Another SGC question.

[t206hound]

As an FYI, the current SGC monthly special is $17 for cards valued up to $1000 with three day turn around. The standard cost is $25.

Originally Posted by ctownboy

I could say the card is only worth $200 dollars, for example, but if it gets lost in the mail or stolen, I highly doubt I could replace it for $200 dollars. I could say it is worth $1,000 dollars but if I did that, would it affect how much SGC charges me for grading it? Then there is the cost for mailing and insuring the card.

[ctownboy]

Pup,

My original reply was VERY long so I am going to try and shorten my response.

Reasons for my thinking about getting this card graded now.

1) It seems that entombing cards in graded holders is more protective than penny sleeves and top loaders (especially for REALLY thin cards like these Star Player Candy cards).

2) Not counting felts, silks and pinbacks, I only own about 200 pre-war cards and only one of those is graded. That is a Tattoo Orbit common I bought about 15 years ago and it was already graded when I bought it. So, I would kind of like to see what the whole grading process is like and if I want to go through that with some of my other cards.

3) I think, for insurance purposes, it would be easier to deal with my insurance company (if something were to ever happen to the cards) and I would have more leverage if I had the cards graded and listed somewhere other than my memory and a note book.

4) Though I am still fairly young and in good health, I am always worried something might happen to me. Since I am not married, have no children and only two people really know about my cards and what bank they are in. I am worried that if something were to happen to me, my Mother and Nephew would have NO CLUE what types of cards I have (Old Judge, York Caramel, Diamond Star, etc), who the star players are, which cards are the most valuable, approximately how much they were worth and how to go about selling them.

So, I thought, if I got some of my better cards graded then, at least, if something happened to me they would have a better idea of what I owned and how to go about finding out what they were worth. Having graded cards would also be easier for them to sell on eBay (if they wanted to go through that hassle) or to be able to talk to an auction house about.

As far as getting the Myer card graded in particular, the card is from a rare set, it is on REALLY thin paper, he is (I think) Jewish (which matters to some collectors) and I just think it is cool that before I showed this card on this board a few years ago, it was unknown to the hobby and not catalogued.

So, to me, I think that might be a good card to send off for my first grading experience.

Then again, maybe I should just send off a Pepper Martin Diamond Star card and thus lower my stress level about the card getting lost or damaged....

T206hound,

Thanks for the info. I thought I would ask the board and get some input from you guys before I called SGC and asked them about this situation.

Thanks,

David

[glchen]

The grading fee is almost trivial to the delivery fee. So, it usually makes more sense to get as much stuff graded as possible. For example, assuming you live in Eastern timezone, and graded this card under SGC's current monthly special of $17 for cards under $1000 and gave this card a declared value of $950, then the delivery fee would be $26 (standard Fedex fee) + $2.50 (insurance for every $500 above the first $500) + $2.10 for Residential delivery + $3.25 for Adult signature confirmation = $33.85 just for SGC to deliver the card to you. Add on the $17 grading fee and the total fee is $50.85 just for one card.

Now, if you sent 2 cards to them each with a declared value of $950, the delivery fee would be only $5 more for the extra insurance. So for two cards, it would be $33.85 + 5 + 17x2 (grading) = 72.85 or $36.43 per card. Therefore, it usually makes sense to send more cards for grading at one time if that's what your plan is. This is just an example for SGC, but PSA has similar delivery fees, where the situation is the same.

[ctownboy]

glchen,

That is the EXACT type of information I was looking for. I knew I could get basic info from SGC's website about the grading service and fees but I wanted to know the extra cost for postage and handling and anything else I should be made aware of.

Like I said before, not counting B18 blankets, S74 silks, pinbacks and a few oddball items, I don't have a lot of pre-war cards but I do have some big name players. So, overall, I have at least 40 items I would like to eventually get graded. Because of who the player is, the set the card is from and by guessing the grade, I see that my approximate cost would be between $1,000 to $2,000 dollars for postage, insurance and grading fees if I sent each card in individually for grading.

Your info gives me a better idea of how I should go about grouping items when I want to get them graded and thus lowering my overall cost per card.

I think I will call SGC this week and talk to them about my cards and see what they say.

Thanks for the help everyone,

David

[peterb69]

YIKES!!!!!

Sorry to take over this thread, but I was thinking the same thoughts. I have an almost a complete T205 set (minus a couple backs & variations) that I started 25 years ago long before slabbed cards. None of my cards are graded, and mostly in lower conditions. But I also store them in a penny sleeve, then into a top loader. The whole thing then into 2 shoe boxes.

