Buying raw cards online

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

You have to discover which dealers are honest and fair graders. Simple as that. There are some dealers whose word I trust, like Scottsdate Baseball Cards [scottsdalecards.com] or Burbank Sports Cards [burbankcards.com] to grade accurately, present representative scans, and make good any errors that do take place. 95% of what I buy now is raw and my 'go-back' rate is minuscule when I stick to reputable sellers.

This is great advice to a someone new to today's hobby, aka someone returning after being away for years.

If the Op is as concerned with condition as he seems to be and wants to avoid problems my two recommendations are as follows,

1) avoid buying on-line if you are a stickler on condition, instead wait for Covid to end and buy in person, you wont end up as disappointed

2) if you do choose to buy online take Adam's advice and buy from reputable dealers, not from some nut who only uses images to "describe" their cards (as discussed in the OP's thread on the main page).

A primary goal of reputable dealers is to earn repeat business by offering accurately graded cards. IMO, the OP put himself in a bad spot by buying from a seller who only uses an image to describe the card....seek out the reputable dealers who accurately grade their cards if you do choose to continue to build your collection on line and avoid the sellers such as the one mentioned in the thread on the main board.