Raw Cards

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by Jim VB

That's what my wife says. Without the "very impressive" part.

Did you stop at 86 topps, or are you still collecting new stuff?

[Jim VB]

I think '87 is actually just cropped out of the picture, but I pretty much stopped after that.

[docpatlv]

JimVB,

Since your albums are stored vertically, do you have any problems with the pages "buckling" a little bit? Mine did, so I started cutting cardboard up to place on the front/back inside each binder to make them more snug. I didn't want the cards to start curling up. What do you think about storing them horizontally?

Mike

[Jim VB]

I know horizontal storage is supposed to be better, but I just can't bring myself to do it. It looks like crap.

And, to answer your question, I haven't noticed a problem with "sag" but they're pretty tightly crammed together.

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by Jim VB

I know horizontal storage is supposed to be better, but I just can't bring myself to do it. It looks like crap.

And, to answer your question, I haven't noticed a problem with "sag" but they're pretty tightly crammed together.

What I do for my ungraded cards in binders is to leave the 9th pocket empty.
So If the binders do sag, no weight will be compressed on the 9th pocket which
will cause that card to get damaged.
Also having the 9th pocket empty, it allows the card pages to be flipped thru
and you can use that area to turn over each page.

[mintacular]

Yes, many collect raw and prefer to hold the cards in their hands and not some piece of plastic. Additionally, buying raw is oftentimes cheaper.

However, there are advantages to graded cards that are worth considering: authenticating cards by a professional to ensure they are not counterfeits or altered, receiving a grade that (could) increase the value for resale, protection of the card from aging, etc., and some people just like the view of a card enclosed in a solid/clean looking holder....

[danmckee]

"authenticating cards by a professional to ensure they are not counterfeits or altered"

I will just make pretend I didn't read this sentence as a pro to having cards graded.

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by danmckee

"authenticating cards by a professional to ensure they are not counterfeits or altered"

I will just make pretend I didn't read this sentence as a pro to having cards graded.

LOL!

Dan, look at it this way. You are an "amateur" if you engage in things that have no money involved. If money changes hands, you're a "professional".

Clearly, that makes you, me, and almost everyone else on this board, a "pro."

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by danmckee

"authenticating cards by a professional to ensure they are not counterfeits or altered"

I will just make pretend I didn't read this sentence as a pro to having cards graded.

please expound

[brickyardkennedy]

I collect strictly raw, as I prefer them in their "natural state". I'll buy graded and then crack them out as I'm a collector, not an investor, so the value lost matters not, to me.

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by tonyo

please expound

Dan can explain himself, but from my point of view, simply having a third party company say that a card is not counterfeit or unaltered is no guarantee. They all make mistakes from time to time.

To me the advantage of grading companies is that the card is more protected from future damage.

[FrankWakefield]

Tony, I collect the cards, ungraded.

Why? They cost less, I have more faith in my opinion about a card than I do with the opinions of the grading companies, they store with much less space... sometimes, nay most of the time I bust out a card if it is one I'm going to keep. I like to be able to hold the card. Seems to me that sometimes a few of the folks that collect graded cards focus only on the slip at the top of the slab, and not on the card at all.