How to collect ungraded cards... safely
 

Am looking for advice on how a collector can stretch their collecting budgets by buying ungraded cards from reputable dealers... and save $$ to put into graded cards for only higher cost cards (simply to ensure authenticity)

I collect HOF baseball (trying to get one nice card for every HOFer)

Appreciate any advice on this collecting strategy.

We need more info. What exactly are you looking to do? Are you asking how to keep your costs down when buying from reputable dealers? One strategy to follow could be - when you see a card you're thinking of buying - is to check the PSA 'Auction Prices Realized' site. If you think the card meets the criteria for a PSA 6, for instance, take a look at what those specific cards sell for as PSA 6's. Then look at the realized prices of PSA 5's and so on (because no one ever correctly guesses the grade a card ends up getting). With that info in hand, you can approach the seller with real data for a negotiation. From there you can show the seller what already graded cards go for, and since the one he's selling isn't graded, that should drop the price significantly and so forth. Plus, always bring up that it doesn't matter how great a card looks, it's definitely going to come back 2 grades lower than you guessed.

It's 4am, so this was just a stream of consciousness thing happening. Hopefully, it'll provide you with some sound advice.

I would just stick with reputable dealers on eBay who have a track record of selling accurately graded raw cards at reasonable prices. Spend some time looking at their feedback, and you should be able to tell. You could even find someone with 100% positive feedback that has an open ended return policy. In terms of specifics, I'm sure many on N54 could provide recommendations, and you could even find people in the BST forums here that come highly recommended. The goal with midgrade raw cards I would think would be to find them for cheaper raw than in PSA slabs. But depending on what grade you are looking for with vintage, you may want to look at graded; you might be surprised. Many PSA 4-6 range cards even of HOF'ers sometimes don't sell for markedly more than a raw copy of the same card in the same condition range.

John speaks the truth. I would add that it would be wise for you to purchase a loupe and blacklight. Both are very inexpensive and can help you get a closer look at your cards. Start with commons and really give them a good look. It can help you see how they are supposed to look and, therefore, you will know when something isn't right.

Not bad at all for 4:00 am! I guess I’m not the only insomniac collector out there.

Your advice is great - what I’m considering is whether I can acquire my cards more economically in raw form vs slabbed/graded. But I hear your point.... nicely centered, mid graded cards may actually NOT be much more expensive than raw cards

Thx for the help... now go get some sleep, man!

Definitely check the B/S/T section here often. Some of the guys really offer nice stuff at pretty decent prices.

I predominantly collect raw cards. I don't have the budget, space or back strength for massive piles of slabs.

Ask here about specific dealers you are considering.

Most reputable dealers won't horse you around on a raw card. There are enough highly professional, ethical people who want your return business so that you need not deal with douchebags. I've been buying raw cards from some sellers for years without any hesitation, like Brian Marcy at Scottsdale Baseball Cards or Rob over at Burbank Sports Cards (my LCS).

If eBay, use your common sense. Like, if the seller provides a blurry or badly lit scan of a card, just assume that the seller is unprofessional in other aspects as well and avoid that listing. For a card there is no excuse not to provide a clear scan of the card and for raw cards, both sides (unless dirt cheap in which case you can't expect a seller to waste the time on a back scan...).

Post a want list on the BST with details. Odds are someone has something you need.

Excellent thread, guys.

"...like Brian Marcy at Scottsdale Baseball Cards or Rob over at Burbank Sports Cards..."

I'll check them out.

All great advice. I can only add that if you do like graded cards you may just want to stay that course. I started out raw, saving graded for "special" cards. In the end I opted to covert my HOFs and specials to all graded. Selling my raws was a mixed bag. Prices could be all over the place, esp. for mid grade. I figuire that if something happens to me or if I need to sell, having graded cards is piece of mind. It is liquid and eliminates all the guesswork in finding realized prices and opinions on grade.

I'm an old fart who was diagnosed a year ago with a significant health condition. So, I've been selling on eBay cards & memorabilia that don't fit my current, major collecting focuses. Many/most of the cards I'm selling are raw, as I'm not into getting cards graded. I do provide a return privilege for my raw cards, and I usually guarantee they will receive numerical grades from PSA/SGC/BVG. And sometimes, I guarantee the numerical grade will not be less than a specific grade (which is usually one grade lower than what I think it will grade). My eBay ID is "ekehl." Both my wife and I sell using this ID - this explains why you see non-sports stuff also being sold under this ID. BTW, if anyone is interested in any of my eBay cards with BIN prices, I will sell them for 13% less (eBay & PayPal fees) outside of eBay - please contact me via email at ekehl333@aol.com.

You must be an old fart with that aol email address. I will take a look. Good luck to you.

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advice from a new buyer.
 

I just started collecting myself. I have bought 100s of raw cards on Ebay in a short span. Many of them are HoFs as you are looking for (Mantle, Banks, Aaron, etc). I subscribe to VintageCardPricing (VCP), which allows me to see the latest auction prices for PSA, SGC, and BVG graded cards. it also allows you to see scans of the cards sold at these grades - helpful to compare the card you are bidding on..... When I bid on an item, I first compare the advertised raw grade versus the recent sales price for the corresponding PSA/SGC grade. Logic would suggest that the raw card should sell at a discount, but I have found this to not be the case. The Ebay market draws a lot of bids (some of them likely ghosts) and the sale prices usually end up right in line with the most recent PSA-graded card sales. This leaves a big risk that the advertised raw grade is overstated. It is possible to find a great deal at an EBAY auction, and I have done this a few times, but I will admit that I am likely overpaying most of the time. With basically no card shows or other ways to buy in-person, I am fine with this for now, but I expect to buy more in-person when the world opens back up.

my advice:
1) buy from a reputable seller (100% positive, etc.)
2) get comfortable with the grading scale. This takes time and experience, but very quickly you will be able to see when a card is way off-grade. It took me a few buys and some research to get there, but now, if i see a seller claim a card is NM to NM/MT, I can dismiss him/her very quickly if the card is clearly closer to EX/MT. Find sellers that have reasonably trustworthy raw grades (will never be perfect, but at least you can tell who attempts to grade honestly). A lot of people throw around the word "Mint" casually, and you will want to disregard those sellers quickly.
3) Research Net54. Read about the controversy around some of the well-known sellers. I won't name them, but some of the big auctioneers have proven to be dishonest I and won't buy there. The people on this board are absolute experts and are very helpful. The information here is invaluable.
4) take your time. There are so many auctions, don't feel pressured to buy a card at a certain time. If you miss it, you will see it again. I have been looking for a nice Stadium Club Murphy Jeter for a while now. I let one go at a price that was a bit too rich for me. I was disappointed, but now i see they are auctioned weekly, and I will just keep looking.
5) Buy a few cards from a few sellers and get comfortable with the process, communication, etc. Find sellers that you like to deal with. I can tell from how my questions are answered whether someone is worthy of my business.
6) You can find great deals on Net54. there are fewer auctions but I find the pricing to be very reasonable, and the experiences pleasant.


If you want to message me, I will share more specifics about my experience.

This.

I have an AOL address as well. Same email address I've had since the 20th century.

Among others who have not yet left AOL is Tom Verducci the SI Sportswriter.

Rich