After my dad died

[digitalbeachbum]

I was in the middle of cataloging my poster collection when my dad passed away. My mom called me up a few months after and asked me to come over and look through his things.
Dad and I were really big on baseball. It was just one of those things that only baseball fans could understand, sort of like 'Field of Dreams'.

We never knew how much dad collected until I started going through his stuff.
Most of it was cards, but he also had bats and balls, along with a few other items (tickets, programs, etc)

Does any one have any suggestions on how to sell such a collection? I want to avoid eBay and didn't know where to begin with the various sources on the web.

Thanks

[timelessmoviemagic]

Firstly, sorry about your loss. It's very difficult when you lose a family member. I will say it does get easier after time.

On the baseball cards, tickets etc. IMO it depends on their value, rarity etc. If they have a considerable value it might be best getting into touch with one of the big boys about auctioning them off.

Do the research first, check the internet to see if any of the same cards etc are being sold and what sites are selling them.

If they aren't of a certain value though Ebay may be your best bet if you want to get the best value because I would guess a dealer would want to buy in bulk and they would only offer you a smaller bulk sum as they would use up quite a bit of time selling them.

Best
Marc

[Crazy Vick]

Sports memorabilia is a huge market.  You could consign to a local auction house that deals specifically inthat but has a web presence so you get national/international bidders

Of course it may have relatively little value overall in which case you can save the best pieces for yourself and your family and donate the others.

thanks for sharing... I also have a collecting passion that only my dad and I share among a very large family so I can appreciate

[ddilts399]

I am going to say it depends on how fast you want to move it and what is there.    It might be worth the investment to get some stuff graded if there are items in A+ condition as top end graded cards are like hitting a good scratch off lottery ticket if you pull a 10 on a grade.

1980- date values died several year ago, the exception being the chase cards with autographs or low limited number cards.  Its a sad state, from where the market used to be.  A slow sell through ebay is probably going to net the most money (I'm assuming there isnt 52' Mantles and items like that if you have that kind of value, consign the high end, ebay the stragglers).

[erik1925]

Sorry to read of your dad's passing, DBB.

Have you gone thru or researched any of the cards that you think might be special or more valuable or rare?

Once you have ID'd some of these, you could certainly email Heritage's sports memorabilia dept, send them pics and ask what they think they might be worth and if they would be good for one of their auctions. It certainly couldn't hurt.

Good luck in how it all works out for you, too.