I have a 1st edition binder collection of Base - Rocket, which I put together over the years by picking up so-called NM/Mint cards off of eBay. Needless to say, I have not graded them since they were for a binder collection, but I think the Base and Rocket holos would generally grade 7-9, with some of the Jungle and Fossil holos potentially being lower (in large part due to the terrible silvering on the holos from those sets). I am not sure how realistic it would be to pick up ungraded 10s, at least from the older sets–I would say out of what I have, probably only two or three holos would be potential 10s, and the Base holos I picked up 8-10 years ago when better condition raw cards were more plentiful for the older sets. Still, some of the Rocket holos I got within the past two years, including a Dark Charizard that looks to me like a strong 10 candidate.
Keep in mind that I was not trying to grade though, so I was fine with settling for visibly lesser condition in many cases, and I also didn’t do the level of due diligence I would otherwise with respect to asking questions. Surface damage was definitely the most unpredictable, with respect to the holo but also regarding scratches elsewhere on the surfaces.
tl;dr is I think it definitely is realistic to find raw 9s, even from older sets, but you really need to ask questions and still assume the risk that the card you ultimately end up with is not level with your expectations. I think going for raw cards can be fun, but it is also risky, and if at the end of the day you’re really looking for the particular grade, I would just buy the already graded card.
I have a lot of success grading raw cards on ebay. Maybe when I have some time I’ll share a bunch of tips and tricks on how to do it.
My last submission was about 100 cards. 25 or so were WOTC era but the majority were newer cards. Most got 10s but the rest got 9s with the exception of 1 card which got a 6.
You can definitely scout some really high quality cards and put together large submissions if you know what you’re doing.
Edit: also worth noting about 20 of the cards were japanese which are easier to grade as well.
I’ve only bought once off eBay with the intention of grading, I probably wouldn’t do it again even though my gamble worked out that one time. I bought a binder set of 1st ed gym challenge, all the holos got 9s/10s with the majority being 10s. They’re all in my collection thread.
It takes time and effort to find a listing that could be gradable, and even then most photos on eBay are bad. That lot I bought I messaged the seller and asked for more photos and what I got back were also potato quality - I took the gamble though and it paid off.
I don’t like taking risks, I know I can mitigate risk based on the price I pay and the expected grades, but that is more time and effort that I honestly can’t be bothered with. Lastly, I have hundreds of thousands of MTG cards that I sort, inventory and sell … I don’t really want to branch into acquiring more raw cards from another game. I don’t want or need to get into pokemon grading and selling.
For pokemon, I’d prefer to just buy the 10s and bet on the cards, it’s simpler
My suggestion is buy your favorite cards outright as graded already. Other cards you can buy raw for a good price and check before sending them in to grade. If you got a good deal you may be able to resell and break even if you do not plan to grade.
The problem is that NM-M on a raw card is subjective and can mean anything from 8-10. Grades by sellers in general mean nothing unless they are experienced and trusted.
Also, I see nothing wrong with doing a resale if the pictures look good and you are honest about condition. For example, I’ll buy a card labeled as mint for a great price, but find out it’s more likely to grade as an 8, so I list it as NM and take good pics with an accurate description, but for a closer to retail value. Works well if you have patience I think.
eBay is the main place I purchase cards. Because I know what I’m looking for, I can often very easily separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak and find a few good cards on which to bid/purchase. Some tips if you’re looking to find PSA 9/10 quality ungraded cards:
Message the seller for extra pictures. Be specific as to what you want, e.g. left lower corner.
Don’t be stingy. If you think the card is 9/10 quality, put your money up on it, cause you can bet others will do the same. Expect to pay a premium for a truly mint card, especially as its age increases.
Don’t burn bridges. Often chances are if a seller has a one or two great mint condition cards they’ve got at least a few more hanging around. If you get your card and it’s not as perfect mint as you expected and you open a return request, you probably will be banned from the seller’s listings. Don’t use return requests unless the condition is significantly different than described/pictures were inaccurate or misleading.
Do your research. If you see a ‘mint condition’ listing from a seller who you know collects graded cards, grades themselves, or even has a number of graded cards for sale, you need to question why that card hasn’t been graded if it’s truly mint.
Now there are tons of other keys to finding mint ungraded cards but those are the ones that work for me on eBay.
