O/T (but not really) - do you care about scratches on your slabs?
 

There's a thread in which Dan McKee mentioned the eBay Authenticity Guarantee program. A card Dan sold was rejected (returned to him) because the slab was scratched.

Someone suggested a poll to see if Net54 members would care about scratches on their slabs. The comment was probably rhetorical; however, it piqued my curiosity.

Well, Peter will jump on this I'm sure, I don't care about scratches, because...I don't have any slabs!

I don't have very many slabs, and the ones I've had, I've mostly sold off, but yeah, it's irritating when a badly scratched slab shows up.

If you have a piece of art framed, and it comes back to you from the frame shop with a big gauge down the middle of the glass or plexi front, you're going to be annoyed as hell. Same as if you buy a piece of artwork already framed and weren't told or shown the flaws in the frame.

Now you're giving me a job and an expense, to make it look presentable again.

That's basically what slabs are for a lot of people. They're little frames for your cards that have a grading designation on them.

Now, if your sole intention is to free the card from the slab...of course you don't care, and I understand that.

Do I think a card should get kicked back for authenticity issues because of a scratched slab? Of course not. That's stupid unless it's badly cracked and the buyer is given a chance to decide whether they want it anyways.

I don't understand when grading companies and sellers ship slabs out without putting a little graded card sleeve on them. Shit, they cost like a nickel apiece. I won a few modern slabbed basketball cards on Ebay a couple years ago when I was going through a phase LOL...maybe $50-60 cards, and they were thrown in a little bubble envelope without being sleeved and by the time they got to me, they looked like special lightning bolt variant slabs. I gotta think a simple sleeve would have held them together better.

Another money grab..

Finally, an important poll.

I hate scratched up slabs. Worst part is my favorite slabs are SGC and I swear you can scratch one by looking at it too hard. When I collected slabs the first thing I did was put them in a sleeve when I got them.

As long as the scratch isn't on the card part I don't care. Pretty certain they can be polished out as well so not too much of a concern in any case to me.

I object to finding a card I want in any slab whether scratched or not.

;)

It really depends on how bad it's scratched. I don't mind some minor scratches, esp on the back of an old slab. But when there are lots of scratches or big ones that detract from the card, it's not for me.

If I'm buying a graded card, I want it to look good in the slab.

I equate a scratched slab to dirty glass on a frame. If it's not nice to look at then it detracts from what's inside. I know that a card can be re-slabbed but that comes with it's own cost and hassle.

Lot more people are bothered by scratches than I would have anticipated. As it stands right now about 2/3rd are, 1/3 are not. I would have guessed it would be going in the opposite direction.

Technically, I am bothered, but realistically I'll take even a majorly scratched up slab (or one scratched in an annoying place) and polish the slab. I'm yet to have to reholder any card in my collection.

A scratched up slab has never gotten in the way of any that I've ever bought. I kinda expect it on older slabs, or at least I'm not surprised.

I voted yes, but really my answer is "sometimes yes, sometimes no." Depends on the scratch, depends on the slab, depends on the card.

I voted no for the same reason. If it's a small scratch then no big deal to me, I'm not looking to sell. Now, if the card is a 52T graded 7 Mantle and it had a scratch, then that might bother me because everyone knows a buyer is probably paying for the slab/flip rather than the card. :p

How many people keep their slabs in a protective clear sleeve that is made to protect the plastic from getting scratched?

Hmmmm. It's sad but there seem to be about twice as many slab collectors as card collectors these days.

:(

This.

The TPG slab may be with any card for a lengthy although indeterminate time frame. Aside from the cost of having a card reholdered, gone are the $5 reholder days, there is the real potential risk that the card gets damaged during the process.

Unless you're planning on cracking the card out, it's advisable to be gentle with them and use sleeves. It's not about being a slab collector...it's being careful with something that you value.

