To grade or not to grade. Little help please.

Hello all, long time member but haven't posted in quite some time.
I'm looking for a little help here. My mother inlaw has a bunch of vintage cards that she wants to sell and she wants me to do it for her.
My question is, do I have these graded or just list them raw.
I have an Ebay ID and a feedback over 6,000 with no negs but have never sold vintage.
I'll add some pics and would love to hear some opinions.




















I have a bunch more questions but forgot I have an errand to run so will check back later.

Thanks in advance for any opinions you have.
David

I'd grade them. Regardless of the grades, buyers will know they're buying unaltered cards and some might get grades that bring more money than raw.

I would grade them

Grade 'em.

I agree. I buy very little vintage but when I do I get graded so I know its legit. Those are some beauties too

What they said ^ Plus a few of those look really good

the 59 berra most certainly

The Clemente and Mays will probably bring premium grades as well.

Thanks for your opinions.
I've actually had these cards in my possession for a few years, but have been a bit intimidated from selling them for her as I want to make sure I do things right for her.
I've been collecting for decades but have never been a vintage collector.
For the record we're going to keep a few personal favorites to pass on to the grandsons.

A couple questions if you don't mind.
I'm thinking PSA rather than BGS mostly because they're vintage cards. Good idea?
PSA has 2 memberships, one for $119 with 6 comp gradings and one for $199 for 15 comp gradings and I'm leaning on the $199 membership.
On their page I read "Maximum value per card allowed is $499", what exactly do they mean?
Who's value? Ungraded or graded value? The value I insure them at?
If you submit cards how do you come up with an insurance amount?
When deciding on which cards to send in is there an easy way to figure out which are worth the trouble and which aren't?
I've seen common cards go for very little but have also noticed that higher grades can bring up the final sale price tremendously on commons as well.
I suppose just going card by card through Ebay sales is probably the best way to judge whether they are worth grading or not?
Any input here would be most helpful.
I've watched a couple of videos on how best to ship the cards so I feel pretty good there but again, any helpful suggestions are welcomed.
Lastly, if I do sell on Ebay what's the best way to safely ship high dollar cards?
Do you use more than just a padded envelope with graded cards? Small Flat rate priority box on higher dollar cards?
I have a bit of a daunting task in front of me and I want to go into it eyes wide opened!

I feel pretty good about some of the cards as they look pretty nice, not all of them by any means but quite a few.
She has roughly 750 cards dating from 1952 thru 1959, tons of commons (lo) but quite a few star cards as well.
It's been a blast to dig them out and sort thru them again.

Again, thanks for your opinions.

David

Def PSA over BGS. Another option is do a group sub on here if you don't want to buy the membership. There are some members that can get you good pricing. Some year/size requirements may be in play on any way you submit them.

I'd say for shipping, anything $250ish and below I'd use a padded mailer with the card in it and put that inside a larger padded mailer. Over $250 prob a small flat rate box with padding around the case would be best.

Good luck with it ,

Ryan

Is she interested in trading for framed photos? Cuz I know a guy

AnthonyCorona said:

Is she interested in trading for framed photos? Cuz I know a guy

Click to expand...

Hahahahahaha!

I wouldn't spring for a membership, but definitely go PSA over BVG.

Definitely do psa. I would sub them all, no matter what grades they get. Those types of names should sell better graded vs. raw. Some, like the Koufax would get a OC or MC qualifier though. I've sent in cards many times to them. When I submit, put them in Cardsaver I which is what PSA requires. I then put them in a ziplock bag and then bubble wrap around the bag. Then I put them in a box and send them the quickest way possible. My theory is the less time in the post offices hands, the better, even if it costs more. Be sure to mark on the outside of the box what service level you are sending under to help expedite it. The declared value is an estimate on your part on how much the card is worth raw. In other words, how much do you think it would cost to buy a replacement. There is some leniency, but trying to pass a '55 Clemente under the $499 deal wouldn't happen.

If you are going to sub a bunch, I'd get the $199 membership. They also have monthly specials which would be a good option once you use up your "free" grades you get with the membership. The specials will have some restrictions though, so not all of them would fall under their guidelines. They also change month to month. They are usually a 25 or 50 card minimum with a declared value under "x" and are for certain years. I would use the free grades for the oldest and most valuable ones since those are the ones that probably will have restrictions under their monthly specials but not under the free grades.

Mr. Tweedt!!

Those are no doubt grading material. I've gotten pretty heavily into vintage the last 2-3 years and would submit those cards in a heartbeat. You could sell them raw and do well, but you have to have confidence in your ability to accurately grade them. With better cards like that, you'll do well to grade them.

For what it is worth, I have a PSA membership and would be happy to submit them for you so you don't have to spring for the membership. Just a thought...

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Def consider having them graded thru PSA.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

Enfuego79 said:

Def consider having them graded thru PSA.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app

Click to expand...

Have you ever graded or authenticated any of the vintage stuff you have posted in the last year+ ? Curious on outcomes


Ryan

Where do you live? If it were me, and that's what I had, I'd go out of my way to go to a show and drop them off directly. Then you KNOW all the prices, the return shipping is figured correctly, and they don't spend any time in the mail un-encapsulated.

http://www.psacard.com/Resources/Shows/

Just another suggestion.

I can sub to PSA for you

george are you running a sub. PM me if you are.