Posted By:
Al C.risafulli"Before pointing fingers at others who do not prefer to slab most of their collections, answer the question posed originally."
I'm definitely not pointing fingers at anyone, as it seems like a silly issue to point fingers over. I legitimately, respectfully asked the question out of sheer curiosity.
As for the answer to your question, I don't think it's a big deal to pay between $5 and $8 to slab a prewar common, or more to slab a HOFer. To me, it's money well-spent, as I'm getting peace of mind, protection, and in many cases, added value. Plus, I enjoy the way they look.
For more expensive items, it's even more of a no-brainer to me. To have a card authenticated, and protected so I can't wreck it with my clumsy hands, is exactly what a knucklehead like me needs. Furthermore, as a HOF type card collector, it's not possible for me to learn everything there is to know about every type card I want to add to my collection before buying ONE card. So without grading, I could get duped over and over again on fakes.
I guess in my case, the expense of grading is part of the cost of the hobby, just like buying card savers, display boxes, jiffy mailers, etc. I would imagine that my cost for grading fees amounts to maybe 4-5% of my total card budget, which works just fine for me.
I should also note that a big chunk of my collection remains raw, but the majority of them are postwar cards that are irrelevant to the discussion on this board. Most everything I own prior to 1950 is in a slab.
-Al