T206 Set - Raw vs Graded

[nikobaseball]

Hey everyone,

I'm sure this is a topic that's been discussed in depth here before, but I'm new into vintage and have been doing a lot of research into the t206 set recently. A certain member here was kind enough to send me a t206 beater (my first one) and it was really incredible to see and hold.

I've always been a collector and I really like the idea of a challenge. I considered attempting one of the 1950's topps sets but barring 52, I really feel it would be too easy. I think t206 is attainable (minus big 4, tho I think I can reasonably get to 521 or 522) but would take a long enough time to feel rewarding. That said, I'm really struggling on deciding how to go about it. I don't want to start one way and then decide I like raw or a higher grade better. I also hate the idea of having some cards in a binder raw, and some cards graded separately. I'd rather just know everything is uniform (i.e. all PSA) but that would of course cost more. As someone fairly new to vintage, I feel like going raw would be significantly riskier given the amount of fakes and altered cards out there.

Any advice for someone attempting the set? I know the costs involved, and I expect to spend a min. of 20K over the years (and that would be for just 520 in the lowest grade possible). One alternative would be to commit to a really long term project of geting fairly high grade copies (PSA 5+). Obviously this is a large financial burden but more importantly to me, I would worry about quitting due to the size and difficulty of it.

Also, given that I like having a 'complete' collection, I'd want at least one of each back, and all the other non-error variations that may exist. I can settle for no Wager or Doyle, though.

Thanks for the help.

Zach

[Sean]

Wow, good luck. I don't think you should worry about uniformity. Get raw cards to start with, but don't pass up graded cards, especially for important cards( Cobb, Matty, etc.).
And don't be afraid to change your approach later. You can break out graded cards if you decide to do so. There are so many options that it isn't possible to make a decision now and not change your mind in some manner as your collection takes shape.
I can't tell you how many times in the last 12 years that I've changed. But my only real regrets are the cards that I didn't buy and now wish that I had.
I hope that helps. :)

[steve B]

One of each back will put it beyond 20K, well beyond if you count the different series. Drum and BL 460 are really tough.

I'm a bit under halfway there after 35 years with a few stretches of inactivity.

I'm a few backs short and don't really expect to complete a set of backs. (Missing P460 f42, Drum, Uzit, Bl460, and if you count them brown OM and brown Lenox also Ty Cobb and type 1 coupon which I've decided not to count. )

Mine run the whole range, from some really beat ones to some that are very nice.

What I'd recommend is buying cards that appeal to you. Either for the overall look, the condition, or just being a good deal at the time.

Ungraded cards can always be graded, and graded can always be cracked out. I find sending them in to be fun all by itself, but don't see the point for very worn commons with common backs.

I've tried to stay with VG-ex lately, but if a card is P-F and has something interesting going on I won't pass it up.

Steve B

[E93]

My goal from the start (30 years ago) was a clean, crease-free vg/ex to ex set. Although I have about a dozen I would like to upgrade, that is basically where I am at. My cards technically grade from vg/ex to nm, but they have similar eye-appeal. The set was almost entirely raw, except for a few of the bigger name HOFs. About six or seven years ago I got all the HOFs and scarcities graded. The HOFs average about ex+ according to PSA. The commons are still in the binder, which I enjoy. This has worked for me.
JimB

[mrvster]

Welcome aboard! you picked the right set to collect....I am absolutely obsessed with T206(especially printer's scrap).....anyone here will tell you...

anyway, so many ways to collect it....I like the rarer pieces.....

try ungraded raw at first....get a "feel" for them....sounds "weird" but smell them, touch them......we will coach you on every purchase if you need....you can email me/pm me if you want....


if your just going for straight set, try SGC for size, they are great...love the look....you can get great VG 3's" affordably....

but be careful, once the monster grabs hold of you!;):)

[Eric72]

The old mantra rings true every time. "Collect what you like and like what you collect."

There is no one-size-all approach to collecting anything. I personally target T206 cards that are graded VG by Beckett, PSA, and SCG. Having said that, I have raw cards and other grades...and thoroughly enjoy all of them.

