Need some opinions...I have a gem mint (seriously) beta set.

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Worth
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Need some opinions...I have a gem mint (seriously) beta set.

Post by Worth » Wed Jul 06, 2005 8:14 am

So title pretty much says it all.

I have a perfectly mint beta set (literally pack to sleeves, I put it in the closet myself 10+ years ago) and I think it's probably time to let it go. I actually have sets in similar condition up through legends. I have an alpha set as well, but its not NEAR the condition these sets are. This is the kind of thing I might want to PSA? PSAing a whole set seems silly..I dunno. I'm basically at a loss, and would like some folks who deal in this kind of market (I know there aren't many, but some of them do come here, or so I'm told) might have some idea what I should do with it. It's sitting in my safe-deposit box right now, but mint betas are not meant to be caged! :)

Any thoughts?

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Re: Need some opinions...I have a gem mint (seriously) beta

Post by dragsamou » Wed Jul 06, 2005 8:19 am

Worth wrote: It's sitting in my safe-deposit box right now, but mint betas are not meant to be caged! :)

Any thoughts?
Hi.
Mint Betas in that case are not meant to be in Coffins(PSA) :wink:
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Post by l0qii » Wed Jul 06, 2005 12:52 pm

If you are just looking to sell it, that's pretty easy. I'm sure plenty of people here are counting their wallets right now. Having it PSA graded would cost a further investment of around $2000, but would raise its value much higher. No one has ever sold an entire PSA graded set though (in fact the PSA Set Registry shows only one in existance) so who knows what it would grab.

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Post by hammr7 » Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:30 pm

Remember that not all pack fresh cards are PSA 10. In fact, many (if not most) are 8's with lesser amounts of 9's and 7's. I was always under the impression that only about 1 or 2 in 100 carefully handled, well centered, "pack fresh" cards would ultimately merit a PSA 10 rating.

Having said that, the Beta set might be worth the PSA route. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, at the very least the rares and more valuable uncommons should benefit. You might ultimately have to sell these as singles to get the value.

An Arabian Nights set might also benefit from grading, as the set has a decent value relative to the number of cards. Antiquities and Legends sets don't have enough value per card to justify grading. If your initial submissions to PSA come back at high enough levels, you might want to get the key cards ftrom these sets graded. However, you might need to sell cards singly to get the most value.

Grading, especially a large number of cards, takes some time and money. If you don't want to bother with the hassle, the sets will do very well offered the way they are.

Worth
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another question

Post by Worth » Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:51 am

Say I decide to not grade it, does anyone have any idea of the value?

The cards truly are mint (yes I know the difference) and yes I know there arent many PSA10's even straight from packs. 95%+ of this set was LITERALLY put in sleeves from booster packs 12 years ago and never taken out. There are about 6-8 cards that I didnt get in all the packs I opened, so they might have a tiny bit of play, but no card worth more than like 30$ fits this bill.

I've heard values anywhere from 8k to 40k.

Has anything like this ever changed hands? Or done so recently?

Any help appreciated.

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Post by fvzappa » Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:15 pm

The $40k pricetag has to do w/ a complete set, which I saw for sale at a show once- all cards were PSA8-10, but I am not sure if this set ever sold.

A beautiful Beta set, sold as is, should fetch the $8k you mentioned. Reputable dealers can often times get more, but for the most part a set is worth $8k. Both Arabian & Legends sets fetch about $750, maybe more, on ebay. Antiquities, with only a few cards worth $25 or more will fetch less.

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Post by hammr7 » Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:00 pm

Sales of Mint sets depend a lot on your reputation (if selling on places like eBay), or your location, if dealing face to face with a buyer.

Dealers are convenient, but you must remember that they are looking to turn a decent profit on anything they buy. If they are reselling on someplace like eBay, that could cost them 10% (with listing and Paypal expenses). If they expect to make 20% profit (probably low with anything other than the Beta set) then they have to offer you at least 30% less than what a collector would pay.

