To crack or not to crack...
 

Anybody on the edge whether to crack their graded cards or not?...

Right now I am so close to doing it, but don't know whether to. I know there is that discussion about the investment aspect, etc... but man, flipping through these graded cards mixed with my raw cards is bugging me... I like uniformity. A Majority of my prewar are a group of 75 T206's and 80 T205's... about a dozen of these are graded; most of these cards are LOW grade.
I know people are going to ask whether these are for investment or for fun.. not an easy question to answer. In reality, I see it as a hobby just for fun, but down the road I could see the drawback of it from the investment side of it.

Another thing to note is my T206 Cobb, Lajoie, C.Young are raw, but T206 Walsh, Crawford, Willis are graded... so there's always the possibility to getting the Cobb, Lajoie, C.Young graded to add uniformity to the HOF's. What I might decide is crack everything, but keeping the labels for reference.

Nothing is higher than VGEX 4 (for the graded)

Sorry for the rant, I thought posting this and seeing other's thoughts would ease my mind :)

Keep them graded. It will cost $10/card when you decided to do it in the future, at least. Plus, with most companies tightening their grading scale, your current VG-EX 4 could be a GD+ 2.5 in three years or "trimmed."

Sure, you want cards that are Poor to Fair and crack those? Go ahead. But be a nice collector and report your flips back to the companies that you've cracked them. That way they can remove them from the pop reports.

I crack almost all of mine
 

I have never commented on this type of thread before, but I will offer a different opinion from John.

I will start by saying that I have about 300 graded cards that I have not cracked open, for various reasons.

But with that said, I crack out almost all of the graded cards that I buy. With some of the higher-grade Hall of Famers and other "valuable" cards, I tend to keep them in their holder. (For me this would basically be $500 and up. I'm not saying that all my graded cards have $500+ value, just that generally that's where I set the threshold.)

But most of my collection is non-graded and I like the consistency of it. Also, I have very little interest in future value of a graded card vs. a non-graded card and I have ZERO interest in the registry numbers. I save most of the flips just for reference and I even photograph some of the cards that I crack open (see below), but again, this is just more for personal reference in case I want to refer to it later.

I enjoy my collection for it's consistency and it takes up far less space when the cards are in binders or top loaders.

That's just my two cents and I know it's almost blasphemy to many on this board, but I enjoy the beauty and look of non-graded cards in my collection.

Honestly Brad all I could see there was you cutting your thumb off for a $20 card. It makes a nice clean cut but at what cost possibly?

I generally crack and keep the flips so long as it is low grade and I prefer to keep it raw. For SGC, torquing a screwdriver along the seam will pop them right out.

There are a few cards I keep in. The most compelling is when you get a card that is graded higher than it would be if submitted again.

Same here. Crack and keep the flips...with the exception of a few I leave graded. For what I collect, I can usually buy raw or graded for about the same price, so I'm not losing any money by cracking. Higher dollar cards I leave graded.

That's what I was thinking too. It made me nervous just looking at it.

I always crack a card I picked up for a set build no matter the grade or cost. I want it in it's proper place in the binder. I do have a couple dozen or so cards I've kept in their cases. Those are generally cards that I've spent a lot of time/money on, things that appear to be delicate that I want to protect or odd shaped items that would be hard to put in a binder page. I don't care about the grade or value, I just don't want to damage them in handling. A couple of examples from my Billy Pierce collection:

Attachment 305990

Attachment 305991

Attachment 305992

My sets are all in binders and my philosophy is, I generally keep the more expensive cards graded while cracking everything else. Cobbs, Mattys, Cy Youngs, etc., all stay graded not only for potential resale later but for their protection as well.

My sets are mostly lower grade so the lone exception is if I buy a graded card that's like a 4 or higher. In that case, I'll often keep it graded until I find a lesser card and then try to sell or trade the graded card.

I've cracked a few hundred cards, mostly Authentic grades, 1s, or 2s. I fully understand that when it comes time to sell, I'm giving up some profit. But with lower grade cards, I think that's mostly negligible and I'd much rather enjoy the cards in my binders the way they are. To me, the tradeoff works.

Lol -- good point! But the impression with the exacto knife or blade is actually fairly light -- you're just trying to score the plastic a little bit so there's a fairly clean break. Then I usually put the holder in a vice on my work bench and the top of the holder snaps off easily with a pair of pliers.

Really -- its MUCH easier than it looks. Maybe I should do a "how to" video.

