For context, I’m referring to cards in the $250+ range.
I find myself buying graded cards more often because (in general) the asking price of raw copies doesn’t feel reasonable relative to the price of cards already graded.
I feel like many sellers set their price for raw copies based on what they think the card will grade (and assume the purchaser is intending to do so) without taking into consideration the additional cost/time/risk associated with grading.
I’ll continue to buy graded as long as I feel it makes sense to do so but am starting to wonder if I’m missing something.
Am I completely off base with this thought?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks
1 Like
Will
2
Strong raw copies of cards are difficult to find given the past few years of “grade everything”. Speaking generally, graded cards, 8s and 9s especially, are a good value now imo
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That’s how I feel also. Thanks for the response. Maybe I’m not nuts 
Any recommendations? I’ve tried modifying my Brother MFC-L2700DW to accept ink without any luck. Toners a bitch imo
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Very hard to do in today’s market. I would guess you would have to buy old collections from people no longer in the hobby that didn’t jump on the grading train.
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I hate graded cards on principle. But unfortunately, this is the easiest way. Other that this? Be really persistent on ebay in terms of searching. Don’t give up because you can’t find the card you want raw in the quality you want for the price you want. Keep going. It will come up eventually.
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I have my saved searches for a few ungraded singles and I’ll buy ungraded collections. Which has been landing fewer and fewer grading canidates the past year or two.
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jabby
9
It’s really tough. I’ve had some surprising luck at times shopping around some LGS’s where I live, but depending on what you’re looking for you’ll go some to find anything worth buying that is ungraded. For example, I got a truly mint 1st Ed Base Caterpie last year for a good deal and that was like finding a needle in a hay stack for me. It went straight into my binder set, although I am quite confident it’d score PSA 8 or 9. I also found a 1st Ed Base Zapdos holo raw as well from the same store, and I’ve never been able to find one since.
eBay is basically a wasteland, I’ve seen some auctions of truly NM high-end cards, but they often go for the same as graded copies at times.
I also managed to score some deals on 1st Ed Neo Revelation & Neo Discovery cards last year. Entire pack fresh lots of the main sets along with some actual NM holos. Again, this was a deal I haven’t come across since.
So yeah, as others have mentioned the whole ‘grade everything’ approach along with heightened demand & interest since the Covid era has caused the raw vintage supply of cards everyone wants to continually dry up, and you pretty much need a Master Ball to capture some of these cards now 
.
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I can’t say anymore for now but I have a source that reprints Vintage.
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Coop13
12
Local luck, facebook marketplace, reddit, but honestly deals are few and far between
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kpod
13
Unless you’re cracking boxes or opening packs, the pre-2020 days of finding raw vintage are long, long gone
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Your best bet is to crack 7s and 8s, as you already do. I think this has been the norm for many years. I’ve been buying cards that way since 2018 so the days of “affordable raw vintage” feel long gone now.
I think still more likely to find them locally from people with untapped collections in their closets and stuff, but even that resource is drying up. It’s not like it used to be where you could ask almost anyone of a certain age group if they still had their Pokémon cards and the answer was usually yes.
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all local in person from shops that dont sell online
I just got back from a local shop with a full pack fresh ex dragon set!
“Box breaks are the only source of clean vintage” is a massive scam
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I just buy psa 8/9s and crack them at this point
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just buy psa 9 is you want the most cost effective condition for the price. psa 8/7 u can prolly get even cheaper than raw at this point.
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Rod’s place in Franklin? Great spot.
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LM23
20
Like trying to find a scyther/pinsir in the safari zone
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Yup it was. He’s got other sets too but imo they were not quite as pack fresh. Same tcgplayer avg price though which is nice
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