Thinking of selling of card collection to fund my white whale.

[bdeol44]

Hey guys, been kinda torn making a tough decision. I've always wanted a game used jersey of a particular player, and finally I've tracked one down to my liking. (photo match, loa etc all checks out)

Now in order to buy this white whale I have to sell 95% of my collection. I'm pretty ok with doing this but it's kinda of hard to sell cards you've hunted down which took forever to find.

I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes a to decision like this. Please feel free to chime in your opinions would be appreciated. Thanks as always fellas.

[bryzzo2016]

Who's the player ?

[Jags Fan Dan]

Post a link to the jersey or give out the contact info of the seller so we can snake it from you, that will solve your problem!:D

[3arod13]

I did the same thing when I was collecting nothing but Juan Gonzalez cards and was later introduced for the first time to game used memorabilia. I sold a lot of my cards, but kept a few I really liked. I had no regrets in doing it. And once you obtain the jersey, you will feel the same. Good Luck!

[Jags Fan Dan]

On a serious note, one center piece to a collection trumps mountains of cards or lesser items as you are better able to display and enjoy the one significant piece.

[CPuente57]

I have mixed feelings about this personally because I did this exact thing 5 years ago. I got "bored" with cards and was getting more into game used so I sold pretty much all my collection (with the exception of unsellable low end stuff) to fund my game used collection. I dunno, it's kind of a mixed bag for me. I made out pretty well, but a lot of the cards I sold (MJ 90's, Lebron rookies, Penny 90's inserts) I'll never really be able to get back since they've jumped in price sooo dramatically. Also my biggest regret was selling the one card that was my "dream card" for 20 years, the 86 Fleer MJ which I was finally able to get and it was graded BGS 7.5. I'd probably have to pay at least double that now if I wanted to get that one back. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound greedy or anything, without selling that stuff, I wouldn't have the game used collection I have today, but since I've gotten back into card collecting I do miss owning those cards so just make sure you totally willing to give it up. If you are, then go for it for sure!

[coxfan]

Take it from my 68-year-old mind: Don't be too quick to part with things from your past. I discarded, or didn't try to save, lots of things in my youth that years later I wish I'd kept. As time went on, I came to value them more as things that had been an important part of my life.

Surely there are other ways to raise the money.

[Buccaneer Madden]

What I did when I started to feel nostalgic after selling off all my cards was instead of buying them back I just went online and downloaded pictures of the front and back of all the ones I had. I don't have the "value" but I have the same experience in owning them and looking at them now.

[bdeol44]

Thanks for the replies, i'm not going to sell my entire collection, I will keep my top 10 cards or something to that extent.

[TigersCubs84]

What happens if you sell your cards, which will take some time, and then someone else has bought your jersey?

[HawaiiSportsNut]

What happens if you sell your cards, which will take some time, and then someone else has bought your jersey?

That's something to think about.

[Wrigley2010]

I did the same thing myself roughly 12 years ago. I personally don't regret it at all. For me the hobby lost complete touch with its core customers, kids. Prices are insane for a pack of cards as people chase 1 of 1's and the like. The one thing you see GU hobbyists complain about a lot is how much stuff is entering the market on yearly basis. Reminiscent of the card boom of the late 80's early 90's which totally ruined my future plans of being one of the richest men on Earth :p. I still think of it like this... sure there were numerous Kris Bryant jerseys sold at auction last year and the number of his jerseys entering the market this year will surely out number last year and so and so forth. Yet each one of those jerseys is still unique. Each one is tied to a specific time and place. Each one has its own story. I do not feel you get that same connection with cards. This is all just my humble opinion but if it's your white whale and its within reach then I'd do whatever it takes to get it. You can always get your cards back maybe not at the same $$ but they will always be there.

[TimEC16]

I did the same thing myself roughly 12 years ago. I personally don't regret it at all. For me the hobby lost complete touch with its core customers, kids. Prices are insane for a pack of cards as people chase 1 of 1's and the like. The one thing you see GU hobbyists complain about a lot is how much stuff is entering the market on yearly basis. Reminiscent of the card boom of the late 80's early 90's which totally ruined my future plans of being one of the richest men on Earth :p. I still think of it like this... sure there were numerous Kris Bryant jerseys sold at auction last year and the number of his jerseys entering the market this year will surely out number last year and so and so forth. Yet each one of those jerseys is still unique. Each one is tied to a specific time and place. Each one has its own story. I do not feel you get that same connection with cards. This is all just my humble opinion but if it's your white whale and its within reach then I'd do whatever it takes to get it. You can always get your cards back maybe not at the same $$ but they will always be there.

