[toledo_mudhen]

Can you accurately assign a raw card a 7 grade? How about an 8 or 9? How accurate were your "guesses" on the 103 cards that you submitted?

That is what you are paying for - a widely accepted 3rd Party opinion of the raw card that you send them and some validation of your ability to accurately assign a grade

I'm thinking :

1) It takes a long long time of looking at raw cards and the resulting TPG opinions before you can develop a fairly consistent eye.

2) TPG grading should probably reserved for raw vintage - I don't quite get the thought process of submitting common "shiney shit"

3) The difference in $ value between a vintage 7 and a vintage 8 is usually pretty significant.

4) Whether or not you intend to sell your collection is mostly irrelevant as at some point - someone is going to sell. If not you then most likely your immediate family.

I prefer to buy raw cards that I believe are under graded and thus under valued. Typically a 3rd Party opinion of those raw cards then gives me a way of sorta "keeping score".