Sunday, August 30, 2009

To Sell Or Not To Sell...

Yeah, that's right... Shakespeare. Deal with it!

Lately I've been considering listing some of my cards on eBay, with the hope that they can bring in enough loot to purchase some boxes. There's a bit of apprehension on my part, and I'm looking for opinions on this one. The way I see it, in order to be able to afford hobby boxes, I'm either going to have to sell a crap ton of cards, or part with some of the higher dollar cards in my non-Orioles collection. As of now, I am leaning towards selling some of my better "hits" that I know will fetch a decent return.

My collection is fairly modest when it comes to value. I've never busted anything truly high end, and have mediocre luck at best when it comes to "mojo". The card that I know will probably sell for the most is that Bowman's Best Longoria autograph from Joe Collector's group break, but do I really want to sell a Longoria auto? There seem to be no shortage of them around, so I could always find one in the future, but would I really purchase one? Probably not. They routinely fetch around $50, so there's practically a whole hobby box right there. On the other hand, Longoria seems like the real deal, and even though it's early, he could go on to have a lengthy and glorious career. He could also blow out his hip tomorrow, and never be the same again.

Does any of this make sense? Are you following my twisted logic here?

The other cards I'm considering unloading won't fetch me as much as a Longoria autograph, but should at least bring in decent money. I'm a a little less apprehensive about selling these cards, since I know they probably won't increase in value going forward, at least not too much. About the only thing holding me back is sentimental attachment. I pulled all of these cards myself, and for some reason I always have an attachment to cards I personally pull from packs or boxes.

Here's a list, so we know what we're talking about here:

2009 Kendra Wilkinson red autograph
2009 Allen & Ginter's Delmon Young cloth card #'d/10
2008 Allen & Ginter's Nicky Hayden autograph (SP)

As you can see, there's nothing super awesome on that list. 2 non-baseball autographs and a silk card of a Minnesota Twin. Kendra will be a forgotten has-been in a few years, and no one knows who the hell Nicky Hayden is anyway.

Anyways, what do you think? Sell or not to sell? Sell them all, or just 1 or 2? Is it even worth it to sell cards you know are worth something, to purchase boxes that may or may not contain cards that are worth something in return? Am I over thinking this? Are you not entertained?

Sorry about the lack of pictures & scans lately. I've been working all weekend, and haven't had time to scan anything. Expect more visually stimulating posts over the next few days.

13 comments:

  1. I guess I would say sell the 3 you listed there. You don't seem real attached to them, and even if you don't get much in a new box, they are fun to open.

    Also, you get to see what it's like selling on eBay. See if you like it or if it's just a big pain in the ass and doesn't bring as much money as you hoped.

    I'd hang on to the Longoria. THAT card is a great card. I can tell that you like it and don't really want to part with it. I wouldn't either. There are other cool Longoria autos, like you said, but you KNOW this one is cool. I wouldn't sell it unless you were absolutely sure you wanted to. Hang on to it as long as you're not sure.

    I think it is way more likely that you would regret it if you sold it. Less likely for you to regret keeping it.

    Unless, of course, you think you may be able to trade it for a sweet Jeff Kent card.

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  2. There's no reason to think of the proceeds you could get from selling baseball cards as necessarily money to be spent on more baseball cards. If finances are tight and you are questioning the purchase of a box of cards, that situation doesn't change just because you have $50 more from selling a Longoria auto. We all know that you are never going to make money by opening wax and selling off the hits. That's a losing proposition. If you want to get good value in cards for those pulls, consider putting some time into trading them. You could trade down with that Longoria for a handful of Autos/Relics that you care about. I've been to The Bench and done some trades that way and been very pleased with the process and the results. If you are looking to turn your hits into other cards, you'll get more value if you don't go the eBay route. The bay will charge a good bit of fees not just to you, but to the guy selling whatever you end up buying. Trading cards for cards takes out that middle man, though it does take a bit more legwork.

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  3. skoormit- you make valid points all around. i am actually an extremely active trader, but so far it's only been through this blog. i even have an account on The Bench, but never use it for some reason. normally, trading is my preference, but i am looking to open some boxes here, and unfortunately, trading doesn't typically allow you to do that.

    speaking of trades, i think i emailed you about one last week.

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  4. I'm with Achiever on the Longoria, at least for now.If you save it because you think it will go up in value " exigo caveo ". Latin-seller beware.Remember Mark McGwire's rookie.Not that I think Longoria is on anything, but unless he stays a top star until he retires, his material will probably drop if he has some bad years ahead. He and Puhols are probably good investments though.As far as the others,I would search them in ebay and then look at the completed auctions section and see what the final selling prices were,if they sold at all.

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  5. baseball dad- already checked the completed auctions, and those cards usually DO sell, and for more than $10, typically.

    this isn't really about value, it's about using my card habit to support my card habit. let's be honest here, not buying more cards is not an option.

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  6. How about group box breaks? You take the Birds and sell off the other teams.You still get to open the packs, that is half the fun!(at least for me!) Just make sure you sell enough teams to cover costs before you buy.Unless you're building sets too.Then you're back where you started.

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  7. I sell a few things on ebay, but never with the goal of saving up for a hobby box, because it never really adds up to as much as you hope it. I use the slush funds to bid on other low end ebay stuff though.

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  8. As an active ebay seller, and box opener myself, I would say sell the other 3 cards you mentioned but keep the Longo auto. The Kendra and Ginter cards are as highly valued now as they ever will be, as time passes so does the monetary value of those cards. As others have mentioned you don't seem particularly actached to any of those cards except for the Longo auto. If you are using the proceeds to buy wax, pulling a Longo auto in a baseball product is one of the best pulls you'd get, so why give up a great card, for the possibility of getting crap?

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  9. I'd agree with everyone else about the Longoria. Opening boxes is awesome, but a card like that is a special one.

    I've got one other suggestion for any mid-range cards that you don't want. Check out checkoutmycards.com I've had a lot of luck there selling cards in the $1 - $10 range and there are people there who sell a lot of higher priced cards. The fees are minimal and you can even trade in your credit for gift cards at Blowoutcards.com. It might be another option to help you bust more product and also clear out some space for those new cards as well.

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  10. Can't help ya beardy I'm facing the same dilema I put 4 09' Mini's a Bazooka red back Matsui 06/25 a D. Patton R/C NNO 22/50 Wisconsin Capital hhB11 a Porcello SP and even thought about thowing in a J. Dye NNO mini 23/50 which I guess is cool cuz it's his jersey # I don't know but I didn't get shi* for them I know not a great lot but I think it's at $12 or less so I gave up my hits out of two blasters for $12. So I'm thinking I'd have to get rid of some of my better stuff or lots of the low end to ever get close which seems like a pain but that's just me. Grant

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  11. OK Shi* I stand corrected From this morning until now the bid is up 2 !28.99! that's not actually to bad I would like to strike the last post from my record your honor beardy if possible. Grant

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  12. Come on?

    You and I both know the only way to go about this is two letters. O.T. You know how us blue collar guys do it.

    Step # 1

    Seek the O.T

    Step #2

    Work the O.T

    Step #3

    Get paid, and cash your check alone.

    Step #4

    Lie to your old lady about how much your check was for.

    Step #5

    Buy cards.

    OUT

    Mojo

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