Ohio State card collection question

[lane34]

Hello,
This is my first of many postings to the group. I have been reading all of the other great posts on this site and this seems to be the place for all Buckeye information. I am hoping that your input can help me with my question.
I have been collecting cards of former Ohio State players for the last 10 years. I have about 13,000 different cards. I am missing less than 100 cards, otherwise I would have every base card (football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, etc.) of every former player. There are some real pricey ones from Nicklaus, Groza, Horvath, Howard, Havlicek, all the way to rare autos of AJ Hawk, Santonio, and all of the other more current players.
Unfortunately/fortunately my wife and I have just moved into the house of our dreams and would like to put money into the house. I think my collection will be compromised. I would be able to deal with that by switching to autographed 8 x 10s to hang in my OSU basement.
The question is ..... How do you suggest I go about selling this collection? Should I sell it as one huge lot? Separate it into players - remember for every Robert Smith lot of 400 cards, there is a Bobby Olive lot of 4 cards. Should I go ebay? Should I try Columbus card shows (I live in Cleveland)?
I have no idea of what the value is, but I am guessing decent 5 figures. Thanks for your help and for reading this long message!!!
Go Bucks!!
Frank

[RhodeIslandBuck]

How about you give them to me for free

But seriously, seems like a great collection, regardless of how you sell it I think you can make some serious token.

[WoodyWorshiper]

Welcome to the site lane34.

I've been out of the card collecting loop for about forever, but one thing i've noticed is that the hobby seems to be beaten to death simply by the different manufacturers that have entered the market. Where it used to be just Topps, then Fleer, then late 1980's saw an influx of cards onto the market that made if difficult to decipher waht exactly was considered to be a players "Rookie Card." Also, in that same time period, it seemed that every guy in the world aged 30-60 had actually saved his cards in an attic shoebox and the value of/demand for cards from the 1950's to 1970's dropped drastically. Today, Card shops in my area of NEO that once flourished are now out of business.

The problem with card collecting is obviously placing a "value" on what you have. A card that "books" for $100 will get you about $5-10 from a dealer. A serious collector might pay you $40-50. The bottom line is that your collection will never bring you the $$$ that its worth to YOU.

Your best bet may be to set up at a Columbus area show. eBay will get you nothing. Or, take RhodeIsland's advice and give them to him for free but with "future considerations." The kid is considered a "prospective" Buckeye football recruit, if you're nice, he'll probably kick you a modest share of his NFL signing bonus in 2015!! Peace, and good luck.

[Big Papa]

Originally Posted by lane34

Hello,
This is my first of many postings to the group. I have been reading all of the other great posts on this site and this seems to be the place for all Buckeye information. I am hoping that your input can help me with my question.
I have been collecting cards of former Ohio State players for the last 10 years. I have about 13,000 different cards. I am missing less than 100 cards, otherwise I would have every base card (football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, etc.) of every former player. There are some real pricey ones from Nicklaus, Groza, Horvath, Howard, Havlicek, all the way to rare autos of A.J. Hawk, Santonio, and all of the other more current players.
Unfortunately/fortunately my wife and I have just moved into the house of our dreams and would like to put money into the house. I think my collection will be compromised. I would be able to deal with that by switching to autographed 8 x 10s to hang in my OSU basement.
The question is ..... How do you suggest I go about selling this collection? Should I sell it as one huge lot? Separate it into players - remember for every Robert Smith lot of 400 cards, there is a Bobby Olive lot of 4 cards. Should I go ebay? Should I try Columbus card shows (I live in Cleveland)?
I have no idea of what the value is, but I am guessing decent 5 figures. Thanks for your help and for reading this long message!!!
Go Bucks!!
Frank

I also collect Buckeyes sports cards, but not to the extent that you do and I only collect autograph and game used cards of them and mostly only football. I can tell you from my knowledge of the card collecting industry right now, that for the most part, only autographed and game used cards are in demand. And to a degree, cards that are low serial numbered. There are a couple things you need to keep in mind when selling these cards, Ebay is an option, but you will lose money from Ebay fees, and PayPal fees (if you use PayPal). Like I said, unless you are fortunate enough to find another hard core collector like yourself, there are A LOT of your cards that you will not sell. I would recommend that you start with a collector show if that is an option to you, you will have to pay for table space, but you may have a better chance of unloading these types of cards in the Columbus area. I have been collecting cards of all types for about 25 years, on and off, and when I got back into collecting about 2 years ago, I found, much to my dismay, that cards I had that I thought were of value, were not. Rookie cards, start cards, etc that were highly valued back in the 80's and early 90's no longer are worth much of anything. The collectors out there only want memorabilia cards, and the more scarce the better. As well as any "in person" autographed cards really are not worth much as there is so much counterfeiting in the hobby right now, unless they are certified by reputable companies out there (PSA, Beckett, etc) they are not worth anything either. Sorry to burst your bubble, but your expectation of 5 figures from what you have said about your collection is going to be WAY off. If you got more than a few hundred dollars for your collection, I would be surprised.