Anyone else feeling raw is their only option these days?

[thatkidfromjerrymaguire]

Put me in the "I prefer raw cards" club.

I like to touch, sort, stack them and then put them in binders for display. All that is much easier with raw cards.

The cards posted in this thread are what 1950's era cards SHOULD look like. They were opened by kids, then looked at, traded, flipped, etc. A pristine card from this era is suspicious.

The only time I've bought graded is if I found a mid-grade card that appears to be selling for the same price as raw, OR if I'm buying a card valued over $200...because I want the extra security that it's real and/or doesn't have damage to it that isn't easily seen in a scan. (although i have less confidence these days that even graded cards are all authentic, un-altered, etc.)