auction house for 1951 bowman set?

[Carbo]

My cousin who recently passed away had a set of 1951 Bowman Baseball. None of the cards are graded but I would say most are in a 3.5 to 4.5 condition. His family wants to sell them as a set, and I suggested placing the set with an auction house to save them the headache of dealing with sellers. I know of the primary auction houses like Heritage, Lelands, Goldin and others, but I'm not sure if one or two of these places are better than the rest. Could you guys give me your recommendations for auction houses to consider? Are there advantages one has above another? Any experiences, suggestions or general direction you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[WillStady]

You could contact each of them and see what terms/fees they will offer you and go with the most favorable. REA would be another very good option.

[towerymt]

I used Greg Morris Cards once, downside is 25% fee for raw consignment, but upside is they get really great prices at auction so I think it offsets.

It would make sense to break the set, sell as singles.

[VinnyH]

Heritage would be my pick. You can always ask about a better percentage deal. All the choices tend to bend if you have more then one top item. One nice set is valuable but doesn’t create a big profit margin for them.
Vinny

[jewcer2k5]

If they are open to a private sale I’d definitely be interested.

Also if they are interested in grading and splitting it up but have a concern about funding for the grading we can help.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by WillStady

You could contact each of them and see what terms/fees they will offer you and go with the most favorable. REA would be another very good option.

This is the way.

Also, inquire about their strategies for: listing the cards (set vs. individually), advertisement (more/better marketing => more eyes of prospective buyers => higher sale price), anticipated sale price (obviously, you can't hold them accountable if they fail to meet the mark but you also don't want to work with a consignor who significantly undervalues it from the rest, especially commission-based work), etc. Ask the whys too.

[notfast]

REA would be my go to.

[rats60]

At a minimum, you need to grade the Mantle and Mays. I would grade the top 8. That would give the bidders a better idea of the overall condition and get you the best price without having to put out too much for the grading fees. It is possible the auction house would pay for the grading and deduct it from the sale price. It is all part of the negotation.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by jewcer2k5

If they are open to a private sale I’d definitely be interested.

Also if they are interested in grading and splitting it up but have a concern about funding for the grading we can help.

Great offer man! Highly trusted and will likely have the fastest turnaround!

[jmarascojr]

#AnybodyButGoldin

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by notfast

REA would be my go to.

Yep....they're the only one that hasn't really had any ethical questions raised about them over the years.

[glen87]

Originally Posted by Carbo

My cousin who recently passed away had a set of 1951 Bowman Baseball. None of the cards are graded but I would say most are in a 3.5 to 4.5 condition. His family wants to sell them as a set, and I suggested placing the set with an auction house to save them the headache of dealing with sellers. I know of the primary auction houses like Heritage, Lelands, Goldin and others, but I'm not sure if one or two of these places are better than the rest. Could you guys give me your recommendations for auction houses to consider? Are there advantages one has above another? Any experiences, suggestions or general direction you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Originally Posted by jewcer2k5

If they are open to a private sale I’d definitely be interested.

Also if they are interested in grading and splitting it up but have a concern about funding for the grading we can help.

this is your starting point.....and more than likely ending point

[Carbo]

Thanks for all these great answers. Since the sellers know nothing about Ebay, and they also would have no idea what price to change a private party, this will most likely end up in an auction. ///// I started to call some auction houses as several of you recommended. Heritage and Lelands said to sell as a set and they would get the top 3 or 4 players graded by PSA. Both said this is the way to go. REA said break it up and sell top 3 or 4 players individually and then the rest in a lot. Said they would also get graded, but might not send to PSA, maybe SGC. All 3 said commission would definitely be under 10%. I’m adding this…. Just spoke to Huggins and Scott. They insisted that the Mantle, Mays and possibly Williams be graded (which they will do) and be sold in 3 separate auctions, the rest in a 4th auction. Said commission is usually 20%, but depending on how the Mantle looks can do much much better. None of these places has seen the cards, but scans will be sent out to all 4 places soon. Seems like commission on all these places might be in the 7 or 8% range. Do you guys think selling as a set is better, or breaking out the top guys and then selling the rest? Thanks again for your responses.

