Professional Grading Question

[xdrx]

Hey everyone - another question from the new guy...

As I prepare to sell off some mid to higher priced cards from 60s and 50s would you say I am crazy not to get them professionally graded? It is very confusing to me, as someone who was in and out of this hobby before cards got locked in to plastic crypts with numeric values attached. I see the same card on eBay going from $20 to $200, and I am hard pressed to find much difference, except for the pro grading.

Would you make a distinction between bigger tickets items - 55 Clemente; 54 Aaron vs 61 Mays vs 65 Yaz, for example? What about something like a Ripken rookie? I have one that is Mint except for two small spots (stains?). No idea if they devalue the card by 10% or 90%. I can put them up for auction and let the market decide, but the reality is that it is hard to accurately convey condition on eBay, even with hi-res scan.

I have inquired with some semi-close by dealers, but it sounds like going rate would be pennies on the dollar, so it seems on line sales to collectors is a way better route to take to maximize dollars.

If the answer is "yes" to grading what services do you all recommend?

Thanks much for any wisdom!

[steve B]

If the big ticket cards are in really nice condition I'd probably grade them. Many buyers these days have doubts about expensive cards and a grade helps them feel comfortable about the card being real and not trimmed.
(Although all grading companies make mistakes)

Which service is a tough choice. PSA has a $100 cover charge, so I haven't used them, but they're what most collectors of 50's-60's cards use. I haven't sent any to Beckett, but they're good on more modern stuff. I have sent a few prewar cards to SGC. The holders look nicer -My opinion- and they're pretty easy to deal with. Also a bit less expensive if you send in under one of the monthly specials.

Of the ones you mentioned, a nice 55 Clemente I'd grade before selling.
Same for the 54 Aaron. The Mays and Yaz depending on how nice they are. It looks like really nice ones go for a good ammount, while typical vg+ ones there isn't much of a price difference. If the Ripken is stained I wouldn't bother. Nice ones are going for roughly $6-15 ungraded, and a stained one wouldn't grade well.

Steve B

[xdrx]

Thanks Steve. That logic seems solid, especially as I read more and more threads here.

Regarding the Ripken, I'm curious what people think of it:

[IMG][/IMG]


The spots are above BA in Baltimore and in between end of Baltimore and beginning of Orioles. These blemishes would've been of little or no concern to me when I collected many moons ago, but the standards have clearly changed. How badly do they impact value of an otherwise pristine card?

Thanks for the education!

[xdrx]

OK guys, let me apologize in advance for yet another question...

From a pricing standpoint, is Beckett still the "go to" resource? I'm talking post-war only. What would your expectations be when selling or buying? What % of price guide is realistic? Does it matter if you are on eBay vs some other platform?

Thanks!

[steve B]

Those marks wouldn't bother me if I was buying the card. But I think they'd still knock the grade down below what makes sense to grade.

When I need price guide info I use completed auctions on Ebay because that's were many cards get sold.

As for venue, BST here can be good if you know what you want, Auction here is variable as any other auction. And no fees!

Ebay is the most common venue, and they have the advantage of having more buyers. But having low feedback will usually hurt the results, and knowing their rules helps avoid problems. when I sell I use click and ship through them as it's easy and I get delivery confirmation for much less than at the post office.

Grand slam bids could be good, I've looked but not signed up. You'll want to have a good idea of how much you want. Without a huge number of buyers a higher opening bid helps avoid dissapointments.

I've consigned a few things to a local auction I know is good. Mixed results overall. A few things sold for less than I'd hoped, a couple nice ones sold for about as much as I could have gotten, and a few did much better. They took a pretty sizeable cut, but they also did all the work and took a bunch of stuff that wasn't all that saleable and managed to sell it.

Steve B

[xdrx]

Thanks Steve. I think I am going to get maybe a dozen mid level + cards graded by SGC and see how they do on eBay. I am very curious about the grades. The criteria just don't seem too stable to me.