Graded or raw?
 

Hey guys,
Thank you for always helping me out. I really appreciate your help, thoughts and advice.

When it comes to vintage cards, what do you prefer….graded cards or raw? I personally prefer raw vintage cards because I Like to hold my cards, feel my cards, and even like the smell of old topps cards! I feel with graded cards you lose the traditional vintage experience. What do you prefer? Thanks

Raw!

But, unfortunately when looking at some older/rarer/more valuable cards (especially pre-war) you may not always have a raw card option you can readily find. So, you may have to go the graded card route sometimes whether you like it or not. Of course, you can then remove graded cards from their slabs to take them back to a raw state. Always your choice.

raw....awhile ago I sold off all my graded cards.

My collection includes approx 90% raw as compared to 10% graded. But...the value of my collection is likely mostly in the graded.

+1 I also prefer ungraded and sold 99% of my graded cards about a year ago. The 10 or so graded cards I have left the slabs/cards are special/oddball in some way.

Graded, especially for pre-war. I don’t care necessarily about the grade as much as I do protection for the card. Doesn’t take much to put a crease in a raw paper thin Cracker Jack. Also easier to store for me.

While I have bought slabbed cards for my set completions, I release them from their tomb and add them to the set. I much prefer raw over slabbed. I want all the cards in the binder together where they belong.

Cheers,

B. T.

I agree guys! If you hold a vintage raw card and you hold a vintage graded card, raw seems so much more right for the time period. For modern cards I totally get graded is best but for vintage, I’ll go for raw cards in an old cigar box all day long!

I like both. I can learn from raw but for most of my more expensive cards a holder is fine. It protects them.

This doesn't need to be graded, imo. Nor do I need to cleanly erase the designation on the back. It adds character LOL

https://luckeycards.com/pe99melchoir.jpg
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Raw cards only!

Raw except for rarer cards which need the protection. I collect Cincinnati Reds players. I don't find much desire to grade those due to the increased fees. And once turn around time increased, and hearing stories of lost/stolen cards, I just lost interest.

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I've never bought raw but obtained two through trades. I prefer raw, but so many of the best cards are now entombed, that it won't be an option soon. It would be ironic if raw cards started selling at a premium. LOL

Read my signature. It says it all. I just collect the cards, and that is how it was when I was a kid. If I am risking a fortune, so what. I am in a hobby, not an investment brokerage.

As mentioned above I like raw cards but I think for future resale value slabs are the way to go especially with all the fake vintage cards starting to pop up in the hobby!

Who gives a good hoot about value and future resale? Talk to a card investment broker. They are all over this forum. I am in the minority. I am a collector, and I just like having the cards. If my cards are fake, so be it, I like them anyway. But I seriously do no think they are.

Raw, because if graded, my ability to write an insult on the card is instantly lost.

Brian (Meusel is nothing but a old flat lunch...in case you were wondering)

I think it says "flat head".

it really depends for me. I prefer my higher dollar cards to be graded so they are ready to sell if I decide to. It bugs me a little when I peruse my babe ruth/ty cobb collection and 95% of them are graded and fit all nice in their storage box...then there are some raw cards that either noone will grade or I havent bothered/wanted to pay the price...and sometimes the top loaders stick to the slabs and i freak out thinking I lost them!!

Then I have binders full of cards from early 20th c-present that I prefer being able to handle and would likely never get sold or would be sold raw.

thats my preference

You might be correct...but my stomach is still holding out for 'flat lunch'.

Brian

Bump

In the Raw
 

Some cards, especially some lower grade ones, tell stories. ....similar to Brian's above...

I think this back is much better than a blank one. I see absolutely no reason to get it graded.

https://luckeycards.com/w575cobb2.jpg

I really like having a selection of both, at the shows raw cards do much better as the price is less and you can really look at the cards. Online it's really mixed and do better with graded depending on the card. There seems to be a switch with a lot of dealers having raw cards which is a good option for everyone!

Good luck finding stuff everyone this summer!

Jimmy

I have both raw and graded, but I prefer graded (SGC). The card in the slab with the black insert just looks cooler to me.

I prefer graded cards for a few reasons. I like the protection it provides. I enjoy trading cards and typically it is easier to trade and determine value when the card is graded. The last reason is that when I pass away, I think having graded cards makes it easier on my loved ones.

