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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

Oh, another point - LOTS of times I see a raw card sell for more than it's graded counterpart. The graded one, say it's an SGC 40. You can look and see what other SGC 40s have sold for, see the range, and decide where in that range you think this particular SGC 40 belongs. Maybe it's a nice 40, maybe it's a weak 40, and you set your price accordingly.

But the raw card, you can't really tell. Is it EX? EX-MT? VG-EX? Not sure. Card looks like it could be nice. Corners look good. Surface looks nice. Doesn't look like there's any creases. OK, I'll buy it for what an EX condition card would cost, and hope for the EX-MT grade. The card arrives, I send it in for grading...SGC 40. Oops. Scan didn't pick up the scratch on the back, the surface wrinkle, or the slightly clipped corner.

-Al