advice on selling off the bulk of my collection

[theflushingmets]

so im moving soon and ive made the hard decision to sell the bulk of my collection. when i was younger i collected aimlessly, buying whatever boxes were on sale at the local card store, blaster boxes at walmart etc.
obviously all the big singles i can sell individually but then im still stuck with all the base cards, lesser autos inserts and parrallels, plus a ton of 90's and early 2000s chase cards that are tough to sell individually online

so i was thinking of making large team lots with price breakdowns as followed

all the penny commons id sell 2-3 - 1 cent
mordern commons/minor stars - 5cents
unlisted stars and lesser stars/common inserts/common parrallels -25 cents
inserts valued at $1-$5..... 50 cents-$1
big time stars (jeter/trout/ripkin/griffey etc) and higher end inserts priced around low book value

i have 15 years worth of aimless collecting taking up space in my closet. i've narrowed my collecting scope to prospect autos, mets autos from 86-present, high end jack mcdowell cards and HOF player autos, so i would really like to get rid of the clutter. i have a whole closet full of stuff i don't look at and cant take with me.


i think this sounds reasonable, and it seems like the quickest way to get rid of everything short of someone lowballing me on my entire collection.

you guys think this would work? if not, what would you all suggest? i really need to get going on this, because its going to take time organizing everything.

[Bhenry4]

To be honest with you, you're probably going to be wasting your time. You might sell a few lots, but you're going to be stuck with most. Your best bet is probably to move them to somebody for a penny or two a card. If you have ten 5,000 count boxes full of cards, you're going to be fortunate to get $500. That's without separating Ripken/Jeter/Griffey etc.

[theflushingmets]

that pains me haha

i do have a lot of good inserts, tons of rookies

but there are a good deal of commons. i have tens of thousands of cards but only want to keep a few hundred.

any other suggestions to maximize my return?

[Chaddie84]

I'd take Bhenry's advice. Maybe take the top 5-10 names if they're already sorted out and try to sell them separately. Also, if you have lower numbered inserts and parallels, I'll cull them out.

Personally, when I bust, if I can't sell a card outright for $1+, it goes in a 3200 count box. When that box fills up, I bring it to the LCS and I get around $20 store credit towards wax.

[Bhenry4]

that pains me haha

i do have a lot of good inserts, tons of rookies

but there are a good deal of commons. i have tens of thousands of cards but only want to keep a few hundred.

any other suggestions to maximize my return?

The problem is that those rookies aren't going for anywhere near low book value. If you have a card that books for $5 high/$2.50 low, you're lucky if you get 50 cents for it. There are hundreds of thousands of those cards, and unless it's serial numbered, people aren't hoarding them.

My only success has been collating sets, selling them for about $10-20 (including shipping). Once that ship sails, you just have a box full of commons (even if there are star players inside).

[Tzvih123]

You could sell them in team lots like maybe 100 cards for $2/3.

[free2131]

Check out team and player lots on Ebay. Players like Griffey and Ripken usually get between $0.15-$0.25 per card in big lots.

Beckett is worthless now for pricing, so just throw that our the window.

[theflushingmets]

yeah i noticed that recently. like cards in the last few years are accurate, but i look at some of the sets from the 90's and travis lee cards are still listed. beckett is slacking. i have a bunch of auto singles from 2004 sp top prospects, and i KNOW my ray leotta auto isn't still going for $30-$50 online

[jstbuch]

You might as well burn the commons. You won't get anything for them. It will absolutely be a waste of your time.

There is a 90's insert craze right now (sort of the tail end of this bubble I think) so you might do well on your inserts but it will be hard to gauge because your market is smaller. These will probably be the closest to "book" value you are going to get and you probably won't get close. Some will surprise you though.

For the semi-star rookies, I would stick them all in one lot. If you have enough in very good condition, you might consider sending them to PSA for grading. If you submit 100 cards, it will cost you $7 per card. But a semi-star rookie will sell for nothing if you sell it ungraded. PSA 10's might sell for $10-$20. It isn't a huge profict margin but extropolate that over 200-300 cards, and it works out to decent profit on worthless cards. You need to be very picky though. I would also recommend this on your inserts.

For stars, you won't get close to book value. You can put it up for book or best offer but don't get offended when offers come in at 25 percent of book value.

My recommendation is to burn your Beckett and look at ebay closed auctions.

Probably the least time consuming option for you is COMC for your semi-star rookies, star base cards, and lower end inserts. COMC isn't a great option for some of your higher end stuff though.

Bottomline, if you want anything close to book value, you are going to spend a TON of time and sell nothing. There is no easy way to sell an entire collection. New members pop on here to ask this question several times a month and the answer is always the same. You have to put in the leg work and you have to be reasonable with your pricing. Not the answer you want but it is the reality.

That said, there are a lot of 90's insert collectors on these boards (myself included). I would recommend scanning some of your better inserts and putting them up in the Buy-Sell-Trade section.

Good luck and welcome to the boards!

[touchdowntimekc]

I go through about 2-3 million cards a year and sell a ton of bulk on craigslist...Normally most lots with stars included...

Newer stuff I normally do 10,000-15,000 cards for $100 or 80's and 90's stuff 20,000-30,000 for $100

Just not too many people out there willing to spend $100's of dollars on collections unless there are "big" hits or stuff of high resale return

[theflushingmets]

thanks for the suggestions guys. i have a few ideas. i mean even if i can make $1k off the commons id be happy. maybe id think about grouping griffeys/ripkins/yankees as separate lots, posting the 90's stuff on here and listing any big ticket items individually on ebay. that sounds reasonable?

any other team lots worth my time? chicago cubs, boston or st louis maybe?

[crazy4kinsler]

You could even try some of the big ticket items on here. Might get some takers. But you're going to have to ask 10-12% less than ebay (which is what you'd pay in fees). Pretty much everyone on this site is a prospector/holder/flipper, so Bowman/Chrome autos do very well. So do HOFer type stuff, etc.

Might want to give it a shot. Plus, you don't have to put up with the headache of ebay.

thanks for the suggestions guys. i have a few ideas. i mean even if i can make $1k off the commons id be happy. maybe id think about grouping griffeys/ripkins/yankees as separate lots, posting the 90's stuff on here and listing any big ticket items individually on ebay. that sounds reasonable?

any other team lots worth my time? chicago cubs, boston or st louis maybe?

[free2131]

i mean even if i can make $1k off the commons id be happy.

You honestly will not make anything off the commons. None at all. These are all my commons (I took out the Griffey's, Ripken's, etc) that I had from my childhood collecting (mostly late 80s to around 2000 or so).

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/425091_417914948251643_562108988_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1/529585_417915101584961_2086992122_n.jpg

I was able to sell all of them for $45 on Craigslist, and I was happy to get that.

[Bradforddorman]

You could sell me all of your ripken cards :)

[theflushingmets]

ill keep that in mind. i have a TON of 90's ripkin inserts, plus a few nice memorabilia cards

[speedyjg13]

Sell your ripkens griffeys jeters and donate the rest of your commons to a children's hospi, they really arent worth anything

[Bradforddorman]

ill keep that in mind. i have a TON of 90's ripkin inserts, plus a few nice memorabilia cards

Seriously, let me know. I would love the chance to purchase them.

[bobthewondercat]

If you have the time, break it up into lots as you suggested.

If you don't, donate the cheapies and send the rest to COMC.