Increase in low grade cards being graded

[refz]

I submit certain low grade prewar cards for the simple fact as i don’t want them to get damaged anymore than they are.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by refz

I submit certain low grade prewar cards for the simple fact as i don’t want them to get damaged anymore than they are.

If that's your primary concern, there used to be a much cheaper alternative wherein PSA would slab cards for $1 each without any flips. No grading done; just something they offered if people were only interested in preservation, such as yourself. It was never advertised as far as I recall, but they would do it on request. You probably had to give them a lot of material in order to facilitate such an arrangement. This was also a very long time ago and it's a safe bet they have far too much business to be bothered with this anymore.

If this sounds like it's of interest, you may wish to place phone calls to the various TPGs and inquire if any are still willing to do this at a reduced rate. I'm thinking they're all too tied up to consider it, but no harm in asking.

[Baseballcrazy62]

I have been slabbing a lot of cards lately. The main reason is for estate planning purposes. I believe it will be a much easier/orderly/profitable way to liquidate if they are in slabs even in lower grades. VCP is a great way to track inventory as well.

[hockeyhockey]

i prefer low graded slabbed cards prior to the 1980s. more reasonable value wise, and also like the aged look on the cards from 1900 to 1950s. and much easier to display in the slabs versus putting a raw card in a card saver.

[soxinseven]

Raw card collecting seems to have dried up, at least on the pre war side. A few years ago there were a lot of people building binder sets of T206s and collecting type cards and that seems to have changed. Also, newer collectors seem to be worried about getting a numeric grade versus authentic, leading to sellers grading more.

[Schlesinj]

Sadly I have a low percentage of buying raw that goes back to the early 2000 on eBay. First was a fake Jordan rookie and a corner colored in Nolan Ryan rookie. I was not as active in the market since the mid-90s. Got my first job and wanted to “treat myself” to a few cards I always wanted. Several years later I sent them to PSA and 0-2. Education dollars. I still have both, the Jordan and the submission to remind myself. One of the first pieces of advice I got on this site, someone suggested sending the Ryan card to his foundation to get signed. That is one of my favorite items, so made lemonade.

That said, I did not learn my lesson as I bought a Marsan Cuban card at a show a year ago and submitted it to SGC at the show and it came back trimmed. I was just happy to find one as I never see them at shows.

Anyway, sometimes it is helpful to reduce a risk even though they are not always correct. Yes, I agree you pay a premium too, so it does come down to risk tolerance.

[Leon]

Great points made. I still like raw cards but they are getting harder to find. And some, I just don't want to slab as they came from original collections. I have 0 concern of alterations on these (shown many times before). Now, if I go to sell them, I would be stupid not to have them slabbed for monetary reasons.

As to the question of low grade cards being slabbed, the answers in this thread are all good answers.

Does anyone else like seeing cards NOT through plastic? (almost all of my higher end items are slabbed).

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Leon

Does anyone else like seeing cards NOT through plastic? (almost all of my higher end items are slabbed).

For your cards and my autographs, I like to know there is nothing impeding me from touching the physical item. Now, when value dictates, I will be protecting items with some sort of plastic, but the piece will always be removable.

Besides being bulky, clunky, costing money, etc., slabs permanently remove the tactile and olfactory aspects of collecting. That's two of the three senses that we regularly employ with our collectibles. I'm sure some folks have tasted their cards , and only pray that, aside from 1989 Topps Talking Baseball and the like, nobody has heard their cards speak to them. (And it's safe to admit that you could pass a blindfold test to discern a '89 UD from a 52T from a T206 based purely on scent.)

[Brian]

I don't mind having cards slabbed, for the preservation value that ensures.

But I draw the line at photos. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the new phenomenon of entombing photos in thick plastic sarcophagi just for the purposes of authentication and adding value. I stay away from buying any such photos...

[JustinD]

I think the growth in low grade slabs is due to the massive jump in pandemic collectors that have little skill in vintage. Most couldn’t tell the difference between a 1953 Topps and a 1962. They want the hof player, but have zero knowledge of what they are getting.

It makes sense that the entry level cards are graded to fill this demand in unknowing collectors coming in a the ground floor. I say enjoy it because it means they are building the next vintage collectors a little at a time.