I understand the idea of uniformity, especially if you plan to display your collection. If I planned on devoting wall space to cardboard, it would most likely be raw cards with nice fronts and major paper loss on the back, in a series of identical matted frames. The 520 cards that are not tremendously expensive would look nice in 5 frames...each with 13 columns across and 8 rows from top to bottom. If lucky enough to acquire the Big 4, those would be graded by SGC and the holders would be placed in separate frames.

But that's just me...and I do not display my collection. The key here is that you find out what YOU like and chart your course from there.

Good luck and Happy Collecting,

Eric

[thehoodedcoder]

i personally collect psa. i feel like their values are going to keep going comapred to SGC. i also think there are more of them, especially in lower grades. having them graded is nice as the case protects them pretty well in most cases.

if you buy raw and decide you want them graded, it will cost you your first born.

i liken it to the lord of the rings. the closer you get to completion, the harder and more expensive it will become. good luck.

kevin

[conor912]

I prefer raw, but if you go graded, be careful picking too small of a niche (only t206, only graded, only sgc, only 40). you will only end up backing yourself into a corner. If you do that, through the years you will guaranteed end up with cards that you don't really like just because they are the grade you want AND you will find that you have to pass on cards you DO really like just because they are the wrong grade or slabbed by the wrong company. Raw or graded, your collecting, just like personalities and relationships, will morph over the years. Leave yourself some flexibility to learn and change.

[thehoodedcoder]

that is good advice.

i started out thinking i would do 3's. after 1 card i bought a few 4s, that turned into some 5s. i then decided to do 5 and higher. then that morphed into 5 and higher but i really want some 6s if i can find them, even if i have to pay a little more for them.

needless to say. i have some really nice 7s and an 8. :eek:

kevin

[kamikidEFFL]

First of best of luck on your quest. This is the Mount Everest of sets in the tobacco card world who my kidding in all sets of cards. I woul recommend checking this site out very helpful on the set if you haven't already, http://t206resource.com. Anyway raw or graded it doesn't matter I myself like stuff graded to insure safe keeping and authenticity. I wouldn't dare touch this set, to many backs or variations to count. I like the polar bear backs myself and have started collecting those only in all conditions. Condition to me isn't everything sometimes it's just cool to say hey I own/owned that card. But then again my 34 goudey set I'm trying for grades of 5+. So do what feels right man and what u like. Best of luck

[Rob D.]

Hi Zach,

Here's how I approached the T206 set, along with random thoughts at the end. By no means is this the only way to go, but it was enjoyable for me.

In December 2012 I decided to collect the Polar Bear subset of 250 cards. I figured this would be a good mini project before committing to collect the entire set. I thought that breaking off a small piece of the monster would allow me to decide if I wanted to tackle the entire beast. Though Polar Bears are by no means a tough back, there are a handful of players who don't show up on a regular basis. Plus, there's the St. Louis versions of Demmitt and O'Hara that are in shorter supply than the rest. There also are enough Hall of Famers in the subset so that you don't feel like you're in a rut buying just common players. All in all, it's somewhat of a challenge but certainly doable without investing the prime of your life and 401K account.

When I got to about the 200-card plateau, I had enjoyed the ride enough that I decided to jump feet first and attempt the collect the entire set, minus the Wagner and Doyle. At that point I stuck to my original plan of completing the Polar Bear set but also began buying cards that didn't come with a PB back to round out the set. The end result was I got all the "others" (except the Plank) before I finished the Polar Bears. The final Polar Bear (Nichols batting) came in August of this year, and I added a Plank shortly after that to complete my "set."

So, with a pretty aggressive approach, it all came together in 15 months. Had I not stuck with the Polar Bear plan, the time frame would have been much shorter.

Random thoughts, in no particular order:

My goal was to buy cards in very good condition. If a card had a nice front but minor paper loss on the reverse and technically graded worse than very good, that was fine with me. As I got down to the final Polar Bears, I bought lower-grade cards just so I could cross them off of the list. I've since upgraded most of them. The only beaters in my set are the Plank and Magie error, simply because I did not want to break the bank on those two cards. I've not regretted that decision at all.

