

Still wondering why I flipped that 'Ted Signs' and that Mantle back in the day - at least I won ...

[Gorditadogg]

You probably know intuitively the more effort you put in the better you'll do. If you have the time and inclination you should sell the cards individually or in small lots. Start your pricing a little high, you can always come done.

Auctions work best when it's a popular item. Unless you are selling Mantles or Jackie Robinsons I would stick to fixed price.

Hopefully we will see at least some of your stuff up on our BST sites. Good luck!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[toledo_mudhen]

Cant stress enough the importance of a "good" scanner for images. I generally shy away from listings with crappy images (cell phone, wrong scanner, etc)

I too would suggest simultaneous eBay and BST....

[jchcollins]

Sorry if it was already mentioned here and I missed it - but social media, particularly Facebook - also offers a lot of different groups where vintage cards are bought and sold individually between regular collectors. This is also a good way to avoid eBay fees, and if you want to take the risks (not recommended, but people do it...) PayPal fees as well if you send FF.

PM me if you want specifics, thanks.

[STM56]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Please don't use COMC.

I would sell them all on here to make it way easier. Sell the better cards separately and the cheaper stuff in lots.

To price go to eBay and see what similar cards really sold for. Then knock 10% off that and list them. They should sell fairly quickly.

Would you mind explaining the COMC comment? It seems like there are some benefits from selling there.

[bbcard1]

Let me preface this post by saying I am often wrong. This may be another one of those cases.

If I were going to sell, I would sell now. The market has been on fire for a good while now and, contrary to popular belief, that's the time to sell, not hold. The reason I think this is that there are some conditions going on that won't last forever, especially COVID which has limited people's travel and many of us have used the time to focus on our collections.

I would put the higher end stuff together and sell through a good auction house the charges no commission. If your cards need graded, they can fastback that and they will give it a lot of exposure which should result in a better price.

You could sell your more ordinary cards on your own and do fine. You can easily research eBay comps and offer them here at about the same price and you should do well. Ebay is also viable as are some Facebook groups. Put them in logical chunks to minimize your work (for example, you'd probably want to sell the Mantles and key players/rookies separately unless you had a near set, but if you have 150 g-vg 1956 commons, it's a lot less work to sell them in one lot than indivudiullay.

There's nothing wrong with bulking out a portion to a dealer, you'll just get a lot less that way. Still, they will do the work and they deserve to make a buck.

If you wait until later, there's nothing wrong with setting up at a show or two as well. it's fun, but table fees, meals, etc. take a lot of the $.

I liquidated a large collection for a friend a few years ago. I made some mistakes, but I learned a little. I wish I had to do it over again and I'm also glad I have it done. We ended up with about $60K for his daughter's college.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by STM56

Would you mind explaining the COMC comment? It seems like there are some benefits from selling there.

I've never used COMC to sell so I don't know, but they seem to be one of those outfits that people either love or hate. There seems to be little in-between opinion wise on forums like these.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by STM56

Would you mind explaining the COMC comment? It seems like there are some benefits from selling there.

There are some great benefits to selling on COMC. None of them apply to this seller. This seller is an older gentleman trying to get top prices for his cards. He is also getting out of the hobby. That is a horrible combination for selling on COMC in my honest opinion.

[hockeyhockey]

hey rick, welcome. i joined only a few months ago, and it's a great place filled with a lot of really cool people that are generally very fair and great to deal with. the B/S/T section seems like a good spot - as others said, you save the ebay fees and if you price things fairly, they'll get sold rather quickly.

look forward to seeing the collection.