“Break up value” is a term tossed around a lot in the world of vintage sports cards.
Buying a set with the intention to invest the time necessary to turn a bigger profit by selling the cards individually or in small groups.
It’s why successful dealers keep a close eye on other dealers’ auctions. Inventory leads to profit potential, especially when you’ve got a customer list hungry for what you turn over.
The recent auction of a 1933 Goudey set offered a textbook opportunity for Just Collect, Inc to buy a gorgeous, high grade accumulation of in-demand cards and then offer them one at a time.
“The set had been owned by the family of the original collector since 1933,” said Just Collect’s Scott Greenwald. ” The cards all have the nice, fresh appearance of a set that has avoided a lot of handling over the years.”
Always a favorite of collectors, Goudeys feature action-oriented images and bright colors. The 1933 Goudey set includes four Babe Ruth cards and two of Lou Gehrig. It’s the first widely-distributed gum card set and a fair representation of Major League Baseball during the Great Depression.
Collectors who love pre-World War II cards usually own at least a few. Even beyond the popular Yankee legends, it’s a virtual Who’s Who of early Hall of Famers, from Mel Ott to Goose Goslin. Dizzy Dean to Jimmy Foxx.
Just Collect is breaking up the set over the coming weeks and offering them through their eBay auctions. The first run of seven cards went on the block last week.
“The set was put together by the original collector as a child. It was stored, virtually untouched given its appearance and lack of wear, by the family of the collector until it was sold at auction earlier this year. We previewed the cards before the auction and bid aggressively, knowing how fresh the cards were,” Greenwald said.
“We were very excited to win the set and look forward to breaking it up. To the discriminating collector, not every card graded PSA 6 EX-MT is the same. Cards that exhibit a ‘fresh’ appearance and appear high-end for the grade often sell at a premium, which is characteristic of this set and what we expect here.”
Last week’s auction saw a PSA 7 Tony Cuccinello card bring $152–not bad for a ‘common’, but graded examples of cards that lean just a bit toward higher end are extremely popular with a wide base of collectors who want a sharp-looking set without paying a huge premium.
Just Collect currently has over 7500 vintage and modern era sports cards on eBay.
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Sports Collectors Daily is getting a peek inside Just Collect, eBay’s largest consignment seller of vintage sports cards. Every week, the New Jersey-based company deals with collectors, dealers, and investors across the country.
Leighton Sheldon and Scott Greenwald, the duo behind this very busy and popular outlet, never know what’s going to show up in the mailbox as consignors look to liquidate. Neither do the thousands of collectors on their mailing list who await each newsletter.
We’ll bring you a look at the unique and rare sets and singles Just Collect handles, the stories behind some of them, and we’ll learn first hand about the hobby trends they observe first hand from buying and selling hundreds of high-end graded sports and non-sports cards and memorabilia every week.
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