[mlbguru8]

My apologies if this is posted somewhere in the pages already, but nothing came up in a search.

How do you know when it's time to grade a card? Are there real advantages to grading vs leaving a card raw?

I've never sent in a card to grade and I don't own anything graded. Just wondering if it's worth it or if it's all subjective.

[kerryandbeth]

If you plan on selling a high-end item, then grading would most likely be beneficial. If you want to protect a high-end card, then grading cases are ideal for that. If you don't mind the ugly grading case or spending the money, then go ahead...

I have never graded a card but have 3 that I should grade with values of over $200 for all 3 and due to the fact that I plan to sell. IMO, it is a waste of money if the card is less than $50.

[rjcj2017]

For modern cards, if they receive a high grade - 9.0 or better - they are generally easier to sell for a higher price, as the buyer knows what he's getting in terms of condition.

If you get an 8.5 or below, however, you've probably wasted your money - they don't generally sell better than a raw card.

Vintage is a different deal, as the expectations on condition are much lower.

Personally I'm not into graded cards, only because of all the rumors and alleged shadiness that goes on.

They're also harder to store.

But, they do like nice (personally I prefer the BGS labels to the PSA labels, but that's just my opinion) and there is something to be said for the protection value of the card.

To actually answer your question (LOL), if you pull or trade for something that you feel is going to get a high grade - sharp corners, centering, no scratches on surface or chipping on edges - and your main goal is to get top dollar for it, I would go ahead and grade it.

I have pulled some cards that would probably grade really well, but I wouldn't let them out of my sight long enough to get graded, LOL

[DrMitchJ]

For modern cards, if they receive a high grade - 9.0 or better - they are generally easier to sell for a higher price, as the buyer knows what he's getting in terms of condition.
If you get an 8.5 or below, however, you've probably wasted your money - they don't generally sell better than a raw card.
Vintage is a different deal, as the expectations on condition are much lower.
Personally I'm not into graded cards, only because of all the rumors and alleged shadiness that goes on.
They're also harder to store.
But, they do like nice (personally I prefer the BGS labels to the PSA labels, but that's just my opinion) and there is something to be said for the protection value of the card.
To actually answer your question (LOL), if you pull or trade for something that you feel is going to get a high grade - sharp corners, centering, no scratches on surface or chipping on edges - and your main goal is to get top dollar for it, I would go ahead and grade it.
I have pulled some cards that would probably grade really well, but I wouldn't let them out of my sight long enough to get graded, LOL

Pretty much, everything RJ said could be in a FAQ page about grading!

Also, as to your question ... "when"?
Answer: ASAP ... since they take their sweet time getting the cards back to you. So, if it's some hot RC that might have a 3 month 'shelf life' before they go stale, you might be better off selling raw, since by the time you get your 'economy priced' graded card back, it might be valueless. Furthermore, if the card is valued less than the cost of grading, it might not make sense, unless you just really want it protected in your PC.

[mlbguru8]

For modern cards, if they receive a high grade - 9.0 or better - they are generally easier to sell for a higher price, as the buyer knows what he's getting in terms of condition.

If you get an 8.5 or below, however, you've probably wasted your money - they don't generally sell better than a raw card.

Vintage is a different deal, as the expectations on condition are much lower.

Personally I'm not into graded cards, only because of all the rumors and alleged shadiness that goes on.

They're also harder to store.

But, they do like nice (personally I prefer the BGS labels to the PSA labels, but that's just my opinion) and there is something to be said for the protection value of the card.

To actually answer your question (LOL), if you pull or trade for something that you feel is going to get a high grade - sharp corners, centering, no scratches on surface or chipping on edges - and your main goal is to get top dollar for it, I would go ahead and grade it.

I have pulled some cards that would probably grade really well, but I wouldn't let them out of my sight long enough to get graded, LOL

Great, that's sort of what I was looking for. I'm not a big "card seller", I'd rather trade card to get more for my PC and help someone else out, but I feel like in order to recoup fund selling the higher end stuff is something I will have to do.

Guess I'll have to look into some of the "shadiness" you're talking about.

[btrav13]

Great, that's sort of what I was looking for. I'm not a big "card seller", I'd rather trade card to get more for my PC and help someone else out, but I feel like in order to recoup fund selling the higher end stuff is something I will have to do.

Guess I'll have to look into some of the "shadiness" you're talking about.

There was a Washington Post article about it this summer. It appears that it focuses on mainly one guy and around 316 cards (at least I think that's the number I read). He was buying lower-graded cards, taking them out of the grading case, and then "altering" the cards trying too fix some of the flaws. Then he'd re-submit the card to PSA and if he got a higher grade he would sell them through PWCC (a consignment place that will sell your graded cards for you for a percentage of the sale price).

There are certain things that I read are "unacceptable" to do in order to "alter" the card for a higher grade. It's not crazy rampant, it was just that PSA didn't know what he was doing and neither did PWCC. Once it came out, the FBI got involved. If you google "Washington Post Baseball Card Article" it's literally the first hit.

The reason it was disturbing is because buying a graded card is supposed to be your safety net. It's been inspected and graded by a well-established company that has no bias when grading a card. PWCC did give customer's money back, but they did also try to get the buyers to try to resolve the issue directly with the seller first.

The guy in question still says he never altered them, but the article is a good read. I figure if it's only 316 cards out of the millions on ebay and now there are authorities looking into it, you should be good.

[akaus]

I believe there are multiple people who have been caught doing this. There is another card trading site that has all kinds of information on it.

[jbissell]

I agree with akaus. Im to the point where I dont trust the grading process at this time, and am content with my cards remaining raw.