I agree with this completely -- I don't remove cards that are susceptible to further damage if they're already frail, or if I don't have a proper binder to put them in.

I thought this was going to be a Dwight gooden/ strawberry thread.

Guys, you can open an SGC case by just working a butter knife along the seam. Doesn't usually take longer than 20 seconds. Be safe!

I say don’t crack. It helps me feel safer when I’m looking at my cards after a couple glasses of scotch or wine. Haha.

Suppose you decide to sell these cards down the road. Do you also include the flip to show the buyer that it once was graded?
I would think that once the flip is removed, there is no proof that it belongs to the card. Therefore making the flip useless in future sales.

But, if you never have plans on parting with your cards, then it really doesn't matter.

I crack all my cards out. I have a pile of flips somewhere but I've never done anything with them. I just enjoy my collection a lot better without the big piece of plastic and the grader's opinion.

I crack them all out, as well. I just like to be able to touch the actual card. The slab creates a disconnect.

I don't use it, but doesn't the premium version of VCP include images with the pricing? If so, I guess you could prove it that way - showing an image of that card residing in that holder.

As a back collector, I really like having my cards in a holder that lists the back on the label. Kind of a way to see the back while looking at the front. For cards that don't have different backs, I don't need them graded.

I have a few sets that I keep slabbed, but many that I collect raw. Before I crack any of the cards, I always scan the card while slabbed to prove that the flip matches the card, and that the card hasn't been altered since it was slabbed. If/when I sell the cards (which happens rarely), I typically disclose the prior flip with the scan as proof, and ask the buyer if they would like the flip with the card. If not, I send the flip back to the TPG.

Sounds like a good idea.

I will sometimes crack out lower grade cards but usually not higher grade ones.

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T206's cracked!!!
 

Well, I did it!! No more clanky graded holders; I am now putting the cards in pages in a binder. Here is a page with Walter Johnson (pitching) (for the record, it was an "A" graded card) .. I am also keeping the labels, I've decided to just put them at the back of the binder for now.

Man, I am liking this a lot better. Yes, the financial aspect is somewhat lost, but I am really enjoying how this is shaping up -- putting the cards in their respective spots when I get them. For the last 4 or 5 days, everyday, I've gotten my binder out and looked through them, which before they sat there in individual holders for a few months!

They look great! You have selected cards with nice eye appeal. I'm sure you are eager to fill up the page now!

Termites
 

Back in the ‘80s my best friend and I had the largest collections in the neighborhood, something we were very proud of as pre-teens. We both kept them stored in shoeboxes in our bedroom closet. One day he and I were gonna make a few trades after school, so we ventured to his house after getting off the school bus. It had been several months since we’d done this, and I was very excited because I had finally convinced him to trade me his ‘62 Maris for a couple of Pete Rose cards, who was approaching Cobbs all-time hit record. We get to his house, remove his shoe-box collection from the shelf and....

Half of his cards (along with a large portion of his comic book collection) had been shredded, including the ‘62 Maris I wanted so desperately. Termites had all but destroyed the only thing of value he owned. I promptly went home and convinced my mom to buy me a small safe. But i’m pretty certain (safe or no safe) his cards and comics would be around today if they’d been encased in plastic.

They are your cards
 

Honestly do what makes you happiest. One point You can always crack out later you can’t definitely get back in the same grade holder.

For pre-war cards, I could really care less about grading, being a low grade collector. But I like the comfort of a slabbed card. Knowing that my purchase is at least authentic.

I do send modern cards in once in a while... I have no idea why. Lol.

Bigger name cards I keep slabbed (Ruth, Cobb, Mathewson, Young, Johnson, etc.). Otherwise, my cards go into a binder and I keep the flip to show authentication/grade.

I honestly go back and forth on this issue. Ideally, I love the idea of raw cards laid alongside each other and/or in a binder, and I have cracked a few T212s. I suppose if a collector does sell cards that he cracked out and loses some money on them because they aren't graded, it could be seen as a trade-off for having owned and enjoyed them for many years.

However, I also do like the appearance of the T cards in SGC holders. I am not real worried about re-sale value, profit, etc. per se. However, I do allow myself to sometimes consider economic realities and the complexities of doing business in an online world. Buying and selling cards in slabs is easier. I don't like saying that, but it is true.

