Economics of Grading

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Posted By: boxingcardman

And on the overall math.

I just got a group from an auction that I purchased for resale. I paid about $12 a card. Most of the cards are worth around $15 on average, so no grades there. Five of the cards are grade-worthy and should pull decent grades (4-5-6) and sell for $50-$150 depending on which grades they get. I'll invest another $60 or so to slab the five in question. My view is that any old card worth $50 or more in slabbed vg condition is worth submitting on a special if you are into it for only 25% or so of the value graded. People simply will pay more for a nice midgrade in a major company's holder and you can reap that extra value. Of course, you have to have the eye to judge the cards so you don't end up assessing them as $50 cards when their defects really dictate a $20 price. Once you fall below the threshold of $50 or so, the numbers just don't add up.