To grade, or not to grade, That is the question!

BuckeyeHockey

I have many ungraded cards from the 1950s', 1960s' and 1970s'. What's everone's opinion!!!!

Am I better off with ungraded cards or cards with a low grade on them?

ejguru

Depends on who it is, and how low the grade may be. Also, a factor may be how you keep/store them. Can you be any more specific with what you've got. I consider SMR value with ebay prices to see if a card is worth grading. Usually it makes little financial sense to slab something that could come back with a grade so low that it isn't worth what it cost to slab.

aro13

I am guessing you are referring to hockey cards based on your name. Certainly from the 70's you are probably better off keeping them ungraded. There are a very few cards that will make you more money in a grade of 6 or less. The Ken Dryden rookie, the Wayne Gretzky rookie and the #111 checklist from 71-72 are three I can think of automatically. From the 60's there will be more rookie cards and star cards that having grades lower than 6 would be fine. Depending on the set - NM 7 commons do not always do well. From the 50's if you can get 4's and up it would be worth grading 51-52's and some key rookies and stars. I would again not grade any commons after 52-53 in 6 or lower.

tripoli

Yes, any 1960's vintage hockey that comes back a PSA 6 or 7 just doesn't get the respect (price) they deserve on ebay.
The irony is that most dealers sell these cards at Nrmt+ prices, so you get killed if you grade them after buying them retail.

dan