Grading cards question. ?

[Snakester1]

I tried to search this question with no luck on here, but I bet it's been asked before:

PSA grading (or any other grading service)
I can understand, obviously, spending for grading on vintage.
I can understand shooting your latest Heyward RC off as well, hoping for a 10 to sell.

But what is the logic of grading:
1999 UD Ionix Piazza
or
1999 Nolan Ryan '77 Topps reprint.

??

Is there something I'm missing?

 

[mintman2]

You're not missing anything. People do stupid things all the time ! I just did a search on ebay for "ripken 1990 donruss -psa" and got 59 results, mostly singles. Doesn't get any goofier than that.

 

[gp2001red]

Doesn't everybody want PSA 10 1999 UD Ionix Piazza??

Too much spare time and money to have any idea what they're doing!!

 

[valediction]

I tried to search this question with no luck on here, but I bet it's been asked before:

PSA grading (or any other grading service)
I can understand, obviously, spending for grading on vintage.
I can understand shooting your latest Heyward RC off as well, hoping for a 10 to sell.

But what is the logic of grading:
1999 UD Ionix Piazza
or
1999 Nolan Ryan '77 Topps reprint.

??

Is there something I'm missing?

Yes, there's no figuring people out. This is a hobby where people spend more on cards in a few months than I shell out for rent in a year. You've got people on this very board trading to complete $4 sets. People buy 'near sets' or starter sets missing most or all of the key cards, and end up spending more on postage or purchasing the needed cards than they would have spent to buy the complete set. Maybe someone got a free grading coupon and that was their best bet for a high grade at the time. Could be they saw a 1981 Topps PSA 10 Len Barker sell for $54.95 and they thought 'if a 50 cent Len Barker card goes for $55, an insert of a hall of fame bound player that is tougher to pull will probably sell for more if it comes back a 10'. Might be they were thinking of collecting a graded set and didn't think right off the bat about only a handful of people sent commons in from those sets, and they got started before they realized they'd have to spend $600 in grading fees alone just to get every card graded. Might be it was their favorite card at the time and they wanted it slabbed. Could be they were gambling on getting a 10 and betting there were one or two Piazza/Ryan/Ripken/Joe Shablotnik fans willing to get in a bidding war for a 'perfect' card of their player. Or it might be something completely different.

 

[mindbinge]

player collectors will grade crazy stuff...then you have those who get free gradings with subscriptions and such...lots of reasons really to find odd things.

 

[cadets68]

I know for me it is not about the money. If I were a big player collector I probably would want those cards in a PSA slab. Everyone collects different. I would not spend big money on some autograph of Jason Heyward, Cal Ripken, Joe Mauer or Ahmad Bradshaw. But I am a sucker for 1986 Fleer Baseketball commons in PSA slabs. Gimme a 1972 Topps baseball PSA common and you made my day.

I am just as happy getting the last 1981 donruss card to fill my set as I was to get the 2003 Bowman chrome draft Ryan Howard RC to finish my set.

I am glad people collect different things, it gives me people to trade with.

Shawn

 

[Snakester1]

I suppose the people who list on ebay:

1983 Topps Traded #88T Charlie Puleo Reds NM/MINT For buy now $5..

Are hoping to sell to the set collector who will send it to be slabbed a 9-10.

 

[Tankp]

Who could always be in the mind of other's? I stop trying for years now. It makes for a much less stressful life. DUH!!! hahahahahaha

 

[Yanks21]

A month ago I would have agreed with you, however I just bought a lot of PSA graded cards of my player, 85 of them being PSA 10’s. Some tough cards but enough base to wonder what the heck am I thinking. I like to think that when it comes to my player I might have one of the larger collections of him and to add this lot to my collection I had to do it. That being said I would never start trying to grade the rest of my collections.

In the hay day of PSA I was a member and I was sending of my serial numbered cards numbered to the players jersey numbers for one, to see what grades I would get but more for the collection being slabbed. If anything my collection has been a conversation piece.

I do have a nice vintage collection graded also.

So I am not all that nuts.