What's an unpopular opinion you have regarding cards?

[jjohnson814]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

Sincere question for you guys, not a veiled criticism or anything: How do you make the economics of doing this work for you? Assuming you aren't just independently wealthy (and if you are, major congrats and envies from this end), but do you just only buy graded cards that don't have hardly any premium over loose equivalents, such as 8s or 9s instead of 9.5s or 10s?

Just wondering what the strategic value (at least from a financial cost perspective) would be to do this, at least if you were buying high-graded pre-graded cards.

I'm sure there is something I'm missing and am just sincerely wondering if you would be so good as to set me straight.

Thanks in advance.

Chad

I crack graded cards as well and it's simple for me. There is no financial strategy. I am not buying the card for it's future value and my ability to flip it. I'm buying it because I want the card and it looks better out of the case.

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[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by jjohnson814

I crack graded cards as well and it's simple for me. There is no financial strategy. I am not buying the card for it's future value and my ability to flip it. I'm buying it because I want the card and it looks better out of the case.

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Fair enough. I appreciate your response. Just want to clarify one thing about where I was coming from with the financial aspect of my question:

I don't think you have to be an aspiring card-flipper short term or long term or quasi-investor to consider the financial aspects of card purchases, at least for some of the rarer and most expensive stuff out there. Again, if for whatever reason, the cost of this stuff is just not a consideration for a given collector, cool. Awesome for them. But for me, while I'm first and foremost motivated by collecting impulses when I purchase a card (including a graded card), I am very much aware of what that often costs, and what other financial opportunities I'm potentially giving up for myself and my family by putting that money into the cards, so I'm at least thinking about how likely it is I could get my money back out of it if/when I was forced by circumstances to sell it (or even if my collecting preferences and focuses change in the future and I no longer want a particular cards as much and would rather generate some funds to buy stuff I'm more interested in collecting at that time).

I know there are an infinite variety of ways folks think about this stuff when they make collecting decisions, and that's cool. That's exactly what I'm curious about. Just wanted to clarify my personal take on the financial dimension of collecting issue there, as from the angle I was taking, it just seems a little counterintuitive to pay any premium for a graded card and then bust it out. But if you are getting graded cards that don't have a premium over raw and/or if you just don't care whether you can ever get your money back out of your stuff if you ever need or just want to try to do that, I can see that it totally doesn't matter.

Chad

[TarjetasBéisbol]

Originally Posted by WSU11

When I purchase graded cards, I crack open the cases and put them into a one touch because it looks better if all the cards in the box are the same heights.

Originally Posted by speedyjg13

Omg... I do the same thing!!!!

Originally Posted by jjohnson814

I crack graded cards as well and it's simple for me. There is no financial strategy. I am not buying the card for it's future value and my ability to flip it. I'm buying it because I want the card and it looks better out of the case.

But do you buy 10s, 9.5s or just lower graded cards to crack?

[rngrdanny22]

Originally Posted by TarjetasBéisbol

But do you buy 10s, 9.5s or just lower graded cards to crack?

I have the same question. Why not just buy them raw in the first place?

[speedyjg13]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

Sincere question for you guys, not a veiled criticism or anything: How do you make the economics of doing this work for you? Assuming you aren't just independently wealthy (and if you are, major congrats and envies from this end), but do you just only buy graded cards that don't have hardly any premium over loose equivalents, such as 8s or 9s instead of 9.5s or 10s?

Just wondering what the strategic value (at least from a financial cost perspective) would be to do this, at least if you were buying high-graded pre-graded cards.

I'm sure there is something I'm missing and am just sincerely wondering if you would be so good as to set me straight.

Thanks in advance.

Chad

I buy for PC and don't really care about resell. I just think it looks more appealing if they are all in one touch holders instead of graded cases which will all have different grades and subgrades.

Most of these cards I cracked out and almost all were either a BGS 9 or 9.5 with 10 autos. I rather have them all display nicely instead of having a random 9 here, a 9.5 here, another 9 here, etc.

As far as econonics/strategic value.... I buy my cards with disposable income, so if a card gets devalued because I cracked it out, oh well. At least I have the card and that's really all I care about. I can always have them regraded if I want a # on them. And no I am not wealthy lol. A lot of overtime.... here's a picture of some of my cards, to give you an idea of what I mean. What a headache it would be if I displayed these with random 9s and 9.5s across the board. With one touch magnetics, all cards are equal

[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by speedyjg13

I buy for PC and don't really care about resell. I just think it looks more appealing if they are all in one touch holders instead of graded cases which will all have different grades and subgrades.

