Looking for advice on buying large collection

[King44]

Let me start off by apologizing for all the fluff in the beginning here...feel free to skip to the last paragraph...

I took a number of years off from cards because I didn't like the direction modern cards were going, but I'm getting back into it with a focus on vintage cards as well as iconic cards from all eras. I consider myself to be equal parts collector and seller. Currently I sell clothes (mostly vintage) on ebay. In the last few weeks I've been going over a plan to have a hybrid business of clothes and cards. So, that's the backstory...thanks for hanging in there

Well, as it happens I came across a guy a couple hours from me that is selling his vintage collection. Lots of 50s and 60s, cards are in nice condition (lots of 5s-7s). It's about 50 binders of mostly complete or complete sets. Who knows, maybe 10,000 additional cards in boxes. I'm a bit in over my head with figuring out a value on that many cards. I'm actually having a harder time than I thought finding good information online about the best process to figure value on collections.

So what's the best way to value a vintage card collection? I figure I start by looking for the key cards and add those up and go from there? What is the most efficient method for me to come up with a fair price for both of us? This would be a big purchase for me as I don't usually buy this much quantity or value. Any help is appreciated and I understand a post like this could be annoying for some doing this for a long time, but I'm just trying to get traction here starting my journey. Thanks all...

[discodanman45]

I would check out Chris Sewell's Baseball Card Collector Investor Dealer channel. He goes through his purchases and justifies how much he pays from raw, graded, commons, stars, and HOF players for vintage.

https://www.youtube.com/@collectorinvestordealer/videos

[King44]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

I would check out Chris Sewell's Baseball Card Collector Investor Dealer channel. He goes through his purchases and justifies how much he pays from raw, graded, commons, stars, and HOF players for vintage.

https://www.youtube.com/@collectorinvestordealer/videos

Great, thanks!

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by King44

Great, thanks!

Are the cards all ungraded? If so, you may have to give an offer to the buyer that will seem like a low ball. It is tough work selling raw vintage. Grading right now is very risky as well. Getting a 4 is like getting a 6 a few years ago. I would love to buy a lot like this, but it would be to buy the cards for myself and put some sets together.

[King44]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

Are the cards all ungraded? If so, you may have to give an offer to the buyer that will seem like a low ball. It is tough work selling raw vintage. Grading right now is very risky as well. Getting a 4 is like getting a 6 a few years ago. I would love to buy a lot like this, but it would be to buy the cards for myself and put some sets together.

Yes, most are ungraded. I figured it would be very time consuming. I would probably send a lot to Greg Morris or something like that. I'm probably getting in way over my head. I may need to collab with someone if the deal is good.

[rnocards]

Originally Posted by King44

Let me start off by apologizing for all the fluff in the beginning here...feel free to skip to the last paragraph...

I took a number of years off from cards because I didn't like the direction modern cards were going, but I'm getting back into it with a focus on vintage cards as well as iconic cards from all eras. I consider myself to be equal parts collector and seller. Currently I sell clothes (mostly vintage) on ebay. In the last few weeks I've been going over a plan to have a hybrid business of clothes and cards. So, that's the backstory...thanks for hanging in there

Well, as it happens I came across a guy a couple hours from me that is selling his vintage collection. Lots of 50s and 60s, cards are in nice condition (lots of 5s-7s). It's about 50 binders of mostly complete or complete sets. Who knows, maybe 10,000 additional cards in boxes. I'm a bit in over my head with figuring out a value on that many cards. I'm actually having a harder time than I thought finding good information online about the best process to figure value on collections.

So what's the best way to value a vintage card collection? I figure I start by looking for the key cards and add those up and go from there? What is the most efficient method for me to come up with a fair price for both of us? This would be a big purchase for me as I don't usually buy this much quantity or value. Any help is appreciated and I understand a post like this could be annoying for some doing this for a long time, but I'm just trying to get traction here starting my journey. Thanks all...

At least you are focusing on vintage... much more stable.

Pick out the Hall of Famers, with special attention to their rookie cards, and look up their sold eBay listings. Even if you don't make an offer for the rest of the collection, at least grab the HOF RCs.

Recent eBay sold item listings are the best way to gage market value on cards, most especially if you filter out the listing with "Auction", because that will give you the consensus market bids on the sold items, and not just one guy's purchase price. Also, make sure these are recently sold listings, and not current active listings, because some sellers will often overvalue their cards in the hope that someone desperate enough for the card will fall for it, or at least, they could negotiate with the buyer towards a middle price that they can be happy with.