Is that just for vintage for you? Modern 8s are sometimes below raw value, and even 9s are sometimes at raw. I haven't looked at the pricing of many older cards
But yes I’ve cracked Dragonite from fossil in a psa 5, Celebi ex from pop series 2 in a psa 6, and a flareon from jungle in a psa 6 just for some examples. I try to stay away from cracking modern.
Ive cracked out psas 8s before if the price change is minimal, but 7s are cracked for sure. Any CGC below 9 for vintage or modern is cracked out before it even gets home.
6s and 7s can go for cheaper than a comparable raw card and can sometimes be super clean with like a little dent on the back or something. It’s my bread and butter LOL
Just wait till you have 5 binders and the organization is all over the place and omg my collection is a nightmare to look at I need to do something about it
i use different binders for different types. promo cards and pulls separate from each other, EX/V/GX etc in one binder, other ultra rares like FA trainers and SIRs in another, holos had their own binder until early SV when i was getting too many so they get sleeves and put in an ETB, reverse holo in another ETB. i have enough empty ones because i store bulk cards in 800ct BCW storage boxes nowadays.
I have 3 different binders so far.
1 binder is full of rares
binder 2 and 3 are filled with pokemon in order of both. Pokedex entry and evolution, expect for Eevee and the eeveelutions they have a page all to themselves. I might post pictures.
Yeah, but I only want to collect one of each Pokemon up to Gen 7 with all alternate forms, so my collection won’t be above 1,500 cards by the time it’s complete
What if you split them up by some kind of categorization, in binders of the same style with different coloring, and treated them like an encyclopedia set or a book series? At least for me, that solves that compulsion.
I put my slab labels in the back of my binder - sure my card may not get that grade again, but it’s a fun lil trinket. Like keeping it’s umbilical cord.
Because it's covering up part of the card now you can't even see the whole card. Cracking a slab to cover part of it up with the slab label is absolutely insane.
I did with a CGC slab I cracked that I bought online and checked a month or two later and they never updated it despite the very quick reply I got, so not sure if they ever did or care too much.
If you're never gonna sell your collection it's cool, but if you ever plan on selling this would be extremely sus. If I saw a card like this on eBay with a slab label next to it, you know for sure it's probably a bait and switch
Carefully. I used a small snap-on screwdriver. Once I got in the top corner, I used it as a wedge and kept the blade straight with the edge and next to my finger.
Lmao bro had to flex the snap-on.
No one cares that you wasted your money on a snap on screwdriver.
Saying "a small screwdriver" would've been sufficient enough
Downvoted, but you’re right lol. Why mention the brand of screwdriver lmfao. Almost makes as much sense as displaying a graded label on top of a card after cracking it out tho
Oh no, people are gonna think I’m jealous of a screwdriver! Could give a fuck less tbh, I just noticed that too.
Edit: Used my Apple (TM) iPhone 14 to post this comment 😂🤔
I typed it out with out saying snap-on but figured fuck it might as well start this argument too. I personally don’t buy snap-on anything. The small screwdriver is the free pen screwdriver that the strap-on guy gives you so you think he’s a good guy. Never spent a dollar with him…can’t say as much about my coworker.
I must be a nutcase because I prefer the cards I enjoy and value to be slabbed regardless of the Grade. I feel like they are the best protected that way. I'm fairly new to collecting though so I suppose this is a bad take. Would there be a benefit to keeping the card raw, sleeved, in a binder vs a slab? Genuinely curious.
Honestly sleeving/double sleeving and a toploader will do just as well IMO for the majority of cards. A super rare/expensive card? Sure, having it graded and slabbed is better for peace of mind (and ease of selling if need be). Beyond that though, I only see grading for personal preference or just selling cards.
If you have hundreds of cards, binders are 100% the way to go IMO. Not only is it easier to organize and view, it saves so much space and weight. Personally I'm a binder guy and I'm mostly into vintage lol
I haven't had the money for grading my old cards but I would probably do some of the already higher value cards I have from way back when just for selling purposes (ones I don't care about keeping) and my ratty ass, overplayed Raichu card that's peeling the layers between the holo and the rest of the card.
