I switched back to raw cards and my happiness increased 1000%

[OlderTheBetter]

I applaud your decision. Grading has so many deficient qualities. Especially PSA which seems to delight in propagating collector ignorance by not giving grader notes and not giving the date of the grading (important because they've gone through 15 different slabs and the newer grading standards are tougher -- just try getting anywhere near top dollar for a PSA graded card from 2005.)

I've cracked a lot of slabs over the years to liberate my cards. They look so much better in a sem-rigid without all the distracting grading info.

Some call me crazy for doing that, but I didn't buy the cards as an investment and future monetary returns are purely secondary.

As a collector for 55 years now I can tell you that collecting was so much more fun in the 1970s compared to today that it's not even close.

So collect how you prefer. Don't always be a lemming and go with the crowd. Listen to yourself and follow your heart. You're doing that and it's great.