[Leon]

It is all relative. I had a guarantee on the 20+k card and knew the guy (a board member) very well. Had it not had a touch up it would have been great. Otherwise, you have some great suggestions and people would do well to heed the advice.

Originally Posted by nat

"How much would you be willing to pay?" isn't really a good question. Someone upthread was talking about spending 20k on a card. I wouldn't spend 20k on a card if it was authenticated by God Himself, just because I'm not about to spend that much money on a baseball card.

Much better questions are: is it ever safe to buy a raw card? And, how do you minimize your risks when doing so?

The answer to the first question is "yes". I buy raw all the time. Now, there are some cards that it would be foolish to buy raw: 52 Mantle, 33 Ruth, Frojoys, the stuff that gets counterfeited all the time. But there's nothing wrong with raw pre se.

As for minimizing your risks, it's mostly common sense stuff. Buy from reputable people. Preferably people you know, if not that, then people with lots of good feedback. If they have negs, read the negs to see what people were complaining about. If it's shipping time, big deal. If they've been caught selling counterfeits, well...
Be familiar with the set you're buying. Learn how to authenticate the cards yourself once you get them. And that part is fun; I always enjoy putting new acquisitions under the blacklight and the magnifier.

Spotting alterations is often harder than spotting counterfeits, and always a risk with raw cards. For my part, I don't care much. My cards are mostly in binders, and will never be graded. So if I can't tell that a card has been trimmed, if it has that fact will never make a difference to me.

The one factor where price of the card really is relevant is this: for any raw card, you should ask yourself why it's not graded. If it's a $20 card the answer is probably that it's not worth the grading fee. But if the card is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, there is reason to be suspicious. It could all be kosher - maybe the card came straight from a collection like mine, kept raw in binders. Or maybe someone is trying to get away with something. (Knowing who you are buying from, at least by reputation, will help with this.)