Do High Grades Really Matter?
 

Hi-I'm new to this forum and i'm sure this question has been asked several times but do high grades really matter when it's a card you really want? I find myself always concentrating on high grades even when i like the card in a lower grade. I'm not rich and we get by on a cop's salary but i feel like i can't put a 1 or 2 in my collection because it brings it down. I know that sounds crazy but i was wondering what others out there thought. I don't have a ton of cards and i don't have a million dollar collection. I sart at 4's and go as high as i can (afford). What does everyone else do?

I think that there are really a couple of questions there. Sure I would much rather have a nice, clean mid-grade copy of a card I want as opposed to a beater when that is possible and will ususally wait for or eventually trade up to get it. What I can't comprehend is the thousands of dollars in difference that people pay on the high end between grades when you basically need lab equipment to spot the differences.

Sometimes the prey is so seldom seen that you take what you can get.

My new mantra which I adopted around the middle of last year is never buy a card twice. I recently bought a 1.5 Waddell which I will be happy with for a long time. I bought a Cobb bat off last year that I shouldn't have. It only cost about $300 (less because it was in trade) but I will upgrading it soon. A $500 will probably do, but I really wasted time and effort on the card. And yeah, i'll probably get someone else who will take if for $300...but it taught me my lesson.

For me I prefer the 3-5.5 range cards, never owned anything higher and don't plan on it. Beater commons are not my thing, if its a rareback or a neat print anomaly then I'll take anything within reason, the cheaper the better.

This to me is, well just silly....no offences to whomever purchased as its a blazer.

PSA 9

I have a pretty wide range of grades. Most of my cards are raw, but I've had a few graded. It's cool to have a card that's the best or nearly the best(So far) of its kind, but I also like cards that wear their history openly. And the ones with the most "charachter" don't need to be slabbed (Another issue, unless it's really uncommon, I can't see grading anything that is obviously less than vg-ex)

And budget has a lot to do with it. There are cards that I'll probably never own because of what they are, and ones I'll probably never own because of the money involved - That PSA9 linked to is wonderful, but realistically I can get a very nice looking example for far less.

I don't mind buying a card twice, mostly since I buy the cards and keep them for usually a long time. So I do a bit better than if I upgraded right away.

Lately I've been looking at cards that are good looking for the grade, or look great but have obvious problems like back damage.

Steve B

Welcome to the board Copper.

What would you rather have?.. A 1/1 or rare beater or a regularly encountered mid-grade example?

High grade really doesn't matter to me. Being a collector on a budget, a 3 or 4 is fine with me for pre-war cards. That way it keeps it affordable and the cards still have decent eye appeal.

You can save yourself tons of money by going low grade, plus your collection can be more vast, and you can buy faster if you go low grade. I have bought over 150 cards within 1 years thanks to stiking with low grade

I actually think you've already answered your question. You said:

"Do high grades really matter when it's a card you really want? I find myself always concentrating on high grades even when I like the card in a lower grade".

For me eye appeal trumps all and always will. The numerical grade given by some stranger has no value to me when I like the card for what it is and how it displays.
To many in my opinion place more emphasis on the flip, (grade given) rather than the card itself. Really silly when you stop and think about it!!

I think it is a personal preference. There are a wide range of us who collect cards, some are very fortunate to be able to collect a lot of high grade cards while others have a more limited budget.

The one thing I try is to collect cards I like that fall within both my budget and my standards.

Everything in my collection is either graded Auth. or a 1. As long as it's not just half the card, it still looks good. Beat up cards show that maybe some kid had it in their collection. Buying a card in a 1 instead of a 4 or 5 could save you hundreds of dollars for another card that you've always wanted. Buy the card not the holder.

I collect only low grade cards (mostly poor and fair examples.) Granted I'm on a budget, but I prefer cards that have their own history beyond the set/team/player depicted. The wear and tear is a badge of honor, of sorts. :)

Much like vintagerookies51 said above, focus on the card, not the grade.

Just the facts......little advice
 

My tobacco cards are 85% graded, average grade 3.5, highest grade 7.5,
lowest grade 1. My HOFers are an odd group with most being higher than or equal to 5 or lower than or equal to 2. Eye appeal of many lower grade cards is a plus for me.

Advice - do what you want, but keep a little money for groceries and gas.
You'll make some mistakes as well. Mr. Merkle i purchased raw for less than Mr. Powers. SGC gave the Merkle a 60. The Powers card looks nice, but someone thought he needed a C in front of his chest protector to remember his position, which I actually didn't see when I bought him. I focused more on the paper loss on the back. Needless to say Mr. Powers will not make the trip to New Jersey. So it goes......

Enjoy the hobby.

Welcome! I think the answer breaks down to WHY are you buying the card? If it's to simply own a card of a favorite player or put together a team set then I don't think grade is important. Heck I'd just buy the card raw as long as it looks good to you. A graded card is going to have an increased price that, to me, isn't necessary because I buy just to look at the card and the card will look good regardless if it's slabbed or not. Ron Santo rookie cards are a fantastic example of this.

