As a binder ganger, I don’t find the value in paying money to have cards encapsulated in plastic when that money could be spent on more binder cards. I do however enjoy the presentation of a card in a slab, especially when it’s in a clear slab with a large label with no abbreviations 
So - what would it take for you to have your binder cards graded?
- Very Cheap Grading Fees ($5/card)
- Free Grading
- Grading Company Pays You $5/card
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I don’t know if I’d even do it if they paid me, unless it was enough to get a second copy of every card to put in a binder. Between the tiny chance the cards get lost during delivery/at the place like we’ve seen here before, I just don’t want to lose the convenience of having all the cards in a binder and being able to flip through pages.
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If PSA hadn’t introduced a blood tax, all my cards would be graded now.
I enjoy cards in sleeves and binders, but I enjoy money more.
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ddk
4
Simple. Just get your binder encased in a slab. Problem solved. Thanks for coming to my DDK Talk.
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octaane
5
I answered “if it was free,” but mainly because I’m curious to see if my evaluation of certain cards’ conditions aligns with theirs.
Otherwise: I’ve never graded a card and have no intention to. I am morally and philosophically against grading for a variety of reasons. It’s not impartial, its not consistent, it’s expensive, and it’s led to rampant speculation in the market detached from real values.
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I’m one of those cheaters that’s both a slab ganger and a binder ganger. I like how slabs look, and they’re pretty much the only way I can reasonably “display” pokemon paraphernalia at home. I probably would not grade my personal collection, even if paid to do so. There’s no room to store them, I like my eevee slabs because they’re manageable and there’s a single “theme”. I might be compelled to grade my eevee alternates binder if it were free to do so, so I answered if free.
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I think my issue would be if i didnt get a desired grade i would be out whatever the cost is. I love my binders, but i have a few that i would like to see what they get. Would just seem like a waste of money to crack it and put it back. If a company was like "hey we will do a few for free: then sure id test my luck. I just prefer to buy the graded stuff outright, that way i can avoid the anxiety and stress of grading all together.
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Ooh yeah that’s why flippers are crazy to me. Like the only reason I bothered to send in my whole collection was I was able to internalize I straight up do not care what the grades are I just want hard plastic case. I couldn’t imaging really wanting a specific grade then it’s NOT that without an explanation
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Psa should pay me a decent amount, so I can buy replacement copies to put in the binder.
For real though, I have two distinct collections (graded and not): binder cards aren’t going anywhere since that’s how I like enjoying the hobby. The beauty, the convenience, the whole “how can I sort the next page?”, I’m not ready to renounce any of those.
Most of my cards are around psa6-7 quality, 8 at best, so thankfully I don’t even have a monetary incentive.
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There are like 3 that i think would grade really high but it wouldnt make a difference because i would never sell. Its just stuff that is super low pop and im like, well it might be another 10, but im not a gambling man.
I said it would have to be free grading, but also adding these stipulations:
No shipping, they come to my house.
They send 5 graders, take the grade with the highest vote total.
Encapsulation is them taking their sweet time so they don’t damage my cards.
So basically, never grading my cards even if it’s free.
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eievui
13
Money is going to be the main factor here. Grading is super subjective. Its not that I hate grading. I just want my cards protected. People charging 10x the price of a card because its a “10” has always seemed a little ridiculous to me. Alot of cards in my binder, and many others are a “10”, and I dont really need an opinion for it.
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thsigma
14
i have very few cards worth sending in. If they wanna take the $5 loss and cover everything else then sure why not…but id still keep most of my binder cards ungraded
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so there is a specific binder that I have that I dont think the cards would grade that well
some 8s but probably majority 7s which would be close to raw values anyways after grading costs
but i think the main factor is that, for now at least, none in this binder are for sale and the mish mash of different grades would annoy me
so i thought of a better idea,
when they have the pokemon specials for $13, simply ask for authentic slabs with no grades. Then I would pack them in special slab binders
I figure its the best of all worlds, get my cards truely protected, keep the concept of a binder, not worry about subjective grades
the problem is, it’s still a bit too expensive imo. a 200 card collection would cost $2,600 + shipping just to slab with no grades
if psa comes down more reasonably on prices i think thats the move
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Even CGC, which is the inexpensive child, is still expensive. In the middle membership tier, cards are still $12.60 or $10.80 to grade economy or bulk, plus $20 to ship back plus whatever $$ to ship to them. Grading my eevee collection has run me just over 1100 or so in just plastic, not the cards themselves.
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I answered “if they paid me,” since it feels like an infinite money glitch (grade > crack > back to binder).
In all honesty though, I have no desire for graded cards. For one thing, I simply don’t have the space for my current 652-card species collection if it was in slab form, and for another, I genuinely love seeing 16 of the same illustration compiled in a multi-language binder page. Flipping through my binder and seeing so many cards spread out at once brings me joy that looking at slabs just can’t.
I’ve even made some questionable cracks (two Tropical Wind 2007s at this point, among others) just so they could fit in my binder. In the same vein, if I ever have the pleasure of owning something like an Illusion’s Zorua or Arceus illustration contest card, I can just about guarantee I’d crack that too.
Slabs just aren’t for me, and while I do appreciate preserving historical cards of value, I can’t get behind owning slabs (especially of bulk, which a majority of my collection is) myself.
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While I agree with you fully,
there are specific cards I have that I want to show off and display once a while. Maybe in room on a card holder, around my office on shelves, ext. It would just work so much better if they were slabbed.
The binder sometimes feels too “hidden” if you get my drift. And it makes me less likely to open the binder and enjoy the card
also, with the new UV resistant slabs from psa, i can put them on card holders on my desk and not worry about sun damage
at the same time there is beauty and simplicity in just keeping a nice binder.
Not all cards need to be slabbed!
it just always feels like there will always be some kind of compromise no matter which way you go
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Totally fair points you make!
I’ve found toploaders to be just as fine at displaying cards around the house and in my office. I strongly dislike the look of graded labels, so I’ve found toploaders to be more aesthetically pleasing, even. Of course, I don’t live with children or pets that could knock things over or otherwise get into trouble on that front.
I tend to rotate cards that are on display this way, but I completely understand wanting to show off more of your collection out in the open.
I completely understand your points here as well. I tend to open and flip through my binder nearly every day though, so I’m afraid I can’t relate, haha. I feel like opening and flipping through my binder daily (or almost-daily) makes the cards more special, since I have to take time out of my day to really appreciate the collection in full, as opposed to them becoming part of the scenery, so to speak.
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I always considered myself a budget collector (having a set budget for collecting) so I would like to maximize all of my money towards buying and therefore stick to binder cards. The only reason I would grade any cards is if I get a massive buyout option, wherein someone wants to buy my whole collection but only if it was graded. Based on the amount, I would consider grading all of my cards.
However, I also picked the ‘Pay me to Grade’ option for the poll.
Cheers!
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