Most of these cards I cracked out and almost all were either a BGS 9 or 9.5 with 10 autos. I rather have them all display nicely instead of having a random 9 here, a 9.5 here, another 9 here, etc.

As far as econonics/strategic value.... I buy my cards with disposable income, so if a card gets devalued because I cracked it out, oh well. At least I have the card and that's really all I care about. I can always have them regraded if I want a # on them. And no I am not wealthy lol. A lot of overtime.... here's a picture of some of my cards, to give you an idea of what I mean. What a headache it would be if I displayed these with random 9s and 9.5s across the board. With one touch magnetics, all cards are equal

Cool enough. I appreciate your taking the time to respond about your personal approach.

While I don't think I can probably ever get myself on the same track (especially if I was buying something like early Trout stuff), I understand where you are coming from with your personal take, and respect that. I also think your display is aesthetically very pleasing, and get where you are coming from as to how the visual crispness of that display would be interferred with by grading slabs and labels.

Happy collecting.

Chad

[jjohnson814]

Originally Posted by rngrdanny22

I have the same question. Why not just buy them raw in the first place?

I buy raw most of the time. But I like to buy BGS9 for some high end stuff that's hard to find raw because I know exactly what I'm getting with the sub grades and the premium isn't too bad

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[rngrdanny22]

Originally Posted by speedyjg13

Holy moly. That's an insane collection.

[unclemonkey]

We are early in the PSA/BGS takeover and live in a cherrypickers paradise

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by jjohnson814

I crack graded cards as well and it's simple for me. There is no financial strategy. I am not buying the card for it's future value and my ability to flip it. I'm buying it because I want the card and it looks better out of the case.

Same for me.....#1 concern when buying a card is visual appeal....and graded card cases are universally ugly.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

Fair enough. I appreciate your response. Just want to clarify one thing about where I was coming from with the financial aspect of my question:

I don't think you have to be an aspiring card-flipper short term or long term or quasi-investor to consider the financial aspects of card purchases, at least for some of the rarer and most expensive stuff out there. Again, if for whatever reason, the cost of this stuff is just not a consideration for a given collector, cool. Awesome for them. But for me, while I'm first and foremost motivated by collecting impulses when I purchase a card (including a graded card), I am very much aware of what that often costs, and what other financial opportunities I'm potentially giving up for myself and my family by putting that money into the cards, so I'm at least thinking about how likely it is I could get my money back out of it if/when I was forced by circumstances to sell it (or even if my collecting preferences and focuses change in the future and I no longer want a particular cards as much and would rather generate some funds to buy stuff I'm more interested in collecting at that time).

I know there are an infinite variety of ways folks think about this stuff when they make collecting decisions, and that's cool. That's exactly what I'm curious about. Just wanted to clarify my personal take on the financial dimension of collecting issue there, as from the angle I was taking, it just seems a little counterintuitive to pay any premium for a graded card and then bust it out. But if you are getting graded cards that don't have a premium over raw and/or if you just don't care whether you can ever get your money back out of your stuff if you ever need or just want to try to do that, I can see that it totally doesn't matter.

Chad

#1 - set a monthly/yearly budget that works for you and stick to it
#2 - make a wantlist and keep to it
#3 - stay focused
#4 - assume that anything you buy for your PC has ZERO future resale value (obviously not true, but keeps you from thinking about $$$)

Do these things and you can have a good collecting experience on almost any budget.

[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by mfw13

#1 - set a monthly/yearly budget that works for you and stick to it
#2 - make a wantlist and keep to it
#3 - stay focused
#4 - assume that anything you buy for your PC has ZERO future resale value (obviously not true, but keeps you from thinking about $$$)

Do these things and you can have a good collecting experience on almost any budget.

Personally, I don't have any problem enjoying collecting with a practical awareness of the financial dimension. Although I definitely do #1 to some extent, and #2 for sure to help me with #3. While #4 is probably wise advice, I don't think I'd be pursuing a lot of the stuff I most like to collect if I adhered to it, given the cost of those items. I certainly don't expect them to appreciate in value or necessarily even hold all of their value, but I do expect them to have SOME liveable resale value (and a volatile one at that that depends on a range of factors totally beyond my control--hence the degree of financial risk I choose to except by collecting what I do).

[preakness]

I’m
Into Razor

[preakness]

Graded modern cards annoy me

[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by preakness

Graded modern cards annoy me

I strongly recommend not buying any then. Would suck to have a collection that annoyed you.

[JWBlue]

I don't care for Bowman Chrome cards.

