If you buy raw, you'll need to factor in a cost of ~$10 per card for grading if it has a declared value of $100 or less. This is factoring in shipping both ways and assuming you send in a submission >= 25 cards. I like the registry. It's a nice checklist so you can quickly see what cards you need and you don't need to be involved in the competition aspect. Another thing in favor of buying cards already graded is that many people over grade their raw cards when they first submit. There are all if these threads on the board about cards that were vastly over graded but that's usually the exception.
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