Posted By:
Al Crisafulli"5 to 1, a graded card is NOT more valuable."
Wait, wait, wait, wait! I'm the 1! Can I restate my position?
SHOULD the graded card be more valuable? Of course not! I agree with everyone's position here, that the card is the card.
However, that unfortunately almost never seems to be the case. Graded cards, as someone pointed out, cost more. That's because the market is willing to accept a higher price for the third-party evaluation of authenticity and condition. And if the market is willing to accept a higher price, wouldn't that mean that "the graded card is more valuable?"
I don't like it. I don't like that, for example, I bought a particular card for a set I was building (which will remain nameless) raw from an Ebay seller for $32. I had it graded by PSA and it came back an 8. I turned around and sold it for $600, then bought another raw one for $20. I was blown away by that, until the guy who bought it from me consigned it to an auction house, where it sold for $1600. What's the card worth? $1600? $600? $32?
I think it's worth $32. Someone else thinks it's worth $1600. I don't like that disparity. But it is what it is.
-Al