Quote:
Originally Posted by mjkm90
As a collector, I can appreciate having a book intact. But from a business and benefit to the hobby perspective I would have sold one book in a major auction, then broke the other up and sold them as singles. This would accomplish two things:
1st It would maximize generation of cash. There is no way these would fail to bring $200-$500 each (more than 40 collectors would want these) and who knows what the book would bring.
2nd This way you would be putting really really rare and nice pieces in the hands of far more collectors.
Why should the one big spender get all the goods? It's like when you see all five spalding trophies sell in a lot. They NEVER bring close to what they would have sold for as singles, and now the collector who just wants to own one (and only has the resources to buy one) is left out. I love knowing that someone who really appreciates a piece has an opportunity to acquire it without breaking the bank.
One thing he should have done was leave ONE ticket in the book he broke up. That piece alone would go for significantly more than any single out of the book.
|
One big difference between the trophy lot scenario you're presenting and these ticket books is that you wouldn't have to break the trophies into pieces to sell them separately. The idea that breaking something up so that more collectors can get a piece of the action may make sense monetarily, but I think it's rarely "good for the hobby." I'm not talking about breaking up a card set or piecing out a trophy or pin or whatever else
collection of individual items. I'm referring more to the cutting up an uncut card sheet, opening an old pack of cards, removing something from a blister pack, chopping up a jersey/bat/ball, etc. Actions that cannot be undone.
With the case of this ticket book, you can argue whether it makes sense monetarily, or whether it really matters because the tickets were intended to be removed anyway, or how many more people get to enjoy the tickets now that they are not bound in their original booklet. What you cannot do, however, is return them to their original state. You can reassemble a
collection of anything, but this is one
collectible that cannot be put back together.
Would I have done the same thing if I were in the owner's shoes? I honestly can't say for sure one way or the other, and I'm sure personal finances would weigh heavily on that decision. Being a collector at heart though, making that decision to break up the book would sadden me, even if it did make the most monetary sense.