Thinking of Grading Some Cards - Does it make sense?

[pjurevicius]

Hello to all,

I have though about grading some cards for my PC but am not sure if it makes sense financially (cost to send + cost to grade > future value of card). I have also heard horror stories of items getting lost in the mail so that makes me hesitant, especially now.

I know that the time frame to get cards back is based on how much you're willing to spend, for either Beckett or PSA, but as someone who has never sent cards out to get graded, I'm not sure if it would make sense or what the process would be.

Currently thinking of grading the below:

Logan Couture Young Guns
Joe Pavelski Young Guns
Tomas Herlt Young Guns
Vladimir Tarasenko Young Guns

Does it make sense to only get the above 4 to get graded or should I wait and try to accumulate more?

Let me know your thoughts and I look forward in hearing from you.

Thanks!

[sparty07]

Are you grading to flip or to hold and protect forever?
Do you have a solid LCS near you? If so, go in there and ask if they do bulk submissions (most card shops I know of have started this). If so, they will also usually give guidance around whether or not they think the card will grade well enough to do it. At that point you should review how much you will spend, vs how much recent cards have sold for. Just a quick guess, the only one that might be worth it is Tarasenko. But with his injury issues, maybe not.

[pjurevicius]

I'd say I'm probably looking to hold on to them but I'll check with my card shop to see if they are willing to do that. Thanks for the heads up

[Savard18]

Hello to all,

I have though about grading some cards for my PC but am not sure if it makes sense financially (cost to send + cost to grade > future value of card). I have also heard horror stories of items getting lost in the mail so that makes me hesitant, especially now.

I know that the time frame to get cards back is based on how much you're willing to spend, for either Beckett or PSA, but as someone who has never sent cards out to get graded, I'm not sure if it would make sense or what the process would be.

Currently thinking of grading the below:

Logan Couture Young Guns
Joe Pavelski Young Guns
Tomas Herlt Young Guns
Vladimir Tarasenko Young Guns

Does it make sense to only get the above 4 to get graded or should I wait and try to accumulate more?

Let me know your thoughts and I look forward in hearing from you.

Thanks!

It's more about how confident you are assuming the grade you're given than it is the players....

IMO, it's not worth it to grade those cards, I mean if you get anything less than a 9 the cards will be absolutely worthless and you will be out quite a few bucks....Because anything less than a 9 those cards will only be worth half as much as they would be raw, but if you can get a 10 then you could get 75-100% book - so it's really risky when it comes to grading modern cards...... IMO, if you're going to get cards graded then stick to cards pre-1990, and even with those cards it's a PSA 8 or bust ......

[mooneyes]

Depends how confident you are in their condition. If you pulled them yourself and took good care than odds are favorable for a bgs 9.5 or psa 10. Easy way to look at condition is to take good photos and download to computer. I use Flcikr and you can enlarge your photos 5x and easily see any minor issues. If there are none than you have a good chance at a high grade which increases the value many x's over.

[krunchtyme]

@pjurevicius

A few things for you to think about, as the others have mentioned

1. You own them, you can grade them at any time, so no rush, ULESS you plan on dumping them.

2. Go to the graded card forum here on SCF...Lots of good information on things to look for, submissions, etc...

3. SCF does bulk submissions (almost monthly), so if you don't have an LCS close to you, you can still get them graded thru SCF at the bulk submission price, without paying to get a PSA account. PSA requires an account and the most cost effective submissions have a minimum amount of cards to send in.

4. There are some good articles in the graded card forum here on SCF about being honest (with yourself) and things to look for in reviewing raw cards. Also, Here is the link to the PSA grading standards: https://www.psacard.com/resources/gradingstandards

5. For me (I have over 900 graded cards) a lot of the issue is - can I get it cheaper at a grade I want, than if I send it in myself. I don't collect hockey, but I do grading. So my examples are more about football, but.... If I can buy a raw Emmitt Smith rookie for $15, grade it $15 (w/shipping) - and get a PSA 9 and sell it for $50. I'm good. If I can buy the same PSA 9 for $25 on ebay, why would I send in my raw, unless I am really confident about a 10. As a guy who collects and submits cards to be graded, don't ever count on a 10.

6. I've heard horror stories, but never actually found anyone who was the victim. Everyone seems to know somebody who it happen to, not to say it doesn't happen. It hasn't happened to me (sending in cards to PSA since 2004), @Joshmets31, does the monthly submissions here on SCF, he has 100 % feedback here, so I guess it hasn't happened to a member. PSA does discuss this and will, if proven to them that they are responsible, will pay you the cost of the missing card (what you said the card was worth at the time of submission). It may happen, but the numbers on this have to be really low. If your card isn't a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle that you kept in a safety deposit box, are you really that concerned?

I did send in a 1963 Topps Mickey Mantle for an SCF member as well, so I have sent in high grade high dollar cards.

Any of questions about grading, hit me up directly or in the graded card forum.

Also, we have a poll going on right now about a raffle for graded cards, with the profit from the raffle going back to SCF members to reduce the cost of grading even further. If interested, go to the grading card forum and answer the poll. https://www.sportscardforum.com/foru...ded-Card-Forum

[cjb]

If you plan on reselling them soon and if you think they have a good chance of being a 10 then go ahead and grade them

Anything in a plastic slab with the number 10 at the top is going for way too much money on ebay these days.

I would slab them, sell them, and use the profits to buy exactly the same raw ungraded card at 5-10 times less the graded value. Chances are that the ungraded cards you buy are in the exact same condition as the graded cards you sold.

[781Rangers]

I was considering this for my Lemieux OPC rookie just to be sure it is authentic.