Are graded cards the future of vintage?

[Dandor]

There are so many new people getting involved in vintage for investing and diversifying their portfolio in trading cards. To me it is absolutely silly to treat a piece of cardboard as an investment, when this is a hobby. The new people entering the hobby have no idea what they are doing and think that the majority of vintage cards are fake. Selling cards is a lot easier graded and when grading prices drop in 2023, more and more vintage will be slabbed. I like graded cards for my PC, but certain cards I don't want slabbed. My 1951 Topps Blue/Red backs I am working on raw, and it will stay that way. I want 1950's and 60's HOF players graded, and have used CSG at $10.80 a card to slab a bunch of cards in great shape or great eye-appeal. For example I bought a 1962 Topps Nellie Fox off of COMC and the card was a stunner. I got a CSG 8.5 and it was worth grading. I have a bunch of vintage HOF's in 1 to 5 shape, but they won't be graded. However, I will grade an early Topps card in 3/4 shape if it has perfect centering and a decent surface.

For people with raw collections, it will be a nightmare for you the next few years. More and more vintage will be graded and less raw will be available. I even bought a 1951 Red Back for cheap slabbed and cracked it out.