Collecting raw

[steve B]

I collect mostly ungraded cards. I probably have a slight advantage of having collected when most shops had stacks if not entire boxes full of most postwar sets. So I don't have much worry about knowing if the cards are real or not.

I'm ambivalent about grading. I figure grades 1- 6 or 7 are the old familiar grades. P, F, G,VG, EX and MT. Unless you're super fussy about grade anything 7 and up is a very nice card.
But if you are picky, or collecting some of the more expensive cards I think it can be a good thing for a few reasons.

The first is that it gives an opinion that's supposedly unbiased. And that means outside the influence of wether that 55 Topps is a common or a Clemente, and outside the excitement of "discovering" the card. (How many of us have "found" a really great card that seems to develop more problems the longer we own it? I know I've done that at flea markets, bought a really nice 50's card only to spot a bunch of stuff that I didn't notice when it was new and exciting. )

The second is hopefully a bit of an unbiased technical look that should catch most alterationswhen a buyer might not have the tools handy. Yeah, that means some factory crads with some oddity like being originally cut small will get rejected. same for ones with odd cuts. But hopefully most of the amateur trimmings get caught. And as the prices get higher, the temptation for a seller to enhance a card is also a bit more.

All of that also limits the old "it's excellent for its age" that so many dealers used to go with. Nope, excellent is excellent no matter wether it's from 1910 or 2010.

And to a point, as much as we might hate to admit it, there are a few cards that really aren't around in really amazing condition. I went through around 15000 81 topps I had, looking for only the really nice ones. I had maybe 2-300. Out of those only 6-7 were ones that seemed worth grading because none of the companies had done many or any perfect ones. They still only came back as 8s or lower. 81 Topps are really common, and really cheap. But if for some reason you want perfect ones, they really aren't that common.
If a card is really that nice, I don't have any problem with having it graded.

Steve B

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

It looks like there is a real mixture here...a lot of good points have been made. I am on the fence. Traditionally, in set building, most of my commons are pretty nice but raw. My stars are all slabbed. I do worry about trimming, alterations, etc so I buy them slabbed or buy raw and immediately submit them for grading. My '53 Topps baseball set grades out overall mid-grade: the graded cards range from 5-7 (the Mantle is an uncreased 4). The raw commons would fall in this range, too. I have eliminated creases/wrinkles from the set. There are probably a couple that need to be replaced because of centering.

Anyway, my problem is becoming one of storage/display. I have all the star cards to the '53 and what I have acquired so far in '54 in a separate storage box (all slabbed). Meanwhile, the commons to the '53 set are all in a separate storage box, and the '54s likewise...all in Cardsaver 1s. I keep reading about storage of vintage sets in binders. I was skeptical, but I have really started liking what I see from toploaderbinder.com. I guess it bothers me that I wouldn't be able to get my set all together for viewing in the binder because the stars (and a few commons) are slabbed. I like the idea of raw cards, and I wish I had the guts and conviction of Harliduck to crack my slabs. I am a collector and not a dealer/investor. I collect because I absolutely love 1952-1958 Topps baseball cards. I just cannot get enough. I know there's no wrong way to collect, but I feel like I need to make a choice. Help?!

[Bestdj777]

I have a mixture of graded/ungraded. With the exception of a few commonly faked cards (Mantle rookies; Bazookas), I won't pay a premium for graded cards. I do like them in the holder though because every so often I like to spread my cards out on the floor or bed and flip through them. I like the added protection. Plus, my dog can walk across them and I don't have to worry about them.

If your concern is display, have you considered putting the commons in the binder and displaying your star, graded cards out on the same shelf? The few cards I don't have in a shoe box are out on my book shelf so that I can look at them and get enjoyment out of them.

[JollyElm]

I absolutely abhor the word 'raw,' but that's all I collect unless there's little or no way around it. As time moves on, though, I do realize that grading is the way of the future, so I'm certain some time soon I'll begin having my cards graded.

But to me, baseball cards are such a direct connection to the carefree beauty of youth. When I look at my 1972 set in its binder, for example, I can remember right back to that summer, trading with my friends, flipping with my brothers and on and on. It is a great feeling to relive those wonderful lost days of yesterday in my mind, and touching those cards and smelling the waxy, gummy remnants on the cardboard is priceless. Now, if I'm looking at or holding a graded slab in my hands...I feel nothing.

[KCRfan1]

I buy ungraded cards. When I buy graded, I look for cards that are undergraded in my opinion. I will crack the slab, and save only the card. I have always been able to find reasonably priced cards buying ungraded. Since the cards are for my collection only, I am not looking for graded and the additional expenses involved.

[ALR-bishop]

Daren...I agree with you. My cards are not "raw". They are cards in their natural state....as was intended...not imprisoned in plastic with someone stranger's opinion plastered on them

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Daren...I agree with you. My cards are not "raw". They are cards in their natural state....as was intended...not imprisoned in plastic with someone stranger's opinion plastered on them

Dude, you really gotta start spelling my name correctly.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Dude, you really gotta start spelling my name correctly.

It's D@r.rΣn, right?

Old guys like me and Al have a hard time with the way you kidz spell these days...

[Volod]

I had to buy some slabs to complete sets simply because those cards were so valuable they were not available ungraded. But, after some trepidation, I managed to liberate them from their tombs...you just can't get that delectible ancient paper smell from a plastic case.

[BobH]

I'll get the handle of editing a post someday

[BobH]

woops double edit

[BobH]

Originally Posted by Volod

I had to buy some slabs to complete sets simply because those cards were so valuable they were not available ungraded. But, after some trepidation, I managed to liberate them from their tombs...you just can't get that delectible ancient paper smell from a plastic case.

I didn't think ANYBODY removed the exalted "PSA" slabbed cards from their sacred holders. I do all the time....... I prefer the raw cards or cards in their natural state over the slabbed cards. My entire 70-79 Topps Baseball Stars,LL and HOF collection is raw, About 1/2 cracked from PSA 6,7,and 8's and the other 1/2 bought raw. I haven't removed a PSA 9 that I managed to get for a good price from its holder. But I don't have very many. My Mantle collection is entirely raw from reputable Ebay sellers and card show dealers. I'm sure a few of them may have been altered. Someday if I ever want to sell the higher dollar cards I will have to grade them or re-grade them. But until that day i will continue to enjoy them. We can always grade them and consign them to a AH or Ebay seller if we had to. I imagine my nieces and nephews couldn't get them sold fast enough.

[ALR-bishop]

...my name is not Dude...it's Al

[Volod]

...term of affection, as in, "Dude, where's my Campos variation?!"