Chad

Graded. Eye appeal still matters and I don't mind low grade, but with graded it is easier to handle for insurance purposes vs raw it gets a lot more complicated on establishing a value if something happens. Prices of raw are still compared on a grading scale anyway.

I think as much as us old farts (me included) resist it, graded cards are the future of the vintage card hobby!

The nicest Ty Corn Cobb I've ever seen.

Cobb

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Raw Cobbhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e480507b42.jpg

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T330 Cobb Piedmont Stamp - to my knowledge none graded higher SM-N950U using Tapatalk
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5061793b52.jpg

Another of one of my raw Cobbs T205https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d8f3d71bef.jpg

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I prefer raw. However, the increase in value and protection cases offer bring an increasingly important consideration to light. I have not had a card graded yet, but the day is coming when this will likely change

Raw 100%. The only time my cards will see slabs is at auction, God willing many decades from now.

The only way I might consider otherwise is if a TPG designs a flip that doesn't distract from the card, which they all do currently. Maybe black with minimal gray text, or something of the like to make the card pop.

100% pure/raw for me

If you care about reselling and the value then I understand slabbed.

Short story/memory: Back in the 80's I was at a card show with my Dad and there were some coins there and they were graded. I asked Dad did he ever think they would do that do baseball cards and he said "No way. Look at that coin, what is the first thing you see?" I said "the number." He said, "Exactly, that is why they will never do that to cards as it would take away their value."
He passed 20 years ago and I don't think ever saw a slabbed card.
Ironic that it increases the value not decreases as he predicted.

https://www.net54baseball.com/pictur...ictureid=30124

Raw cards keep it simple

Another reason to collect raw cards are that they make for a better group scan.

Brian

Yes they do....

Now THAT right there is what I'm talking about!

I think it's irrelevant but if I go to sell this I might need to get it graded just to increase value. Not sure about it though...

https://luckeycards.com/cobborange.jpg

Awesome discussion guys!!!

Wow, John. I don't think I've ever seen a Piedy so nice before, and a Cobb example no less! Awesome.


.

I prefer raw but have both in my collection. The only cards I specifically buy graded are 1933 Goudey HOFers because I really like how they look in SGC holders. Well, those and PSA 8 Jim "Toy Cannon" Wynn cards. Really.

Surprisingly, the majority of my E98 near-set is graded. And I like having them graded to be honest.

I've never submitted a card for grading because the majority of my raw cards aren't worth the grading fees.

Also, the fact that most of my cards are raw could also be a function of my budget. I collect mostly low grade cards so I'm not concerned with the protection side of slabbing a card. I, too, like to feel the cardboard and play with them. I keep them in toploaders or semi-rigid holders, but I often take them out to hold them and feel the history.

Anyway, that's my story when it comes to graded vs. raw.



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My opinion on raw vs graded change like I change my underwear ….frequently!…. Mostly because you guys being up so many great points that I didn’t think about. Just as I make up my mind then I start thinking of all the great advice here and it gets me thinking!

I love the protection of graded cards. I like the look of graded cards but storing graded cards takes up a lot of room. As mentioned above holding raw cards in your hands just hits different. Like holding history in your hands. Going though s box of vintage and going through a box of graded is just a different feel. But graded cards are cool and all the hype now in the hobby.

Raw. Because the puzzles look silly if your cards are graded :)

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I agree...I felt like a master puzzle champion when I laid these down on the scanner. But then I saw the results, and I guess I am just a puzzling apprentice after all.

Brian

Raw for sure....I have been known to crack a few PSA / SGC holders over the years.....still have those cards - saved the paper with grade / info......

Your point about graded cards being easier on your loved ones makes complete sense for sure.....

I agree with this point

Any other thoughts on this? Thanks

now that the dust has settled and graded cards seem to be flooding the market. What are your thoughts now?

I like to collect cards that reputable grading card companies will not likely slab, so if more vintage is under plastic it probably won't effect me.

Brian

I would like to see them try to slab the Cracker Jack Caldwell. The wooden plaque is about 5/8" thick.