For whatever reason, I didn't want to buy southern leaguers individually. I bided my time, and when a near-complete subset of SLers with Old Mill backs came up for sale in an auction, I bought it. I think it was missing 5-6 cards, and those holes were easy to fill. So within my T206 set is a complete Polar Bear subset and a subset of Old Mill southern leaguers.

The most important piece of advice I think I could give someone regarding collecting T206s is: Be patient! For the most part, you won't find yourself in a situation where you'll say to yourself, "If I don't buy this card now, I'll never have the chance again." Sure, there are rarities and lone examples of cards, but these won't be part of your landscape at the start. Don't tell yourself, "I've got to buy a red background Cobb by the end of the month," because if you do, you will overpay.

There are always T206s to buy, and you will quickly realize this. It really is more fun to wait for just the right example of a card for your collection. And, trust me, that right example will turn up. If someone tells you that he's offering you a T206 card that's "rare in this condition" or is "rarely ever offered," your B.S. meter should sound an alarm. You'll soon see that it's often the same people who always seem to be hawking the "rare for the grade" cards. (Funny how that works out.) Ditto for when someone is always touting a card as being one-of-a-kind. Just last week one of those surfaced on Net54. The second example was posted within a day or two.

At the outset, if you're unsure whether you'll see this project to the end, my suggestion would be to buy more Hall of Famers than commons. The reason is if you decide to bail, it will be much easier to recoup your money selling the HOFers you bought as opposed to commons. There are always commons available to buy. Though this strategy requires more money to be spent at the beginning, I still think it's the way to go.

I would suggest taking some time and reading T206resource.com (http://t206resource.com/). There you will find a lot of information that might not interest you, but there also are valuable tools. My favorite is the searchable database (http://t206resource.com/Checklist.html), which allows you to check for all of the confirmed front-back combinations for any player/pose.

To answer your "raw or graded" question. From a personal standpoint, if third-party grading disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't care one bit. The flip side is I can appreciate the positive aspects of graded cards. Having an entire T206 set in slabs means you are going to have a heck of a lot of plastic. But given the number of lowlifes in this hobby and the fact you'll be buying a lot of cards online, suggesting to a newcomer to buy only raw cards is irresponsible. I'm very comfortable having two-thirds of my set raw and the other third in slabs.

Simply put, if you crack out every slabbed card you buy, you will cost yourself money. If the financial aspect totally doesn't matter to you, then I would say all-raw would work for you. But even though I don't buy cards with the long-term financial implication in mind (it's a hobby, not an investment), I still realize that cracking out high-dollar cards is going to make them tougher to sell down the line, when/if that time arrives. Also, you will eventually buy a card in say, a 5 holder, get it and realize that it's terribly overgraded. If you remove it from the slab, you will cost yourself money, because no way is that card getting back into a 5 holder. If you're OK with that, then it's no problem.

The solution I found was to scan each of my cards with the holders on the graded cards cropped out and create an ImageEvent album. That way, my set has a uniform look online even though it's mixed in the two boxes I use to store the set (pictured below). Here's a link to my set: http://imageevent.com/ineedanap/t206set

Finally, if you are patient and take the time to watch eBay, the B/S/T on this site and other auctions before you buy, you will quickly become educated on both values and fakes. You'll quickly find out that collecting T206s is not rocket science. You certainly will not need a coach. You will be amazed at what you will learn by owning a few raw T206s and seeing what differentiates them from fakes. Detecting alterations and trimming can be more tricky, and though third-party grading isn't a sure-fire safety net, it can be a valuable tool. But even though it might be hard to believe right now, you can become an informed T206 collector sooner rather than later.

That's not to say you won't have questions. I always seemed to be seeking advice from folks whose opinions I respected and trusted. I think if you pay attention you'll find fellow collectors who care more about passing along solid advice than they do about selling you or hyping a card -- or reminding you of how long they've collected or how many great cards they once owned. Those people will be your most valuable resources.

Good luck.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ineedanap/otherphotos/boxes.jpg

[nikobaseball]

Thank you all for the thoughts. I think you're definitely right in that I shouldn't pigeonhole myself into just one grade, as that will force me to pass up on nice opportunities. Maybe one option is to just go for nice low-mid grade PSA copies (say 2-5 depending on the price, player, card etc.) and just go for copies that have a nice visual appeal to me.

