Help/Advice buying ungraded vs. graded

[Mountaineer1999]

I would like to start collecting HOF player cards. The rookies are way too expensive so I am trying to pick players most appealing card from any year they were active. I would like to have them all graded and collect against the PSA HOF Registry. The issue I am running into, as a rule, graded cards are so much more expensive than their ungraded brothers.
So, is it a good idea to buy ungraded and then ship them to PSA for grading? Or.... is the fact the card looks nice and is not graded generally mean its trimmed or there is some other underlying issue? Just looking for a little advice from the more experienced , wanting to be as cost effective as possible.

Just as an example.. I was looking at the 1950 Bowman Bobby Doerr. There are a couple nicer looking raw cards. Would it be better to buy one of these and chance it? Is there a way to tell if these are trimmed? Looking through some of the sold.... they can be had raw for about 1/2 the PSA-4 pretty routinely. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...+1950&_sacat=0

[Leon]

If you are going to do the PSA registry then it's not a matter of "if" they are graded, I assume *(I don't know registry rules) they need to be graded by PSA. So that being said it's a matter of buying them the cheapest way. If you have a good eye, experience and luck then raw is probably better. A safer alternative would be to get as good of a deal as you can on cards already graded.....and by taking your time and getting the best deal you can it makes it all the more fun. Just a thought....

[ullmandds]

personally i do not like sending cards in to be graded...it can take a long time...esp w/psa and it's expensive.

compare the time and costs involved in purchasing raw vs graded. if you're confident you are buying what u think u r in raw form(ie...not altered/fake) and the saving is worth more than the time and cost in sending in to psa...then do it.

question...what type of grades are u looking to buy? i don't know much about the registries but i'd assume the better the grade the more points. if u are looking for mid-high grade id strongly consider buying already graded from sgc or psa or maybe beckett as there is a much higher likelihood they are unaltered...although all have faltered...PSA seemingly the most often.

[Mountaineer1999]

Thanks for the feedback. I will be trying to build a mid grade set, especially on the earlier cards and the newer hofers will be high grade. Ive been staring at these cards most of the day trying to come up with a game plan. It seems it may be better to buy them already graded but each card may need to be researched individually to see which way is best.

[bwbc917]

My recent experience with raw cards is that there are very few "high" (7-9) left out there. When I put together a 1960 set most of what I found would grade a 5 or 6. Over time you develop an eye for what you like as far as corners, centering etc. Then the question of grading comes in. I prefer SGC over PSA. I just don't like all the OC, MK etc and I think they do take longer.

When it does come time to grade, try to take advantage of the bulk offers. If you are not buying the rookies and don't have Mantle and the other biggies you should be able to take advantage.

[pokerplyr80]

If you're trying to build a PSA registry set I recommend buying cards already PSA graded. You could get lucky buying raw cards or BVG/SGC cards and crossing them. But that would have to work more often than not to make up for grading costs and the times that it doesn't work. I don't like those odds in the long run.

If you are able to find nice cards for the grade in old PSA cases you would send them in for a review and new holder, and maybe you'll get lucky and get a bump. Even if you don't, you'll still have a nice looking card for your run.