Grading decision

[larietrope]

I have had the following for decades. Should I get them graded or remain raw ?

1953 Mantle Topps
1957 Mantle
1959 Mantle
1961 Mantle
1953 Bowman color Musial
1954 Jackie Robinson
1955 Ted Williams
1956 Mays
1957 Clemente
1967 Aaron
1957 Drysdale

No family interest so I may plan to sell one day. Thanks.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by larietrope

I have had the following for decades. Should I get them graded or remain raw ?

1953 Mantle Topps
1957 Mantle
1959 Mantle
1961 Mantle
1953 Bowman color Musial
1954 Jackie Robinson
1955 Ted Williams
1956 Mays
1957 Clemente
1967 Aaron
1957 Drysdale

No family interest so I may plan to sell one day. Thanks.

I would really only grade, if you're planning to sell, sometime soon. Hell half the time, if you were going through the AH process, they help you grade them.

[raulus]

Probably depends on a couple of key factors:

1) How soon are you looking to sell? If you're not planning to sell for a long time, then waiting probably makes sense. Just because a lot can change in a decade or two when it comes to grading.

2) How strong will they grade? If they will grade low, then the only benefit to grading is to prove to a buyer that they're authentic. Since these are all HOFers, and a lot of early cards, my experience is that it usually makes financial sense to grade if they will grade at least a 4 or a 5. If they're at 8+, then it makes a ton of sense to grade. But also no rush unless you're looking to sell in the near future.

There's also a line of thinking that the graders have become particularly onerous in their grading of late. So submitting now might mean lower grades. Not sure if the graders will chill out in the future and start handing out higher grades, but it's another factor that seems to be pushing some people to not get their stuff graded now.

[Exhibitman]

What James said: let the AH do it, if you plan to sell. Much easier to store and enjoy raw cards. I have some that 'should' be graded but I don't plan to sell them any time soon, so why waste the money and mess up my binders. FWIW, you can also fit a lot more raw cards into a safe deposit box.

[G1911]

Another reason not to grade from a pure investment angle is that older slabs sell for less. If you aren't selling soon, you don't know what the popular slab of 2040 will be. Especially with AI on the cusp, it may not be PSA in 10 years. It might be CSG or a company that doesn't exist yet. No point in paying all the fees for a substantial risk that you will have to grade again with the trendy decision maker of the future.

[larietrope]

Obviously I like ungraded cards and since I don't have any 8's or so, I'll sit tight.