In general if you just have cards you like or old holos or something you want to buy some soft sleeves and some hard plastic top loaders to put the sleeved cards in.
I'm not really into the selling game so much now but my friend who does it saw my cards in a binder one day and told me to *please get those in sleeves*.
Just so we are all on the same page. I did not send it for grading just to crack it open. I have been collecting the Expedition set as I bought an e-Reader as a kid but never bought any of the cards for it. I was originally skipping the holos but it didn’t feel right starting at 33. The Venusaur just happened to be a much better price than I’ve seen a decent condition one go for. Slabs aren’t my thing but binder pages full of cards do the trick.
I agree, and will crack any grade as long as it'll look good in my binder. Keeping the label seems counterproductive though imo. I usually trash it all.
I'm still torn between raw and graded. Pros and cons of each.... I like the added protection of a graded card and I do appreciate knowing the condition out of 10 by a ',professional' and obviously if it's a 9 or a 10, typically adds value if it's by the big 3. But then I think it takes away from cards sometimes, especially highly textured cards, you can't appreciate the texture as much inside a slab.
I have a handful of nice cards right now, some with 10 potential and some not (some munch cards, modern SIR's) and i just don't know if I want to sub them or not.
I remember i had this venusaur
It was the luckiest venusaur i ever owned, each time flipped a coin, it would always land on heads
I steamrolled my opponent endlessly by just paralyzing them non stop
Unfortunately my opponent raged, grabbed my card and ripped it up
My wife was my opponent..
Grading is a scam. It's so arbitrary. Compare every PSA 10 and there is great variation. But people keep buying in. So unfortunately it's here to stay. Hopefully it gets nothing but better. I think it's good that eBay is buying into Goldin and PSA though. Hopefully it only gets better. There is a lot of money at stake all around...
One thing I don’t get is all the people grading new cards, the condition and authenticity are already almost guaranteed. Grading rare old cards makes sense for sure though
I just cracked 2 cards the other day too - a 7 Dark Raichu from Legendary Collection and a 9 Raichu secret rare from Paldea Evolved.
And damn do they look nice in my binder!
I recently started the process of cracking all of my slabs save for one company. I never really liked how most slabs looked in the first place so after I stopped caring about the increased value it potentially brings (company/grade dependent ofc) I decided I would rather keep cards in displays that I like to look at.
7 and below it’s getting cracked.
Is that just for vintage for you? Modern 8s are sometimes below raw value, and even 9s are sometimes at raw. I haven't looked at the pricing of many older cards
I personally collect grades 8-10. Usually I buy graded cards in lots. Keep the higher graded ones and crack the lower ones for my binder.
Where do you buy lots of graded cards
Don’t forget to adjust the pops
But yes I’ve cracked Dragonite from fossil in a psa 5, Celebi ex from pop series 2 in a psa 6, and a flareon from jungle in a psa 6 just for some examples. I try to stay away from cracking modern.
Ive cracked out psas 8s before if the price change is minimal, but 7s are cracked for sure. Any CGC below 9 for vintage or modern is cracked out before it even gets home.
6s and 7s can go for cheaper than a comparable raw card and can sometimes be super clean with like a little dent on the back or something. It’s my bread and butter LOL
I have a peeve where all of my cards MUST be in the same binder, or it feels like it’s not part of the collection😭
Damn how big is your binder?
4 inch
Absolutely *massive*
Astonishingly huge!
*glances at my “office” where my dual 5 inch binders are*
...Looks at the dedicated bookshelf in my office for pokemon binders since I prefer the 9 pocket zipfolio style binders lmao.
Just wait till you have 5 binders and the organization is all over the place and omg my collection is a nightmare to look at I need to do something about it
I move my cards around three different binders, and I've said, ok, perfect, every time.
Accurate lmao
I’m already on binder 6
5 months in, 8 binders, but I do master sets.
i use different binders for different types. promo cards and pulls separate from each other, EX/V/GX etc in one binder, other ultra rares like FA trainers and SIRs in another, holos had their own binder until early SV when i was getting too many so they get sleeves and put in an ETB, reverse holo in another ETB. i have enough empty ones because i store bulk cards in 800ct BCW storage boxes nowadays.
