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mchenrycards
Featured Contributor, Vintage Corner, Senior Membe
I am an old school set collector who loves putting together sets for the fun of it rather than the monetary gain I might experience down the road. Of course, that being said,making a few bucks on my hobby is not a bad thing in that it helps me to keep the collection going without drawing the wrath of my wife for spending large chunks of household cash on “cards” (as she says with an eye roll).
For those who do not know, card grading has only been around since the mid 90’s. I was an early advocate of this third party processing as away to protect one’s investment and maximizing resale value. It now seems that, with the addition of the various set registries, graded card values has become crazy and, some would say, out of hand. A single common card for a vintage set can reach hundreds, if not thousands of dollars if twocollectors get into a bidding war. The need to increase one’s grading percentage in these registries seems to have displaced many collectors brains when it comes to buying a card that, ungraded,would cost them a fraction of a percentage of it’s graded counterpart.
I have started re-think my position on graded cards and was curious as to what others think. When it comes to vintage cards I think it is a great idea to get stars graded to verify that these cards have not been trimmed or altered. Yes, I know grading does not weed out all the trimmed and altered cards but it does get most of them. Grading also adds a feeling of security,knowing you are getting a third parties opinion on a card and its authenticity with most collectors understanding what a PSA mint 9 card should actually look like. Grading also helps with presentation as many cards look pretty cool in a SGC or PSA holder despite their being of a VG quality. But as for me, I don’t think I will be including any graded cards in my collection anymore. I have refined my collection to sets that are not of a high dollar amount and even the stars I buy for these sets can be had raw in great condition for a price far cheaper than even a graded PSA 8 can be had for.
My question to everyone here is what role does grading playinto your collection? Do you grade to make a profit or do you enjoy adding graded cards to your collection. I am especially curious about the guys who collect modern as it seems there is a huge upside to getting a high grade on a highly touted prospect but not much upside to anyone else. There will always be a market for vintagestars that graded (even in lower grades) but what about the modern players?
I know I am rambling a bit here but I would love to hear what role card grading plays in everyone’s collection.
For those who do not know, card grading has only been around since the mid 90’s. I was an early advocate of this third party processing as away to protect one’s investment and maximizing resale value. It now seems that, with the addition of the various set registries, graded card values has become crazy and, some would say, out of hand. A single common card for a vintage set can reach hundreds, if not thousands of dollars if twocollectors get into a bidding war. The need to increase one’s grading percentage in these registries seems to have displaced many collectors brains when it comes to buying a card that, ungraded,would cost them a fraction of a percentage of it’s graded counterpart.
I have started re-think my position on graded cards and was curious as to what others think. When it comes to vintage cards I think it is a great idea to get stars graded to verify that these cards have not been trimmed or altered. Yes, I know grading does not weed out all the trimmed and altered cards but it does get most of them. Grading also adds a feeling of security,knowing you are getting a third parties opinion on a card and its authenticity with most collectors understanding what a PSA mint 9 card should actually look like. Grading also helps with presentation as many cards look pretty cool in a SGC or PSA holder despite their being of a VG quality. But as for me, I don’t think I will be including any graded cards in my collection anymore. I have refined my collection to sets that are not of a high dollar amount and even the stars I buy for these sets can be had raw in great condition for a price far cheaper than even a graded PSA 8 can be had for.
My question to everyone here is what role does grading playinto your collection? Do you grade to make a profit or do you enjoy adding graded cards to your collection. I am especially curious about the guys who collect modern as it seems there is a huge upside to getting a high grade on a highly touted prospect but not much upside to anyone else. There will always be a market for vintagestars that graded (even in lower grades) but what about the modern players?
I know I am rambling a bit here but I would love to hear what role card grading plays in everyone’s collection.
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