I have only graded my own cards once, with the help of a local store it was quite easy.
My question is, I see alot collectors, people with a binder full of base set cards in very good condition, with PSA slabs everywhere, selling cards in very good condition instead of grading and selling. Are any of those people here and why do you do it?
If you have particularly clean, pricey or rare cards sure, probably I would feel more safe as a seller, since a professional company graded them.
But personally I wouldnât grade ordinary set cards with little to no chance of getting 9-10: hitting a 7 or 8 wonât give you any meaningful premium over selling raw imho, because a lot of people would crack them anyway.
People really tend to overestimate the quality of their childhood cards, so âgrade everythingâ shouldnât be the solution.
Yeah i understand those points and im definitely not an expert at picking cards. Im talking about people who are collecting beyond childhood, they have base set unlimited cards right through to modern sets.
I saw some neo revelation 1st edition cards for sale that look pack fresh. Good centering at a glance, very very slight whitening on one edge at the back of the card, you would have to closely inspect the card to get a good read but surely a 1st edition entei (or i guess even unlimited) deserves a grading in that condition no? If not to preserve the card
I think youâll find if someone sells both raw and graded cards, thereâs a reason the raws arenât graded.
Iâm sure there are exceptions, but most of the time, someone who is familiar with the grading process will grade when it makes sense to.
Just speculating, but those cards that look good in those binders may have something like surface scratching thatâs difficult to see at first glance.
This is exactly what I was going to say as well. Surface scratches or small indents can be hard to see in photos, but usually if someone has lots of higher dollar graded cards thereâs a good reason they didnât grade the few raw cards they do have.
If you go to an LGS or booth and they have raw and slabs, ask if they grade. If they do, donât expect any of the raws to be good enough to grade. Likewise with ebay.
I am one of these people. I do not like the idea of grading a card for multiple reasons. My collection dates from 1997.
I keep all my cards raw, and sell them raw. Why? I do not think grading is objective or accurate, do not trust grading companies at all to be accurate or objective, and think that sealing cards in massive chunks of plastic where they are inaccessible is interesting, or even the ideal way to preserve their condition.
Yeah I think this is a given, I have been shopping on facebook lately and other, âless efficient marketsâ Maybe its that grading from Aus takes longer or something idk.
I agree with this take, I always considered slabs ugly, and grading can be inconsistent for sure.
I think for preservation it should be pretty good but it would be nice to do it something more appealing.
What kind of premium do you charge on the average raw price for a card in very good condition? like a 8-9/10 card to the naked eye
I donât trust anyone selling raw that also has slabs if the raw are worth anything. The only exception is if the cards arenât worth much, maybe under $30 then itâs in the ânobody caresâ territory.
Itâs like how on FB marketplace if I see something is listed by someone who is âalso a member of Pokemon Worldâ etc I know they know what they have and Iâm not getting a deal lol.
If youâre asking why someone would sell raw at all when they also grade sometimes they need cash right away especially if itâs a new hot card.
You could also consider the time it takes to grade cards. If for example you have a card that sells for $50 raw but would sell for $125 in a 10, you could get the $50 today and churn that money multiple times in the same time you would have been waiting for the graded card to come back and make more in the long run than if you graded it and were stuck waiting for it to come back.
I would guess for a big time seller, flipping your inventory quickly is more efficient than trying to squeeze as much as possible out of each individual card. Obviously for certain cards it makes sense to grade before selling but sometimes it might make more sense to just sell raw for the quicker money.