To slab or not to slab?

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Posted By: T206Collector

Most people slab in order to facilitate internet trading. Because you cannot inspect a card for creases, corner wear, authenticity, etc. on-line, you have to rely on a third-party service to do so for you. You simply cannot do any productive collecting of mid/high-grade (3 or better) pre-war cards on ebay without third party grading. If it looks sharp and the e-seller says it is sharp, but he didn't fork over $5.00 for the slab, then he is hiding something -- something which we would all pick up in person, but cannot see from a scan.

I have found that the anti-grading group are usually populated by those that remember the "good old days" when T206 cards were a quarter (or less) and wish that the prices had not been driven through the roof by speculators. There rationales are based primarily on emotion rather than market value. More power to those who crack their slabs, but to me that is kind of like tipping the tax collector in April.