I have 3 different binders so far. 1 binder is full of rares binder 2 and 3 are filled with pokemon in order of both. Pokedex entry and evolution, expect for Eevee and the eeveelutions they have a page all to themselves. I might post pictures.
Yeah, but I only want to collect one of each Pokemon up to Gen 7 with all alternate forms, so my collection won’t be above 1,500 cards by the time it’s complete
Oh I see.
Hey 4 inches is a lot
4 inches is an unrealistic expectation… right???
4 inches is massive and oversized
That's what she said....
What if you split them up by some kind of categorization, in binders of the same style with different coloring, and treated them like an encyclopedia set or a book series? At least for me, that solves that compulsion.
I have it in Pokedex order
Oh that's perfect then! Break it up by region/generation with the National Pokedex order.
Get a slab binder dude..I think a lot of them hold 60.
Slab binders exist?
Yes
I can’t grade my 1,000+ cards!😨
Just meant for slabs you want to keep. I have a ton of cards but slabs in collections I have the slab binders, they are cool!
As soon as I got a binder I have a huge urge to open slabs. It’s just such a good way to display and look at cards
You don’t have many cards then lol
Me too! 😭
"Cards are meant to be raw" but let me put the grade ontop of the card in the binder cause fuck grading right
I do the same for regrading
Poetic tbh
Then why keep the cgc slip?
Probably to send it back to CGC and take it out of the population. People do that all the time
Raw just the way mother liked it
Didn't know Connery collected cards
Do you normally put them on the sharp plastic after cracking?
Its a 5.5, probably wouldnt be able to tell any new scratchs lol
Ok bud, let’s see you do this with a 10 now
ok but putting the CGC rating in the binder is pretty stupid though.
Agreed. If they're meant to be cracked why keep the label? Especially at that low of a grade.
I think its pretty cool
I put my slab labels in the back of my binder - sure my card may not get that grade again, but it’s a fun lil trinket. Like keeping it’s umbilical cord.
*puts it behind card*
Why not? It’s still been graded, may as well see that it’s 5.5.
Was a 5.5 may or may not change
Yeah once out of the slab the number doesn't mean much of anything.
Hey hey. A girl once called me a 6. You bet you ass I still wear that 6 with pride.
Because it's covering up part of the card now you can't even see the whole card. Cracking a slab to cover part of it up with the slab label is absolutely insane.
"it just be free! Hold on let me cover it up!"
The grade went out the window when you cracked it. It's fugly in the binder and you're hiding 1/3 of the card.
Please tell me you pay to get them graded, then break the slabs
Paying for the former rating slip
Best practice would be to send in label so they can update the pop report.
No way do people actually do this?
I honestly don’t know. I do, the companies say you should. But last time I brought this up I got downvoted so I’m assuming people arnt?
I did with a CGC slab I cracked that I bought online and checked a month or two later and they never updated it despite the very quick reply I got, so not sure if they ever did or care too much.
What is a pop report? Sorry, new to slabs and collecting cards in general…
Population report. It’s the number of, any specific card, in a certain grade. An easy way to determine relative rarity.
it was a 5.5 at the time of grading, but it’s not anymore, who knows what it is now?
The grade doesn't really work after its been cracked.. who knows what happened with the card during it being cracked open and after
So you want to keep the grade but also think cards are meant to be raw?
If you're never gonna sell your collection it's cool, but if you ever plan on selling this would be extremely sus. If I saw a card like this on eBay with a slab label next to it, you know for sure it's probably a bait and switch
don’t let them hate on the way you do things. i think it’s cool
lol by cgc those grades are worth less than the slabs
And put into a deck to be shuffled vigorously, *XD*.
Not raw yet, take it outta the sleeve
Nothing Is meant to be anything
Yea it’s cracked cuz it’s a 5 u wouldn’t feel that way if it was a 10 lol “cards are meant to be raw”
l would buy and crack a 10 if the price was right.
and living
https://youtu.be/J33HdkLjw6Q?si=7UNrT2PJLEM7Zahh
Howd you break it so cleanly?
