Graded card question
 

I have been looking on ebay and I see some cards with a Beckett graded raw card review, does this mean this is the grade I will get when I send it in to Beckett? Is there a downside to purchasing these cards?

Thank you

there is no guarantee it will grade the exact raw review grade. I believe most of the time it does so long as the seal wasn't tampered with, however ive seen them grade both higher and lower. don't forget grading is subjective and each graders eye can be different. and if im not mistaken, the only way for it to be guaranteed is if the card is directly submitted to BGS right after the raw review, as in can't leave the reviewers sight.

some people want graded card prices for it, and it shouldn't be treated as such. ive gotten pretty good judging raw grade from ebay pics and scans....ive got plenty of PSA 10's from raw ebay purchases. I can see maybe paying a little premium for a RCR card because a "pro" has looked it over and anything major should've stood out. but I wouldn't pay BGS 9.5 prices for a RCR 9.5 like some people want. they are not equal. in my eyes, its still a raw card, but has a third party opinion on the grade which could only help you on the purchase but you still need to judge for yourself.

I agree. Beckett has found a way to create 4 different services that create a lot of confusion and inconsistency. BGS is not the same as RCR which is not the same as BCCG which is not the same as BVG. As much as you can scrutinize a high-quality scan on Ebay, there is always the possibility of something not rearing its ugly head. Small wrinkles, edge chipping, and surface scuffing can be near impossible to spot from a single scan.

Buying raw is risky, so stick to reputable folks with good feedback. I limit my consideration of raw cards to this site.

The RCR is completely worthless unless you can find a sucker to pay a premium for the service. It means absolutely nothing when getting a card put in a Beckett slab.

Thank you for the replies, I will stay away from raw grading

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. I don't know the background on the folks that Jim Beckett sold out to, but they've managed to all but ruin his name in the modern hobby. You would think for a business like grading cards, that would be pretty difficult to do. Sadly they are not "the most trusted name in the hobby" anymore, and besides modern inserts and auto's, I don't know much about BGS. BVG cards carry much less of a premium for vintage - and while I have gotten some deals on mid-grade because of this - it's nothing special. Not a very impressive follow-up to the Beckett dominance of the hobby in the 1980's and early 90's. :-(

I've bought RCR cards before. They are immediately removed from the RCR and shipped off to PSA. It's a useless service, imo.

I don't understand how they justify when a card with an RCR grade gets slabbed at a lower grade. You know they likely get raked over the coals every single time that happens. Just seems like they went out of their way to create that as a specific problem.

Because a card in a cardsaver can still get creased by folding the toploader in half. They only guarantee the grade if you immediately turn it in when you pick up your RCR order, as said earlier.
They do it because there's a market for it. Obviously someone is willing to spend $10/card to have them RCR'd, because they can sell them quicker than waiting for months (a year at BGS in many cases) to get their cards back from slabbing.

Lol, so there's a market for it that they created by having such a slow grading service.