Raw is appealing just because I can get a nice starter lot of 100+ pretty easily, and I feel that's much harder to do with PSA. I just hate the idea of having some raw in binders, and some graded sitting somewhere in a box. I'd like to be able to at least store them all together, if not display them together. I kind of like the option of buying raw + subbing them myself, but I have a feeling thats more costly long run and may not be worth it.

As far as PSA vs SGC, I've only had PSA cards before and don't really like the look of SGC from what I can tell, though I've never held one myself. I do know that I wouldn't want a set that's a mix of both, so I'd probably rather just go all PSA if I'm doing all graded. Seems like the set registry group is a bit stronger there too.

Keep the feedback coming, thanks everyone.

[steve B]

Thank you all for the thoughts. I think you're definitely right in that I shouldn't pigeonhole myself into just one grade, as that will force me to pass up on nice opportunities. Maybe one option is to just go for nice low-mid grade PSA copies (say 2-5 depending on the price, player, card etc.) and just go for copies that have a nice visual appeal to me.

Raw is appealing just because I can get a nice starter lot of 100+ pretty easily, and I feel that's much harder to do with PSA. I just hate the idea of having some raw in binders, and some graded sitting somewhere in a box. I'd like to be able to at least store them all together, if not display them together. I kind of like the option of buying raw + subbing them myself, but I have a feeling thats more costly long run and may not be worth it.

As far as PSA vs SGC, I've only had PSA cards before and don't really like the look of SGC from what I can tell, though I've never held one myself. I do know that I wouldn't want a set that's a mix of both, so I'd probably rather just go all PSA if I'm doing all graded. Seems like the set registry group is a bit stronger there too.

Keep the feedback coming, thanks everyone.

Once you get a feel for the cards and if you have a good eye for details, sending a few in for grading can be less costly.
I've had a few bought within the last four years come back between 60 and 82, with a couple being the highest for that front/back combination. I didn't pay much above 40 or 50 for any of them.
My most recent card was listed as trimmed but really didn't look like it. Took a chance at a touch above the trimmed price and got a nice factory cut card that's probably just under the min size for TPG vertically but is wide enough. Nice looking card, just not one that will get a grade.

There are a lot of display options even for a mixed graded/ungraded set.

Enjoy the trip whether it's a long or short one:)

Here's a couple teasers for inspiration.

Steve B

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture.php?albumid=123&pictureid=2594http://www.net54baseball.com/picture.php?albumid=123&pictureid=1878

[Eric72]

Hi Zach,

Here's how I approached the T206 set, along with random thoughts at the end. By no means is this the only way to go, but it was enjoyable for me.

In December 2012 I decided to collect the Polar Bear subset of 250 cards. I figured this would be a good mini project before committing to collect the entire set. I thought that breaking off a small piece of the monster would allow me to decide if I wanted to tackle the entire beast. Though Polar Bears are by no means a tough back, there are a handful of players who don't show up on a regular basis. Plus, there's the St. Louis versions of Demmitt and O'Hara that are in shorter supply than the rest. There also are enough Hall of Famers in the subset so that you don't feel like you're in a rut buying just common players. All in all, it's somewhat of a challenge but certainly doable without investing the prime of your life and 401K account.

When I got to about the 200-card plateau, I had enjoyed the ride enough that I decided to jump feet first and attempt the collect the entire set, minus the Wagner and Doyle. At that point I stuck to my original plan of completing the Polar Bear set but also began buying cards that didn't come with a PB back to round out the set. The end result was I got all the "others" (except the Plank) before I finished the Polar Bears. The final Polar Bear (Nichols batting) came in August of this year, and I added a Plank shortly after that to complete my "set."

So, with a pretty aggressive approach, it all came together in 15 months. Had I not stuck with the Polar Bear plan, the time frame would have been much shorter.

