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Posted By: Gilbert Porter

Now you have asked a different question - whether the Krause guide prices are reflective of actual prices. I suspect that, in the instance you describe, ungraded cards are also selling for more than the guide prices. While the guide prices have gotten better over the years, many of the prices are flat out wrong - mostly too low.

In most instances I know of where a slabbed-grade substantially raised the price of a card, there was a shortage of legitimate cards that could be found in that grade. The sad fact is that most unslabbed cards are over-graded - whether due to deceit, ignorance or the lack of an electron microscope. And some cards are hard to get graded because of the difficulty in convincing grading companies that differences in cuts, etc. are due to manufacturing problems instead of trimming, etc. Check the population reports on the graded cards that surprise you and you will typically find the answer to your question.