T206 debate...

Guru

Okay...sorry if you came here thinking it was going to be something incredibly interesting. I wanted to get some opinions about a purchase. I've been given some extra cash by my in-laws and my father in law told me to get something I really wanted with the cash. So, I'm looking at purchasing a T206 on Ebay. I see a lot of them slabbed and some that are not. I really want one that is not slabbed so I can take it out and look at it and touch it all I want to. But, I know getting it slabbed will preserve it.
What would be your preference? Vote on here and then let me know why. Slab vs. No slab.

bsfastball

get a beater for real cheap and then spend the rest on a nicer one

Stone193

Guru

IMO, Yawie is the guy to answer this question.

He has bought more raw on ebay than most anyone I know here and can help you out - I would guess a lot has been trimmed.

I think if ya buy lower grade - like Vg - no problem and you can get some nice looking cards.

If ya want to be safe?

I think ya can buy like PSA 1, 2 and 3s - crack em out and feel them, touch them and sniff them.

Good luck on your search
mike

metalmike

I vote- buy the cheapest graded card ( top 4 ) you can afford and free it from it's holder. Just wear gloves when you are freeing it. Merry Christmas, Mike

yawie99

I just checked my 2006 T206 purchases - at least those I still have - and I think the tally was 118 graded buys and 109 raw purchases. I think all but three of the graded cards (a PSA 3 Lajoie portrait, a PSA 1 Cobb bat off and an SGC 50 Matty dark cap that just arrived) have been deslabbed. I've just come to prefer cards in their natural state, which is due at least in part to my growing disdain for PSA and grading in general. (That's a whole 'nother story.) For most of the stuff I collect, the premium on graded cards just isn't worth it. And I've come to trust my own eye at least as much as the alleged experts, though buying online can complicate things.

I personally think the threat of altered cards is overstated, especially at the lower end. I've only had a few trimmed cards pass through my hands, and back when I did submit to PSA regularly, I had maybe just a half dozen or so cards get rejected - and only one of those rejections, a recolored T205, came as a surprise.

I assume you're looking for your first T206, so you might want to buy a graded card and then bust it out. There are plenty of 1's and 2's that still have quite a bit of eye appeal, and cracking out a card at that level doesn't destroy much "value," so to speak. If you plan on starting a T206 collection, I'd probably invest in a nice illuminated loupe so you can closely check out the edges of cards to inspect the grain, which can help one spot trims. In any event, good luck. They're quite addicting, by the way.

And thanks, Stone!

yawie99

Geez-us. 19-2.