Should I list a series of books individually or as a set

[gremkie]

My husband as a young boy purchased the paperback Phantom books.  He was extremely careful with his books and they are in excellent condition.  Of the 15, we are missing 3.  I checked completed listings and they seem to be all over the place.  I was wondering if I should list the 12 books as a set but concerned about the number of pictures or individually.  I just started selling again and can easily do individual listings.  Any advice appreciated.  Thanks!!

[chevymontecarlo88]

That is a good question. I have approached this situation differently depending on the value of the items and time frame im looking to sell them within. If i was looking to get maximum amount for them i may consider purchasing the missing 3 books (in same condition) to complete the set. I will choose this method if this is a desirable (and in excellent condition) item and i can complete the collection affordably.  If only a few of the items in the lot are worth a lot more than the others, i may consider selling the more valuable ones by themselves and listing the others in lots.  You may squeak out more selling them individually but some of the common titles may take longer to move.

I do not know anything about what you are specifically selling. This is just how approach selling items that can be grouped or sold individually.

Good Luck

[1786davycrockett]

@gremkie 

Since you are missing 3 of the volumes from the set, you may be better off selling the books individually.

Since it is likely that there are other individuals in the eBay book community who may also be interested in this series, there is a good likelihood that those folks are also missing individual titles; and, thus, those folks may not be interested in purchasing a set of 12 books, which will leave them with duplicates.

In addition, make sure that your title line uses the key words "The Phantom - Lee Falk," since there are thousands of items on eBay using just the key word "Phantom" -- that will assist the collectors specifically looking for that series, rather than having them wade through page after page of other, unrelated entries.

Good luck!

[taylor_memorial]

The Lee Falk set is moderately valuable. You will do better singly either way, but with an incomplete set like yours, singly is the way to go. I've sold them twice for +/- $15 each. There are quite a few adventure book collectors out there, and a Facebook group or six you can use to get some advice regarding smaller groups. 

FWIW: usually the first few and the last few are more valuable.