How much is your collection worth?

[mrmopar]

Have you been asked this question before? Usually it comes from someone who does not collect cards, but has an idea that cards sometimes sell for obscene amounts of money due to news articles that randomly pop up.

I have been pondering this question for as long as i have collected, but as i get closer and closer to a decision to sell off, I do wonder what it might all be worth. I'm sure some people have kept detailed records and perhaps some have their collections logged into a site that provides "catalog" values. Some collections are focused and small, and thus would be easy to figure out if one wanted to do so, while others are massive and unorganized. Clearly, there are different ways to value a collection and to realize the value, there are also several ways to go about selling which would affect the overall value. Selling piece by piece, selling to a dealer, large lots, etc.

I've added a poll, which should be anonymous, should anyone like to try to answer. If for some reason, the answers do show, I can delete the poll/thread.

 

[magicpapa]

 

[Philip J. Fry]

 

[joey12508]

i paid more than it was worth over the years. sold off 90 percent got a decent return. my collection was never about
a investment.

 

[K34PuckettAddict]

I’m with you on that approach. I’ve never collected Puckett cards as an investment, it’s always been fun and something I’ve stuck with the longest in my life. My son more than likely will realize the investment side of the collection someday.

Big shout out to jszczech, it’s more fun collecting and talking Puckett with him over the years as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

 

[thelesquad]

I've never collected as an investment either. If I did, I'd be a horrible investment banker or financial advisor. I sold off 100+ of my tougher cards in 2016 for a loss, but I was able to help a friend and fellow collector out. After coming back in the summer of 2020, I've reacquired many of those same cards for much more than I sold them for.

 

[finestkind]

I never bought any cards as an investment. I don't know and I don't really care what my collection is worth. I remember about what I paid for some cards. I have a clue (sort of) on what some are worth now with the vintage card prices going nuts. I would have sold my collection years ago to pay for my wife's medical bills. She told me not to, because I like it so much. I miss her. I plan on selling my whole collection in one shot in the future.

 

[RogerMarisCollector61]

Only by reading your question did I realize just how much I've spent on my collection in the last couple years . I have become a lunatic! Though based on everyone else's results here I'm a light to moderate lunatic, so that's nice I guess!

My collection is super focused and I have zero intention of ever selling the majority of it.

 

[mrmopar]

Lots of investment talk, but that was not my intention. I had only casually talked about selling one day, but the reality is I was hoping my boys would get into it like I did and i could hand them a super collection like I never got from my relatives. However, the reality is that if you have collected for a while and unless you absolutely picked the worst crap every time, most collections will have some decent value built up in them.

I was just talking to my wife about value today and how I have been pretty fortunate that what I liked often saw some decent appreciation and because I have always been a bargain hunter, I have found a lot of good deals that have appreciated greatly. Not everything I touched turned to gold by a mile, but there are some good pockets of stuff for sure. The reality is that I should sell it while I still have time to possibly enjoy the fruits of my labor, but there is still a good chance I'll never follow through either...

 

[JVHaste]

unless you absolutely picked the worst crap every time, most collections will have some decent value built up in them.

Imagine being the guy that spent of most his collecting dollar on sending 1990 UD to PSA repeatedly hoping to get all 10's slabs.

 

[WizardofOz1982]

The only reason I keep track of it is for insurance purposes really. 80% of the value of my collection is tied up in probably 10% of the cards and autos in it. A very big chunk of it is stuff that I just have fun collecting like 90s inserts and my two PCs (Jeff Frye and Ryan Helsley) that have very little sell value.

 

[magicpapa]

 

[madbull34]

I only collect Japanese MLB players. Some cards have increased in value significantly (Ichiro, Ohtani). But for the most part my collection is pretty bad from an investment perspective (Dice-K, Yamaguchi, Arihara, etc).

 

[jmc855]

A fellow Clemens PCer asked me "what is your collection worth?" about 2 weeks ago. I thought hard, and said "I dunno, not much probably". Because honestly, he already has what I have, aside from a couple 1/1s or unique on card autos, and so do any of the other Clemens collectors, so, who's gonna buy it?

Only a PCer sees any value, and its not like someone is gonna suddenly decide, "hey I have zero Clemens cards, but i want a clemens collection, so let me go buy a mutli thousand card one thats already done."

