Help with a grading question
 

I have been considering sending a few cards in for grading. I will likely use SGC just because their turn around time is quicker
and also the fact that they are a lot cheaper than PSA does not hurt either. And in my opinion their holders look way better
than the PSA holder. But only my opinion of course.

So I do not have any of what most of you call vintage. So the bulk of what I will send is 1980's. Stuff like Puckett,Clemens,
Boggs Bonds, Canseco and a few other plus a bunch of Griffey jr, Chipper Jones,Thomas,I will likely do a Larry walker
or two as well since he is Canadian like myself.I am not sure about 10's.I would hope for a few. But realistic I am
hoping for 8's and 9's. Should I go ahead or should I just keep my money in my pocket. I will likely try and round
up at least 100 cards.I am not doing this to make money. But I really do not want to loss too much either.
So is it reasonable to think that if I have a Roger Clemens rookie that grades only an 8,that I can at least recover my
grading fees.Which is only $24.00. So for you guys that grade almost everything. What do you think of
what I sort of have planned. Should I just forget it or go ahead and do it. PLMK your thoughts.Thnaks.

From a pure financial perspective, you may be best advised to not spend the money to grade those kinds of cards - assuming these junk era stars you are talking about are not gem mint rookies or some kind of valuable 90's parallels or inserts.

Many run of the mill 1980's cards are not going to grade super high even if they look nice because the techniques used in their production more closely resemble that of vintage cards than they do of the shiny, die cut things we pull out of packs today. Also, in the era before grading - even though most kids were aware of the importance of condition - the cards got played with and shuffled around loose a lot more than happens today. You have to remember, "mint" to us back then was about like a PSA 6 or 7 today. Centering wasn't really even considered. And Jose Canseco base cards in a PSA 7 are not going to be worth more than the same cards raw.

Just my opinion. Sometimes you might want to have a certain card in a slab even if it is not technically worth it due to sentimental value or something like that, and that is ok too. Most of us have done it.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.Everything makes perfect sense. maybe I should just go back and grade some vintage non sport.In your opinion would it make any difference if I told you that all these cards were pulled out of factory sets. So other than me pulling them they have never been handled. Thanks again.

Not really. Some of the funkiest miscut cards I ever saw when I was a kid came out of factory sets. If you have well-centered cards that have never been handled, that bodes well yes - but I would not think you automatically have any kind of edge in grading just because the cards at one point were part of a factory set. Good luck with whatever you decide on the grading...

I will echo jchcollins sentiments as well. Being pulled from factory sets certainly helps, but even then, then, those years still very susceptible to centering, edges, corners, etc. It's very difficult to get a 10 which would be almost the only way you would be able to recover your grading fees. The only exception would be Tiffany sets in which 9's could help you break even or even profit.

Thanks a lot for all the input. This will help with me making a decision.I guess I am just getting excited about maybe getting into the grading of cards.
Maybe I should shift my focus,if baseball is what I want to grade.I could always pick out a hundred cards from early OPC baseball sets. I have a lot of
that as well. Thanks again for your comments.

When you say Roger Clemens RC, are you talking the 84 Fleer Update, or the 85 Topps/Donruss/Fleer?
For me, if the price of the raw card is under $50, there's no chance an SGC 8 is going to ever increase the card value more than the grading fee for this type of mass-produced card.
If it was the Fleer Update, at least it would be worthy of consideration.

I am not trying to increase the value the cost of the grading above the raw cost.So right now these cards are sitting in a box doing nothing. So I figure the if I get them graded and it only gets an 8. Can I get my $23 back for grading.Yes I am hoping that I have the odd 10 in the 100 card lot .And if I do I will not be concerned in the least about what the 8's sell for.Worst case is every card grades an 8 and I try to recover that $23 grading fee fee for each card.This will be more of an experiment for me.If it fails then I am OK with that. Move on to the next experiment with this hobby.

Looks like avg SGC 8 1985 topps Clemens is sitting around $24 (just estimating)in the eBay sold section.
Not worth the aggravation imho..
FWIW I like to buy that kind of already graded card.
I have hundreds from the 1980’s..
It is like I’m buying the holder at a discount and getting the card for free…
Regards, Thomas

That is how I am hoping most will look at it.Like anyone ,you always hope for a 10.But if an
8 will recover my grading fees than I will be OK with that.Thanks for replying to my thread.

A raw '85 Clemens that appears mint sells for like $10, and SGC 8 sells for around $24 (a difference of $14). So right now you have the $10 card, you'd need SGC 9 (~$35) for the difference to cover the fee. The other players you mentioned likely won't have as high of a difference in price. I don't think grading fee is worth it.

They've been sitting in the box untouched for 30+ years, if you are keeping them then why grade? Why not just put them in top loaders? 100 cards x $24 = $2400 in fees, and in the end you will have the exact same cards you already have. Wouldn't it be more fun to spend that $2400 on new cards?

But your responses seem like you are trying to convince yourself it is worth it to do the grading, so go for it. Perhaps the thrill you experience with grading will be worth it. But maybe instead of sending in 100, maybe just start with 10 and see how you do? Let us know how you make out, good luck!
:)

I did send 26 cards into SGC and I am expecting back any day now.I really like the way cards look in their holders.I know the PSA rep on a personal level and he is trying to convince me to send them to PSA.
But even for their cheapest submissions it is a bid more expensive and 4 times the turn around time. But you are right. I am trying to convince myself that this is the right thing to do.I am not quite there yet.:confused:
But I have to admit I am pretty darn close.I just feel they may make better traders if I have them graded. I understand it is a bit of money for maybe no gain in value and still have to give up the card if I trade it.
Thanks a lot for your input.:)