Need Some Advice on How to Sell Star Wars Cards

[sylviebee]

I'm looking for some free advice.

I've noticed that there are quite a few posters who sell cards.

I have a box of Star Wars Cards from 1977.  I've had them for about 10 years and there is an unorganized mass of hundreds and hundreds of cards.

I haven't counted them but there are a LOT of cards.  It seems like these came directly from the factory.

I have no idea what they're about, nor do I have any interest in organizing them, but I do want to sell them and think they have some value.

I could list them as is on eBay as is but I'm pretty sure that would be asking for problems on so many levels.

I could take them to several stores in my town to see about selling.

I can't stress just how far this is from my comfort zone.  That's why I thought I'd ask for advice here.

I've started to list these about a dozen times and always end up tossing the box in a corner because it just gives me a headache.

[pierrelebel]

You will find over 23,000 lots on eBay for Star Wars cards:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Collectibles-/1/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=star+wars+card&_sop=15

Looking at completed listings and sold listings (on .com) it is obviously a very competitive field with more supply than demand.

Going to a local honest and reputable dealer makes sense to me.

[73rhc]

Search eBay for sold lots. To get an idea of the value. Then list on Kijiji or send to a local auction house, to avoid any headaches.

[sylviebee]

That (of course) was the first thing I did years ago.  No way am I looking up thousands of cards in the completed listings.  

That's when the headache starts and I kick the box into a corner.

A local dealer or three does make sense.  You're right.

[73rhc]

I didn't say look up all of the individual cards. I said to look at sold "Lots". You can easily group them into 250 to 400 cards lots and sell them off in bulk. I would also find out which individual card sell for big money, if any. And sell those on an individual basis.

[73rhc]

Another option, and this will take many hours of sorting, is to see if you can make complete sets. These would possibly sell well.

[sylviebee]

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@73rhc wrote:

Another option, and this will take many hours of sorting, is to see if you can make complete sets. These would possibly sell well.

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Yes, there are sets and this is exactly the reason I keep kicking them aside.  I know they have good value but don't care for this kind of work.

I have the same problem when it comes to dealing with stamps and sports cards (of which I also have hundreds of to get rid of) ...... that kind of thing.

I want to finally be free of all that stuff but when it's not your forte it's a headache.

[tobyshitzu · Accepted solution]

If these are really 77 ones on perfect condition it would be well worth making an effort to understand what you have.  You'd get a lot more here then from a dealer

eg

 http://www.ebay.com/sch/Trading-Cards-/868/i.html?_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=star+wars+c...

[sylviebee]

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@toby**bleep**zu wrote:

If these are really 77 ones on perfect condition it would be well worth making an effort to understand what you have.  You'd get a lot more here then from a dealer

eg

 http://www.ebay.com/sch/Trading-Cards-/868/i.html?_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=star+wars+c...

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Yes,  I've seen the numbers for completed listings and realized that selling them "as is" on eBay isn't the way to go.

I thought that if I go to a few dealers and make it clear to them that I'm doing so I could get a good feel for what these are.

I'll try to post a picture here but the last time I did that my computer froze.

[sylviebee]

[73rhc]

Is this a portion or the entire lot?

[sylviebee]

This is the shot of the top of a box packed full of cards.

[73rhc]

First thing I would do, is to arrange neatly together to avoid damage. Then figure out how much you are attached to them and then decide on a price that will make you happy. Within reason, of course. 

[sylviebee]

I wasn't interested in selling the cards here on the discussion board. 

I was looking for some insight about these cards because I've noticed that a lot of sellers here are knowledgeable about this kind of thing while I am not.

I could walk into a card shop blind but I'd rather have a little footing first .................. and maybe I'll end up putting the work in and listing here instead, but I'd like to avoid that if possible since it would take a lot of effort and time which I could spend on other things.

[73rhc]

What difference does it make to sell them here or through a local dealer (who will no doubt give you a lowball offer)?

