Classic & Vintage - ebay: better to sell classic gruppos in pieces or as a set?

I'm generally curious about whether people find it more effective, in a price/effort calculation, to sell an older gruppo that's in good shape (crank/BB, brakes/levers, deraillers, shifters, freewheel) as a complete set or to sell the individual components individually. I'm interested in whatever thoughts and experiences y'all have with this.

I just sold three complete bikes on e-bay and averaged less per sale than the same model/vintage parted out. I had taken the 4th bike apart to rehab for my wife who ended up getting something else and me being to lazy to put it back together, I put it up bit by bit. If I sell anymore I guess I would part out yet the idea of breaking up working bikes bothers me. I am conflicted I guess. Also the componets and bikes involved will greatly affect the level of interest in your auctions. A vintage Colonago will get more attention than a vintage Freespirit. It is best to study similar items on e-bay and try to determine what, if any, interest there is.

Usually selling a full bike will earn less money than selling good parts piece by piece. (I know someone who, for fun, have bought full bikes on eBay and then sold them part-by-part and sold the frame, to see how much of a margin they can turn.)
But I'm curious about if you've already got all of the parts stripped off the bike, does it make more sense to sell them together as a group (e.g., Vintage Shimano Dura-Ace full component group, except hubs) or just sell the components individually.
Seems like there have to be some people around here who have experience with this sort of thing.

Usually selling a full bike will earn less money than selling good parts piece by piece...Seems like there have to be some people around here who have experience with this sort of thing.

That would be me... You're completely correct, timcupery, that full bikes sell for significantly less than the sum of their parts, all things being equal. The last phrase of the previous sentence is the significant one though...

Good photography, good description, and good seller feedback all have strong effects on the price. A well displayed bike from a known seller will bring more than the sum of the parts if the parts are poorly displayed by a seller with little feedback.

So far as the OP's question, I'd say don't sell as a gruppo - you'll get more by selling the individual parts.

What do you wanna do, ship the whole bike together as whole and be done with it, or make 10-15 trips to the post office mailing the parts to different people? With the latter it seems you might make a bit more money, but the stress and time involved makes it a royal pain in the ass and not even worth it if you ask moi.

So far as the OP's question, I'd say don't sell as a gruppo - you'll get more by selling the individual parts.
Tim, I would agree with FarHorizon. I recently saw someone sell 9-speed groupo, (Ultegra I think) on ebay. I didn't bid because I didn't want all the stuff being sold. Apparently others felt the same way because the total package sold for a little more than the brifters would alone.

Speaking of Ultegra, roccobike, do you want those 8-speed brifters off of my friend's Cannondale?