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Originally Posted by jchcollins
Bob, all good points. And I would agree that modern is definitely driving the TPG's right now. As I've alluded, just for me personally at some point last year I had to make the call that slabs were not a must have for my ongoing collection, just due to all the issues I perceived. Some were some of the things we've been talking about here. Some were more just "me" things, i.e. SGC using faulty inserts with jagged plastic edges. At the end of the day I determined this was not actually hurting cards but it bugged the crap out of me. I digress... But given the amount of cards I had busted for problems either with the slabs or other things to do with the grading, I decided at least for cards that I can buy in person, I trust myself and some of the folks I do business with enough to make an evaluation myself and buy a raw card. Even expensive ones, for me say a Mantle or other nice 50's and 60's stars. When buying cards I cannot inspect in my hands first, like on eBay or even once here on the BST - I will admit a preference for a nice looking slab to make sure of what I'm getting ballpark-wise for condition. As much as my earlier posts may have sounded otherwise, PSA and SGC still do get a majority of pure technical grading correct still. Maybe not 90%, maybe not 80% - but 65%-ish on vintage? Eh, ok I can buy that. It's not perfect but if I can see a good scan and agree yes, that PSA 5 looks like a 5 - then I'm usually good. I rarely have problems with cards like that once in hand.
Good conversation. I do of course hope at the end of the day that the TPG's can evolve and change, and maybe that even some of the new entrants since the bubble here over the last 3 years can make some waves eventually and perhaps become sleeper favorites. That's kind of how SGC evolved in the early 2000's...
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John,
I'm like you and not necessarily crazy about graded cards. I've only submitted cards up for grading once in all my years. And that was for some raw, and seriously trimmed/damaged, Number 7 and Diamond S Cigar cards that I had acquired raw. Wanted to make sure they were authentic, and also protect them from further wear/damage. Got them all graded as Authentic by SGC, and was very happy for that. The SGC holders really make them look a lot better than if just raw as well.
Otherwise, I don't look to buy graded cards. But when it comes to pre-war cards, many times you can't really find them for sale unless they are already graded. As long as I can find them for a price that is agreeable to me, I'll grab a graded card when it becomes available. Unlike you though, if I buy something graded, I just leave it that way. I figure that whatever I paid for a graded card also includes the cost of grading it built into the purchase price. So to me, breaking the card out of the holder is like flushing money down the toilet. Like a lot of people say, even though I don't really have a preference for graded cards, if I ever did have to sell some, or when I leave them to my family when I pass, it is usually much easier (and usually more profitable) to sell them if you have them graded. So why buy a graded card and break it out of the holder, only to have to someday down the road end up paying someone else to grade it again for your or your heirs.
I usually end up putting my cards in folders, so for display purposes I found it easier to simply make front and back color copies of my graded cards that I then cut out and insert into my binder pages with the regular cards in their sets. I can then just store the graded cards in separate boxes made for storing graded cards. It is fun and enjoyable to occasionally go through the binders, or just open up a random box of graded cards and flip through them to remind myself of what I have.
Like you, I don't need a TPG to tell me if a card looks nice or not. I'm mostly just interested in making sure an item is authentic, and I can take it from there. And yes, great conversation and discussion.