Why and with conditions would you grade a card

[Rich Klein]

And please NO Comments about leaving cards raw --- for the purposes of this discussion we will presume that cards will be graded.



I was having a spirited discussion with a friend of mine yesterday about why he was preparing cards for grading:

His theorem was that as long as he hit a minimum grade required to goose up the value of the card significantly that was the primary reason to have a card graded.

My theorem was that as long as the grading cost was 15-20 percent of the card's value that the card was worth being graded. In my case, since I've been doing monthly shows and have been known to drop cards, I also wanted the extra protection

A third theorem is that to have easy ways to ID cards in case of theft, or other damages.

I'm sure there are other ideas -- but I'm interested in if you have submitted cards, the reasons there of. (And again, this is not designed to be a raw versus Graded discussion - that is an argument for a different day)

Regards
Rich

[AMBST95]

I think grading serves many benefits. I too enjoy the extra physical protection it provides my cards. In addition, since the majority of purchases are made online, I enjoy the 2nd opinion that the TPG provides, particularly on higher valued items. I would hope that I can spot a fake, but we're all human and in my mind, 2 sets of eyes is better than one. Lastly, if and when I go to sell my collection or my kids liquidate it after I'm gone, it will be harder for them to get swindled. I also like having my cards in the registries as another back up for insurance purposes.

[Jlighter]

Another thing for insurance purposes. I would have to believe it would be easier to say I have a WaJo PSA 5 vs. saying I have an VG-EX WaJo. Since self grading is very subjective the insurance company would probably hold a TPG in a higher regard.

[Scott T]

I am an OCD collector that likes all of my cards (in a certain collection) to have been graded by the same company for uniformity's sake.

[tonyo]

In the 3+ years since I've started collecting again in the TPG era, I've only considered having 3 cards graded:

1. an expensive (for me) card I bought raw a couple of years ago that now I'm suspecting may be a reprint. I'd like to know with some degree of certainty if it is "real" or not

2. A raw card I bought as a "probable reprint" (at a reprint price) that looks and feels like all the other cards I have in the set. I'm curious if I got a bargain on that card or if it is infact a reprint. If I send card #1 in, I'll probably let this one tag along just to see.

3. an expensive (for me) card that I bought in a BCCG holder. From what I gather, being in a BCCG holder should mean it is authentic, but beyond that, it would be nice to have it in a more respected holder to verify it is infact real and unaltered. I'll let it tag along with #1 and #2 if I pull the trigger on those.


Tony

[hammer]

Value.

[teetwoohsix]

I've only had cards graded a couple of times, once to crossover cards from GAI because I was reading things that made me wonder whether the grade was accurate or whether I should have them examined again by another party.

Also sent in raw cards because I actually do like them in slabs, for protection purposes. I also think they display well in slabs, like little pieces of art

I have cards graded by the top three in my collection (SGC, BVG, and PSA) and I have some that I keep in their raw state just incase I need to feel or smell a card

So, for me, I would grade a card that I thought would get at least a 40, or a 3- I think that would be worth the money spent (for the type of card I collect, T206)......and mainly for protection purposes as well as handling and display purposes. I've damaged modern cards trying to pull them out of old penny sleeves and I surely don't want to damage a 100+ year old card.

Sincerely, Clayton