Need to Sell? Please, Prep Your Sets First—Part I
I’m a glass half full guy. But lately I’ve been thinking about death. My own. It’s hard not to when every day the news is dominated by Covid-19 stories. Sad and disconcerting.
But if I were to die from this virus next month, one thing I know for certain: An auction house of my own choosing will auction off my baseball card collection. My two younger brothers, neither of whom cares about cards, will get top dollar. Why? Because I have worked out a plan and am executing it while I’m still alive.
These tough economic times might force you to consider selling your collection just to pay current bills. Or you might some day go through a divorce. But whatever the reason for having to sell, please, work on having a plan. And try not to sell in a panic right now.
I will offer you some guidance, based on my firsthand experiences. Of course, if your best friend, son, brother, or other relative also loves collecting cards and you’re in good shape financially, read no further. When you pass away they will get your cards and continue to enjoy them for years. The stewardship continues within friends and family.
But what if you have lost your job and have family responsibilities? You decide you need cash quick. If that’s the case your choices are limited because, as you probably already know, it can take at least a couple of months for an auction house to prep your consignment, auction the cards, and get you your money. So if you need cash quick, go to your local dealer (someone you’ve dealt with before, I hope) and expect to receive anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent of whatever price guide you decide on says your set is worth. By the way, I’m a vintage card guy so I can’t speak authoritatively on the modern stuff. Of course, card condition will have to be negotiated between you and the dealer.
If you need the money but don’t need it ASAP (say you can wait six months), it’s critical that you prep your sets. Think of it as painting your house before you put it up for sale.
What follows are the steps I took when I auctioned off some of my Topps sets from the late 1960s and early 1970s a few years ago.
Take any price guide and jot down the top 10 cards by price for the set(s) you want to auction. Most, if not all, will be stars. Some of these stars you might have already bought or had slabbed; others you will need to send out and be graded.
The consensus on the Net54baseball forum is that if you’re auctioning your cards, get them slabbed by PSA to get the best prices. I know that PSA is being accused of all kinds of malfeasance right now. But’s that’s a blog for another time.
Why is it important to have these 10 cards graded? The simple fact is any dealer or auction house will ask one question first: What’s the condition of the stars? Yes, I know it costs to have those stars graded. But if you want to get top dollar for your set, your 10 “star” cards must be graded. Even if you think they’ll end up getting grades of, say 5 or 6, have them graded. It will help everyone looking to auction or buy your set know exactly what they’re getting with the stars.
Now, let’s say you submit a raw 1966 Topps Mickey Mantle card and after studying it you think it will come back in a PSA 7 slab. It instead comes back in a PSA 6 slab. Should you resubmit it to PSA (for a chance at a higher grade) or even sell the PSA 6 and buy a PSA 7? No. There is no way you will recoup the extra money you spend for that 7 in a short period of time. I say accept the grade PSA originally gave and let it go. Some might disagree.
Now you’re ready to submit your set to an auction house. But which one? The list is long and they all throw out words and phrases like “integrity” and “we get the best results” on their websites. Their print ads show previous sales with eye-popping dollar figures for PSA 8 and PSA 9 cards. Who can you trust to treat you right?
Read Part II next month.