The ethics of cracking certified cards

[commishbob]

I'm a binder guy so I bust out any graded cards I need for the sets I'm trying to complete..Mantle, Mays, whoever. If I buy a graded card as a 'stand-alone' collectible, star cards from sets I'll never chase and/or fragile pre-war cards, I leave them in the case.

Does it cost me in terms of the market value of the cards? Sure, but I enjoy paging thru my sets more than anything.

[ALR-bishop]

If freeing cards from plastic prisons and returning them to their natural state is unethical me and my bolt cutter are in deep trouble

[todeen]

Originally Posted by commishbob

I'm a binder guy so I bust out any graded cards I need for the sets I'm trying to complete..Mantle, Mays, whoever..

Holders don't fit in binders, so bust em out

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[Exhibitman]

Mr. Dremel says crack away!

[midmo]

I personally couldn't care less about a registry or pop report. I have lots of graded cards, but I crack out any that I want to put in binders or if they're just low value. I never understood someone paying money to grade a card that's under $100. They just take up too much space to me.

[ALBB]

As much as I also am not fond of slabbed cards, I would be a little cautious with any extremely high value card ( very early 50s Mantle, etc)...come the day you might want to sell the stuff...a buyer might " feel better" paying you ,...knowing the..for ex - 1940 Play Ball Joe Jackson is graded/slabbed

[Volod]

I did quite a lot of cracking a few years ago as I was working on a couple of vintage sets. Then, one day I was a little too anxious to free a particular card, my hand slipped on the tool handle and a sharp piece of plastic dug a nice hole into the unfortunate image of Bow Wow Arfft. I left the violent liberation army at that point, but I still empathize with those who enjoy it.

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by Volod

I did quite a lot of cracking a few years ago as I was working on a couple of vintage sets. Then, one day I was a little too anxious to free a particular card, my hand slipped on the tool handle and a sharp piece of plastic dug a nice hole into the unfortunate image of Bow Wow Arfft. I left the violent liberation army at that point, but I still empathize with those who enjoy it.

LOL


My very first attempt to free a card resulted in my dinging a '59 Killebrew when I put that thing together. Nothing too costly but it did cause me to be much more deliberate on subsequent operations.

BTW...I do keep the flips that came with the cards I bust loose. I stick them in one of the 20 pocket pages intended for tobacco cards. I keep that page at the back of the binder for that set.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Volod

I did quite a lot of cracking a few years ago as I was working on a couple of vintage sets. Then, one day I was a little too anxious to free a particular card, my hand slipped on the tool handle and a sharp piece of plastic dug a nice hole into the unfortunate image of Bow Wow Arfft. I left the violent liberation army at that point, but I still empathize with those who enjoy it.

I've cracked at least 100 slabs in the last 2 decades and only ever damaged one card - unfortunately it was a '56 Clemente. A shard of plastic dug into the surface on his face - and an EX+ card went to about a G in a matter of seconds...