For those selling late 1970 and early 1980s ... not the junk wax era

[raulus]

How long did you wait for takers?

Keep in mind that for any given card, the number of people looking for a mid-grade common on any given day will be low. It might take weeks or months (years?) for someone to come along who wants the specific piece that you're selling, and in that condition, even when the price is low.

Chances are you're not the only one selling. So even when someone does come along who wants that specific card, they might end up buying it from another seller. When selling pieces like this, shipping is also a factor in these sales, since shipping can take a 50 cent card and make it $2-$5 (or more) once you factor in shipping.

Sometimes bundling larger lots together can be a strategy, although when it comes to large lots (i.e. 50-100 cards) of midgrade commons from the 70s and 80s, my experience is that there are even fewer buyers, even if the price is low. For most buyers, unless we have a need for those pieces, or unless we think there's some hidden treasure in there that you've overlooked, we're probably not going to be all that interested.

As an alternative, you might think about maybe trying to bundle a group of commons with a couple of stars, with the stars featured prominently in your listing. You might find more takers that way, although the price might still be a lot less than you're hoping to get. But you might get lucky and have it take off if you list a decent lot with a few stars at auction on eBay.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by raulus

As an alternative, you might think about maybe trying to bundle a group of commons with a couple of stars, with the stars featured prominently in your listing. You might find more takers that way, although the price might still be a lot less than you're hoping to get. But you might get lucky and have it take off if you list a decent lot with a few stars at auction on eBay.

That's how I do it. I have several partial FB sets for sale that way. I find they will move at $0.05-$0.10 a card if there are lots of stars and HOFers showing. I shoot to get at least 10% HOFers, RCs and stars per lot. The big names I hold out to sell as singles, but if you want to mix in some superstars, it will improve the likelihood of the lots moving.

[wdwfan]

Originally Posted by raulus

As an alternative, you might think about maybe trying to bundle a group of commons with a couple of stars, with the stars featured prominently in your listing. You might find more takers that way, although the price might still be a lot less than you're hoping to get. But you might get lucky and have it take off if you list a decent lot with a few stars at auction on eBay.

This is what I did. I posted a picture with 1k cards from 1974-1985 with some HOFers and stars showing. So I did exactly what you said. And I put 10 cents apiece on them. And nothing.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by wdwfan

This is what I did. I posted a picture with 1k cards from 1974-1985 with some HOFers and stars showing. So I did exactly what you said. And I put 10 cents apiece on them. And nothing.

That’s too bad.

Maybe try an auction starting at $1, or if you go with BIN then you might have to be patient until someone comes along and wants to bite.

Of course, if you go the auction route, then the final auction price might not be much more than $1 in some cases, so you’re taking a risk.