This Probably Won't Go Anywhere, But...

[balltrash]

While your opinions on the topic are understandable I do believe that you are doing your wife and daughter a disservice by relaying those feelings. At some point they may have to deal with selling a collection should you leave it behind and there is just no way you would be able to convince me that (unless they are deeply involved in the hobby with you) they will be able to navigate selling raw cards without getting taken advantage of. I would imagine an attempt which will end in either underselling the material or not being able to sell it at all (if they believe that they not getting a fair offer) ending with ultimately selling for far less than it is worth just to end the frustration.

Originally Posted by jingram058

Why pay for the "privilege" of making someone rich by grading your cards? After listening to all the BS associated with grading, the time, the money, the anxiety, the annoyances and irritations, why do it?

You know your cards better than some evaluator.

If for some reason I were to decide to sell any of my high-value cards; Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, DiMaggio, Williams, Mantle, etc., etc. etc., I would ask what any like card(s) would sell for, graded or otherwise. If someone doesn't buy it or them, guess what? I don't give a flying f!

Of course I keep my high value items either in a professional grade safe in my house or the bank safe deposit box.

My wife and daughter know what is in my collection, and like me, believe that grading is nothing more than a means to make someone rich.

I don't want my cards encased in ridiculous slabs. I don't care what someone else's opinion(s) of my cards are. If you want to buy them, you'll pay up, or take a walk.

[Delray Vintage]

I don’t like having to grade cards. The reality is you need to if you want someone to buy your high value cards. I was burnt in the early days of my collecting finding many of my raw cards were trimmed, altered, or over graded. So now I only buy graded cards and am happy to do so. Eventually me or my heirs will need to sell the collection I have built. When that happens I know it will be a lot easier to get a fair price.

There will be no revolt against the grading companies. It is in high value collectors’ interest to use them.i don’t understand grading commons, reprints or many modern cards with massive supply.But if you have a 52 Mantle you have to get it graded given few ungraded pass the authenticity test.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Delray Vintage

I was burnt in the early days of my collecting finding many of my raw cards were trimmed, altered, or over graded.

When was this? And surely the trimmed/altered cards you bought weren't from standard post-War Topps sets?

Originally Posted by Delray Vintage

But if you have a 52 Mantle you have to get it graded given few ungraded pass the authenticity test.

You really think so? Reprinted/counterfeit or just trimmed? And have the grading companies not demonstrated abject incompetence, fraud even, at detecting trimming?

[homerunhitter]

Originally Posted by Delray Vintage

I don’t like having to grade cards. The reality is you need to if you want someone to buy your high value cards. I was burnt in the early days of my collecting finding many of my raw cards were trimmed, altered, or over graded. So now I only buy graded cards and am happy to do so. Eventually me or my heirs will need to sell the collection I have built. When that happens I know it will be a lot easier to get a fair price.

There will be no revolt against the grading companies. It is in high value collectors’ interest to use them.i don’t understand grading commons, reprints or many modern cards with massive supply.But if you have a 52 Mantle you have to get it graded given few ungraded pass the authenticity test.

Perfectly said and I couldn’t agree more! Too much fraud and bad people in our hobby nowadays to trust anything but graded cards when it comes to resale. I personally would rather collect raw cards however as mentioned above, the trimmed, altered, fake cards have forced my hand to only buy graded. When it comes time to sell, all I need to do is box them up and send them to a consignment company to sell for me then just wait for the check to come in! Can’t really do that with raw cards. Plus with raw cards what’s to say when our families go to a LCS to sell, some greasy fat owner won’t be like “ oh yeah, these 1950s cards are worth like $2 each. I’ll give you $100 for this lot! (I feel it’s better for heirs of cards to send in graded cards to a consignment service vs trying to sell raw cards to a LCS)

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by balltrash

While your opinions on the topic are understandable I do believe that you are doing your wife and daughter a disservice by relaying those feelings. At some point they may have to deal with selling a collection should you leave it behind and there is just no way you would be able to convince me that (unless they are deeply involved in the hobby with you) they will be able to navigate selling raw cards without getting taken advantage of. I would imagine an attempt which will end in either underselling the material or not being able to sell it at all (if they believe that they not getting a fair offer) ending with ultimately selling for far less than it is worth just to end the frustration.

This. All of this.

If the cards are valuable it's highly likely the OP's family will eventually be taken advantage of, or, the cards will eventually be consigned by a family member and graded anyway.
Even if a "honest" dealer buys the cards for what the OP or his family thinks is a fair price, but then grades the cards and sells them for multiples of what was paid for them, hasn't the OP still been robbed? Only in the last scenario the OP robbed himself.


No one has to participate but grading is here to stay. At this point it's like riding around horse pulled buggy and complaining about the horseless carriage.

[sbfinley]

I’m just always confused why people that spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on essentially pictures of dudes are so aghast that other people spend a couple dozen more dollars to put the picture of the dude in a plastic case.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I’m just always confused why people that spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on essentially pictures of dudes are so aghast that other people spend a couple dozen more dollars to put the picture of the dude in a plastic case.

Because they think that by facilitating the transition of cards from collectibles to investments, grading has caused their acquisition costs to increase.

[packs]

Haven't they always been investments though? The Wagner T206 has been an expensive card since it was printed. We've all seen the old Wanted Ads where people are constantly offering big money even at a time when cards were selling for pennies.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Because they think that by facilitating the transition of cards from collectibles to investments, grading has caused their acquisition costs to increase.

