Graded vs. Raw Rant.......

homerunhitter · #1 01-30-2025, 09:19 PM

It�s all so confusing, but the needle is swinging back to raw cards!

Big35Hurt · #2 01-31-2025, 07:47 AM

I have never sent cards in for grading. I did it previously for a small handful of nicer coins - mainly to get confirmation on authenticity and variety for some silver dollars. I am ok with my cards being in top loaders or one touch holders. I do have some graded cards, and they were bought that way with none of them being high end. I have two 1958 Omaha Cardinals Bob Gibson team issued cards that I will probably get graded at some point (maybe when I decide that I am going to sell them).

homerunhitter · #3 02-16-2025, 01:25 PM

I just recently switched back to raw and I must tell you, raw is awesome! I have rekindled my joy in raw cards. The only thing I think I will miss about graded cards is that if I ever decided ti leave the hobby and sell everything, with graded I could just put in a box and send them off to be sold by a consignment service vs with raw cards, being ripped off by some LCS offering to pay me crap for my cards. I feel that when it comes to resale, LCSs will pull your pants down to your ankles and go to town!

bnorth · #4 02-16-2025, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

I just recently switched back to raw and I must tell you, raw is awesome! I have rekindled my joy in raw cards. The only thing I think I will miss about graded cards is that if I ever decided ti leave the hobby and sell everything, with graded I could just put in a box and send them off to be sold by a consignment service vs with raw cards, being ripped off by some LCS offering to pay me crap for my cards. I feel that when it comes to resale, LCSs will pull your pants down to your ankles and go to town!

I have never understood this. Do people actually think businesses sell items for even remotely close to what they pay for them.

G1911 · #5 02-16-2025, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

I just recently switched back to raw and I must tell you, raw is awesome! I have rekindled my joy in raw cards. The only thing I think I will miss about graded cards is that if I ever decided ti leave the hobby and sell everything, with graded I could just put in a box and send them off to be sold by a consignment service vs with raw cards, being ripped off by some LCS offering to pay me crap for my cards. I feel that when it comes to resale, LCSs will pull your pants down to your ankles and go to town!

You can sell raw cards for their value too. 1) you can list and sell yourself, 2) you can send them to someone like Greg Morris and have them sold for you, 3) you can get them graded in trendy-slab-of-the-moment by the auction house upon consignment if that is more profitable. Just some of the options. Just as you buy raw cards at ~market value so too can they be sold as such, which is how you are able to buy them. You need not get engage as a receiver in disgusting acts to sell raw...

homerunhitter · #6 02-16-2025, 02:16 PM

Ben,
This is based on my own experiences selling cards to the local LCS. I get it that they need to buy low to make a profit but most thst (of course not all) that I�ve dealt with are slimy shady people. Example, �of this box of 1954 topps, I�ll give you $50 for!� or �this 1956 topps Willie Mays is not in great condition, I�ll give you $20 for it� most take advantage of people so they can make a buck.

Greg,

I definitely wouldnt have the patience or time to list card by card for thousands of cards or deal with problem buyers, so eBay wouldn�t work for me particularly. With graded, no patience to wait a year to get my cards back! Plus most of my raw are 1950�s lower grade commons.

Greg morris might be a got fit when the time comes but i thought he only dies high end vintage? (Not sure my low end vintage fits his business model) and also don�t you have to inventory every card you send in to him. (Great if you only had a few cards but what if you are sending in thousands!)

Thanks guys! I appreciate you both.

Balticfox · #7 02-16-2025, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

This is based on my own experiences selling cards to the local LCS.

I definitely wouldnt have the patience or time to list card by card for thousands of cards or deal with problem buyers, so eBay wouldn�t work for me particularly. With graded, no patience to wait a year to get my cards back!

If you're not willing to take the trouble and put in the work and pay the overhead (e.g. brick and mortar store, convention booth fees, advertising), you're not going to get top dollar. Only those who put in the effort and endure the costs get top dollar. So don't expect nearly top dollar unless you're willing to do likewise.

