SGC T206s....It needs to be brought up, it's scary, very scary if you are a collector

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by cincyredlegs

I am confused with this comment:

"SGC T206s....It needs to be brought up, it's scary, very scary if you are a collector"

Shouldn't it say "it's scary if you are an "investor"?

I personally am a collector, first and foremost. I am not interested in the registry game nor whether my collection is going to triple in price in the next 5 years. Therefore, I am more than happy to buy a nicely centered, crease free SGC 40 T206 at a fraction of the price of a PSA 4. Just means I can finish my set faster.

I saw this thread yesterday and had the same reaction. The original post was written from the perspective of somebody who is selling cards, or buying them with the intention of selling them (i.e. an investor). From the perspective of a pure collector, it seems like it would be a good thing if SGC-graded cards are selling for less -- it means that there are more bargains to be had.

On the spectrum from pure collector (buying/trading for cards only for enjoyment, with no thought whatsoever to potential resale value) to pure investor (only concerned with resale value, treating cards as commodities), I am pretty far towards the "pure collector" side. I've always been a very price-conscious collector, looking for bargains and trying to get the most bang for my buck; that's why I tend to collect cards that wouldn't necessarily get a high technical grade, but which have decent eye appeal. I seldom spend more than $100 for a card, and I don't think I've ever spent more than $200.

The vast majority of my N/T/E card collection is raw, partly because many of my cards were bought years ago before TPGs were a significant factor, but also because raw cards are nearly always cheaper than graded ones, so it's much easier to find good deals. I've never sent a card to a TPG to be graded, and honestly wouldn't know how to go about it. Of the relatively few slabbed cards in my collection (all obtained either on the B/S/T section of this board or on eBay, for what I considered very good prices), most are in SGC holders. That provides some anecdotal support for the OP's observation about SGC-graded cards selling for less than PSA-graded ones, but it could also have something to do with the fact that many of them are Old Judges, and as Joe G. (I think) has pointed out, SGC grades more Old Judges than PSA does, and that trend has been accelerating in recent years.

All that being said, it's not the case that I pay no attention at all to potential resale value. All else being equal, I'd prefer to own cards that will hold their value in the future, which is why I generally try to get the nicest-condition, nicest-looking card that my limited budget will allow. But as with my investments in mutual funds, I have a very long-term time horizon, so any resale value I'm thinking of is many years in the future, probably decades. I figure if and when it ever comes time for me or my descendents to sell my (raw) cards, they can always be sent to a grading company if it would enhance their market value, as it probably would. But that's so far in the future that I'm not going to worry now about which grading company would be best to send my cards to, because so many things could change by then.