"Junk Slab" discussion

If that wartortle was someones memorable childhood card, not a junk slab. Otherwise, it’s a junk slab. There are a plethora of base set wartortles in better condition for the rest of all of our lives making the cost and effort to grade one now not worth it whatsoever.

There are plenty of cards that will never ever be worth grading if not for a memorable reason. If I grade a heavily played common from one of the most recent sets, there will be an endless supply of near mint versions of that card available cheaper for the rest of my life compared to the 10+ dollars it cost to grade my heavily played version. That heavily played card I graded was then, in effort and money, a complete waste. Junk slab.

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This is why calling them junk, is subjective though. If something has a value of $100, by definition, it’s not junk to someone that $100 is a good amount for.

Also, it’s not just teenagers who are gullible to these youtubers. Grown ass adults are as well.

How would you be able to tell the difference when looking at the card though? Maybe it was graded because it was a childhood card, and then later sold because it was no longer wanted. So it wasn’t junk at first, but changed to junk upon wanting to be sold? I can see that, but that doesn’t getting explained to people. It’s usually just cards of low value are junk (according to people well off)

I think you’re reading too much into the term ‘junk.’ All that ‘junk’ means in this context is ‘undesirable.’ It’s not meant to just apply to cards of low value. There are tons of slabs that can be had for <$50 that the vast majority of people would NOT consider ‘junk slabs.’

For instance: how many people would consider a PSA/CGC 9 Jungle holo a ‘junk slab?’ Very few, I’d bet, yet many can be easily purchased for <$35.

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But that is precisely the point. People do use the word junk all the time referring to things that hold value, be it the 95 Honda Civic with rusted ball joints they depend upon for transportation or a junk slab.

The reason for the scrapyard example is because it is one context where no-one would even think about criticizing the scrap dealer (to whom $100 may well be a good amount of money) for his choice of verbiage because of some imagined unhealthy effect upon society.

I don’t see subjectivity as an argument for censorship in this case, quite the opposite in fact.

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If it’s about the desirability, I get that. I don’t see that distinction being made clear by people though. If that’s the case, are trophy cards considered junk slabs? They’re not very desirable. What about the first topsun promos? They aren’t very desirable either

Trophy cards aren’t desirable? In what world? haha

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You make good points. I disagree about it being an imagined unhealthy effect on society though.

This is an extreme example but pretty similar. People referring to women who have abortions, as murderers. That type of language has a very negative affect on society. While junk slab doesn’t even come close to the unhealthy effect, it still has one

To be clear, I said not VERY desirable. Not that they weren’t desirable at all. But with the trophy cards, it’s probably a fraction of a fraction of people that do want those cards.

Do we actually use “junk” when referring to something that still has a use? I actually used to drive that 95 Civic (actually an '85 with a warped head) and I wouldn’t refer to it as ‘junk’. But, I can see the points.

Many people are influenced by things they shouldn’t be, these days. It’s far too common that we allow our emotions to influence our perception of the world, when in fact, it should be perception that guides our emotions. Instead of worrying about what words we use, (while it’s something to consider) it’s better to add a modifier while using the term that feels right. Even if it IS “junk slab”. Why is it a junk slab? Because you’re not getting the value you expected for it. It’s not totally worthless, but it is worth less.

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I guess that’s what I would ask of people. If the still want to call them junk slabs, be more descriptive of why. At the end of the day, they can do what they want. I’m also free to criticize what they do

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I think youre confusing people unable to afford or actually attempt to get trophy cards with people not desiring them.

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Pretty good thought, but it’s wrong.

People desire to want something they can’t have/afford all the time. Such as a fancy car, a huge house or lavish vacations. With trophy cards people on e4 might be overexposed to the “desire” because many top tier collectors are on here.

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I’m a bit late to the junk slab debate but I’d consider this not a junk slab solely because it’s in mint condition. If it was a PSA 7 or lower I would consider it a junk slab, but because it’s mint or gem mint it’s a good specimen for a set/registry collection.

I’m referring to common and easy to find “3c bulk” cards with this statement.

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Not unpopular opinion alert:
If you get a card graded and the market values the graded card less than the grading cost, you might just have a junk slab.If your ebay fees are the difference between profit and loss, you might just have a junk slab.If your item doesn’t get the $10 minimum bid on PWCC and they have to confiscate it from you so you don’t waste their time by listing it again…y o u m i g h t j u s t h a v e a j u n k s l a b

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My opinion is that price doesn’t matter in some scenarios to warrant a slab being a “junk slab”.
If a collector wanted a set of graded Goomy cards the future resale value could very well be under the cost of grading with the obvious exception of the AA Goomy, but I would never consider their collection (even if they’re missing the AA Goomy) as “junk collection” or a collection full of “junk slabs”.

I can understand why some collectors get upset over the idea that people are sending in dozens of wotc unlimited cards hoping to sell them as soon as they come back, but the buyer of those cards could have the intention of finishing a set registry or getting cards of their favorite “not popular” Pokemon.
I suppose this is my round about way of saying a Goomy collection can be a “junk slab” if your goal is investing but it’s a normal slab if your goal is to collect Goomy cards. I know you understand this as you are a Lopunny collector.

Ofcourse I could just be looking too much into the word “junk slab”. I don’t believe anyone here would ever make fun of the Goomy collector, but they might be insecure about people throwing around the term junk slab which their cards would fall under.

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unpopular (maybe not) opinion: From the perspective of a buyer/collector junk slabs have a place in the hobby especially for species collectors. I picked up a psa 10 regular rare cradily from cosmic eclipse the other day for a few bucks, I could never justify grading it myself with current prices and now I’m closer to my goal.

Trust me, as someone who owns plenty of junk slabs, I understand. This is why the saying “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” exists. But just because I value something junky higher than what the market does - it doesn’t make it not junk.

The term “junk slab” has a useful meaning when it comes to discussion about the current grading environment we live in. It’s used to describe the huge glut of extremely illiquid, low quality and/or vastly saturated graded cards that hit the market daily. It’s a genuine phenomenon with real consequences to people in the hobby, so having a term to describe this is practical. To say that no junk slabs exist just comes off as a denial of the reality we live in.
I get that there is an emotional dimension to the term - perhaps you could propose another term if your argument is purely based on that? But frankly, I think most people who buy this “junk” understand the difference between their own personal value they put on an item compared to how the rest of the market feels. @rae has just displayed this right here

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Genuinely curious as to how junk slabs affect the hobby, won’t cards worth grading be unaffected by junk slabs?

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