See how I argued both sides of the issue?? :confused:

I'm pretty new at building a vintage set, but for my 1952 Bowmans, I plan on keeping any graded HOF cards I get in the holder, but still put them in the binder. I currently have a graded Mays and a graded Kiner in a "four pocket" sheet at the back of the binder. I don't plan on buying many graded, so they should all fit (I'll add the Berra, Musial, and Mantle, and that might be it...the Kiner sort of just landed in my lap at a great price, so that wasn't planned).

I haven't decided if I want to put a reprint in the proper place (or even a printed scan) or not...right now those respective slots are empty.

But now when I flip through my binder, I know the "good stuff" is waiting for me at the back.

Just my two cents.

But most of my collection is non-graded and I like the consistency of it. Also, I have very little interest in future value of a graded card vs. a non-graded card and I have ZERO interest in the registry numbers.

I enjoy my collection for it's consistency and it takes up far less space when the cards are in binders or top loaders.

Yes, yes, yes, yes! I'm at like 512/524 of the T206 set. All raw, all in binders. All 4 Cobbs, the Demmit, the O'Hara, a couple signed ones, etc. All raw, all in binders. Many were cracked out of holders and I have no regrets. Even my high grade Cy Young pitching. I love them in a binder!

Think about this, we're all going to die some day (maybe not Barry Sloate, he's just too good for the Lord to remove from this earth) and it might be easier for the people handling the estate to "get rid" of the cards if they are encapsulated.

More to think about.... If you really don't give a crap:

- Pop them out

- Have the graded cards buried with you (hopefully when you're dead and not because some sadistic phuc is messing with you) so that you can screw up the population reports (not that they're very accurate anyway)

- If you are cremated then have them toss them in the funeral pyre, the only consideration being is that you'll have all that gooey plastic crap mixed in with your ashes (unless you popped them out already - hopefully you didn't cut yourself and bled to death and that's why you're no longer with the living). The benefit is the same as the previous: so that you can screw up the population reports (not that they're very accurate anyway)

- Pop them out because you don't give a crap if the people that inherit the cards have to deal with selling them raw because you wanted to hold and smell the cards (hopefully not inhaling any mold spores that lead to your demise).

- Leave them encapsulated because you feel it validates you as a collector and hobbyist. Don't worry, we won't think badly of you because you're a conformist bourgeois pig that knelt down to the grading mania.

Time for another martini on this wonderful Friday afternoon.... TGIF....

YES!!!! Dont collect scared. Welcome to the revolution.

I bust my cards out and put them in a binder. I know it's not the best thing to do from a financial standpoint, but it makes me happy. I use stamp tongs for handling.

think about this, we're all going to die some day (maybe not Barry Sloate, he's just too good for the Lord to remove from this earth) and it might be easier for the people handling the estate to "get rid" of the cards if they are encapsulated.

More to think about.... If you really don't give a crap:

- Pop them out

- Have the graded cards buried with you (hopefully when you're dead and not because some sadistic phuc is messing with you) so that you can screw up the population reports (not that they're very accurate anyway)

- If you are cremated then have them toss them in the funeral pyre, the only consideration being is that you'll have all that gooey plastic crap mixed in with your ashes (unless you popped them out already - hopefully you didn't cut yourself and bled to death and that's why you're no longer with the living). The benefit is the same as the previous: so that you can screw up the population reports (not that they're very accurate anyway)

- Pop them out because you don't give a crap if the people that inherit the cards have to deal with selling them raw because you wanted to hold and smell the cards (hopefully not inhaling any mold spores that lead to your demise).

- Leave them encapsulated because you feel it validates you as a collector and hobbyist. Don't worry, we won't think badly of you because you're a conformist bourgeois pig that knelt down to the grading mania.

Time for another martini on this wonderful Friday afternoon.... TGIF....

TGIF! - as much as I love / have instructed my family to dispose of my shit (stuff) , bust out the martinis!!!!!

You, sir, are an inspiration!!!!!

Crack!
 

Got a good laugh from this one.

Inspirational post, Conor! That's catchy....

I call copyright! :)

There are several attorneys here on Net54. Surely one of them can make that happen. ;)

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As long at it makes ya' happy, and it's not hurting anyone else, do it all day long and twice on Sunday. As stated, I am not cracking out high grade vintage but will crack out some of the lower grade stuff. This won't be cracked out soon...it's been literally days since I have posted it....Happy collecting!!

I agree that these old guys need to breathe (especially low grade), however I would say that for protection purposes, you should keep anything with value of $200 and up encapsulated just to protect the card from harm.