Hopefully my son will appreciate it as his dad's collection and value it, though I dont expect him to care about Clemens because that will have no relevance to how he watches baseball (IF he even cares about baseball).
I have a lot of stuff, but like some one said, 80 or 90 % of the "value" is tied up in 10 % or less of the cards. So really, its a cherry pick expedition for the inserts and autos and rookies, then the rest is worthless cardboard that anyone can buy for 10 cents or less each.

the value of the small group of 50s Wiliams, 56 Mantle, Seaver rookie and Pujols rookie and Jr rookie I have on my bar display probably exceed what I could actually get for my whole 2700 card Clemens collection.

 

[Pinbreaker]

Now that I am retired, I have been slowly selling off some of the cards I picked up years ago as an investment..

I just wish I had picked up more of Griffey in the late 90's like @magicpapa did..

 

[mrmopar]

I only collect Japanese MLB players. Some cards have increased in value significantly (Ichiro, Ohtani). But for the most part my collection is pretty bad from an investment perspective (Dice-K, Yamaguchi, Arihara, etc).

Those Nomo aiutographs though...Crazy!

 

[mrmopar]

A fellow Clemens PCer asked me "what is your collection worth?" about 2 weeks ago. I thought hard, and said "I dunno, not much probably". Because honestly, he already has what I have, aside from a couple 1/1s or unique on card autos, and so do any of the other Clemens collectors, so, who's gonna buy it?

Only a PCer sees any value, and its not like someone is gonna suddenly decide, "hey I have zero Clemens cards, but i want a clemens collection, so let me go buy a mutli thousand card one thats already done."

Hopefully my son will appreciate it as his dad's collection and value it, though I dont expect him to care about Clemens because that will have no relevance to how he watches baseball (IF he even cares about baseball).
I have a lot of stuff, but like some one said, 80 or 90 % of the "value" is tied up in 10 % or less of the cards. So really, its a cherry pick expedition for the inserts and autos and rookies, then the rest is worthless cardboard that anyone can buy for 10 cents or less each.

the value of the small group of 50s Wiliams, 56 Mantle, Seaver rookie and Pujols rookie and Jr rookie I have on my bar display probably exceed what I could actually get for my whole 2700 card Clemens collection.

I wouldn't be so sure these days. This may pass, but so much stuff is getting attention. Maybe not what you paid in some cases, but if it is at all decent, people are at least buying. There are new collectors coming into the game and some old timers that dropped out. I doubt you'll find one person to pay top dollar for a single player collection that isn't already collecting and has most of what you have, but you might find a newbie picking up a few dozen singles.

Right before Covid, I was trying to sell some off grade, but mostly decent HOFers. I even listed them here. Nobody at all hardly wanted anything. If someone was interested, it was at less than my already lower than ebay realized prices. I ended up selling them all, but a heavier discount at the end. Fast forward just a year and i probably would have gotten 10X what I was asking, maybe more. Strange time for sure, but still amazing to think about.

 

[magicpapa]

Now that I am retired, I have been slowly selling off some of the cards I picked up years ago as an investment..

I just wish I had picked up more of Griffey in the late 90's like @magicpapa did..

 

[Tibor]

Part of my collection is Ripken Jr. cards. I collected really strong until 2000. After that I quit on Ripken.
99.9% of my collection is raw. Maybe have 3 graded. They weren't important back then. Who in their
right mind would've sent PSA an '88 Topps card for grading? I bought a couple of hundred of each
Fleer, Topps, Donruss and most other brands. If you need an '84 Topps team card, I have a couple
of hundred to choose from. No I'm not getting anything graded, if I don't get 10's then I've got some cool
looking coasters for the next party. I've got a 3x5 filing cabinet with 8 drawers with 100 ct. plastic boxes
filled with his cards. Duplicates galore. The "one of each" collection resides in 3 three row shoe boxes. They
were fun to collect, but now they are an annoyance reminding that I should've bought Google and
Tesla stock. Value of this portion of my collection might be 10-15 grand. Luckily I've got un-opened
wax, racks and cellos to lift my spirits.

 

[zyceoa]

If you'd ask pre covid, I'd say around $5,000. Now it's more like $10-15K and most of the value is from basketball despite being around 20% of my collection. Though the prices are starting to come down some. I guess people are wising up after buying paper Hoops and Donruss RCs of Luka Doncic for $100+, for example. But like everyone else here, I collect for the fun of it. I was never a high end collector, and if unopened low end product of football and basketball continue to sell at these absurd prices, I'm done with those sports.