To crack or not to crack...that is the question.

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Posted By: Doug

Here's a question for all the slab crackers out there. Is there any time where you wouldn't crack a card? In most cases if I feel like I'm going to keep a card I prefer to crack it and put it in a screwdown, but I rarely do it on higher priced cards in the event that I will have to sell them in the future. However I just cracked a $2500 card and I'm hoping someone on here will tell me that wasn't a totally insane thing to do... If it matters, the slab it was in was really scratched up and looked like crap.

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Posted By: DD

Why crack the card at all? I know that each collector handles things differently, but since you are going to put it in a screwdown anyway, then why crack it?

If you collect raw cards, or just like keeping your cards in an album, I still don't see why you would crack a graded card, assuming you paid a price common to that graded card in the condition you purchased it in.

I remember when Julie V. was actively collecting and posting on this site. If I remember corectly, she would crack graded cards she purchased. When she consigned her collection to REA, they had a portion, if not all, regraded.


In the event you want/need to sell them in the future, don't you think they will bring more if they are graded? Why go through the hassle of grading them again if they were graded in the first place?

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Posted By: Matt

David - if I'm going to display my cards, I don't want the holders to distract from the cards and appear as a motley crew of mismatched slabs. Some do this by getting all their cards crossed to their graded of choice and some display them without and slab.

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Posted By: Doug

"Why crack the card at all? I know that each collector handles things differently, but since you are going to put it in a screwdown anyway, then why crack it?"

Like I said it mostly had to do with the fact that the original PSA holder was all scratched up and it looks much better in a brand new clear screwdown.

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Posted By: Steve Murray

If I have a holder that is cracked or all scratched up I send it to the same grading company to have it re-holdered. That way you have a nice clean slab and the same grade as before. The charge is minimal with SGC. I have no experience with PSA.

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Posted By: Frank

If that is the case, send it in to be reholdered, it's like $5.

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Posted By: Doug

If I was to have it regraded I was going to send it to SGC anyway so I figured I didn't have much to lose. As long as it crosses to the original grade that is...

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Posted By: Joann

Doug,

I used to crack out almost all of my graded cards. I don't have a whole lot of each type, so I liked having an E95 and a CJ in toploaders so the thin paper and fragile nature of these issues is easy to feel directly. I just like having them in toploaders.

I don't do it as much anymore, but not for any particular reason - lack of time is probably as germane as anything. So I'd definitely not worry about cracking something out if you like it better presented, displayed and stored a different way. If I have a holder that is all scratched up, I crack it out b/c I'm probably not sending it in for regrade anyways.

The only time I won't crack a card out is if I can see pretty clearly that the grade it got is a stretch for the card, and there is a decent amount of money involved. If I think a card will never see that grade again, it stays in the holder.

I don't even send something like that in for regrade. I'm almost positive that SGC and PSA both reserve the right to change the grade during the reholder process if they see that the grade it had was erroneously given.

So ... no, I don't think you did anything in the least bit wrong or stupid or whatever. I can't see keeping a $2500 card in a scratched up $5 holder.

Joann

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Posted By: Steve Murray

"I'm almost positive that SGC and PSA both reserve the right to change the grade during the reholder process if they see that the grade it had was erroneously given."

Are you sure? Never heard that before.

Anyone here agree with Joann?

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Posted By: Doug

I actually think I have heard that they can do that, but I've never heard of it happening to anybody. I've just had grades changed on crossovers.

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Posted By: Joann

lol. No, I'm not at all positive. I'm trying to remember where I got that from. It seems like I've thought it for a long time.

Anyone?

J

Gads. Now it's going to drive me nuts until I figure it out. Fine print on the submission forms? Websites?

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Posted By: Joann

OK. Got one of them. From the SGC website:

"Cards on regrade or reholder service: SGC has the right to reevaluate the card and assign a newly established grade if SGC believes the card was originally misgraded. If the grade change results in a loss of value of the card, SGC will compensate the customer based upon market value as solely determined by SGC."

So at least they'll give compensation for a downgrade, but I don't know what it's based on or if it would be the same as a market loss due to the downgrade.

PSA? Still looking.

J

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

Doug: I would do the exact same... I think vintage cards are much more displayable and attractive unslabbed. I always use the screw-downs for displaying cards.

Something about the Barcodes just doesn't seem condusive to the presentation of vintage material. I know I'm in the vast minority... just a personal preference.

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Posted By: Paul S

Mark -- I don't know that you're in the minority at all about that. The barcode? I can think of nothing worse that takes the "humanity" out of vintage cards. If it weren't for some of the legitimate reasons in this day and age for slabbing (discussed often enough here -- and btw, none of mine are slabbed) I'd bet the majority here would find it preferable not to slab most of their cards.

