Card Grading Costs - what am I missing

[raineybt]

Reentering the hobby now after a 15 year hiatus is jarring - almost like a time traveler walking in and seemingly not recognizing the world. When I stepped away, PSA and grading existed, but it was nothing like it is today. I won't argue the positives or negatives here, but for everyone that's been in the hobby long enough, its certainly different.

I'm looking to answer something that might be elementary, but that I still haven't wrapped my head around - grading fees. I've got my own feelings about the cost of grading increasing with the value of the card (vs. the service provided, insurance costs, etc), but what I can't figure out is how so many graded cards are sold on eBay for seemingly less than the grading fee. If the grading fee is $15 (I'll use PSA published prices only), then why are so many clearly lower grade 60's cards submitted, when the VSP price isn't higher than $20?

Is there a program I'm missing or some sort of economic dynamic that I am not understanding that's allowing a significantly higher amount of cards to be graded than could seemingly be sold for at least $15 more to cover the grading fee? Any thoughts here are helpful - I'm trying to pick up 15 years worth of hobby changes quickly!

[Carter08]

Same question

[ullmandds]

I would have to assume that many of these cards selling for around or less than the cost of the actual grading service were graded a while ago at a lesser cost than todays fees.

[jingram058]

OMG, here we go again.

If you are collecting cards as an investment, worried about such things as wrinkles, trimming, etc., by all means have your cards graded. Not much of a fun hobby, unless you're one of the beautiful people who can throw around a lot of money without giving it a thought.

You can just collect cards, hold them in your hands, and discuss the history with others. That's what I do, and so do the others around here where I live. That's a real hobby, pretty much as it always was, except that even the raw cards cost A LOT more these days.

I like the discussion here on net54, and have bought the majority of my latest collection additions here, and some trades too.

But make no mistake. The vast majority here at net54, and the other forums too, are all about graded cards.

It just is what it is.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I would have to assume that many of these cards selling for around or less than the cost of the actual grading service were graded a while ago at a lesser cost than todays fees.

+1

Also, though I believe it refers more to modern than pre or post war vintage, some are calling this the “Junk Slab Era.”

[swarmee]

1) Up until about 4 years ago, you could get PSA grading in bulk for inexpensive cards about $6/card.
2) It's a human condition to overgrade your cards in your own mind, so people regularly submit cards they think are NM when a true result is that they are only EX 5s.
3) PSA has ebbed and flowed over the years with grading to their published standards, and people currently believe they are MUCH tougher than normal on cards from the 70s and 80s than ever before.
4) Once a card has been graded low, there's less of a demand for it, because it no longer has much "upside" (unless you're buying to trim the card and resubmit hopefully for a higher grade).

If you've been gone 15 years, recommend you read some threads over at Blowout covering the trimming scandal.
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1298835

[jimq16415]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I would have to assume that many of these cards selling for around or less than the cost of the actual grading service were graded a while ago at a lesser cost than todays fees.

I remember PSA having monthly specials where it cost as low as $6 each to get them graded but at those prices you sometimes didn't get them back for 2 months!

My oldest sub in their file was 45 cards at $6 each, rec 7/10/2006 and shipped back to me 7/21/2006 for $6 each. My highest value was $250.

Times have changed. Yesterday I sent 1 card and it was more than that sub of 45 cards!

[Carter08]

There are a bunch of 1970s Topps cards with brand new psa certs that are worth and sell for about $10 or less. A 1975 Topps Fergie Jenkins psa 6 will sell for less than $10 for example. Who recently graded that and why? There is something missing in the pricing model. The only thing I can think of is someone was hoping for a 9 and is just cutting their losses.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

cost averaging. If you submit 1000 cards the wins make up for the losses (if you're any good at grading) So on the lower grade cards you make what you can and move on.

[todeen]

I think there are some great answers here. Regardless, I love buying 8/9 of Barry Larkin inserts or oddballs for $15 or less. I don't need 10s, so a 9 for $11.99 is great.

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

[Leon]

Bottom line is the TPG's will charge what they can. And nowadays, it's pretty much like they want a percentage of the value of your card for grading. And of course, if it increases the value by a lot more, then I guess it's worth it. But it doesn't take a lot more time to evaluate a 100k card than it does a 100 dollar card. What, maybe an extra 5 minutes at most? Can't blame them for making money...
.

[perezfan]

After hundreds of hours of deep analysis, extensive research and sleepless nights, I have finally arrived at the undeniable conclusion that....

Grading is a scam

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by perezfan

After hundreds of hours of deep analysis, extensive research and sleepless nights, I have finally arrived at the undeniable conclusion that....

Grading is a scam

+1 on that, joke or no joke. I'll just keep my cards. If I am losing a fortune, too bad. I wasn't mean to have a fortune, I guess.