First Card Show in 15 Years-Observations and Questions

[the Rock]

O.K...I went to the show in N.E. Ohio (Strongsville) last week after a long hiatus from card collecting. I spent most of my time just looking around at the different offerings available. It was interesting to me that a great deal of what was available was not professionally graded. My expectation was to see a lot of graded material and little else. Card grading was just coming into vogue when I gave up collecting and I really didn't like the idea. Seems to make collecting sort of sterile in the way that I have always perceived stamp and coin collecting. I can see some advantages to the grading also, such as being sure of authenticity and lack of alterations. I can see that grading is widely accepted and here to stay. I need to learn to function in and understand this area.
I spent some time at the Beckett Grading Services table and got a good overview of how it works, the costs and risks involved, and what type of items it may be worth to have graded. One of the offerings at the show was to have three cards graded for $10 but not slabbed. These are delivered in card holders that are sealed(?) by a sticker across the top with the grading information. Is it conceivable to sell/auction cards graded in this manner v/s slabbed cards? Is it possible to auction raw cards on Ebay and not be taken advantage of as the seller? Or as far as Ebay, are slabbed cards the only real way to go?
I'm still not sure where my collection is going to go at this point. I got out all the old stuff that I haven't seen in 15 years and have many items I would not want to part with. I can also see some nice items that I should probably sell off as the collection is large and seems to go in a million different directions. I know I am rambling here but I am trying to put together a good strategy for future collecting and also safely selling.
If any one can make any sense out of this ramble, any suggestions or bits of information are very welcome. The whole thing seems quite overwhelming at this juncture. Thanks!