Random thoughts, in no particular order:

My goal was to buy cards in very good condition. If a card had a nice front but minor paper loss on the reverse and technically graded worse than very good, that was fine with me. As I got down to the final Polar Bears, I bought lower-grade cards just so I could cross them off of the list. I've since upgraded most of them. The only beaters in my set are the Plank and Magie error, simply because I did not want to break the bank on those two cards. I've not regretted that decision at all.

For whatever reason, I didn't want to buy southern leaguers individually. I bided my time, and when a near-complete subset of SLers with Old Mill backs came up for sale in an auction, I bought it. I think it was missing 5-6 cards, and those holes were easy to fill. So within my T206 set is a complete Polar Bear subset and a subset of Old Mill southern leaguers.

The most important piece of advice I think I could give someone regarding collecting T206s is: Be patient! For the most part, you won't find yourself in a situation where you'll say to yourself, "If I don't buy this card now, I'll never have the chance again." Sure, there are rarities and lone examples of cards, but these won't be part of your landscape at the start. Don't tell yourself, "I've got to buy a red background Cobb by the end of the month," because if you do, you will overpay.

There are always T206s to buy, and you will quickly realize this. It really is more fun to wait for just the right example of a card for your collection. And, trust me, that right example will turn up. If someone tells you that he's offering you a T206 card that's "rare in this condition" or is "rarely ever offered," your B.S. meter should sound an alarm. You'll soon see that it's often the same people who always seem to be hawking the "rare for the grade" cards. (Funny how that works out.) Ditto for when someone is always touting a card as being one-of-a-kind. Just last week one of those surfaced on Net54. The second example was posted within a day or two.

At the outset, if you're unsure whether you'll see this project to the end, my suggestion would be to buy more Hall of Famers than commons. The reason is if you decide to bail, it will be much easier to recoup your money selling the HOFers you bought as opposed to commons. There are always commons available to buy. Though this strategy requires more money to be spent at the beginning, I still think it's the way to go.

I would suggest taking some time and reading T206resource.com (http://t206resource.com/). There you will find a lot of information that might not interest you, but there also are valuable tools. My favorite is the searchable database (http://t206resource.com/Checklist.html), which allows you to check for all of the confirmed front-back combinations for any player/pose.

To answer your "raw or graded" question. From a personal standpoint, if third-party grading disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't care one bit. The flip side is I can appreciate the positive aspects of graded cards. Having an entire T206 set in slabs means you are going to have a heck of a lot of plastic. But given the number of lowlifes in this hobby and the fact you'll be buying a lot of cards online, suggesting to a newcomer to buy only raw cards is irresponsible. I'm very comfortable having two-thirds of my set raw and the other third in slabs.

Simply put, if you crack out every slabbed card you buy, you will cost yourself money. If the financial aspect totally doesn't matter to you, then I would say all-raw would work for you. But even though I don't buy cards with the long-term financial implication in mind (it's a hobby, not an investment), I still realize that cracking out high-dollar cards is going to make them tougher to sell down the line, when/if that time arrives. Also, you will eventually buy a card in say, a 5 holder, get it and realize that it's terribly overgraded. If you remove it from the slab, you will cost yourself money, because no way is that card getting back into a 5 holder. If you're OK with that, then it's no problem.

The solution I found was to scan each of my cards with the holders on the graded cards cropped out and create an ImageEvent album. That way, my set has a uniform look online even though it's mixed in the two boxes I use to store the set (pictured below). Here's a link to my set: http://imageevent.com/ineedanap/t206set

Finally, if you are patient and take the time to watch eBay, the B/S/T on this site and other auctions before you buy, you will quickly become educated on both values and fakes. You'll quickly find out that collecting T206s is not rocket science. You certainly will not need a coach. You will be amazed at what you will learn by owning a few raw T206s and seeing what differentiates them from fakes. Detecting alterations and trimming can be more tricky, and though third-party grading isn't a sure-fire safety net, it can be a valuable tool. But even though it might be hard to believe right now, you can become an informed T206 collector sooner rather than later.

That's not to say you won't have questions. I always seemed to be seeking advice from folks whose opinions I respected and trusted. I think if you pay attention you'll find fellow collectors who care more about passing along solid advice than they do about selling you or hyping a card -- or reminding you of how long they've collected or how many great cards they once owned. Those people will be your most valuable resources.

