Posted By:
Matt"I have spoken to people who have consigned some of these groups and often they are not happy with the results. Likewise, I have seen groups come on the board after an auction closes and congratulate each other on the great deal they got. I'm not sure I would put that in print."
Barry - I think it's true that individual cards would bring in more then if sold as part of a disparate group lot or partial set, but I don't think the reason has anything to do with the possibility that people teamed up on those lots. When you sell an individual card, then anyone who wants that card for any purpose (set building, player collection, type card, etc.) will be willing to pay prime value. When you sell a disparate group or a partial set, the only person willing to pay prime value for that is someone who wants every single card in that lot; a MUCH smaller bidder pool. Most people want just a few cards and will sell off the rest, which means they are less likely to pay top dollar for the cards they have to sell off.
I would argue further that by creating a "coalition" (word used as not to confuse the word group) you actually bring in another serious bidder to that lot since the coalition is "someone" who is interested in every card in the lot. That would only serve to bring the hammer price up.