Entombed in Plastic

[steve B]

And I thought I was the only one who is ambivalent about the whole slab/don't slab/crackout thing.

I have a few I've sent in, and a few I've bought. One I'm considering cracking out - SGC 10 for several obvious reasons. But them, I'm a bit lazy, so it'll probably stay slabbed till I need the space.

I do think the ones that are possibly very nice probably should be slabbed. I've done pretty well with the few I've sent in. The obviously VG ones really don't need much beyond a penny sleeve and toploader. (to me VGex is debatable, as are the really nice VGs like a few I've sent in) I'm fussier about postwar, I haven't sent any in yet, and the only ones I have graded came out of packs that way.

And I was around long enough when most dealers had stacks of cards just loose and rubberbanded, handling the cards raw is pretty cool, and is the best way to learn.

Slab, don't slab, bust 'em out --It's all ok with me.

Steve B

Originally Posted by glchen

Although I am a firm believer in slabbing, I understand the point of those who collect raw cards (although I don't completely understand why they just don't let people collect what they want to collect and are so ferocious in their views). Many people have been collecting cards for a long, long time. They know cards and the hobby extremely well, and they love the hobby. However, the sentiment is that many of the new collectors do not love the hobby. They look at it as an investment or just for flipping, similar to stock market day traders. This drives up the price of the hobby and makes it worse overall. Grading companies, especially PSA, exacerbate. These new collectors do not see the card for the card, but only for the grade on the flip, almost like a stock that they are trading in their portfolio. That is why there is real resentment here. The second part is knowledge of cards. Similar to old time professions such as farming, old timers say that you have to get your hands dirty to gain knowledge of trade. You have to stick your hands in the dirt and feel the earth. People complain that they need TPG's to determine authenticity of cards, but long time hobbyists believe that you simply need to dedicate yourself to the cards more, and then you will be able to determine authenticity (and other alterations) for yourself. If you handle many raw cards, you will be able to feel the card stock and understand what authentic pre-war cards should feel like. That way, you will be able to judge for yourself (even better than graders!) if a card is genuine or not. Slabbed cards on the other hand, make the hobby more sterile. New collectors no longer have a chance to learn about cards as in the past and lose the knowledge and appreciation that comes with it.