Help/Advice buying ungraded vs. graded

[Mountaineer1999]

I would like to start collecting HOF player cards. The rookies are way too expensive so I am trying to pick players most appealing card from any year they were active. I would like to have them all graded and collect against the PSA HOF Registry. The issue I am running into, as a rule, graded cards are so much more expensive than their ungraded brothers.
So, is it a good idea to buy ungraded and then ship them to PSA for grading? Or.... is the fact the card looks nice and is not graded generally mean its trimmed or there is some other underlying issue? Just looking for a little advice from the more experienced , wanting to be as cost effective as possible.

Just as an example.. I was looking at the 1950 Bowman Bobby Doerr. There are a couple nicer looking raw cards. Would it be better to buy one of these and chance it? Is there a way to tell if these are trimmed? Looking through some of the sold.... they can be had raw for about 1/2 the PSA-4 pretty routinely. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...+1950&_sacat=0

[Leon]

If you are going to do the PSA registry then it's not a matter of "if" they are graded, I assume *(I don't know registry rules) they need to be graded by PSA. So that being said it's a matter of buying them the cheapest way. If you have a good eye, experience and luck then raw is probably better. A safer alternative would be to get as good of a deal as you can on cards already graded.....and by taking your time and getting the best deal you can it makes it all the more fun. Just a thought....

[ullmandds]

personally i do not like sending cards in to be graded...it can take a long time...esp w/psa and it's expensive.

compare the time and costs involved in purchasing raw vs graded. if you're confident you are buying what u think u r in raw form(ie...not altered/fake) and the saving is worth more than the time and cost in sending in to psa...then do it.

question...what type of grades are u looking to buy? i don't know much about the registries but i'd assume the better the grade the more points. if u are looking for mid-high grade id strongly consider buying already graded from sgc or psa or maybe beckett as there is a much higher likelihood they are unaltered...although all have faltered...PSA seemingly the most often.

[Mountaineer1999]

Thanks for the feedback. I will be trying to build a mid grade set, especially on the earlier cards and the newer hofers will be high grade. Ive been staring at these cards most of the day trying to come up with a game plan. It seems it may be better to buy them already graded but each card may need to be researched individually to see which way is best.

[bwbc917]

My recent experience with raw cards is that there are very few "high" (7-9) left out there. When I put together a 1960 set most of what I found would grade a 5 or 6. Over time you develop an eye for what you like as far as corners, centering etc. Then the question of grading comes in. I prefer SGC over PSA. I just don't like all the OC, MK etc and I think they do take longer.

When it does come time to grade, try to take advantage of the bulk offers. If you are not buying the rookies and don't have Mantle and the other biggies you should be able to take advantage.

[pokerplyr80]

If you're trying to build a PSA registry set I recommend buying cards already PSA graded. You could get lucky buying raw cards or BVG/SGC cards and crossing them. But that would have to work more often than not to make up for grading costs and the times that it doesn't work. I don't like those odds in the long run.

If you are able to find nice cards for the grade in old PSA cases you would send them in for a review and new holder, and maybe you'll get lucky and get a bump. Even if you don't, you'll still have a nice looking card for your run.

[drcy]

Don't do the registry.

[glchen]

If you buy raw, you'll need to factor in a cost of ~$10 per card for grading if it has a declared value of $100 or less. This is factoring in shipping both ways and assuming you send in a submission >= 25 cards. I like the registry. It's a nice checklist so you can quickly see what cards you need and you don't need to be involved in the competition aspect. Another thing in favor of buying cards already graded is that many people over grade their raw cards when they first submit. There are all if these threads on the board about cards that were vastly over graded but that's usually the exception.

[Mountaineer1999]

Great points, thanks for the feedback! After looking through raw cards one by one, each have their issues as stated and will most likely only garner a low grade, even though the seller lists the card as mt or nrmt. With that i am going to concentrate on mostly if not all cards that are already graded.
And as far as the registry goes, I use it mainly as a checklist too, I also like the uniformity of having them all PSA slabbed.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer1999

Great points, thanks for the feedback! After looking through raw cards one by one, each have their issues as stated and will most likely only garner a low grade, even though the seller lists the card as mt or nrmt. With that i am going to concentrate on mostly if not all cards that are already graded.
And as far as the registry goes, I use it mainly as a checklist too, I also like the uniformity of having them all PSA slabbed.

