General Forum

Just added my first graded cards to my collection. Have always kinda been on the fence because never saw the value of paying someone to tell me how nice a card is. But after seeing/holding the slabs, I've starting thinking about sending some off just to preserve the favorites in the collection no matter what grade comes back. Is it worth it? Someone talk me out of it.

It is all depends on what card it is.    I'm not into Graded cards so I would say NO!!

I do have Graded cards from my nephew's collection and cannot get rid of them.

When my card shelf collapsed and I was looking at the mangled corner of a 70s Topps Dr. J poking out of a top loader I realized that some cards should be graded and protected better than others. Even the mangled Bubbles Hawkins card made me sad.

My ugliest Moses Malone rookies are getting slabbed along with the pretty ones the next time I send cards in.

Putting them in one-touches or screwdowns is cheaper.  I had some graded cards I got on ebay for cheap and same cost as a non-graded. I didn't want them in a slab. So I took them to my local card shop to swap for ungraded version.  They said, "No. Graded cards don't sell."

Depends what you mean by “worth” it. Most cards are not going to sell for a profit after grading. If you just want protection, then as C2Cigars points out, there are cheaper alternatives. But if you want a certain company’s slabs to protect all of your cards and don’t mind paying their fee for the peace of mind, then go nuts. All just depends on what the goal is.

It felt a little expensive back when you could submit through a group for $10/card, I can’t imagine paying the current fees for anything mid-low end. Vintage HOFers or high end prospects sure, otherwise I got better things (cards) to spend that money on 

I have graded all my vintage Clemente cards along with some of my RC's (Bradshaw, Lemieux, Marino, Crosby and some others) just to protect them, and so my kids know which cards may be worth a few bucks after I'm  gone. I also would never use a screw down for one of my cards. I have also graded some baseball, football and pokemon cards to sell on eBay.

Someone talk me out of it.

If you are just looking to get the card preserved/protected and aren't interested in re-sale value, I'm sure there are little known companies that will grade and slab it for a fraction of what the big players charge.

Or slab them yourself. 
https://www.vanityslabs.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Colllector-Graded-Card-Slab/dp/B08Z79K9V5

I have just recently dealt with Vanity Slabs for buying cards (ungraded / unslabbed) on ebay. Two cards (1953 Bowman Color Phillies). First dealing with them was a bit shaky, as they sent a card that looked nothing like the card shown in the listing. I contacted them with photos, and they immediately refunded me (100% including shipping and tax) and apologized profusely. They listed another card on my want list, and it was a decent enough price, so I tried them again, and this one (which I received in the mail today) was exactly as described. (We did communicate beforehand, and this was all within the last 4-6 weeks.) Reason I tell this, they seem to be a good company, run by someone who values customer service.