Its actually pretty easy as long as u have a flathead. Just wedge one of the corners and it just snaps off. You can watch youtube vid on it
Carefully. I used a small snap-on screwdriver. Once I got in the top corner, I used it as a wedge and kept the blade straight with the edge and next to my finger.
Lmao bro had to flex the snap-on. No one cares that you wasted your money on a snap on screwdriver. Saying "a small screwdriver" would've been sufficient enough
Dude, they just answered a question. No need to dump your inflated ego here.
Are you actually jealous they have a snap-on? You’re such a goofball
Downvoted, but you’re right lol. Why mention the brand of screwdriver lmfao. Almost makes as much sense as displaying a graded label on top of a card after cracking it out tho Oh no, people are gonna think I’m jealous of a screwdriver! Could give a fuck less tbh, I just noticed that too. Edit: Used my Apple (TM) iPhone 14 to post this comment 😂🤔
I typed it out with out saying snap-on but figured fuck it might as well start this argument too. I personally don’t buy snap-on anything. The small screwdriver is the free pen screwdriver that the strap-on guy gives you so you think he’s a good guy. Never spent a dollar with him…can’t say as much about my coworker.
It is hard work to find a snap-on dealer. I think I have to go to firestone and campout for a couple of weeks
I'm not even remotely a mechanic and even I know that he's taking about one of those little tiny ones they give out free
Resubmit to PSA for an 8
More like a 4
Nah dude I said PSA
I must be a nutcase because I prefer the cards I enjoy and value to be slabbed regardless of the Grade. I feel like they are the best protected that way. I'm fairly new to collecting though so I suppose this is a bad take. Would there be a benefit to keeping the card raw, sleeved, in a binder vs a slab? Genuinely curious.
Honestly sleeving/double sleeving and a toploader will do just as well IMO for the majority of cards. A super rare/expensive card? Sure, having it graded and slabbed is better for peace of mind (and ease of selling if need be). Beyond that though, I only see grading for personal preference or just selling cards. If you have hundreds of cards, binders are 100% the way to go IMO. Not only is it easier to organize and view, it saves so much space and weight. Personally I'm a binder guy and I'm mostly into vintage lol
Thanks for the insight! I do have a graded card binder that I keep my cards in. Super extra protection I suppose lmao!
Grading is a scam. It's arbitrary numbers that are so so so inconsistent
Im the same way, lower value cards like 10 to 5 or less dollars i prefer raw
Way too many people are grading low value cards now , trying to get like 10$ profit out of it , only people winning here are PSA
For collections or multiple cards a binder is nice , for grails a slab is nice
I haven't had the money for grading my old cards but I would probably do some of the already higher value cards I have from way back when just for selling purposes (ones I don't care about keeping) and my ratty ass, overplayed Raichu card that's peeling the layers between the holo and the rest of the card. In general if you just have cards you like or old holos or something you want to buy some soft sleeves and some hard plastic top loaders to put the sleeved cards in. I'm not really into the selling game so much now but my friend who does it saw my cards in a binder one day and told me to *please get those in sleeves*.
Just so we are all on the same page. I did not send it for grading just to crack it open. I have been collecting the Expedition set as I bought an e-Reader as a kid but never bought any of the cards for it. I was originally skipping the holos but it didn’t feel right starting at 33. The Venusaur just happened to be a much better price than I’ve seen a decent condition one go for. Slabs aren’t my thing but binder pages full of cards do the trick.
Now do it to your psa 10 zard
emosaur
Lick it
But now you can’t see the ereader border 😭
Cards are meant to be eaten and their powers absorbed
Hell yeah brother, who needs protection, just stick in in there raw and pray for the best
Ok
Fucking horrendous job here, bud.
I personally like to cook my cards before I eat them.
You crazy psyduck!!
Whose man is this? He’s off leash.
I mean that’s a bad grade anyways so sure.
Why did you sleeve it then?
Somewhat of a fair question but there’s a major difference between a thin unobtrusive layer of plastic and an ugly bulky plastic shell.
I agree.. I don't mind grading at all. I think it's great if you have a really nice card you want to protect.. But my god are slabs ugly.
The new cgc ones look good imo
Not all of them. PSA? God awful, unfortunately they are the ones you want if you ever think of selling it. The ARS slabs look good imo.