I do not believe that voting yes means you are a slab collector. For me, it just means I want things to look nice if I have them displayed. I don't care all that much if a card I have is slabbed or not and have cracked many slabs, but I do have some more valuable cards in slabs on display. A notable scratch just would not look very nice for something displayed. That's very different than collecting slabs.

No I would never care if there was a small scratch on some random area of my slab. If there are criss crosses over the face of the card and it obscures the view of the card, yes that would bother me. But I would never not buy a card because there was an errant scratch on the slab.

I also think it depends on what level card is involved. I’d buy a 52 Mantle in a scratched slab. At that level I don’t care if I have to reholder it. Is there really anyone in the world who would let a deal for a Van Gogh fall apart because they had to have it reframed?

The pole is too general for me to answer. As many have said disfiguring scratches or gouges would definitely turn me off on a more expensive yet common card. If the card were rare or something I had to have it would not bother me from a standpoint of purchase, but I may choose to re-suit it down the road even though I hate slabs. It's more about liquidity for me.

I think that's an unfair characterization.

I'm guessing that most collectors just want the card whether it's raw or graded. For me, raw is preferred but if I find a graded card at a similar price to raw then I'm happy with that too.

Of the 27,413 cards in my collection, just 547 are graded across all the major TPGs. Sometimes there are scarce cards that are just easier to find as a graded card. Other times, a graded card reduces the risk when buying online.

Whatever the rationale for graded or raw, I want to be able to look and my cards and enjoy them. I enjoy looking at my cards. Given the choice, why would I want a gorgeous card stuck behind a scratched/dirty/unappealing slab?

I selected "Yes" because as a seller on eBay and at shows, I have been asked hundreds of times "Does the slab have any scratches or other issues?".

There are many buyers who are very particular about the condition of the slab. Some will complain about the most inconsequential tiniest wear / hairline scratch on a slab.

My scanner has a maybe 1/4" long hairline scratch on it that was faintly showing up in the upper left corner of graded card slabs (no where near the actual card in the slab). I must have had 20 people inquire if that little 1/4" hairline scratch was on the slab or the scanner. So, I quickly learned not to use that part of the scanner.

As for slabbed cards I buy for my personal collection, I am not too concerned with the slab - the card within is way more relevant to me.

I voted yes. scratched up slabs drive the gremlins in my head absolutely nuts.

These same gremlins are probably also why I try to buy the best condition I can find/afford of any collectible.

Hell, if I'm buying macaroni at the store I'm the guy reaching in and grabbing the fourth box back because it's pristine and the first three have dents. :eek:

Haha, I am exactly the same!

LOL!

Glad I'm not the only crazy one. :)

My wife used to laugh at me for this when we first got married; now 18 years later she does the same thing. :cool:

I'm a bit surprised how many people that don't like scratches don't polish up their slabs, especially with the cost to reholder these days.

Most of mine with scratches I don't bother, but if it annoys me enough I'll go at them with Novus #2. There's other scratch/polish treatments, but Novus #2 is the one I've used for years.

One collector I know will go at even the tiniest scratches and polishes almost every slab he gets. He uses a small dremel tool to make it less work. He'll even use Novus #3 for deeper scratches because he's already got the dremel...that's a bit overkill for me because I do mine by hand.

I voted yes, but I wouldn't let a scratched holder deter me from buying a card that I really wanted.

I finally tried polishing my slabs and I will say it makes quite a difference. Doesn't remove every scratch. But does clean it up really well. PSA slabs polish up nicer than SGC.

I can not stand scratched slabs. For light scratches I use Meguiars PlastX, works great. It will remove scratches.

I used PlastX as well.

The card is coming out of the slab anyway. So, no diff to me.

I don't want scratched up slabs, but I voted 'No' because it would never prevent me from buying a card. It's very easy to remove most scratches. And if the slab was scratched beyond what some polish could cure, I would just send it in for a reholder.

The real question is, would I have an obligation to disclose that I polished out some scratches on a slab if I later decided to sell said card? Asking for a friend.

Attachment 649611
"Gimme your slab. Gimme 30 seconds. Scratch problem gone!!"