I switched back to raw cards and my happiness increased 1000%

[OlderTheBetter]

I applaud your decision. Grading has so many deficient qualities. Especially PSA which seems to delight in propagating collector ignorance by not giving grader notes and not giving the date of the grading (important because they've gone through 15 different slabs and the newer grading standards are tougher -- just try getting anywhere near top dollar for a PSA graded card from 2005.)

I've cracked a lot of slabs over the years to liberate my cards. They look so much better in a sem-rigid without all the distracting grading info.

Some call me crazy for doing that, but I didn't buy the cards as an investment and future monetary returns are purely secondary.

As a collector for 55 years now I can tell you that collecting was so much more fun in the 1970s compared to today that it's not even close.

So collect how you prefer. Don't always be a lemming and go with the crowd. Listen to yourself and follow your heart. You're doing that and it's great.

[jingram058]

Finally a thread I can relate to. I have cracked every single graded card I have ever acquired. In my circle of collector friends, we all collect raw cards. I love having my cards in binders, in 9 pocket pages, where I can easily get to them... OJs , t206, t205, Goudey, Play Ball, Topps, Bowman, and many others...Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Foxx, Williams, Mantle, all of them. I don't stress out over them, and I don't care if any are fake. They all look, feel and smell real to me, and to everyone who has seen them. It is very much a fun hobby to me, not some business or investment. Obviously, there is a huge business or investment side to baseball cards. But it's just not my bag.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Finally a thread I can relate to. I have cracked every single graded card I have ever acquired. In my circle of collector friends, we all collect raw cards. I love having my cards in binders, in 9 pocket pages, where I can easily get to them... OJs , t206, t205, Goudey, Play Ball, Topps, Bowman, and many others...Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Foxx, Williams, Mantle, all of them. I don't stress out over them, and I don't care if any are fake. They all look, feel and smell real to me, and to everyone who has seen them. It is very much a fun hobby to me, not some business or investment. Obviously, there is a huge business or investment side to baseball cards. But it's just not my bag.

You don't care if they're fake, lol. What, are you getting your cards on Etsy now?

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

You don't care if they're fake, lol. What, are you getting your cards on Etsy now?

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

No, when I got the vast majority Etsy hadn't even been conceived, or the internet as we know it for that matter.

[Rickyy]

All my Topps Sets BB, FB and Basketball from 70 - 79 are raw and in albums too. I built it the old fashioned way piece by piece. The hunt for the cards were exciting and I enjoy viewing them in an album.

Ricky Y

[bk400]

Originally Posted by OlderTheBetter

I applaud your decision. Grading has so many deficient qualities. Especially PSA which seems to delight in propagating collector ignorance by not giving grader notes and not giving the date of the grading (important because they've gone through 15 different slabs and the newer grading standards are tougher -- just try getting anywhere near top dollar for a PSA graded card from 2005.)

I've cracked a lot of slabs over the years to liberate my cards. They look so much better in a sem-rigid without all the distracting grading info.

Some call me crazy for doing that, but I didn't buy the cards as an investment and future monetary returns are purely secondary.

As a collector for 55 years now I can tell you that collecting was so much more fun in the 1970s compared to today that it's not even close.

So collect how you prefer. Don't always be a lemming and go with the crowd. Listen to yourself and follow your heart. You're doing that and it's great.

I totally agree that cards look better without a slab. It's like walking around with your medical record hanging from a lanyard around your neck. But I'm resigned to buying slabbed cards as most of my buying is online. Since the vast majority of the cards on my radar tend to be graded, I've gotten cynical when I see a good looking raw one come up for sale. I figured there must be something wrong with it, else it would have been graded before sale.

I don't yet have the confidence to liberate the graded cards that I've purchased, but I wouldn't be surprised if that happens sooner rather than later.