Your Best Raw Card Success Story

[sox1903wschamp]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Frank, pal, I think you need to tone down the level of sanctimony. The call of the question as originally posed was a fun thread on a positive subject rather than a busted deal or a cheating auctioneer: getting a great deal on a raw card. Didn't define parameters for measuring the greatness of the deal. One metric of a great deal and the example used in the original post is getting a card that unexpectedly grades very highly with a TPG, whether sold or not. Another metric is getting a card on the cheap and selling it raw for a lot more than you paid. Apparently, you like the second metric and not the first. I don't think either way of characterizing a great deal is intrinsically better than the other. Every card in my example except the 1971 PSA 9 I kept. Am I more of a collector than someone who sold their great deal because I kept the cards I got the great deal on instead of selling them? Am I less of a collector because I had the cards slabbed--I like the way they look in SGC holders--even though I didn't sell them and don't plan to? The debate itself is silly. Some people like slabbed cards. Some don't. Some people flip cards, some don't. There is no correct answer, other than it is not necessary to elevate on one group over the other on what was supposed to be a fun thread.

I could not agree more with this post. In my example, yes I had the T207 Cicotte graded but I have no intention of selling and if it had not been graded, I would still consider it a successs. The grading was some icing on the cake. And for the record, I greatly admire the way Frank tells us he collects and his passion. This should be a fun thread and I love all of the stories.