Grading, naive newbie questions

[1970s]

I'm confused about grading. Graded cards, even with lowish grades, often sell for more than ungraded, but--unless the grades are high--the difference is almost never enough to justify the cost of grading (at the prices I've seen). How do officially graded 5s and 6s even exist?

Were all of these cards at one time owned by people who could officially grade them themselves for free?

Are there bulk grading options that make grading less valuable cards feasible?

Elsewhere in these forums, someone wrote: "If I am paying $20 to grade a $1 card, and selling for $21 then..it's a wash. If I am paying $10 to grade a $1 card and sell it for $12, then I made a buck." But how many buyers are eager to pay $12 or $21 for a card when they can get one that looks the same, ungraded, for $1?

And even if the buyers exist, why does it make sense to spend $10 for a chance to make $1 profit?

Thanks for helping this newbie figure this out.

[doniceage]

Well the cost of grading has only gone up in the last few years. Before you could grade a card from Beckett or PSa for under 10 dollars when doing bulk submissions. Prices like that are a pipe dream and the wait times are also crazy. So a lot of the cards folks see graded are from back in the day. A lot of folks are grading the heck out of the newer issues and newer companies have come out with lower grading fees of course there cards do not sell for as much as stated above. So, grading is only good imo for those who want to flip if they truly know how to look at all the criteria's and get mostly 9.5 or 10's. If they are not doing this consistently they are not going to recoup their money especially if they get a lot of 8's etc. That is for new cards older cards you just have to be able to tell what the card will grade for how much you will invest in a card and how much it will sell for if it grades what you think. This imo is a job and if your enjoy cards and going thru them with a fine tooth comb there is money to be made.

Many folks grade cards just for their showcase their personal collection and hence why some of the other companies beside the top 2 will always have a market as they charge a lot less. SCF has a grading company who charges a lot less and the turn around time is weeks instead of months or over a year with some of the backlog of the big two. Of course these are folks who are not looking to flip them instantly.
This is the Official ISA Grading Monthly Rolling Submission Thread
That a link to a group submission they have on the site. if you have any questions about the company or the getting into a group submission just ask in that thread.

Keep asking questions and folks will try to help you out.

DON

[Taliasen]

No one has signed up for the June sub with ISA yet. They are giving away free graded cards!