Selling a set vs. selling the cards individually
 

I know this has been asked before but with the economy still lagging, I wondered about the issue of selling a near set of E90-1s (missing one card-Joe Jax) versus selling them individually on the BST or eBay. Is there a consensus on selling a near set like this (VG-EX) condition intact or breaking it out and selling the cards individually? A couple of years ago I would have said that keeping it intact would bring a better return but E90-1s seem to be increasing in popularity. Just wondering what members thought. Thanks.
tbob

tbob - in the recent MHCC the set price for the high grade 1914 CJ set far exceeded the piece meal price. I do wonder what your set not having the Jax will have on the dynamic.

I think it depends on the set and the venue. I know that a T226 set did better in the 2009 Heritage auction broken down than it would have as a set because several collectors needed certain cards for their sets or collections. If you let the auctioneer do the "set or broken, let the price decide" thing, the set will nearly always win out because no one wants to waste their time bidding up a card when it could be jacked at the end for the set sale. I know I don't even bother looking at those.

If you don't need the cash now, I'd say decide what you'd like to net and consign it w/a 0% commission and a reserve. If that doesn't work, bust it up and Ebay the pieces.

or

If you need the money now, sell off the meat (stars and rarities) individually on Ebay and consign the bones to an auctioneer to blow out.

I can see it being better both ways.

Selling the cards individually on BST would take away the eBay listing and final value fees or the auction house consignment fees.

However, as a wealthy collector once told me, time is money for some people and those people have more money than time, so buying a complete or partial set and overpaying for it if they want it is no problem because they can then spend more time working and making money.

My two cents,

David

In years past sets used to have a break value that was typically one and a half to two times more if you took the time to sell the cards individually. I think the spread is much smaller today, and a near or complete set has some cache to it. You might get a little more selling one at a time, but you will have to do a lot more work for a longer period of time. And of course, as stated by Adam, not every set has the same break value.

Yes, I lost out on a Joe Jax about 11-12 years ago to one Keith Olberman on a last second snipe on ebay. This was back before everyone was using snipe services. It was a very solid card and now the price is out of sight for that card even in lesser condition. I think that may not be a concern because the near set is pretty nice but you never know. I once sold a complete set of T207s through Mastro and they "lost" the Lowdermilk during the photographic procedure (???) which was a beautiful card. They reimbursed me for the card promptly but I always wondered if the set had been intact whether it would have sold for more than the final price plus what I got for the Lowdermilk.

I've never purchased a complete set before but I do keep track of prices.
Most of the prices realized on complete sets still have break value IMO.
The rare or super high grade is the exception. If you sell your complete set
of e90-1, there is a chance that the bidders will be dealers that will stop bidding
when the possibility of profit disappears. 119 cards will take some
time to sell and sometimes a chunk of money is more useful; it really depends
on what you need.

One feature that I think needs to be added to VCP is set break price average.
You can already set the page to show the average VG-EX price per card,
now they just need to add it up for you :) It wouldn't be exact but at least
you would have a ballpark.

SET- You will exclude many collectors who dont have a few thousand $$ laying around (ie Me), and also exclude many collectors who are part way through their set and only need certain cards. And you will make quite a bit less $$ overall IMO.
But its easier and faster to sell in one group too.

Best (if using eBay) would be to sell singles, a few at a time to not overflood the market..... so there will be more bidding wars, instead of each collector choose a different card to bid on. This is more important if the cards are tougher "type cards", but I dont think E90-1 has much demand in the "Type Card" field.

I always love it when someone breaks a very rare set up, all at once on eBay (ie those R314-5's on eBay a few months back), I placed low snipes on every single card and won 20% of them.
Same with all those 1921 Herpolsheimer cards a few years ago. I won 1/8th of the known population, and didnt spend more than $150 an any of them (some as low as $60 at the beginning).

IMHO you will do better (if you have the time to wait it out) to sell each card individually.

Thanks for all the comments. You've given me quite a bit to think about.
Best regards,
tbob

Tbob:

You could do what lew (Lipset) did a few years back in one of his auctions. If memory serves me correct, he broke down an e90-1 set into lots based on scarcity. He had the really scarce cards in single lots and then some small groups of scarcer cards and then a couple big groups of the commons. Some of the breakdown was based on condition.
It seemed to work out well for him. Just a thought.

Bob

My rule of thumb is to break a set up, as I have done with most sets I've decided to part with. But, then
I've always been a patient dude.

The E90 stars, and especially those 30 (or so) toughies in the last series will sell very quickly. And, I will
bet you that Speaker will be the first to sell and you can name your price on this card (irrelevant of what
condition it is). Two years ago I sold a Speaker on ebay (ungraded, Vg) for $800. It garnered 28 bids.

On the other hand if you are looking for quick $$$$$ to purchase some other BB card "goodies", then by
all means sell this set intact. However, the missing Joe Jax might be a limiting factor in what you will get.

You don't have that problem by selling the 119 cards piecemeal. You and I have talked about the E90 set
in the past, as it has been one our favorites. I'm sure you've done the $$$$$ math, and have a good idea
what it will sell for broken up. If that number looks good to you, then go with it.

Currently, there are approx. 340 lots of E90-1 cards on ebay, for whatever that is worth.


Good luck,

TED Z

sell as
 

try selling it as a set first. if it doesn't sell for what you would like, then sell as singles or lots. if you sell as singles, you won't have the option of selling as a very near set on a second thought.
jim

Wow tbob,,,,,,,,,they "lost" the Lowdermilk ?! It sounds like they made things right with you, but I can imagine what went through your mind when they contacted you to tell you this :eek::confused:

Clayton