.webp)
.webp)
Should I Get My Baseball Cards Graded by PSA?
Having Your Sports Cards Professionally Graded
Over the last decade, the rise in the popularity, and also the value, of trading cards has increased the demand for professionally graded cards. Dean’s Cards was founded in 2003, and since then we have submitted tens-of-thousands of cards to PSA to be graded. We have also acquired more than that number from both private collections and online auctions. The goal of this article is to share some of my knowledge and experience on having cards professionally graded and to help you decide which cards may make sense for you to submit.
Some people think that it is always a good decision to have cards professionally graded by PSA. The truth is that the value of the vast majority of cards will never increase enough to justify the expense of the grading service.
Great Marketing
Some people who are looking to sell their collections have been told, "Baseball cards are worth more when they are graded". Professional card grading companies such as PSA, SGC & Beckett love to market this claim as a great justification for their services. As the value of a card goes up, so do the grading fees. It is quite common to pay hundreds, or sometimes thousands of dollars to have a Mickey Mantle or some other star card graded. There are also additional fees for shipping, handling, and insurance. Every so often, PSA or SGC will run an ingenious advertisement where they show an ungraded card that sold for a few dollars, and then show the same card, this one graded a PSA 10 that sold for hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in a recent auction. Real world scenarios like this are extremely rare, but they make a great advertisement. While the claim is technically true, only about 1% of vintage cards receive the the grade of PSA 10 GEM MINT. It is not uncommon, to see mid-grade PSA cards listed for sale online, for less than what it cost to have them graded.It would be like seeing a rare diamond sold for millions of dollars and expecting to sell your wife's engagement ring for that same amount. After all, they are both diamonds, right?
Please understand that we at Dean’s Cards are totally unbiased when it comes to professionally graded cards. We buy and sell both graded and ungraded cards. At last count, Dean’s Cards has close to 30,000 PSA graded cards in our million card inventory.
For the few cards that PSA graded a PSA 9 or PSA 10, and that have sold for millions of dollars, the vast majority of this card grades lower, and sells for a fraction of the price.
Grading Fees
In November 2020, Collectors Universe (the parent company to PSA) was sold. This “new” PSA has greatly increased the size of the company in terms of technology, number of graders, as well as the price they charge to grade cards. Since that time, the “new” PSA has opened new offices and added thousands of people. The result is that the average price that they charge to grade some cards has increased. With the fees charged by PSA, and the other grading companies, it can be a challenge to profit from the experience. The fees often outweigh the value of having the card professionally graded. While most cards sell for a higher price after they have been graded, the value of many of the cards will never be able to absorb the grading fees. PSA used to run specials, where collectors could submit cards in bulk, and pay $8 a piece to have them graded. Dean’s Cards would typically submit several thousand cards to PSA every year. The number of cards that we submit to PSA has greatly reduced. In the past, I would advise people looking to sell a collection, “It does not always make sense to get a common card graded, unless it is very old or in near-perfect condition.” Today, this is even more the case. We have seen people inherit valuable collections then spend a fortune on grading fees, only to sell the collection for less than the cost of the grading services! If you are selling a collection, you are usually better off saving yourself the expense and us selling the cards ungraded. If you are determined to get your cards graded, please do yourself a favor and send only a few to test the results. If you are satisfied with the grades that you receive, you can always send more. PSA is the only grading company that I recommend for vintage trading cards. Some new companies have recently surfaced, but only time will tell if they become a factor within the hobby.Some collectors prefer ungraded cards
Dean’s Cards has an application that we developed to grade most of the cards we sell. This shows the individual grades for dozens of a card’s attributes, and enables us to sell cards for as much or even more than we could if they were encased by PSA. This software allows us to pay more for collections.We offer a money back guarantee, so if collectors do not agree with our grades, they may simply return the cards. Most true collectors decide the condition of the card themselves.
Dean's Cards has found that our graded cards do not always sell as quickly as our ungraded cards, probably because of the additional cost to the collector. Many collectors are unwilling to pay a premium for a graded card. There are occasions when collectors will purchase a graded card from us and ask us to remove it from the case before shipping it to them. The graded card slabs that PSA uses are very heavy and take up a lot of storage space. Besides, some collectors want to actually touch the card and hold it in their hand.
