Gradeing

Sorry if I ask to many questions but I was wondering anyone here has got there cards graded by sgc and if so how does that work Ive always wanted to have some of my raw cards graded but after looking at there site am a bit confused any advice?

I've used them several times without any problems. The only thing that is different about submitting to them is that you have to estimate the value of the cards. The card's value determines the grading fees. If you have multiple cards at multiple levels, you have to submit all of the similar valued cards on their own forms. Theoretically, you could have as many forms as you do cards.

The natural question is: how do I know the value of the cards without knowing their grade. Estimation is what you have to do.

Good luck!

My advice is that you don't get your cards graded, because you will lose money doing it.

Improving your spelling and grammar would be a far better use of your time. That whole "education thing" is really profitable in the long term.

Ka-ching!

SGC is an excellent place to get your cards graded. I always felt the cards look great in the holder and they offer protection for the cards. The customer service is great if you have questions give them a call they are always more than willing to help.

Lee

SGC is the only way I go. It's fairly easy whether sending in raw cards or other graded cards for crossover. I've done different tiers on the same submission form. And I've done raw and crossovers on the same form. When submitting graded cards for crossover, you can specify a minimum grade you'd be willing to receive. If they don't agree that it will equally cross over, they won't crack it out and there's really no loss. With raw cards, if you're OK with receiving an AUT grade, you have to specify it on the submission form like this: "A OK". Otherwise they won't holder it.

Edited to add: As far as shipping it to them, I don't know. I work about 10 miles from their office, so I always hand deliver my cards to them, which gives me great piece of mind.

I would like to know when it is advisable to have cards graded. Jbonie advised not to have cards graded. I have found some t-trading cards (both sports and non-sports) that belonged to my grandfather and I am considering selling them. Most of them are in poor shape (in my opinion), but some of them look very nice. Also, what is the best way to get the most value for the cards? Thanks for any positive comments.

If you have scans of some of the cards, that would be a big help. We could then give you a good idea as to what is of value. If the cards are rare enough, or valuable enough if you consign them to an auction house they will most likely pay to have the ones graded that warrant being graded.

Gramps,

Can you scan the cards you have and post the image here? Or at least tell us what they are? Certain cards are worth getting graded if they are high value. I was more making a point about the original poster's spelling ability. But when most people send in cards, they don't usually get high grades. If you do get them graded, go with SGC.

As far as selling goes, I am guessing your best bet would be ebay. The non-sports cards are likely not worth much, though there are exceptions. If you don't have an ebay account with 100+ feedback I would probably consign them to an ebay seller. The guy I use is David Bryan, found at www.davidbvintage.com. Very reliable seller. If the cards are not valuable then you should probably have him list them as one lot so that you pay less in consignment fees.

But if you can give us more info about the cards, it would help. Someone came on here with a very big find last year, having no idea of the value of his cards... those cards will go for 50k+ in Robert Edward Auctions this May. If the cards are worth $2500+ then they ought to go ideally to an auction house instead of ebay.

Also be sure not to damage the cards in any way - i.e., glueing them to a binder, banging the corners, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts. I hope to have a scan of some of the t-201 cards by tomorow or Wednesday.

Grandpa

I'm having a tough time trying to upload my images. I'm quitting for tonight.

you can email to me at quan277@gmail.com i'll upload them for u

Correction: was referring to T202's not T201's.

I wanted to post more images but these will have to do. They are of Walter Johnson/Charles Street and M. Huggins/Roger Breshnahan. All of my t-201's are Mecca cards. I would like to have posted larger images but these will have to do. These images don't do justice to the real thing.

Those don't look too bad. The Johnson would be worth getting graded. If you have the Cobb/Crawford or other major Hall of Famers like Mathewson they would also be worth grading if they look like the Johnson.

t201s is a good set to start collecting for beginners. It's attractive, is the first set with sets, is inexpensive relative to other T-sets and there are no really tough cards in the set to track down.

Wouldn't hurt to grade the Huggins, either. Though unless you need the money, I would keep the cards. They'll likely appreciate in value and look really good in the SGC cases.

Grandpa wrote:Thanks for your thoughts. I hope to have a scan of some of the t-201 cards by tomorow or Wednesday.

Grandpa

One thing about T-201 is that (I believe) the grading companies charge the "oversized" price to grade/slab them. This can cost significantly more than a standard sized card of similar value. And while SGC has fairly regular "specials" offering reduced pricing to grade certain standard sized pre-war cards, I think specials on grading oversized cards are not as frequent.

I have another Matthewson but it is in bad condition.

Grading your cards is actually extremely important. Take it from me, an owner of a Sports Cards shop. If you just want to collect your cards and are never going to sell them, it may not be as important. However, if you are looking for resell value, you need to get those cards graded. If you come into my shop with what you believe to be an extremely valuable card, especially an autographed one, the first thing I will tell you is that I probably won't be interested in buying it from you unless you get it graded.

Grading cards protects both sides of the transaction-You get a better deal from me, and I get the knowledge that I'm not buying a fake.

Showtime Cards wrote:
and I get the knowledge that I'm not buying a fake.

or at least a good fake.

No dealer with one iota of knowledge about this industry is gonna think those cards are fake.

Agreed, I wasn't talking about the cards in this thread. Just a comment on how a slabbed card (especially a slabbed auto card) does not guarantee authenticity.

[quote="Bicem"]

Showtime Cards wrote:
or at least a good fake.

You'd be surprised how accurate the Grading companies can be. I rarely see a card that is a fake, and has also been graded. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just saying that with today's technology it's something of a rarity.

[quote="Showtime Cards"]

Bicem wrote:

Showtime Cards wrote:
or at least a good fake.

You'd be surprised how accurate the Grading companies can be. I rarely see a card that is a fake, and has also been graded. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just saying that with today's technology it's something of a rarity.

And what about the autos?

Nowadays, graded autos are usually extremely trustworthy because of the computer programs used to authenticate them. Basically, with as many authentic autographs as there are out there, the Grading companies just have to scan your card and run it through a program that compares it to all their known authentic ones. It analyzes the handwriting and gives you a pretty fool-proof answer.