[todeen]

Is the guy trying to sell all at once, or simply asking you if you will buy parts of the collection?

I would say if he is wanting to dump the collection all at once, he has to understand that no one will be able to pay book value, or even 50% of book value. A dump is a DUMP because he wants to move on. I think that reasoning stands since he is reaching out to Craigslist rather than reaching out to an auction house. If he wanted as much as possible, he would take the time to sell accordingly.

I would do as suggested by another member, take your time to look over the collections, and then make an offer that you are comfortable with. If you are buying to flip the collection and make money, you need to leave room to make a profit. Are you going to send this to an AH? Are you going to incur fees on ebay? All of these fees add on to what you originally pay. It's a lot of work to turn around a collection and get it to the proper retailers...if that's the route you're going. Or if you are selling individually on ebay, you have to take photos, you have to catalog, and you have to do the work. Right now, the seller doesn't want to do that. So the seller knows they are ready to pass on "book value."

If you are buying for a personal collection, maybe you are going to make a different offer.

But offer what you are comfortable with.