Sounds like a good plan. I agree with you on the registry. I will never be competing for the top overall set in any category. But I like having the list right there of what I have and what I need. It is also nice to have cards in the same case. Looks better, and they're easier to store.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

Sounds like a good plan. I agree with you on the registry. I will never be competing for the top overall set in any category. But I like having the list right there of what I have and what I need. It is also nice to have cards in the same case. Looks better, and they're easier to store.

you can easily have the number 1 set in lots of cats...there are plenty of cats that have no sets in them...I have the number 1 1954 topps HOF set..but I also have the only ONE...lol (of course someone will read this and can top me now but you get my point...)

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

you can easily have the number 1 set in lots of cats...there are plenty of cats that have no sets in them...I have the number 1 1954 topps HOF set..but I also have the only ONE...lol (of course someone will read this and can top me now but you get my point...)

Fair enough, I suppose I should have said no major sets. I am tied for the #1 spot in the Ken Griffey, JR rookie set. 5 cards all 10s. Only the upperdeck is worth much so I think I'm tied with a couple of hundred people.

[2dueces]

TRIAPD

The registry is a powerful drug

[1952boyntoncollector]

registry is like a checklist....even in old sets they had checklist cards......registry is card collecting in a sense...

[iwantitiwinit]

My feeling is that the grading services have been around for so long now that most vintage cards have, for the most part, (with the exception of those raw cards held in personal collections) been submitted for grading. Those vintage cards not currently residing in TPA holders are not in holders for a reason, they have been altered. Given that, it seems to me that the risk of purchasing non-altered raw cards is in no way worth the far less probable potential reward. Obviously others have other opinions and other reasons for preferring raw over graded. I try and look at it logically and see no true valid reasons for buying ungraded, especially if you intend on spending say $75+ for commons and say $500+ for stars. As far as the registry goes I couldn't care less, I just want to make sure that my dollars are spent on an unaltered product.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by iwantitiwinit

My feeling is that the grading services have been around for so long now that most vintage cards have, for the most part, (with the exception of those raw cards held in personal collections) been submitted for grading. Those vintage cards not currently residing in TPA holders are not in holders for a reason, they have been altered, Given that, it seems to me that the risk of purchasing non-altered raw cards is in no way worth the far less probable potential reward. Obviously others have other opinions and other reasons for preferring raw over graded but to me I try and look at it logically and see no true valid reasons for buying ungraded, especially if you intend on spending say $75+ for commons and say $500+ for stars. As far as the registry goes I couldn't care less, I just want to make sure that my dollars are spent on an unaltered product.

Just because a card is in a TPG holder doesn't mean it's not altered. It means no alteration was detected, which might say more about the grader than the card. I will leave the stories for another time....

[PowderedH2O]

I disagree with the notion that most high dollar cards are graded. I didn't grade a card until a few years ago. Many collectors put together nice runs of sets in the 70's through the 90's with no grading and feel no desire to have the cards graded. Their attitude is "Why should I pay someone to tell me what I already know?" In some ways they are right.

Considering that you are talking about relatively inexpensive cards in many cases, why worry about the registry? You have more freedom without it. I have some registry sets. A few months ago I paid $211 for two cards to complete a PSA set. You could buy raw cards almost as nice for less than $10. I have $2K sunk into a $300 set.

Make the set how you want and get what you want. Forget the registry.

[Mountaineer1999]

Taking another card as an example... 1957 rookie Mazeroski. I was able to get a PSA 5 for $25. I think the PSA 5 and 6 are ideal for this time frame. Looking through all that were for sale I could not find one cheaper raw that was close to the quality of the 5 unless they were more expensive.
The real pricing issue starts getting out of control with the PSA 8 and higher. On the Maz, the '57 goes for over $300 and to me that is insane. I am more than happy with the PSA 7, 6, 5 from the 50s and 60s. I am not trying to beat anyone on the registry, its just a fun checklist.