If you are buying as an investment I'd save the money and go after the higher grades if your intent is to sell down the road.

My story, last year I was determined to get an Ernie Banks rookie and price was no object. I could have bought a slabbed 9 for a grand or an unslabbed card that would probably get a 7 for 200.00. The 9 grade didn't mean a thing to me, but owning the card did so I saved myself some bucks.

That's an awesome statement right there!!! And one that I really need to listen to because it can't be any more true than that. I noticed the one thing I always keep thinking in the back of my mind is "is it a good investment"? I need to quit thinking about returns and enjoy the hobby i love!!!

" I need to quit thinking about returns and enjoy the hobby i love!!! "

That's the attitude:D Remember why you started collecting in the first place

That doggone Ken Burns Baseball set gets me going and I lose control and want to buy everything!!!:D

Collect the card, not the grade. If the card has good eye appeal, who cares what the grade is. However, there is a correlation with grade and appearance. Obviously a SGC 10 or 20 is graded that way for a reason. Just a thought.

collecting
 

The quick answer is simply no. But to put more thought into it, it really is a preference thing. I used collect modern cards and since I like graded specimen, I always went for the highest graded cards...not to mention that you can do that with modern compared to vintage and pre-war. But this past year I started to collect T206's and my opinion and preference was forced to change. If I wanted to collect pre-war, I had to settle for lower to mid-grade examples...otherwise there would be no way I could collect them.

Since a year ago, I have learned a lot from this website and after curving my preference, I like cards with eye appeal and no paper loss (although minor back loss is no big deal).

I understand being more strict grade-wise on modern cards, but you will most likely have to loosen up with some vintage and pre-war...believe me, you will learn to love them even if they are in a lower grade.

Good luck with your quest!

I don't mind low grade material. If it's an OJ then I don't mind the low grade as long as the image is nice. I don't mind back damage on an OJ because it's blank back card.

I've seen cards graded a "2" that are much nicer than the same card graded a "4" or even higher. Maybe there's a small wrinkle on the back. I'd rather buy the card and not the holder/label.

Something else to consider is that sometime you just don't have a choice in the matter of picking up something that doesn't come to market too often. For example, Zeenuts of Claxton and Arbuckle. It's not like you can wait around for the next card (in better condition) to show up and become available. Sometimes you have to take what you can get if you really really want a certain card that is difficult to obtain.

Yes, I'd prefer to have nothing but Ex-Mt stuff but in reality that stuff just doesn't come up too often and when it does you're paying a premium for it. I'm a bottom feeder so low grade cards with nice eye appeal are fine with me.

I'm on an extremely tight budget, so nothing higher than PSA 1 for me. I like raw cards that are around "Near Poor" !!!
The only way I can afford a high grade card is to cut out the card from the auction catalog & glue it to a piece of thin cardboard. :D

I buy what I like, for what I can afford, then use a kitchen knife (don't tell my wife) and sometimes a pair of pliers, to remove it from the plastic tomb (assuming I didn't buy it already raw).

Doug

Alan -

Do you then send it in to PRO for grading and slabbing?

Regards

Most of my collection is Fair/Good some poor some vg.

I buy what I can afford. Sometimes I find myself passing up an ex card even if it is a good price just because it is "too good" for my collection.

it all depends
 

For me it all depends on the eye appeal. I am not too worried about whatever the grade might be as long as I am getting what I think I am buying. If an AUT card is the only one I can find, or it is raw and trimmed, it's ok as long as I am paying that kind of money for it. Since I focus on a lot of rare and/or obscure cards, most times, I take what I can when I see something I want or need. I am not immune to high grade and if I get one in a group I might very well keep it. Really, it also comes down to each person's budget. I would rather have several nice looking vg+ cards than 1 mint card. The main thing is to collect what makes you happy...best regards

http://luckeycards.com/pfuncvoskamps.jpg
http://luckeycards.com/pfunctangochase.jpg

+1

I might be one of the least condition sensitive people here. Just doing this for fun, and on a budget. The more I can get for less, the better. Beaters and major flaws are almost a must for me as long as I'm still ok with it's appearance (except modern stuff, then condition matters). I generally follow one rule though.. I have to legitimately believe that if push came to shove, that I could sell it for more than I payed..

I got back into the hobby about four years ago and pretty much collect vintage cards from the 1930's and 40's. I dabble in the T cards and E cards every once in a while though. The things I look for are the card and then the card vs the grade, and if the card is a good deal. I pretty much stick to a PSA or SGC range of 3 through 5, but have lower grades and some higher graded cards as well. One thing I look for are vintage cards with qualifiers. --specifically a miscut card--- centering doesn't bother me as much with Pre World War II cards and it is a cheaper way to pick up a vintage card in otherwise great shape. imho

It depends on how big...or little your penis is.

I think this statement covers everything that you purchase in life.

"Buy the best example that you can afford"