Posted By:
MarkI would pay more for the ungraded and/or postally-used postcard. I realize I'm in the vast minority here, but the postally used card is far more interesting and visually appealing to me. I completely agree with Greg's comment above, and if I came across one I liked (which happened to be graded), the first thing I would do would be to crack it out of its slab. I have yet to find a Bar Code that goes well with the item being housed inside... would much prefer a tasteful framing job and/or creative display, any day of the week.
The 3rd party graders wield way too much power, and (from my observations) are wrong more often than not. I have seen countless examples of blurry/unfocussed images being graded higher than cards with perfect registration and far greater appeal... just because the ugly card's corners were a tiny bit sharper.
Who cares about someone else's opinion anyway? The stock that collectors are putting in PSA/SGC (with the grossly inflated prices they pay) is beyond me. I guess most people just need to be told when something is good, because they can't determine it themselves.