Considering major change to collection

[jayshum]

Make sure you really are ready to sell your sets before you do. Around 10 years ago, I sold my run of Bowman and Play Ball sets along with a few other pre-war sets to pay for work we were having done on our house. I was never happy about doing it, so about 5 years ago, I started putting them back together. Unfortunately, cards like the 51 Bowman Mantle and Mays had really gone up in price so it cost a lot more the second time than it did the first.

[Arazi4442]

I'm kind of in the same situation now, though not on purpose.

I got laid off when Covid hit and then got worried the pandemic could outlast my severance. (Didn't know about the unemployment subsidy at the time) If the economy tanked, I could have been forced to sell my collection during an economic downturn so I sold everything in April to be safe.

Fast forward a few months and I got a new job and the card market is booming. I'm currently looking to purchase one big card that I never could have afforded otherwise, which may be fun but there's a couple cards I sold off that I sure wish I had back now.

[TUM301]

Interesting thread and a topic that crosses my mind every so often. It seems like more are in the "go for it camp" and the get it while the getting is good, especially regarding the "52 Topps Mick. There is the other side as well, all good arguments. For me have been wondering if I should move my Mick now and use the proceeds purchasing a different Mantle(most likely not a 52 Topps) and the nicest Mays/Aaron/Jackie or some kind of a 3 or 4 card combo. This Mantle is a large portion of my collection but still have significant items, other than this, to move to make other purchases. Cool topic......
3A983CE9-2772-4FF9-AF34-728BCB3A52B7 by Hugh Murphy, on Flickr

[investinrookies]

Originally Posted by TUM301

Interesting thread and a topic that crosses my mind every so often. It seems like more are in the "go for it camp" and the get it while the getting is good, especially regarding the "52 Topps Mick. There is the other side as well, all good arguments. For me have been wondering if I should move my Mick now and use the proceeds purchasing a different Mantle(most likely not a 52 Topps) and the nicest Mays/Aaron/Jackie or some kind of a 3 or 4 card combo. This Mantle is a large portion of my collection but still have significant items, other than this, to move to make other purchases. Cool topic......
3A983CE9-2772-4FF9-AF34-728BCB3A52B7 by Hugh Murphy, on Flickr

Very nice 52T Mantle, Id have a real hard time parting with that one. They are just so hard to find even remotely centered.

[Rickyy]

Aside from complete ungraded Topps Sets that I am keeping (BB 1970 - 1979 incl 75 mini + 71 Greatest Moments set), all my other BB cards in my collection are Pre and Post War type cards … so that affords me the luxury of changing up my type card collection as I get bored or want to change it up. Recently I've moved away from a lot of the Pre war stuff to focus on Post War (esp proof and test cards) and for Pre War on post cards. It keeps me interested and regenerates interest.

Ricky Y

[rsdill2]

I'm in the same boat, something I had been considering for a while. The bulk of my collection is Topps sets and I finally realized that I had no connection to most of them and also realized the shear amount of cards in my collection. My sets 1973-2019 were all bought complete. I never had much attachment to them and never looked at them. I just kept them because of the completionist in me. Another factor was that I feel one or two blue chip cards is more likely to rise in value and is also much more liquid.

At first I tried to sell them all together. Although I didn't list on eBay because I didn't want to deal with shipping, I never got a serious offer. I finally accepted the only way to actually get the value out of them that I expected I would have to do some work and sell them individually. I have sold about 40% of the sets by volume and about 60% by value. I'm trying to stay disciplined and keep the funds separate. A combination of Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and here have been my venues. Once shows in my area resume, I'll set up there as well.

It's been fun so far and I haven't regretted anything. I'll likely one day pick up some of the stars I sold (73 Schmidt, 75 Brett/Yount, 79 Ozzie, 80 Henderson) but beyond that, there's nothing in this era that appeals to me. I'm trying to keep all the cash separate and keep my eyes on the end goal.

[MattyC]

That Mick 1.5 is extraordinary and would be very hard if not downright impossible to find a nicer example for less than whatever was paid for that example. I'd take that card over an 80/20 higher grade example with sharper corners, surface being equal.

As to the collection reshaping being discussed here, I think that is something that so many of us collectors go through. It has a lot of facets to it. Parting with pieces we like so much, and know that we may never get back— even if we can get another specimen of the card back, we know it may cost us more down th eline, or we may not find the right one looks-wise for years. It's tough.

I'm going through it right now. I prefer a smaller collection, and I am contemplating selling a ton of stuff I really like for one more expensive piece. I'm talking having to sell all four Goudey Ruths that took me years to find the right ones, a Ruth-Gehrig signed ball with great provenance that took forever to find, etc. Really tough choices but also is exciting and fun to be engaged in something.