- Thread starter
- #1
Hi all.
I am in Atlanta and have a general question I can't seem to figure out on my own.
The basics:
I am the victim of this economy and was laid off by a large manufacturing operation after 18 years. I have a family to feed and need cash as soon as feasible without totally screwing myself on value.
I was left a shoe box full of Topps baseball cards from the 60's and 1970 by an uncle 15 years ago. I admire the beauty of the cards and as a coin collector, I understand the passion of collectors. I also understand that being a motivated seller will mean that I need to be prepared to take a bath. My goal is to mitigate the pain from the bath.
The box is full and each card is in a firm protector. The year that I have the most of is 1968. I made a large error and sold some cards on eBay that I should have had graded (Reggie Jackson Rookie, Bench/Koosman 68 RC ect). I got very little money compared to comparable graded cards. At the time, I had enough money to have sent 10 or 20 in for grading but that is no longer the case.
Most of the cards are in pretty good condition Here is a link to some cards I sold. The cards I have left are in similar condition, i.e. some better than others, nothing perfect 10.
http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z429/RobertSellsTheRanch/1cards/
I want to sell these cards I have left very soon. I am late on bills and don't want to mess with a currently great credit score. However, I do not have any funds available to send them for grading. The cards I have include many stars and the rest are all semi-stars (is that even a grade? They are cards of players everyone has heard of but are not listed in Beckett)
My questions;
1. If I take them to the Freedom Card retail store today will I get hosed badly?
2. If I take a booth at next weekends card show in Atlanta will i do significantly better than selling them to a retailer?
3. Is there such a thing in your community like partnerships, and would I do better that way? I am defining partnership as someone known and trustworthy that I would mail the cards to and he would send them for grading and split the profits with me after expenses?
4. Am I missing another avenue where I could make a quick sale without getting hosed?
Sadly, not only do I NOT have the funds to have any graded on my dime, I also don't have the time or resources to list them all on eBay raw OR graded. And, I am not even sure that number 3 above would get me cash fast enough to get our basic household bills paid this month.
I realize that I should have included at least a list of all the cards in this post. Optimally, I should have scanned them all. I understand that i am asking a lot of questions without giving enough information. However, I think a lot of you can guess approximately how many cards are in a shoe box and use the information and images provided to get me on the correct path. I am an old man and it would be a monumental task to type up the list and an impossibility to scan them all.
If there is anything else I can answer short of a complete inventory, fire away. Of course, i would love to take them to the Freedom Retail store in Alpharetta tomorrow and be done with it all but I am pretty sure that option is the least desirable of all. I need to be able to live with myself after the transaction!
Thanks to anyone that has read my post and TIA for any advice.
Rob in Atlanta
I am in Atlanta and have a general question I can't seem to figure out on my own.
The basics:
I am the victim of this economy and was laid off by a large manufacturing operation after 18 years. I have a family to feed and need cash as soon as feasible without totally screwing myself on value.
I was left a shoe box full of Topps baseball cards from the 60's and 1970 by an uncle 15 years ago. I admire the beauty of the cards and as a coin collector, I understand the passion of collectors. I also understand that being a motivated seller will mean that I need to be prepared to take a bath. My goal is to mitigate the pain from the bath.
The box is full and each card is in a firm protector. The year that I have the most of is 1968. I made a large error and sold some cards on eBay that I should have had graded (Reggie Jackson Rookie, Bench/Koosman 68 RC ect). I got very little money compared to comparable graded cards. At the time, I had enough money to have sent 10 or 20 in for grading but that is no longer the case.
Most of the cards are in pretty good condition Here is a link to some cards I sold. The cards I have left are in similar condition, i.e. some better than others, nothing perfect 10.
http://s1189.photobucket.com/albums/z429/RobertSellsTheRanch/1cards/
I want to sell these cards I have left very soon. I am late on bills and don't want to mess with a currently great credit score. However, I do not have any funds available to send them for grading. The cards I have include many stars and the rest are all semi-stars (is that even a grade? They are cards of players everyone has heard of but are not listed in Beckett)
My questions;
1. If I take them to the Freedom Card retail store today will I get hosed badly?
2. If I take a booth at next weekends card show in Atlanta will i do significantly better than selling them to a retailer?
3. Is there such a thing in your community like partnerships, and would I do better that way? I am defining partnership as someone known and trustworthy that I would mail the cards to and he would send them for grading and split the profits with me after expenses?
4. Am I missing another avenue where I could make a quick sale without getting hosed?
Sadly, not only do I NOT have the funds to have any graded on my dime, I also don't have the time or resources to list them all on eBay raw OR graded. And, I am not even sure that number 3 above would get me cash fast enough to get our basic household bills paid this month.
I realize that I should have included at least a list of all the cards in this post. Optimally, I should have scanned them all. I understand that i am asking a lot of questions without giving enough information. However, I think a lot of you can guess approximately how many cards are in a shoe box and use the information and images provided to get me on the correct path. I am an old man and it would be a monumental task to type up the list and an impossibility to scan them all.
If there is anything else I can answer short of a complete inventory, fire away. Of course, i would love to take them to the Freedom Retail store in Alpharetta tomorrow and be done with it all but I am pretty sure that option is the least desirable of all. I need to be able to live with myself after the transaction!
Thanks to anyone that has read my post and TIA for any advice.
Rob in Atlanta
