Graded vs. Raw Rant.......

[JollyElm]

It's sort of the way cell phones became prominent. In the beginning, very few people had them and others couldn't care less, but then a sea change occurred and everyone on the planet now possesses one, and then gets a better one, and then upgrades that one and on and on. Graded cards used to be a fluke, and many thought it was a passing phase...but look at where we are now. That aspect of card collecting will continue to grow exponentially. That toothpaste is not only out of the tube, but it's been washed down the drain.

Harking back to the OP regarding newer cards, when I started having my own stuff graded through the group subs (all hail Bobby!!!), my cut-off year was 1972 or possibly 1973, with no thought of ever submitting anything newer, because the stuff was way too plentiful. These days? Now I'm looking to the end of the 1970's and even sent in a 1980 hockey card. Again, things have changed, and there's no going back.

But I still freakin' love the smell of old cardboard...

74. Auramatic
Having the pleasingly fragrant, musty old cardboard scent which returns you to the wonders of your card collecting childhood.