Precisely!

Originally Posted by NonSportDaniel

It has been proven time and again that graded cards sell for more than raw.

Not to me they don't. I won't pay a premium for a card just because it's slabbed. As a result, I usually just pass over slabbed cards.

[JollyElm]

For me, there's a simple way of looking at this particular issue...

Getting a card graded isn't about ME as a collector, it's about the NEXT PERSON who will eventually own it - whether it is me selling it in the future or my eventual heirs doing it after I’ve become nothing but the dust on someone’s coffee table.

Ninety nine times out of a hundred (yes, this a generalized stat, so keep your pants on, contrarians, and don't start doing a deep dive into the numbers to try to disprove it - just finding enough supporting data showing the same card being sold before and after grading will be an extremely tough hill to climb, but I digress), a graded card will sell for more than its ungraded counterpart, so it just makes moving cards on to the next owners (for me or said heirs) that much easier.

[ALBB]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

For me, there's a simple way of looking at this particular issue...

Getting a card graded isn't about ME as a collector, it's about the NEXT PERSON who will eventually own it - whether it is me selling it in the future or my eventual heirs doing it after I’ve become nothing but the dust on someone’s coffee table.

Ninety nine times out of a hundred (yes, this a generalized stat, so keep your pants on, contrarians, and don't start doing a deep dive into the numbers to try to disprove it - just finding enough supporting data showing the same card being sold before and after grading will be an extremely tough hill to climb, but I digress), a graded card will sell for more than its ungraded counterpart, so it just makes moving cards on to the next owners (for me or said heirs) that much easier.

Agreed !

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

For me, there's a simple way of looking at this particular issue...

Getting a card graded isn't about ME as a collector, it's about the NEXT PERSON who will eventually own it - whether it is me selling it in the future or my eventual heirs doing it after I’ve become nothing but the dust on someone’s coffee table.

Ninety nine times out of a hundred (yes, this a generalized stat, so keep your pants on, contrarians, and don't start doing a deep dive into the numbers to try to disprove it - just finding enough supporting data showing the same card being sold before and after grading will be an extremely tough hill to climb, but I digress), a graded card will sell for more than its ungraded counterpart, so it just makes moving cards on to the next owners (for me or said heirs) that much easier.

Yes, Elm, but think of what a fine learned piece you would be.

[Exhibitman]

short answer:

[Touch'EmAll]

One of the biggest things about slabs isn't necessarily the money. Foremost, buying slabbed cards gives more security that you are buying what you paid for - an authentic, unaltered and somewhat accurately graded card.

Absolutely yes, there are tampered with cards in slabs - I do not deny. But I honestly feel the chances of getting what you pay for is better with slabbed cards vs. raw (thru the mail sight unseen).

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Yes, Elm, but think of what a fine learned piece you would be.

seinfeldkramercoffeetablebook.jpg

"You see, the beauty of my book is, if you don't have a coffee table, it turns into a coffee table."

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I’m just always confused why people that spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on essentially pictures of dudes are so aghast that other people spend a couple dozen more dollars to put the picture of the dude in a plastic case.

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

...but if the question is why someone wouldn’t rely on the opinion of a stranger who's trying to sell them the card in lieu of the opinion of a stranger who's not trying to sell them the card, well, that's a bit silly.

Originally Posted by Touch'EmAll

But I honestly feel the chances of getting what you pay for is better with slabbed cards vs. raw (thru the mail sight unseen).

All very good points indeed. And arm's length card grading by a third party would certainly have its merits. The problem though is the speed at which it's degenerated into abject folly, e.g. the $33,600 that a slabbed Topps 1975 Dave Roberts card just fetched when nigh identical Dave Roberts cards are available anywhere else for $3.36. (Try explaining that to the man-on-the street.)

Sorry, but some of us reserve the right to sneer rather than cheer.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

All very good points indeed. And arm's length card grading by a third party would certainly have its merits. The problem though is the speed at which it's degenerated into abject folly, e.g. the $33,600 that a slabbed Topps 1975 Dave Roberts card just fetched when nigh identical Dave Roberts cards are available anywhere else for $3.36. Try explaining that to the man-on-the street.)

Sorry, but some of us reserve the right to sneer rather than cheer.

Even those of us that are into graded cards are mostly (entirely?) shocked and appalled by the craziness of the price on that card. Even as a hard core set registry goon, I wouldn't come anywhere close to paying that kind of a premium. Give me a solid PSA 9 for under 1% of that price and that's good enough for me.

[Balticfox]

What's really silly about PSA 10 graded cards versus PSA 9 graded cards is that if you showed a bunch of serious collectors ten cards broken from their slabs of which two had been graded 10 and eight had been graded 9, only 1 in 45 of those collectors would be able to pick out the two that had been graded 10. Then the other 44 would all argue about why PSA was wrong and how they were right.

Yet certain collectors/speculators are willing to pay mind boggling multiples more for the 10 graded card. They are of course buying the label not the card.

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

Yet certain collectors/speculators are willing to pay mind boggling multiples more for the 10 graded card. They are of course buying the label not the card.

Unless the price difference is insignificant or it's the only one I can get my hands on, every 10 I've ever had gets sold to those willing to pay for that slab number.

I'll keep the 8's and 9's when it comes to higher-end grades for my personal collection. I'll let those that chase the 10's pay me for that number.

Many times that pays for almost all (or all) of the cost of grading the other cards in the order.