I've never been much for grading modern cards. In my opinion, it's just a way to jack up the price of an otherwise affordable card. It seems that a nice autograph of your favourite player can run you from $5-$50, yet if the card is "slabbed", that $5 turns into $25 and that $50 into $250.
It's markup. A card limited to 200, once graded, is limited to however many others were graded exactly the same. So if a card gets 9.0 corners, 9.5 centering, 9.0 surface and 9.0 edges - it's a 1/1 compared to the exact same card with 9.5 corners, 9.5 centering, 9.0 surface and 9.0 edges.
And honestly, I would be surprised if anyone who's a collector and not a grader can tell the difference between a 9 and a 10 BGS card.
Like this:
I won this on ebay (almost 11 days ago) and today it was jammed into my mailbox. I love the card. It's J-PA's TRUE rookie, as in, first card featuring him in a Jays uniform (notice: hologram sticker underneath the brim).
I grabbed it for around $6.35 or something, and I am happy with this. Why? It's my first slabbed card, and it's my version of the 2008 Bowmachrome J-PA autograph (nevermind for a second that 2008 was an absolute disaster for Bowman Chrome Prospects...what an eyesore). It's a good autograph, according to Beckett, grading as a 10. If I were to grade autographs, J-PA wouldn't be a 10, maybe more of a 4. For some bitchin' autos, look up Ken Griffey Junior, Jose Bautista or the best EVAR - Chien-Ming Wang.
And while I am happy with the card, the graded aspect can be summed up by:
"Meh."
Oh yeah, Beckett sucks.
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