[drcy]

Originally Posted by jimjim

While I have been in the hobby for over 30 years, I am a born-again card collector. I haven’t seriously collected cards since the early 1990s. During my break from cards, I focused on autographs and memorabilia. When I started collecting cards again last year, I started to buy graded cards not because I like them, but because I was looking for the security of them not been altered. This thread is extremely depressing to me. I really don’t care if the card is graded or not, as I just want a nice looking card. I actually prefer raw cards, because that is how I collected as a youngster. I mainly buy graded cards for financial security in case somebody has to sell them in the future from my family. I don’t want them to get ripped off. If the market comes tumbling down, then I guess it was all for not!

I am a firm believer that being knowledgeable and having one's eyes open makes for a superior collecting experience.