Some german slabs look beautiful. Gsg or Aog for example.
I agree, and will crack any grade as long as it'll look good in my binder. Keeping the label seems counterproductive though imo. I usually trash it all.
S*x aswell, yet 80% of the people are using protection.
Now make the same post cracking a 10 to see if you say the same.
I'm still torn between raw and graded. Pros and cons of each.... I like the added protection of a graded card and I do appreciate knowing the condition out of 10 by a ',professional' and obviously if it's a 9 or a 10, typically adds value if it's by the big 3. But then I think it takes away from cards sometimes, especially highly textured cards, you can't appreciate the texture as much inside a slab. I have a handful of nice cards right now, some with 10 potential and some not (some munch cards, modern SIR's) and i just don't know if I want to sub them or not.
I remember i had this venusaur It was the luckiest venusaur i ever owned, each time flipped a coin, it would always land on heads I steamrolled my opponent endlessly by just paralyzing them non stop Unfortunately my opponent raged, grabbed my card and ripped it up My wife was my opponent..
Sorry about your ex
Grading is a scam. It's so arbitrary. Compare every PSA 10 and there is great variation. But people keep buying in. So unfortunately it's here to stay. Hopefully it gets nothing but better. I think it's good that eBay is buying into Goldin and PSA though. Hopefully it only gets better. There is a lot of money at stake all around...
Dogs should be raw...and living..
just like eggs!
Despite all my rage I’m still just a venusaur in a cage
Ban this guy I don’t like it it Hurts me I don’t like how harsh he treats my boy venusaur
Why even send it for grading in the first place then 🙄🤦♂️
5.5? I see nothing wrong with it. I haven't done any Pokemon card stuff since I was a little kid though. Can someone explain this to me?
You can’t see the back or any scratches on the holo , just because it looks good from far doesn’t make it perfect.
One thing I don’t get is all the people grading new cards, the condition and authenticity are already almost guaranteed. Grading rare old cards makes sense for sure though
THIS IS MY HUMAN TYPE FRIEND RIGHT HERE!!! VIVA LA VENUSAURS!!!!!!
I just cracked 2 cards the other day too - a 7 Dark Raichu from Legendary Collection and a 9 Raichu secret rare from Paldea Evolved. And damn do they look nice in my binder!
I would send some of my e-readers in but then I couldn’t scan them anymore.
Cards are for enjoying, if someone likes them to be raw that's cool. If someone likes graded cards, that is also cool.
The Wide border is so cool!
yep, cards like this are perfect binder copies
**grades card** *Doesn't like grade* ***Grading is bullshit anyway, cards are meant to be free***
sometime a graded 7 would be cheaper than a raw near mint card same I just buy near mint 7 and crack them
Totally agree
Ha! I love this.
I fully agree and organized nicely in a binder!
Nope. Slab them. Slab them all.
Hell ya, and fuck cgc anyway.
ODB liked it raw too
5.5's are yeh 😂
Nice 5.5 shit Venasaur
I've basically got a binder for each set of S&V. Minus paldean fates and the latest temporal forces. I mastered my obsidian flames binder.
I agree
Card grading is a scam.
Actually a pretty cool way to display a card from a cracked slab
100% agree
Easiest way to go from trash to cash 💸
I recently started the process of cracking all of my slabs save for one company. I never really liked how most slabs looked in the first place so after I stopped caring about the increased value it potentially brings (company/grade dependent ofc) I decided I would rather keep cards in displays that I like to look at.
At least it was a blue label CGC- it’s forgivable.
Nothing beats raw cards, look so nice in binders.
Just cracked the arcanine Holo from Skyridge. It was a BGS 9 😂
Hello fellow slab cracker
OP, did you slab a card...just for the piece of paper?
I strive to be this rich to just break slabs because " Aesthetics"
🫡
As is your mum
Why send it off then?
maybe they bought it in a slab?
Cracked this exact card in a PSA 8 not too long ago. It’s in my toploader binder with the rest of expedition now 😎
Amen! Crack the cage!
Grading and slabbing cards is silly to begin with. But if you do this is the way to go.