Good luck.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ineedanap/otherphotos/boxes.jpg

Rob,

Many thanks for your post. It rings true as great advice for all of us novice T206 collectors.

Best regards,

Eric

[Luke]

I asked this same question about 3 years ago, and Rob gave me the same advice he just gave you. I decided to go with his suggestion that I start with the HOFers. It's a great idea, because if you decide not to follow through with completing the entire set, you'll be able to recoup your money (or close to it) when you sell off the HOFers. Initially, I bought a few SCG 30s and really liked the idea of uniformity. For the first few months, I wanted to have my whole set in SGC holders in the 30 range. That lasted for a bit, but I then realized how much space that would take up, and also decided that I just preferred the cards raw. They look better in small top loaders that you can thumb through or binder pages you can flip through in my opinion. Also, if you're patient, you can buy raw VG commons for $20, whereas graded 3s are around double that. I'm slowly plugging away at the HOFers and I pick up commons here and there. I'm aiming for GD/VG, and I don't mind a little paper loss on the reverse. For me it's all about bargain hunting. I bid on a lot of auctions, and I only expect to win a small percentage of them, but when I do, I get a great deal. There's no rush to get a certain example of the George Stovall portrait, so if you don't win this one, there will be hundreds more offered for sale. Good luck. You can shoot me a PM if you have any questions.

[nikobaseball]

Great advice so far, thanks everyone.

I recently had the idea to go for the entire common + SL set in raw condition, so I can flip through binder pages and appreciate them. Then I would simultaneously get all the HOF'ers slabbed. This would maintain a semi-uniform aspect to my set, and would enable me to keep costs under control. The only cards that I think wouldn't work for this approach are Demmitt and O'hara - I'll also buy those slabbed, when I get to that point.

Are there certain binders or cases I will need to get this started? If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears.

I think my goal will be to go for low-mid 'grade' raw commons and the same for the HOFers. I'd consider doing SL in PSA slabs too. I just doubt I'll come across many fake low condition commons so I think raw would be safe. May need some help along the way to avoid fakes/trimming etc.

Open to more thoughts/suggestions as well. Thanks again.

Zach

[Bpm0014]

Zach, I went down the same road. I have all of them raw, in binders. Even the ones that came in a slab, I bust them out and put them in as well (no matter how expensive). I think you'll enjoy them much better this way. I just picked up a green Cobb last week that finally arrived yesterday. I can't wait to bust it out and place it in the binder!

[nikobaseball]

Zach, I went down the same road. I have all of them raw, in binders. Even the ones that came in a slab, I bust them out and put them in as well (no matter how expensive). I think you'll enjoy them much better this way. I just picked up a green Cobb last week that finally arrived yesterday. I can't wait to bust it out and place it in the binder!

How many did you buy raw vs graded? Do you worry about potential resale value? I assume you're going for relatively low grade. I can't imagine cracking out high grades.

Also, what binders are you putting them in? Are they safe in binders?

[Bpm0014]

I'm down to my last 40 or so. So out of 480ish I would say that 440 were raw and 40 were graded. I absolutely do not buy them as an investment or worry about resale value. I have an autographed Larry Doyle in there, a green Cobb now in there, a Cy Young throwing that I beleive was a PSA 6 or 7 in there, and numerous other HOF'ers that were graded mostly 2's, 3's, and 4's. And when I get a Magie and hopefully/eventually a Plank you can bet that they will go in there as well!! I couldn't be happier; I really enjoy them raw in a binder.

[nikobaseball]

I'm down to my last 40 or so. So out of 480ish I would say that 440 were raw and 40 were graded. I absolutely do not buy them as an investment or worry about resale value. I have an autographed Larry Doyle in there, a green Cobb now in there, a Cy Young throwing that I beleive was a PSA 6 or 7 in there, and numerous other HOF'ers that were graded mostly 2's, 3's, and 4's. And when I get a Magie and hopefully/eventually a Plank you can bet that they will go in there as well!! I couldn't be happier; I really enjoy them raw in a binder.