[sylviebee]

73rhc:  It makes no difference to me where I sell them, but I'm trying to get more of a feel for what these are before I do that and this felt like a safe place to start.

These must have come direct from the factory and I was hoping for some insight into that.

There are multiples of most of the cards and they're all in stacks which seem like they were just printed.

I bought them at an auction years ago along with other stuff and it makes no sense that they were in that particular auction either.  

[pierrelebel]

" through a local dealer (who will no doubt give you a lowball offer)?"

That may be true of some dealers but not all.

Most reputable and well established dealers are known to make "fair" offers, typically at wholesale price, based on the quality and resellability of the material being offered. 

Until my retirement a few years ago I had been a stamp dealer for decades and made it a point to always present a "fair" market offer to anyone wishing to dispose of a collection or accumulation. I generally made one and only one fair offer and did not move from that amount. And most of my competitors would do the same.  Reputable dealers in other areas such as coins, sport cards, etc...  would also do the same.

I do not think it is fair to assume (we all know the meaning of the word) that dealers would make a "lowball" offer.

[73rhc]

Your statement may be true in the stamp collecting/dealer world. But that has not been my experience (25+ years) in the the sports and non-sports world. I would have liked to come to a fair deal with the OP. But that seems to be out. So I wish her luck, sincerely.

[sylviebee]

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@73rhc wrote:

Your statement may be true in the stamp collecting/dealer world. But that has not been my experience (25+ years) in the the sports and non-sports world. I would have liked to come to a fair deal with the OP. But that seems to be out. So I wish her luck, sincerely.

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73:  You're not really paying attention to what I've been saying.   I'm very aware that I'm in no position to arrive at a fair deal with my limited knowledge at the moment.

 I'm in no way attached to these cards and not in the least bit fussy as to who buys them.

Heck:  I don't even know what these are other than a bunch of Star Wars cards in a box.

[ricarmic]

I think Pierre makes a good point.

What is "lowball" anyway? We all know that to make money here, one needs to at least triple the price paid, so that means at best one is going to get 33% of actual retail from a reseller. So if the cards have an actual marketable value of $300 (ie the SOLD price), the best one could hope for would be $100. For a boxlot like this, there is a lot of work, so figuring one's processing time in, it is likely more reasonable to expect half of that, ie $50. if one is lucky.

In my opinion, the value one gets offered will be based on whether the seller has an easy market for it and/or how much time it takes to process it and sell it. 

I have encountered situations where I have paid multiple times the price other reputable dealers have offered because "I have a guy" that buys the stuff being sold which allows me to pay more because I have a quick turnaround with little time invested.

I am sure other folks who have not sold to me have found other dealers who have paid more, perhaps because the other dealer "has a guy" too that buys different stuff than my customers. 

So I know likely for certain, depending on who you ask, there will be people who think I am better than fair in terms of what I offer and others who think I am less than fair because they found someone else who offered more.

I also know that I divest some stuff to fellow dealers because other stamp dealers have cultured customer bases and I actually get more money selling it to my fellow dealer than I would get trying to sell it directly myself, and with no risk of loss.

Anyway, because I get collateral (non stamps) stuff like this in the big boxes/estates I buy, I try to keep "I have a guy" for the non-stamp related stuff. Usually I find them by taking "free" collateral stuff, and as it becomes clear they're trustworthy, I divert the better stuff to them later.

None of that is fast, I'm in my 37th selling year now and it takes a lot of time and energy to "find the guy".... but that's what I try to do...

This doesn't really answer the original question, if I personally came across these, and didn't want/have the time to spend sorting them out etc, the route I would probably go is one of my trusted antique sellers. These probably have better chance of going well in an antique store than trying to compete against the loads of stuff here - but I wouldn't have had much invested in them because they'd have been collateral..... sometimes stuff like this goes better than it should in a general auction because folks believe star wars cards are worth a lot (they can be depending on condition, if there are actually complete sets etc).