To crack or not to crack...

[BradH]

I have never commented on this type of thread before, but I will offer a different opinion from John.

I will start by saying that I have about 300 graded cards that I have not cracked open, for various reasons.

But with that said, I crack out almost all of the graded cards that I buy. With some of the higher-grade Hall of Famers and other "valuable" cards, I tend to keep them in their holder. (For me this would basically be $500 and up. I'm not saying that all my graded cards have $500+ value, just that generally that's where I set the threshold.)

But most of my collection is non-graded and I like the consistency of it. Also, I have very little interest in future value of a graded card vs. a non-graded card and I have ZERO interest in the registry numbers. I save most of the flips just for reference and I even photograph some of the cards that I crack open (see below), but again, this is just more for personal reference in case I want to refer to it later.

I enjoy my collection for it's consistency and it takes up far less space when the cards are in binders or top loaders.

That's just my two cents and I know it's almost blasphemy to many on this board, but I enjoy the beauty and look of non-graded cards in my collection.