[jchcollins]

I suppose it's fair to say I have a love-hate relationship with grading over the past 5 years or so. I love a properly graded card in a clean slab, but I hate issues / errors in the grading process and scratched, dirty slabs. If I like the slab once I get it in hand (50% chance?) I will leave the card slabbed, but I've busted dozens upon dozens of them in the recent past too.

Anymore grading is very much just an option for me, certainly not a hard requirment. I like to buy graded online if I cannot evaluate the card in hand first, just to make sure I'm in the ballpark with expectations once the card arrives - and especially if it's over like $100 in value. I will usually stick with PSA and SGC when buying online. I've submitted on rare occasions in the past, but only to SGC - I've never met the patience criteria for PSA turn times or really agreed with their pricing.

I will say even with SGC, the rampant inconsistency lately is just a huge turnoff for me - they recently graded the same '65 Mantle both a 5 and then a 6.5 a few months apart. Anymore I really just prefer to buy raw vintage at the LCS. I learned to grade almost 30 years ago. The allure of the "official" holder in light of how many mistakes even the reputable graders still make I guess has just mostly worn off for me.