Graded vs. Raw Rant.......

[cesarcap]

There is a peace of mind when paying $$ for something slabbed though I know the major players have had issues w fake cards. But I'm a binder guy so thumbing through one is fun and quick versus hauling out boxes of slabbed cards which I look at honestly 2-3x a year since they are stored away in shelves and not properly displayed.... But I often end up with 2 cards: one slabbed and one for the binder which gets expensive for the PC.

[Seven]

As I shuffle around things, especially with the very few modern cards that I own, I decided to send them out for grading. But I only sent the few cards in, because I plan on selling the modern and putting that money towards Vintage. Whether it be raw Vintage or Graded Vintage.

I do try to purchase Raw when I can. Typically only from people that I trust.

[Exhibitman]

Freakish Spontaneous Wealth. That's the name of the game with grading. Simple as that. Pick a raw card, send it in, get a high grade, turn it out for a huge % profit. Repeat. Which is also why it will never go away; greed is a great motivator.

There is nothing appealing about slabs to me as a collector.

--The slabs are heavy
--You can't put a set into an album and leaf through it
--It is incredibly expensive to have cards slabbed
--They take up a ton of space
--They get scratched up unless you protect them. So now you have a card in a case. a case in a sleeve, and often a case in an iPhone-style case protector. And then you put all those bundles into a Zion case.

As a seller I play the game; market dictates it. Buyers pay a definite premium for slabbed cards even when raw ones are readily available, and won't trust an expensive raw card. Which is why all my good stuff goes into slabs if I want to sell.

[skelly423]

I like grading for two primary reasons.

1. It does a great job of protecting high value cards.

2. When I’m buying online and can’t see the cards in hand, it lets me know the card is genuine, and gives me a rough idea of what defects I may expect to find.

With few exceptions captured in my first point, when the graded card arrives, the first thing I do is crack it out of the slab for a spot in my binder.

[Snowman]

There is very little value/point in grading anything from that era that isn't worth at least a few hundred dollars or more. The only exception is with set collector high-grade commons. Some of those cards in mint condition might sell for $20 raw but $150 graded. Otherwise, it's just not worth grading IMO. But cards like a George Brett RC or an Ozzie Smith RC in EX condition is going to sell for about the same amount slabbed vs raw (less the grading fees).

[homerunhitter]

Any new thoughts?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Any new thoughts?

Same $hit different day so no, no new thoughts.

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