Help with a grading question

[camaro69]

I have been considering sending a few cards in for grading. I will likely use SGC just because their turn around time is quicker
and also the fact that they are a lot cheaper than PSA does not hurt either. And in my opinion their holders look way better
than the PSA holder. But only my opinion of course.

So I do not have any of what most of you call vintage. So the bulk of what I will send is 1980's. Stuff like Puckett,Clemens,
Boggs Bonds, Canseco and a few other plus a bunch of Griffey jr, Chipper Jones,Thomas,I will likely do a Larry walker
or two as well since he is Canadian like myself.I am not sure about 10's.I would hope for a few. But realistic I am
hoping for 8's and 9's. Should I go ahead or should I just keep my money in my pocket. I will likely try and round
up at least 100 cards.I am not doing this to make money. But I really do not want to loss too much either.
So is it reasonable to think that if I have a Roger Clemens rookie that grades only an 8,that I can at least recover my
grading fees.Which is only $24.00. So for you guys that grade almost everything. What do you think of
what I sort of have planned. Should I just forget it or go ahead and do it. PLMK your thoughts.Thnaks.

[jchcollins]

From a pure financial perspective, you may be best advised to not spend the money to grade those kinds of cards - assuming these junk era stars you are talking about are not gem mint rookies or some kind of valuable 90's parallels or inserts.

Many run of the mill 1980's cards are not going to grade super high even if they look nice because the techniques used in their production more closely resemble that of vintage cards than they do of the shiny, die cut things we pull out of packs today. Also, in the era before grading - even though most kids were aware of the importance of condition - the cards got played with and shuffled around loose a lot more than happens today. You have to remember, "mint" to us back then was about like a PSA 6 or 7 today. Centering wasn't really even considered. And Jose Canseco base cards in a PSA 7 are not going to be worth more than the same cards raw.

Just my opinion. Sometimes you might want to have a certain card in a slab even if it is not technically worth it due to sentimental value or something like that, and that is ok too. Most of us have done it.

[camaro69]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

From a pure financial perspective, you may be best advised to not spend the money to grade those kinds of cards - assuming these junk era stars you are talking about are not gem mint rookies or some kind of valuable 90's parallels or inserts.

Many run of the mill 1980's cards are not going to grade super high even if they look nice because the techniques used in their production more closely resemble that of vintage cards than they do of the shiny, die cut things we pull out of packs today. Also, in the era before grading - even though most kids were aware of the importance of condition - the cards got played with and shuffled around loose a lot more than happens today. You have to remember, "mint" to us back then was about like a PSA 6 or 7 today. Centering wasn't really even considered. And Jose Canseco base cards in a PSA 7 are not going to be worth more than the same cards raw.

Just my opinion. Sometimes you might want to have a certain card in a slab even if it is not technically worth it due to sentimental value or something like that, and that is ok too. Most of us have done it.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.Everything makes perfect sense. maybe I should just go back and grade some vintage non sport.In your opinion would it make any difference if I told you that all these cards were pulled out of factory sets. So other than me pulling them they have never been handled. Thanks again.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by camaro69

In your opinion would it make any difference if I told you that all these cards were pulled out of factory sets. So other than me pulling them they have never been handled. Thanks again.

Not really. Some of the funkiest miscut cards I ever saw when I was a kid came out of factory sets. If you have well-centered cards that have never been handled, that bodes well yes - but I would not think you automatically have any kind of edge in grading just because the cards at one point were part of a factory set. Good luck with whatever you decide on the grading...

[Rad_Hazard]

Originally Posted by camaro69

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.Everything makes perfect sense. maybe I should just go back and grade some vintage non sport.In your opinion would it make any difference if I told you that all these cards were pulled out of factory sets. So other than me pulling them they have never been handled. Thanks again.

I will echo jchcollins sentiments as well. Being pulled from factory sets certainly helps, but even then, then, those years still very susceptible to centering, edges, corners, etc. It's very difficult to get a 10 which would be almost the only way you would be able to recover your grading fees. The only exception would be Tiffany sets in which 9's could help you break even or even profit.

[camaro69]

Thanks a lot for all the input. This will help with me making a decision.I guess I am just getting excited about maybe getting into the grading of cards.
Maybe I should shift my focus,if baseball is what I want to grade.I could always pick out a hundred cards from early OPC baseball sets. I have a lot of
that as well. Thanks again for your comments.

[swarmee]

When you say Roger Clemens RC, are you talking the 84 Fleer Update, or the 85 Topps/Donruss/Fleer?
For me, if the price of the raw card is under $50, there's no chance an SGC 8 is going to ever increase the card value more than the grading fee for this type of mass-produced card.
If it was the Fleer Update, at least it would be worthy of consideration.