Misery Loves Company - Any Stories About Taking a Loss at Auction?

glchen · #1 09-11-2015, 11:06 AM

I've set record lows for cards when selling them at auction whether it's my own store, starting at 99 cents or sending to consignment shops or major auction houses. Sometimes, it's all about hoping that the right people see your cards, and if not, you can take major hits.

bbcard1 · #2 09-11-2015, 11:13 AM

I had a Carolina Bright back that I sold through an auction house�it was part of a lot and I paid an average of $500 a card or so. I selected the AH because I really like the seller and he has done well for me over the years, but this may not have been the right fit. It sold between $300 and $400 and I figured, what the hey, it was one of the lower grade ones anyway. The same card turned up at another AH just two weeks later and sold for about $1250. Ouch.

mybuddyinc · #3 09-11-2015, 11:29 AM

Yes, mid - $x,xxx range

-- Yes

Lived and Learned --

Econteachert205 · #4 09-11-2015, 11:33 AM

sometimes when i sell a card for a loss, which doesn't happen a ton but does happen, I figure out how long I owned it and try to consider it more as renting a card. The works especially well for cards I upgrade, it's a rental place holder card and the fee is my loss but the benefit is having a set filled.

conor912 · #5 09-11-2015, 11:57 AM

I'm sure if I was to think about it longer, I could come up with many more, but these were the first to come to mind. I almost always take a loss when I:

1) BIN from Ebay or a retail dealer
2) try to flip low-grade cards
3) buy a card with the intention of upgrading it

My wife spends all her money on clothes and weird face creams. With that in mind, even if I take a 75% loss on something, it's still 25% more than her return, plus my cards never run out or go out of style. As mentioned, I consider any loss to be just the cost of the joy of having owned it.

bbcard1 · #6 09-11-2015, 02:21 PM

When i buy to resell, I almost always screw it up. Been at the game a long time�should know better�but almost always cut it too close to the bone. I prefer to sell once I upgrade. I usually treat that as found money and it doesn't bother me as much.

Rickyy · #7 09-11-2015, 02:36 PM

I think many if not most all can relate to this... I've thinned out some stuff and taken hits on them with auction houses. Interesting I've also sold some stuff on my own, where I made a little money (so can't complain really!), but if I found out later that if I probably sold it through an AH....I would have gotten more..

Ricky Y

GasHouseGang · #8 09-11-2015, 03:39 PM

A friend of mine in the hobby decided to put together a 1933 Goudey set. He further decided to make it a strict PSA 6 set. Which meant sometimes buying SGC graded cards and paying for a cross over. By the time he was finished he had right around $80K into it. It was a beautiful set. He finally decided to sell it through an auction house, which sold it as a set. It ended up selling for around $50K! I felt so bad for him.

conor912 · #9 09-11-2015, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

A friend of mine in the hobby decided to put together a 1933 Goudey set. He further decided to make it a strict PSA 6 set. Which meant sometimes buying SGC graded cards and paying for a cross over. By the time he was finished he had right around $80K into it. It was a beautiful set. He finally decided to sell it through an auction house, which sold it as a set. It ended up selling for around $50K! I felt so bad for him.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. When you decide to go strict one TPG/one grade, you're really backing yourself into a corner and it's going to cost you (and most likely big time) in the end.

1952boyntoncollector · #10 09-14-2015, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conor912

This doesn't surprise me one bit. When you decide to go strict one TPG/one grade, you're really backing yourself into a corner and it's going to cost you (and most likely big time) in the end.

i always find it interesting that when someone compiles a set in the past 3 years or so they think magically they will get more in bulk then they paid per card. Collecting sets isnt a money maker......why have all the 1933 goudeys, its a hobby thats why.

if want to try to make money (or have best chance to lose little as possible ) you just get all the ruths you can get.......also when buying card by card for a set..you forget you arent bidding anymore, so thats one bidder gone from the auction already...

pokerplyr80 · #11 09-11-2015, 03:41 PM

I recently sold a few cards at auction. Some went for more than I paid but I took a decent hit on a couple (10-20% of what I had paid). When you factor in ebay or AH fees on both transactions though it's hard to come out ahead unless the card has increased in value significantly.

bnorth · #12 09-11-2015, 03:59 PM

When I first joined this site I caught the T206 bug. After I bought about 40 of them I realized I did not like the set and sold them as a lot just to get rid of them. I lost about $200. I probably could have sold them as singles or small lots like I bought them and broke even.

steve B · #13 09-12-2015, 01:35 AM

No big losses, one of the benefits of having a small budget.

But I have had losses on some stuff. And a few things I should have waited a while to sell.

But overall I try to follow the advice I got from the stamp dealer I used to go to (Still do, I just don't get to hang out in the shop 2 days a week since I moved out of state)

1) You can make money with anything if you buy it right
2) While it helps to really know some stuff really well you don't have to be an expert - you just have to become a good guesser.
3) Don't marry your mistakes, move them along, take the loss and the lesson.

I've seen that in action, and benefitted from it a couple times. Back when just about anything would sell well on Ebay he had a big box of mostly junk football cards with a price label the went from something like 175 down to 50. He asked if I wanted it and when I said I wouldn't really be able to give him an offer that wasn't almost insulting he said don't be shy, I know I messed up. 20 bucks and the box was mine. sold it as 200-400 count lots at around $5 each and did pretty well.

That pretty much made up for a few other small batches of great stuff that didn't do well at all. Like the plastic "parking for ____ fans only" signs I bought from a local liquidator type store. Only a buck each, how could I go wrong.............By buying any of them because they must be the least wanted sports item ever.

Steve B

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