This probably has something to do with being a collector in the 1980s when older Bowman cards were considered secondary to Topps. Topps really resuscitated the brand.

[preakness]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

I strongly recommend not buying any then. Would suck to have a collection that annoyed you.

I have a few graded here and there for PC but i don’t pay a premium to buy modern grades cards

[jjohnson814]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

Fair enough. I appreciate your response. Just want to clarify one thing about where I was coming from with the financial aspect of my question:

I don't think you have to be an aspiring card-flipper short term or long term or quasi-investor to consider the financial aspects of card purchases, at least for some of the rarer and most expensive stuff out there. Again, if for whatever reason, the cost of this stuff is just not a consideration for a given collector, cool. Awesome for them. But for me, while I'm first and foremost motivated by collecting impulses when I purchase a card (including a graded card), I am very much aware of what that often costs, and what other financial opportunities I'm potentially giving up for myself and my family by putting that money into the cards, so I'm at least thinking about how likely it is I could get my money back out of it if/when I was forced by circumstances to sell it (or even if my collecting preferences and focuses change in the future and I no longer want a particular cards as much and would rather generate some funds to buy stuff I'm more interested in collecting at that time).

I know there are an infinite variety of ways folks think about this stuff when they make collecting decisions, and that's cool. That's exactly what I'm curious about. Just wanted to clarify my personal take on the financial dimension of collecting issue there, as from the angle I was taking, it just seems a little counterintuitive to pay any premium for a graded card and then bust it out. But if you are getting graded cards that don't have a premium over raw and/or if you just don't care whether you can ever get your money back out of your stuff if you ever need or just want to try to do that, I can see that it totally doesn't matter.

Chad

Yeah I hear ya. I understand why other people like graded cards to protect their future value. I don't criticize those people at all. It's really just a personal thing that I don't like how the card looks graded. If I ever sell I'll grade at that point and send it to PWCC. The selling process is pretty simple if you have patience.

In general I feel that if you focus on the cards more than the grade you will enjoy collecting more in my experience but if collecting graded cards is more fun more power to you!

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[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by preakness

I have a few graded here and there for PC but i don’t pay a premium to buy modern grades cards

Hey, fair enough man. Truly, whatever works for you (or anyone else).

There are tons of things in this hobby that seem to excite a lot of folks that just do nothing for me, or may even personally strike me as silly, but if that's what works for them, cool.

I think having all that variety is inherently a good thing for long-term hobby vitality, though for sure, if some areas get too overheated and become raging speculative financial bubbles, the aftermath of those popping could at least do some short-term damage to the broader hobby.

[WSU11]

Originally Posted by Darth Bryzzo

Sincere question for you guys, not a veiled criticism or anything: How do you make the economics of doing this work for you? Assuming you aren't just independently wealthy (and if you are, major congrats and envies from this end), but do you just only buy graded cards that don't have hardly any premium over loose equivalents, such as 8s or 9s instead of 9.5s or 10s?

Just wondering what the strategic value (at least from a financial cost perspective) would be to do this, at least if you were buying high-graded pre-graded cards.

I'm sure there is something I'm missing and am just sincerely wondering if you would be so good as to set me straight.

Thanks in advance.

Chad

The majority of the time I’m still purchasing raw versions of the cards I like. But every now and again, if I see something graded, I’ll buy it knowing I’m gonna crack it open.

I may have cracked a few 9.5’s, but never a 10. Usually the premium on a 10 is more than I’m willing to spend so I end up waiting for something else to come along.

I’m also not opposed to an 8, but never have purchased any.

After reading so many threads on how arbitrary the grading process can be, I’ve just decided that it’s not important to me at the moment and I’d rather spend that money on other things. However I do see more of a value to grading vintage.




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[WSU11]

Originally Posted by speedyjg13

Omg... I do the same thing!!!!

You may be my brother from another mother!

Funny enough, my main pc is on-card, “high-end” autos of Angels. Angels = Trout.

And I guess Pujols...



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[Hallco]

Every time I see a Topps Fire card I can't help but think it is each players mother giving birth to them.

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by Hallco

Every time I see a Topps Fire card I can't help but think it is each players mother giving birth to them.

Haha...to be honest, not a fan at all of those cards. It's just more overproduced junk from Topps.

[Darth Bryzzo]

Originally Posted by Hallco

Every time I see a Topps Fire card I can't help but think it is each players mother giving birth to them.

I never thought that before, but guarantee I will now, until the end of time.

[marlinsmaniac20]

Game used are not game used and should be about as valuable as a base card.