[2010GBPackers]

Originally Posted by Carbo

Thanks for all these great answers. Since the sellers know nothing about Ebay, and they also would have no idea what price to change a private party, this will most likely end up in an auction. ///// I started to call some auction houses as several of you recommended. Heritage and Lelands said to sell as a set and they would get the top 3 or 4 players graded by PSA. Both said this is the way to go. REA said break it up and sell top 3 or 4 players individually and then the rest in a lot. Said they would also get graded, but might not send to PSA, maybe SGC. All 3 said commission would definitely be under 10%. I’m adding this…. Just spoke to Huggins and Scott. They insisted that the Mantle, Mays and possibly Williams be graded (which they will do) and be sold in 3 separate auctions, the rest in a 4th auction. Said commission is usually 20%, but depending on how the Mantle looks can do much much better. None of these places has seen the cards, but scans will be sent out to all 4 places soon. Seems like commission on all these places might be in the 7 or 8% range. Do you guys think selling as a set is better, or breaking out the top guys and then selling the rest? Thanks again for your responses.

Don't do this. Yes, commission may be 7-8%, but that's in addition to the 20% buyer's premium on the auction. And since buyers factor that in to their bids, you'd essentially be getting 72-73% of the value on the Mantle and Mays. Now, if they were PSA 7's or 8's, you could make the case to use Heritage or REA because of their wealthy and vast client pool, however, if they're PSA 3's or 4's, you'd be better off consigning them to a well-known eBay consignment company - MC Sportscards, 4-Corners, PC Sportscards, etc.

[ReggieBush22]

You've got a serious set on your hands. Like most said, you have to get the top players graded to get a sense of what type of conditioned set you have. I know it's some work but I would have your cousins send in the cards for grading themselves to SGC. Cheaper than PSA and shorter turnaround time and just as respected for vintage. Maybe you can go to a dealer nearby and they can assist. It's real simple.

Once you get the grades back, you will have much more leverage over which route you want to go too. If you hand off the cards ungraded to any auction house, you are wasting a lot of time and $$ to wait for those grades.

Condition is everything in this case.

[dabbadoo]

Originally Posted by jmarascojr

#AnybodyButGoldin

Why do people dislike Goldin?

[Americards]

what state are you in ?

[Carbo]

Originally Posted by 2010GBPackers

Don't do this. Yes, commission may be 7-8%, but that's in addition to the 20% buyer's premium on the auction. And since buyers factor that in to their bids, you'd essentially be getting 72-73% of the value on the Mantle and Mays. Now, if they were PSA 7's or 8's, you could make the case to use Heritage or REA because of their wealthy and vast client pool, however, if they're PSA 3's or 4's, you'd be better off consigning them to a well-known eBay consignment company - MC Sportscards, 4-Corners, PC Sportscards, etc.

I understand your point. If the family wanted to go the route of a well-known eBay consignment company, are Probstein and Robert Morris also this kind of company? Also, is there one that you would recommend over others? thanks.

[Carbo]

Originally Posted by Americards

what state are you in ?

The cards are presently in Illinois, but might end up in Washington soon where my cousin's son lives.

[Carbo]

Originally Posted by ReggieBush22

You've got a serious set on your hands. Like most said, you have to get the top players graded to get a sense of what type of conditioned set you have. I know it's some work but I would have your cousins send in the cards for grading themselves to SGC. Cheaper than PSA and shorter turnaround time and just as respected for vintage. Maybe you can go to a dealer nearby and they can assist. It's real simple.

Once you get the grades back, you will have much more leverage over which route you want to go too. If you hand off the cards ungraded to any auction house, you are wasting a lot of time and $$ to wait for those grades.

Condition is everything in this case.

Good point. If the family did use an auction house, I would advise them to only use one where it is agreed that the auction house would have the better cards graded. The ones I called did firmly agree that the grading should be done.

[wilsonsingles]

I've had good experiences with Heritage.

Like others and they have mentioned. They will grade the better cards at PSA most likely through their Texas office. High grades will most likely be auctioned separately.

[Skipscards]

Robert Edward Auctions is my choice.