*edited to say: this is not to poo-poo those who prefer slabs for no other reason than they just they like them. That's fine too.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I once scratched a holder when I was taking it out of the box SGC sent it in. I was using a knife to cut the bubble plastic and put a scratch right across the plastic. It was graded a 30.

I sent it back with no instructions except to please reholder, and paid them my $5. It came back a 40. And it was a very expensive card. I have no explanation for why this happened.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

barry- that's the best $5 you ever spent!

doug- sorry, i don't understand the logic, especially a $2500 card?...you certainly decreased its value, IMO, and now it's in a screwdown holder? but to each, his own...

happy new year!

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Posted By: barrysloate

Yes, it was at that. The card seemed harshly graded as a 30- it was crease free with minimal wear- and I wondered if while they reholdered it SGC made the same determination. I wouldn't think that would be the case, but I have no other explanation for it.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

My General rule, always crack 'em out.

Exception #1... if card is to be offered for sale in the near future, leave slabbed. I've done this a few times.

Exception #2... I once left a card slabbed when I was going to give it to a kid. The kid actually knew of the player, so I tracked down a card to give him. The first one I found and bought was slabbed, I left it that way.

Other Exceptions... I'm sure there are some.

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Posted By: Anthony

I sent a CJ Lajoie into PSA to reholder about 2 years ago, as it had been badly cracked in shipping. They called me and said due to the bend in the middle of the card (that was not there when I sent it in) they would have to reholder it as a 3 instead of a 5. I doubt I needed a phone to have them hear me yelling.

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Posted By: Greg Theberge

Mark, I'm right there with you with the bar code thing.
Personally, I simply don't get the whole grading thing and the monetary value that is placed on something just because it is graded, or higher graded. Barry's last example couldn't prove my point any better than if I tried. Makes you shake your head and wonder just what the heck this is all about. Then again, to each there own. Happy New Year guys.

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Posted By: S Gross

Doug,

To answer your original question, no your not insane to crack out a $2500 card. I'm a crack-head myself,* I've cracked $25, $250, and $2,500 cards, all for the same reason: I like them better raw.

So, if I resale a more expensive "cracked" card, I send it in and have it graded. No big deal. I realize I've added nothing to this thread other than the old: Do what you like to do with your hobby (Just my opinion, of course .)









* Screw driver side hit, then switch to oyster knife, and "shuck" card out.

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Posted By: Doug

I probably would have left it alone if it looked like that PSA 6 Mathewson in that other thread, but it was pretty solid for the grade so if I have to resubmit it in order to sell it I feel pretty safe that it would regrade if not possibly get a bump on a good day. Thanks everyone for the info!

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Posted By: Jeff W.

It really depends on the card.

I am putting a low to mid grade T206 set together right now. Almost all of the cards that I buy are graded, however, due to the size of the set and the value per car card, I chose to crack out each card. The cards looks outstanding raw and in 15 card pages.

All of my expensive cards I choose to keep graded for two reasons.First, is that each card is really protected in a slab. Second, there is a chance that if I decide to crack out the card and then resubmit it at a later time, it could recieve a grade lower. Unfortunately, that is something that we as collectors must deal with.

Jeff

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Posted By: steve yawitz

Having been everything from a PSA Set Registry Kool-Aid drinker to a militant member of the Slab Liberation Army, I'm now content to be somewhere in the middle. I still much prefer the look, feel and, yes, smell of raw cards to graded cards, but for pragmatic reasons I do keep some cards slabbed.

With the exception of major HoFers or difficult fronts or backs, I keep my T206's raw. I figure about 95 percent of my in-progress set is raw. If I ever get to the point where I consider my collection complete - and I'm not sure that I will because I'm one of those dorks who just has to have 31 different Ed Konetchy cards - I'll probably crack 'em all out and put them in plastic pages for ease of viewing.

On the other hand, I've been keeping my non-T206's graded or - gasp! - even submitting the raw ones to SGC. I'm comfortable selling raw cards and I hope people feel comfortable buying raw from me, but I suppose it's generally easier to sell graded cards. Because I limit my non-T206 collection to a set number of cards, I do almost as much selling as buying, so it makes sense to have as large a group of potential buyers/bidders as possible.

http://imageevent.com/yawie99

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Posted By: Steve Dawson

If I may paraphrase Whitney Houston...


Cracking is Wacky!!



Steve

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Posted By: Doug

So I'm guessing I can sum this all up as if you are planning to sell it, leave it alone, or if you are going to keep it do whatever you want.

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Posted By: Marty

I had a Mantle card in a PSA 6 holder that had a crease at the top. PSA changed the grade and gave me the difference in credit for the invoices that I was giving them. Ith was early this year in Chicago.