What would you do?
2010 Razor Rookie Retro has been released and has brought up some interesting discussions.
I found one on Freedom Cardboard about a break that was posted on Blowout Cards forum (phew – that’s a lot of clicking).
I’ll break down the discussion.
A man on Blowout busted a box of this and apparently received a 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Colby Rasmus refractor autograph BGS 8.5 (there was no pics provided). It’s probably one of the cheaper cards in the set, resale-wise, especially because it grades at an 8.5.
On the secondary market (auction links), an 8.5 grade may only sell for $25-$35 of this card.
This card would likely sell for more money raw. Raw might get an extra $10-$20 on the refractor because the seller would hope for a higher grade than an 8.5.
Here are the options if you are not keeping the card.
1. Resell the card as the 8.5 and hope to get some money back.
2. Crack the card out of its slab and resell the card raw, but state the card graded as an 8.5.
3. Crack the card and resell raw, but make no mention that the card was previously graded.
What would you do with this card?
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Crack it and state that the card is in at least NM-MT condition.
Well first off it was graded by BGS so who would want that. I'd probably still just sell it cuz I'm lazy and would be worried about damaging the card trying to get it out of the case. But if I wasn't so lazy I'd crack it and resell it ray probably not mentioning it's previous grade. 8.5 is still a near mint grade and I would have a good scan of it. I hate graded cards anyways and with BGS's fluff over the Strasburg Superfractor the only graded cards I'd buy would be from PSA.
Crack it and toss the BGS holder where all BGS holders should go, in the trash.
If I was going to play the lottery I would buy a powerball ticket not Razor Rookie Retro…
I buy Jeter SP RCs all the time grade 8.5 or lower and crack them from slab and sell them with no mention of grading and usually get $10-15 more on each one than I pay in the slab.
I don't have the time, energy, or interest in cracking the slab. I also would be worried about ruining the card.
At this point, I also share the cynicism about the authority and validity of any grading service. In my eyes, they are either practically pointless no name outfits, or name brands that have produced results so sketchy they just can't be trusted.
I think the only grades I can take at face value are for unopened material from GAI, oddly enough. I used to be a proponent of BGS, but they have made themselves untrustworthy to me, with the apparent "grade to suit" instances out there.
The Strasburg disappointment really sticks with me. Would have it killed them to grade the Strasburg at its real grade? Sure, the client could have gotten pissed and tried to get it re-graded with somebody else, but let the competitor run the risk of looking like a grade whore while they could have maintained or enhanced the self-proclaimed "authority" on the hobby.
Sure, there are plenty of less sophisticated collectors, or those stuck in 1992, but it's no way to build a business counting on the uninformed.
Back to the question. I don't see anything unethical or immoral about cracking the slab, and selling the card on its own merits, as long as there are high quality, unaltered scans for potential buyers.
I see no need to mention a single thing about the card's past grading, unless 1)the card is damaged in the process of removal, or 2)if the prospective buyer asks about it, I wouldn't lie.
Word verification = tramp
Charlie Chaplin?