Question: why not buy authentic over low grades?
 

Hi all. So if you don't care about registries, want to display your cards, and can't afford highly graded ones, why not just buy ones graded authentic? As I am researching what cards I want, I am finding that authentic cards can be substantially cheaper and better looking than ones graded 1-3 (obviously this isn't true for all cases) or somewhere thereabouts. Why can they be so much cheaper? Why not buy authentic in these situations? Does the fact that the card is trimmed really reduce the aesthetic and sentimentality for people? Am I missing something?

Happy holidays and thanks for your insights.

Well, here's my 2 cents. Some are in for the money, while others are in to collect. With that said, I agree with you 100%

I just dont like knowing the card is altered. Rounded corners and some wrinkles never really bothered me all that much either. Id agree that "A" cards can looks nicer but I dont have a single trimmed card in my entire collection that I intend on keeping. I currently own 2 and am wanting to replace them.

A lot of folks don't care for trimmed cards just because of the stigma associated. A lot of folks (maybe myself included) have trimmed cards we don't even know about. As long as you buy and pay for a trimmed card there is nothing wrong with collecting them. It's when you get a card that is supposed to be unaltered, and you pay an unaltered price, then it is found to be altered, that there is an issue. But Trimmed cards, not a big issue and becoming more acceptable. And yes, most times they can be had for a fraction of the price of an unaltered version. I prefer unaltered cards but would rather an altered one than none, usually.

http://host.jwcinc.net/712533/brent/...0/134_11_9.jpg

$120....looks like an '8'.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1932-U-S-Cara...h)2g~~60_3.JPG

$2,250.......uhhh.......all things being equal, I'd rather have the one that was $120, thank you very much!

'Nuff said.....

I have no problem with authentic cards assuming they are properly labeled. I agree with you that they are often much more attractive than the PSA 1s. And, my preference is to get the best looking card available for the budget.

If you're aware of the market values, I think there's nothing wrong with buying Authentic. There are some nice looking Auth cards and some butt ugly Poor.

Authentic cards have some unknown sketchiness to them. Some collectors avoid them like the plague, while others embrace them for your very reason.....a fraction of the cost. Most collectors i know have varying degrees of OCD and dont want the stigma attatched to their collections, but if having an altered card doesn't bother you, then by all means buy Auth.

and then...
 

Some cards that get the Auth designation may not actually be "altered", but are categorized that way as there's either a question about the actual state of the card, or there' not a separate way to categorize in the grader's system.

One such category that comes to mind is the "factory cut, but too small". A number of early cards have this, including a good number of T207's - the cuts look normal, just the card is undersized.

Posted in another thread, here's what I believe is such an example.

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps133d29ac.jpg

I'd pick this card up in a heartbeat, any day, and 5 times on Sunday.

Mike

I've also felt that part of it is when you entered the hobby as well. Having only bought pre-war cards for the last two and a half years, I never felt any stigma associated with buying knowingly trimmed cards, or even gave it much thought, other than a great way to buy sharp cards at a tremendous discount. I think if I became involved earlier or was more interested in high-grade cards than low-grade cards with an affinity for period writing, perhaps in my youth, I would feel differently about the practice of trimming as well.

From my perspective, I paid the same amount for both Mathewsons shown below and was very happy with both of them, though the back on the Dark Cap is mostly covered in scrapbook paper and the lower right hand corner on the white cap was trimmed to make five, sharp corners.

<a href="http://s1236.beta.photobucket.com/user/Idiottax/media/Mathewson.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff453/Idiottax/Mathewson.jpg" border="0" height="600" width="400" alt="Photobucket"/></a><a href="http://s1236.beta.photobucket.com/user/Idiottax/media/MathewsonDarkCap.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff453/Idiottax/MathewsonDarkCap.jpg" border="0" height="600" width="440" alt="Mathewson Dark Cap SGC 10"/></a>

I have number of other knowingly trimmed cards and never felt they detracted from the aesthetic of my cards or collection.

I'd rather have a hole in my card than a hole in my binder.

John

Well said.

Here Come Some Now...
 

...and they are smashing!

Awesome!!

John

One thing to remember is that a lot of collectors are on tight or normal budgets, and can't afford a PSA6 T206 Ty Cobb. People who drop $5,000 on a card at Legendary or Memory Lane auction are in the small minority in the hobby. At resale, you may find there's good demand for 'big name' cards that are nice looking but in low grade.

I once had some SUPER low grade Goudeys, including Ruth and Gehrig. Those raw 'poor minus' Gehrigs and Ruths sold like hot cakes. I deduced the bidders likely were people who always had always wanted a Goudey Ruth or Gehrig but couldn't afford them in Ex or ExMt.

Sometimes I do buy authentic over low grade cards especially when looking at high dollar cards

Like most people, I've bought some "authentic" cards because I can't afford the regular graded version and often times the card has much better eye appeal. I'm especially willing to get 19th century material that way as most of the items have been altered either by paper loss or trimming.

I've got a Diamond Stars Foxx that I bought prior to TPG as NMT, which turned out to have pressed and trimmed, something I would now be able to determine from examining the card myself, but not then. Had PSA slab it as "Authentic; trimmed," and it really has never bothered me (Foxx is a favorite) to the point that I would even think of selling/replacing it. As time goes by, it's become something of a memorial to the era immediately preceeding third party grading, which was not unlike the days of the wild, wild west--condition had become extremely important, and ethics far less so. From that perspective, TPG HAS done a lot of good!

Happy holidays to all,

Larry