Now I'm not looking to sell anything anytime soon, but for the first time I was thinking of getting my set slabbed & graded just because of the extra protection, and incase anything happens to me, it will benifit my wife for resale.

But, $17 x 208 cards will be $3536. I think I suddenly lost that desire.

Would anyone in the same boat as me (and I guess the thread starter) think grading the lower condition set a wise investment?

Thanks

PS. Even if all were under $250 value. $7 for 30 day turnaround for entire set would be $1456. Still worth it? You opinions please.
Thanks again

[Leon]

Originally Posted by peterb69

YIKES!!!!!

Sorry to take over this thread, but I was thinking the same thoughts. I have an almost a complete T205 set (minus a couple backs & variations) that I started 25 years ago long before slabbed cards. None of my cards are graded, and mostly in lower conditions. But I also store them in a penny sleeve, then into a top loader. The whole thing then into 2 shoe boxes.

Now I'm not looking to sell anything anytime soon, but for the first time I was thinking of getting my set slabbed & graded just because of the extra protection, and incase anything happens to me, it will benifit my wife for resale.

But, $17 x 208 cards will be $3536. I think I suddenly lost that desire.

Would anyone in the same boat as me (and I guess the thread starter) think grading the lower condition set a wise investment?

Thanks

PS. Even if all were under $250 value. $7 for 30 day turnaround for entire set would be $1456. Still worth it? You opinions please.
Thanks again

For me, I usually only get my higher valued cards graded. That protects them from me, when fondling them and enjoying them, and gives me peace of mind that another, very skilled 3rd party didn't see any alterations, unless of course there is an AUT grade. I like having some of my cards raw so I can feel them (and sometimes sneak a scent)....regards

[peterb69]

Originally Posted by Leon

I like having some of my cards raw so I can feel them (and sometimes sneak a scent)....

Hee Hee, Leon, I know what you mean. Sort of like an old used book store.

Peter

[T206Collector]

You need to call SGC and work out a bulk grading special. When I had 200 low grade T206 cards I wanted graded, they did them for me at $5 each. It took 30+ days, but worked out well. I recognize that this was a $1,000 investment, but it was important to me for resale at the time and I made it back in spades!

Good luck!

Originally Posted by peterb69

YIKES!!!!!

Sorry to take over this thread, but I was thinking the same thoughts. I have an almost a complete T205 set (minus a couple backs & variations) that I started 25 years ago long before slabbed cards. None of my cards are graded, and mostly in lower conditions. But I also store them in a penny sleeve, then into a top loader. The whole thing then into 2 shoe boxes.

Now I'm not looking to sell anything anytime soon, but for the first time I was thinking of getting my set slabbed & graded just because of the extra protection, and incase anything happens to me, it will benifit my wife for resale.

But, $17 x 208 cards will be $3536. I think I suddenly lost that desire.

Would anyone in the same boat as me (and I guess the thread starter) think grading the lower condition set a wise investment?

Thanks

PS. Even if all were under $250 value. $7 for 30 day turnaround for entire set would be $1456. Still worth it? You opinions please.
Thanks again

[ctownboy]

Leon and T206,

That is what I was thinking and what my concern is. IF something were to happen to me, my Mother and Nephew wouldn't know what my cards were and especially wouldn't know how to grade them. So getting some of them graded would give me some piece of mind as far as not damaging them while holding them and looking at them. I would also feel better because if they ever had to sell my cards they could just list them on eBay as graded cards or call an auction house and have a list ready and say "here is what we have to sell".

By getting my cards graded, I wouldn't be so worried about my Mother and Nephew leaving money on the table because of potential buyers concerns about ungraded cards.

Of course, the trick now is to 1) find the money to get the cards graded, 2) organize the cards so as to minimize postage and insurance costs and 3) MOST importantly, finding the courage to get the cards out of the safe deposit box, package them and send them to SGC. (Horror stories I have read on this board about lost or stolen cards).

David

[glchen]

I wouldn't get any low grade commons graded. When you add up the grading costs, it can be more than the actual card is worth. Assuming you (or your dependents) are looking to re-sell in the future, I would strongly consider grading any card over $100 in value. $50-$100 you would have to think about it, and under $50 is probably not necessary. If you are looking to slab the card just for protection, you can possibly still grade the lower value ones. However, at that point, it may be possible to just buy the same low grade card from ebay already slabbed at around the same cost that it would be to grade the card yourself.