To crack or not to crack...

[T205 GB]

Honestly Brad all I could see there was you cutting your thumb off for a $20 card. It makes a nice clean cut but at what cost possibly?

[bbcard1]

I generally crack and keep the flips so long as it is low grade and I prefer to keep it raw. For SGC, torquing a screwdriver along the seam will pop them right out.

There are a few cards I keep in. The most compelling is when you get a card that is graded higher than it would be if submitted again.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

I generally crack and keep the flips so long as it is low grade and I prefer to keep it raw. For SGC, torquing a screwdriver along the seam will pop them right out.

There are a few cards I keep in. The most compelling is when you get a card that is graded higher than it would be if submitted again.

Same here. Crack and keep the flips...with the exception of a few I leave graded. For what I collect, I can usually buy raw or graded for about the same price, so I'm not losing any money by cracking. Higher dollar cards I leave graded.

Originally Posted by T205 GB

Honestly Brad all I could see there was you cutting your thumb off for a $20 card. It makes a nice clean cut but at what cost possibly?

That's what I was thinking too. It made me nervous just looking at it.

[commishbob]

I always crack a card I picked up for a set build no matter the grade or cost. I want it in it's proper place in the binder. I do have a couple dozen or so cards I've kept in their cases. Those are generally cards that I've spent a lot of time/money on, things that appear to be delicate that I want to protect or odd shaped items that would be hard to put in a binder page. I don't care about the grade or value, I just don't want to damage them in handling. A couple of examples from my Billy Pierce collection:

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[Cozumeleno]

My sets are all in binders and my philosophy is, I generally keep the more expensive cards graded while cracking everything else. Cobbs, Mattys, Cy Youngs, etc., all stay graded not only for potential resale later but for their protection as well.

My sets are mostly lower grade so the lone exception is if I buy a graded card that's like a 4 or higher. In that case, I'll often keep it graded until I find a lesser card and then try to sell or trade the graded card.

I've cracked a few hundred cards, mostly Authentic grades, 1s, or 2s. I fully understand that when it comes time to sell, I'm giving up some profit. But with lower grade cards, I think that's mostly negligible and I'd much rather enjoy the cards in my binders the way they are. To me, the tradeoff works.

[BradH]

Originally Posted by commishbob

I do have a couple dozen or so cards I've kept in their cases. Those are generally cards that I've spent a lot of time/money on, things that appear to be delicate that I want to protect or odd shaped items that would be hard to put in a binder page. I don't care about the grade or value, I just don't want to damage them in handling.

I agree with this completely -- I don't remove cards that are susceptible to further damage if they're already frail, or if I don't have a proper binder to put them in.

[Rookiemonster]

I thought this was going to be a Dwight gooden/ strawberry thread.

[Luke]

Guys, you can open an SGC case by just working a butter knife along the seam. Doesn't usually take longer than 20 seconds. Be safe!

[lowpopper]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

I thought this was going to be a Dwight gooden/ strawberry thread.

Got a good laugh from this one.

[joshuanip]

I say don’t crack. It helps me feel safer when I’m looking at my cards after a couple glasses of scotch or wine. Haha.

[Buythatcard]

Suppose you decide to sell these cards down the road. Do you also include the flip to show the buyer that it once was graded?
I would think that once the flip is removed, there is no proof that it belongs to the card. Therefore making the flip useless in future sales.

But, if you never have plans on parting with your cards, then it really doesn't matter.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by BradH

I agree with this completely -- I don't remove cards that are susceptible to further damage if they're already frail, or if I don't have a proper binder to put them in.

Back in the ‘80s my best friend and I had the largest collections in the neighborhood, something we were very proud of as pre-teens. We both kept them stored in shoeboxes in our bedroom closet. One day he and I were gonna make a few trades after school, so we ventured to his house after getting off the school bus. It had been several months since we’d done this, and I was very excited because I had finally convinced him to trade me his ‘62 Maris for a couple of Pete Rose cards, who was approaching Cobbs all-time hit record. We get to his house, remove his shoe-box collection from the shelf and....

Half of his cards (along with a large portion of his comic book collection) had been shredded, including the ‘62 Maris I wanted so desperately. Termites had all but destroyed the only thing of value he owned. I promptly went home and convinced my mom to buy me a small safe. But i’m pretty certain (safe or no safe) his cards and comics would be around today if they’d been encased in plastic.

[glynparson]

Honestly do what makes you happiest. One point You can always crack out later you can’t definitely get back in the same grade holder.

[BradH]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

Honestly Brad all I could see there was you cutting your thumb off for a $20 card. It makes a nice clean cut but at what cost possibly?

Lol -- good point! But the impression with the exacto knife or blade is actually fairly light -- you're just trying to score the plastic a little bit so there's a fairly clean break. Then I usually put the holder in a vice on my work bench and the top of the holder snaps off easily with a pair of pliers.

Really -- its MUCH easier than it looks. Maybe I should do a "how to" video.