yet another card grading thread...help a noob out

[Newbie_Trader]

okay ive got a Mickey Mantle 1960 #350 card. it is alright condition, very slight cornering and some major off centering top/bottom. probably worth $200-$250 i assume?

well eventually i will be selling this so should i or should i not grade this card? how much does it cost to get graded and who should i get it graded with?

thank you, sorry for being a noob, i did search and read other grading threads btw.

[pr0phet]

Thats what we are here for.. I am not into baseball but let me address some thoughts for you on the whole grading thing.

If you get a card graded a lot depends on how quickly you want the card to go through the grading process. The more money you want to spend, the quicker the card is graded. I believe a 20 day grading process is 8 dollars... That does not include shipping and handeling/INS which is required as well.. That will all depend on what your book value for the card is so its hard to state what might come about.

PSA and Beckett((Two major grading companies)) will charge a bit different but 8-10 dollars for about 20 days is a fair guess and upwards of 30 dollars to grade around a 5 day level.

Hope that helps
Jay

[meuandthelot]

Good run-down Jay!

Newbie: A scan of the card(Front&Back) will greatly add to opinions being offered.

Good Luck

[Bondsaway]

First off you don't need to apologize for not knowing. At one time we were all there ourselves. Now on to handing down some knowledge. First you have to ask yourself does the card actually have value or show potential value? Having a card graded does get expensive as prophet explained as there are many options companies give you. The 2 major players in the grading wars are: Beckett and PSA. Check any beckett graded section they are listing graded cards. Now should you have a card graded? Well do YOU think it will grade well? If you do not think your card will grade better than 8, my advice is forget it. You'll waste your money. Grading cards is basically trying to get that elusive gem mint 10! Or pulling a Mickey Mantle auto 1/1! But if you want to pay someone to tell you your card is worth less than you thought it was, by all means go ahead. But let me say this about card grading services. A few years back there was hardly no companies who offered this service and now thanks to supply and demand their are plenty. In the end you will have to decide if you want to pay for this service and live with the grade the card was given.Since you have a vintage card grading isn't a bad idea, anyone reading this that is having a $3 insert card graded to make more money, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR TRYING TO DESTROY THIS HOBBY! I hope this helped you and remember if still unsure feel free to shoot me or any MODS/ADV. a PM. This hobby is or was for fun. Too many people are in it for profit, please don't be that one! Happy trading!

[soxfan445]

I have to disagree with Bondsaway when he said:
"Now should you have a card graded? Well do YOU think it will grade well? If you do not think your card will grade better than 8, my advice is forget it. You'll waste your money. Grading cards is basically trying to get that elusive gem mint 10!"

That is totally incorrect when it comes to vintage. I did a population search on your card (which shows how many graded versions of your card exist with each grade) and found that only 1 graded above 8. That's totally OK. For a vintage piece like your card, you're shooting for above a five. If I could see a scan or a picture, I could probably help you out, even though I'm not an expert on vintage.

Welcome to SCF!
Regards,
Mike

[Bondsaway]

Maybe it did sound wrong, sorry if I wasn't clear on it. I do agree that a scan would help many of us tell you better as to whether or not to grade. Simply because alot of vintage cards had probelms with centering and such. Nowadays companies have quality control to prevent cards from being released with these probelms. But as I said before soxfan siad you would be shooting for a 5 in newer cards it would be at least 8. So yes yr of card plays major importance to grading as some cards will never see a better grade because of those probelms. Again hope we've helped you in some manner.
Welcome and if you hadn't noticed theres plenty of help here just ask!

[Newbie_Trader]

thanks for all your help guys. i dont have a scanner so i took some pics, there not great.

im hoping these atachments work.

basically the top/bottom centering on the front is about 90/10 and minor cornering all around. the surface (cant tell from picture) is very nice.

[Bondsaway]

OH YEAH, thats a little more like it. Yes I'd have it graded the centering is a problem but otherwise a good looking card from what I can see. Use a major player in the grading companies as some smaller ones may do it cheaper but are not looked upon as highly as others when it comes to their graded practices. Thats a whole other debate! Good luck with it! Hope this helps you.

[soxfan445]

That centering is definitely going to be a problem, but the rest of the card looks fine.
Regards,
Mike

[Newbie_Trader]

i think ill use beckett just because i know what their website is. any objections to this? it would only take one and a link to sway me.