Collectors are willing to pay more, but tend to be risk-sensitive. If they don't know you (by an eBay reputation or some other means) they won't bid as easily unless they can see what they are getting.

As a collector, I have been monitoring recent set prices on eBay, so I can give you decent projections. Antiquities sets in great condition go for between $350 and $400 (insured and delivered within the US). Two sets were sold in the last few days within that range. Legends sets typically run between $700 and $900, while Arabian Nights sets tend to be $800 to $1,000. Sellers at these prices take about a 5% expense for eBay and Paypal fees.

There haven't been any complete Beta sets sold recently, but $8,000 seems like a good number. It could go higher to a local collector (who could see the set and confirm your grading estimation). I doubt dealers would offer much more, since they would have the wait of grading and / or the work of splitting the set and selling singles. If they went the grading route, it would cost them $1,000 to $2,000 depending on how many cards got graded. If they sold singles on eBay they could pay another $1,000 or more in fees. They would need a profit of $1,000 or more to make it worthwhile.

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thanks for the replies...

Post by Worth » Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:33 am

If it helps try to gauge its worth, I have an ebay rating of 185 (99.9%) and I'm a fairly well known old time pro tour player currently employed by WotC R&D...

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Re: thanks for the replies...

Post by dragsamou » Sat Aug 13, 2005 10:39 am

Worth wrote:If it helps try to gauge its worth, I have an ebay rating of 185 (99.9%) and I'm a fairly well known old time pro tour player currently employed by WotC R&D...
Hi.
Are you Worth Wollpert?
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Worth
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:)

Post by Worth » Sat Aug 13, 2005 8:33 pm

Yep. :)

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Post by hammr7 » Sat Aug 13, 2005 11:54 pm

With that good of an eBay rating, you can make the most money if you split the Beta set and sell singles. The key is to keep each lot price above $10 and below $300, except for the power 9. Make sure you have great scans of each side of the more expensive cards.

You can probably sell the common as a single lot, and most of the uncommons as another single lot, or perhaps by color. There are a few key uncommons that would best be sold singly. I would sell each of the rares seperately, working from the least expensive on up. It would probably be best to offer no more than 20 auctions per week, so you can have current feedback on some of the Betas as you offer more (to keep buyers from thinking you are trashing your eBay reputation in a quick scam). It will take some time, but with good scans of the cards you will get top dollar, especailly for the most expensive cards. You'll also build your ebay reputation by the time it is done. You could certainly net over $10,000 by doing it this way.

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Post by James_Hetfield2 » Sat Aug 27, 2005 2:55 pm

There is a gem mint (pack to sleeve) Alpha set on eBay right now. Guy has over 1000 feedback, been on ebay for 7 years, and no negatives.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MTG-Complete-Set-of ... dZViewItem

Buy it now is $11,500.00 but no one has done it yet, starts the bidding at $6,500.00.

This could be a good gauge of what your set would go for without PSA.

I might be interested in your set when you do sell, so email me or point out the eBay link please.

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Post by bertrand » Sat Aug 27, 2005 5:03 pm

Just as an example.. that Clockwork Beast woulldn't get a 10 because it's off centered.

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Post by James_Hetfield2 » Tue Aug 30, 2005 2:28 pm

The alpha set is already almost at $11000.

I'm betting you can get at least $12000 for your beta set without PSA (assuming you have the feedback this guy does).

Alpha_Investments

Post by Alpha_Investments » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:33 pm

I would get that set graded immediatly.
This month psa has a discount of only 6.00 a card for magic.

But please be aware that if all your cards look MINT you willget grades like this

Alphas

75% PSA 8
15% PSA 9
5% PSA 10

Betas

80% PSA 8
10% PSA 9
10% PSA 10

These are my own statistics from openening packs with gloves recently and sending straight to PSA

The alpha grades are always horrible especially the rares due to the placement in the pakcages and the ink.

If you have any questions let me know


-Rudy
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