Why Should I Grade My Cards?

To grade, or not to grade

For years people have asked us “Why should I grade my cards”? Actually that’s a great question and there are a few reasons why. The main reason people grade their cards is to answer the age old question, “What’s it worth?”. That usually isn’t the reason we collect things but in the end, isn’t it really? As a collector the value of your items is important. It’s why we try our best to preserve them as best we can. We try our hardest to keep them protected and preserved in an effort to retain as much of the initial value as possible in hopes that someday it’s worth a bit more.

Grading a card is a way of saying “this is the condition of my card compared to other cards like it”. Sure it may look like a ten to you, but having an expert grade it you’ll get the experience of an expert who has seen WAY more cards than you ever will and 9 times out of 10 can spot things you had no idea they looked for. This is why they are the experts.

The best resources and always a good place to start are PSA (the Professional Sports Authenticator) and Beckett. These two entities are the gold standard of card grading and the best bet for determining the value of your Derek Jeter rookie card. A 10 out of 10 graded Derek Jeter rookie just went for a whopping $99,000. Crazy right? Well, Adrian Proietti the new owner of the card thinks it’s still a very good deal. He says, “In 2008, I was offered a PSA 10 for $25,000,” Proietti said. “I passed on it. I think the $99,100 is still a very good deal”. I don’t know about you but I’m going to start digging through my collections.

Speaking of digging, another huge reason to get those cards graded is you never know what you might have hidden away in those card boxes. Like John from NJ who decided he’d finally dig through his collection of old cards to find 5 Mickey Mantle cards of varying grades. Who knows how much better they’d be if he did it sooner. In any case having a graded 8.5 Mickey Mantle is pretty darn sweet. Especially when it could fetch enough at auction that he won’t need to worry when his next Social Security check is coming in the mail. Good for him!

In case you wondered, here are some details about card grading you can find at PSA.
Or you can always watch their video for tidbits of info.

In any case, it’s obvious that in order to fully realize what you have as a collector, it’s probably a good idea to have the cards you consider ‘an investment’ to be graded. It protects the cards and helps when trying to determine a value. After all, a card that has value is good. For more protection products as well as graded card supplies visit us for your collection needs.

Trading Card Collection Supplies

High-quality storage and display products for trading card collections.

 

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