Brian

Read my signature below; it says it all about graded cards

I like both, but for my vintage sets, I prefer raw. I crack out the majority of cards in slabs that I buy. The only ones I don't are high value cards. But even with those, I still occasionally crack them out as well.

Nice notes on those backs!

To the top!

Any new thoughts?

No, no one has posted any thoughts on this dead horse topic since Christmas. No one has any new thoughts on this topic on the Postwar side either. There are no new thoughts on this topic. Use the search feature on this site. A guy named Archive will give you plenty to read.

I have had one new thought on this topic...I like my cards graded if they are not raw.

Brian

raw cards
 

I have both, if I get an expensive graded card I might not crack it open but I prefer raw ?

John, great puzzles! Gary, awesome photos!!


graded or raw... slabbed or natural entombed or liberated


I don't want a 9 or a 10 card.

I want one I can touch and I'm not concerned about touching.

My observation, but I notice a lot of people complaining about graded cards entombed, slabed whatever the term used is, then they break them out and then put them right back in an entombed state they feel is not entombed. I also don't understand the term the way they where ment to be. Where they ment to be stuck in binders, sleeves, shoeboxes, tins, safety deposit boxes or any other way of preservation? Where they ment for grown men to handle and smell them? Where they ment to be unknown or different variations worth more money? Where they ment for HOFers with bloated numbers to be more valuable then common players?

Is it a disservice to break them out without letting companies know for other collectors that want that type of information? Why devalue a card not just in terms of monetary, but also authenticity.

Raw vs graded is also funny to me as I see a formula for both, raw is graded, just in a different subjective way. If not why is 1 worth more than another or more desirable graded or raw? People care even if they try not to act like they do. I also don't buy some "don't care" if they're buying a fake even if it's raw. If you love the hobby that should bother you. I couldn't care less if its graded or raw, but I want it to be real regardless and as nice as I can find. Nothing I collect have I ever seen better then mid grade and raw has been less then that. When you're looking at truly rare cards which I am rarer then most HOF cards to be honest I try to find and preserve the best card I can get. Some like them beat up some like them mint some can only afford certain grades, but we all are trying to preserve. I can guarantee that I'm not doing it for an investment other than investing in preservation of a little known common player that I will be donating to the town so future generations can observe the past. I may be mistaken, but most if not all franchises major or minor league have some sort of entombed history including the HOF for every major sport. They seem to understand the importance of entombed treasures.

Nice T207's Gary. The crazing prevalent on these cards drives me nuts.

Regarding Al's original question - I prefer raw over graded. The bulk of my collection is raw; however, the practical implications of having every card raw and realizing this is likely a generational issue has led me to having a number of cards graded.

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Any updates?

This response was posted in error (oops). Sorry.

This response was posted in error (oops). Sorry.

Like others said, raw is great to learn from.

My first 40-50 t206’s commons I bought were raw so I could understand the intricacies of the cards…pull out a loupe and study them.

Now that I have a little better of an understanding (still learning), I feel much more comfortable with the set and would feel better buying raw or graded

I do like graded, because the uniformity of my SGC slabs in all the cards/sets I have pleases me, plus the protection.

Don’t care as much for investment, but it certainly is something to consider for more expensive cards.

Collect how you like, and be confident in your choice.

One of my favorite things to do is buy raw and then grade the card knowing I got a better deal buying the raw than buying a slabbed version in the same grade.

People often forget, it’s a hobby. Enjoy your hobby!

lately on social media/message boards, I see so many graded cards and pelican cases talk everywhere. It makes me wonder if in the future raw cards will be frowned upon by collectors as it seems everyone in the hobby likes psa graded cards! like many of you, growing up, graded cards werent a thing. you had raw cards and raw cards only! I miss that simplicity of collecting. I say that because back then, raw cards were it! nowadays too many people in the hobby are in it to flip and go! meaning tons of fake cards, altered cards, trimmed cards, etc, etc. so graded cards do safe guard these issues somewhat (I know not 100% but thats a whole different topic and a whole different thread!) I love raw cards but dont want to be stiffed with altered fake cards! I almost wish the hobby would go back to raw cards being cool (instead of graded cards being the go too) I know, I know collect what I like, but again. dont want to get stuck with fake cards! make raw cards great again!