I honestly believe people always overestimate the number/percentage of cards graded. It doesn't apply so much to the pre-war side, but take me and the friends I grew up with in the 70's-80's, for example. Until right now, through Bobby's group submission, I have never had a single one of my cards graded even though I have many, many thousands of them. And not a single friend of mine has ever had anything graded either. Most still have their cards in shoeboxes and what not in the attic, basically forgotten about. So the percentage of cards graded for us is less than 1%.
My feeling is that there are untold numbers of pre-war cards still hidden away in people's homes. I believe 'regular' people, for the most part, wouldn't automatically look for a grading company when they find grandpa's stuff. Of course, with the internet being what it is these days, making information so readily available, I would definitely conclude that more and more of these same people are realizing that they need to have their cards graded. So the number of cards being graded is surely on a huge upward climb.
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