Could not agree more. Very well worded. Cards to a much lesser extent are fun for me (there are some really cool ones in the marketplace), but I'm GU all the way as of 4-5 years ago. To your point, each item has its own story - big or small - and that beats cards coming off a press every single day.

[shermdawurm]

I'm kind of in the same boat. I first started collecting cards around a decade ago and was as instantly infatuated with patch cards because of all the cool colors. Then I learned about complete game worn jerseys. I could have the whole jersey with the entire patches/nameplate/tags and not just the tiny patch windows limited on a card?? I agree with what others have mentioned that companies are making too many versions of cards. A regular player's jersey card is almost worthless nowadays. It was also a detractor when controversies popped up like cards not actually containing game worn/used material. I love that i know that a purchase is actually game worn. I also love that each jersey has its own story and that with documentation and some homework, I can be confident in a gamer's authenticity.

I haven't picked up any single cards in a while and have pretty much completely switched to only gamers now. I'm slowly selling my cards and have no regret getting rid of these pieces of cardboard I used to treasure although I do plan on keeping some of my favorite/meaningful cards.

[commando]

The problem with moving a card collection quickly is that you have to sell them for pennies on the dollar if you want to move them fast... If one has decent credit, they might consider taking a low-interest loan to pay for the white whale, then sell the cards in a way where they won't be just giving them away...

An example of this happened to me recently... I acquired a large collection of locomotive/train route DVDs (yes, that's a thing), and would up selling a group of 20 for around $100... It was nice to unload 20 of them in one auction, but the ones I'm listing individually are selling for $12 to $18 each. From this point forward I'm sticking to listing them as singles, and when they sell they sell.

[sox83cubs84]

The problem with moving a card collection quickly is that you have to sell them for pennies on the dollar if you want to move them fast... If one has decent credit, they might consider taking a low-interest loan to pay for the white whale, then sell the cards in a way where they won't be just giving them away...

An example of this happened to me recently... I acquired a large collection of locomotive/train route DVDs (yes, that's a thing), and would up selling a group of 20 for around $100... It was nice to unload 20 of them in one auction, but the ones I'm listing individually are selling for $12 to $18 each. From this point forward I'm sticking to listing them as singles, and when they sell they sell.

Very true...most dealers and shops aren't paying squat for cards these days. I was in a Chicago area card shop a while back, and the owner told me that he was paying 15% of Beckett prices for cards, and (supposedly), they "were flying in the door".

Dave Miedema

[mook03005]

What sports cards are you selling if you don't mind me asking....lately ive been missing my old card collection , because like a lot of guys I sold it to fund my jersey collection. Anyhow I kind of went backwards and sold off some items to put together a 1960 Topps set...love it!

[sorklora]

I guess it would depend on how much you want the jersey and how much do you value your cards...if they are vintage cards, anything pre-1970s and graded a decent grade, they are going nowhere but up in price as most stuff has doubled lately. If those are the cards you have, I would make sure and try and get max value and not just do a fire sale as the vintage graded are so few in nice condition. I've pretty much stopped collecting cards, but my vintage graded will stay with me until I really need the money.

[LarryWalkerFan]

Thanks for the replies, i'm not going to sell my entire collection, I will keep my top 10 cards or something to that extent.

If you're looking at a specific item (time limited to acquire), as opposed to a general item (multiple choices on the market), you might want to flip your position on that. Selling the bottom 98% of your collection will take a lot of time and likely result in you getting about 5-8 percent of their market value due to the fire sale aspect. If you sell cards from the top-10, you might have to sell only one or two of them to get the item you want, as you'll be able to get top dollar on popular items.

[whodey14]

As a card collector first, game used and memorabilia guy second I have to tell you to hold off. No idea what you have in your card collection but I know for myself if I ever sold regardless of paying a premium I could never obtain my collection again. An item that you want on the game used side I would assume is obtainable again if you saved to have both. Certainly some outliers but usually there are more to be had. Just my .02.

Would like to hear what you had, don't see many card collectors here. At least I haven't in my brief moments on here.