Awesome. I honestly think going through them in a binder would be the best way to appreciate them. I think I'll use the 20 card per page sheets (this won't hurt the cards right?)

I'm going to attempt to complete a low grade set of 520, with the HOFers in PSA. May change that to just a few PSA depending on what becomes available.

If anyone wants to start me off in the quest with a large lot for sale, feel free to PM me or post here. Thanks! I'm excited to begin.

Zach

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Great advice all around. I don't think you know just how ambitious an every back variation is but best of luck. I am working on a low grade every front collection now and it is fun.

[g_vezina_c55]

dont collect t206 now but for my goudey set i collect only SGC 40 or better cards. I prefer a uniform set.. all raw.. all psa or all sgc.

But collect what you want and what you can afford.

[tonyo]

I much prefer raw and I just keep them in stacks. Never been a huge fan of pages. I like picking up a stack of cards and thumbing thru them like I did when I was a kid and I like the feel of cards.

That said, probably 1/4 to 1/3 of my monster is graded. That's how they were purchased - I've never sent a card in to be graded.

I haven't busted the graded cards out because I have big enough stacks to keep my thumbs happy and it's probably easier to re-sell a graded card (maybe?) in the event I decide to upgrade.

One of these days I can see myself cracking all the slabs, then putting all the cards in tobacco sized holders so I can maintain thumbability and still offer a bit of protection for days when I have more than two thumbs.

[Tobacco206]

guys as you may read i may very new to this site and the monster but i hope to build a raw set then add some subsets to it. I wouldn't turn down a graded card but for me i will build this using the money for grading or the added value related to graded cards to just buy other cards.

[freakhappy]

One of these days I can see myself cracking all the slabs, then putting all the cards in tobacco sized holders so I can maintain thumbability and still offer a bit of protection for days when I have more than two thumbs.

"thumbability" love it!

[dougscats]

A lot of great advice here; Luke and Brendan in particular express my own opinions. Let me add:

I collect raw for a couple of reasons:
foremost, I'm a romantic and I like to be able to touch the cards, to sense their antiquity and the spirit they convey;
secondly, generally speaking, if you're patient, you can get a better deal $ on ungraded cards;
lastly, it's a great pleasure to be able to flip through the binder and easily view/reference my collection anytime I'd like.

I've been actively collecting the Monster for a number of years, and as I near completion [516/518] I've realized another thing: I've enjoyed the chase probably even more than I will the attainment of the goal. Fortunately for me, the chase now continues as I'm upgrading about half my collection [having started out collecting lower-grade cards]. So I still have years to look forward to, in the never-ending quest for nicer cards.

I could go on, but I'll end it here, wishing you a bon voyage.

Doug

[nikobaseball]

Just wanted to give a huge shoutout to 2 members. t206hound was kind enough to send me a raw t206 card, which was awesome to feel and hold. And trobba sent me an SGC 20, my first SGC card. Both have gotten me more excited about the set and being part of the community here.

Currently in the market for a nice low-grade HOF'er to get this going. Was very impressed with the SGC slab.

Thanks again for the advice!

[mrvster]

your going to love collecting T206.....Thanks to guys like Erick and trobba....

BTW....Erick is a rock solid guy, we have helped each other so much, I owe one of my favorite T206 to this guy, for a heads up on a sick printer's scrap at heritage a few years ago....Great to have you aboard Niko....guys like trobba and Erick truly make collecting these a dream...

YOU ARE GONNA LOVE IT

[scottglevy]

My dad and I have literally done this both ways. We started with a raw set many many years ago. Got it fully graded (average condition around 4.5) by PSA, found that it was way too bulky to enjoy the "hobby" aspect of it. Sold off nearly the entire collection and started from scratch about 5 years ago. Last week we got the final card - (Lundgren Chicago) for the basic collection (we're not even considering cards like Wagner for the raw set) and now have it completely in binder form again (average grade provably around vg/ex - ex). Some cards would likely get reasonably high grade - although almost certainly nothing above a "7", but it's just so much more enjoyable to have them all in a binder.

I would add one note, if I was concerned about resale value I would absolutely collect and keep all cards in vg/ex or better in slabs.

Best
Scott