G1911 · #8 02-16-2025, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Ben,
This is based on my own experiences selling cards to the local LCS. I get it that they need to buy low to make a profit but most thst (of course not all) that I�ve dealt with are slimy shady people. Example, �of this box of 1954 topps, I�ll give you $50 for!� or �this 1956 topps Willie Mays is not in great condition, I�ll give you $20 for it� most take advantage of people so they can make a buck.

Greg,

I definitely wouldnt have the patience or time to list card by card for thousands of cards or deal with problem buyers, so eBay wouldn�t work for me particularly. With graded, no patience to wait a year to get my cards back! Plus most of my raw are 1950�s lower grade commons.

Greg morris might be a got fit when the time comes but i thought he only dies high end vintage? (Not sure my low end vintage fits his business model) and also don�t you have to inventory every card you send in to him. (Great if you only had a few cards but what if you are sending in thousands!)

Thanks guys! I appreciate you both.

I mean, any way you sell them you will realistically need to inventory what they are, whether graded or raw, auction house or eBay. If you have a bunch of low grade commons, you can sell them in lots the same as they are usually bought. If you send graded to an auction house an inventory list will still be needed. Low grade 50's common cards are worth less than the cost of a slab, so graded would make no sense for thousands of low grade 50's commons. Selling those cards graded would be a massive loss of money, where raw you can get about what you put into them right back. Any sale requires a little bit of work, whether that's driving to an outdated LCS you feel rips you off, selling lots on eBay, consigning graded to an auction house or any other method.

raulus · #9 02-17-2025, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G1911

I mean, any way you sell them you will realistically need to inventory what they are, whether graded or raw, auction house or eBay. If you have a bunch of low grade commons, you can sell them in lots the same as they are usually bought. If you send graded to an auction house an inventory list will still be needed. Low grade 50's common cards are worth less than the cost of a slab, so graded would make no sense for thousands of low grade 50's commons. Selling those cards graded would be a massive loss of money, where raw you can get about what you put into them right back. Any sale requires a little bit of work, whether that's driving to an outdated LCS you feel rips you off, selling lots on eBay, consigning graded to an auction house or any other method.

I'm going to agree with Greg on this one.

Sadly, based on what you've described of your collection (raw, low-grade, postwar) if you want to sell fast with minimal effort, then you're likely to need to take a big haircut, because someone else is going to have to put forth all the effort to market the stuff and find multiple buyers.

On the other hand, if you want to maximize your value, then your best bet is likely to require retailing them yourself, or maybe working with a consignment shop that will take a decent cut, and could take a while, unless they're running auctions with end dates, in which case you're taking a bit of a gamble with what the market will bring that week for your precise pieces, and who's paying attention and looking to buy the stuff that you're selling.

Any way you slice it, there are going to be tradeoffs, and only you can decide which of those tradeoffs makes the most sense for you personally based on your situation and hopes and dreams.

raulus · #10 02-17-2025, 09:14 AM

Nothing quite like a double post.

raulus · #11 02-17-2025, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

It’s all so confusing, but the needle is swinging back to raw cards!

Maybe I'm misinterpreting your exclamation point, but I guess I'm always confused when raw card acolytes get excited about others getting into raw cards.

I mean, if you were looking to sell today and you had a large collection of raw cards, then I would definitely understand your excitement.

But if you're still very much in buying mode, then having other people jump on the raw card bandwagon seems like it will drive up prices overall and add to the population of buyers you get to compete against when you're buying, all of which should make it harder for you to find raw cards at reasonable prices, and none of which seems like it would excite me if raw cards were my jam.

But maybe we all crave the validation that comes from having other people doing the same things that we're doing because it makes us feel better about our own choices?

ALR-bishop · #12 02-17-2025, 09:49 AM

I don't know if excited is the right word but I have always prefered ungraded cards over graded for personal collecting. But admittedly value has not been a driving factor for me in collecting.

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