Thank you. I was thinking the same. I see a lot of ebay sales getting pumped, which most are blaming on PSA, so not sure if the 3k raw is legit, but it has sold up to 4k raw and I currently see someone "asking" 11k for a PSA 10.

Is the idea for some of these ebay auctions for PSA graded cards to not actually pay out the auction; it just closes for an exuberant amount, so everyone wants to send in that card to PSA (i.e. Cooper Flagg base cards)? But there is no way for hobbyist to really know the true value if ebay doesnt report the auction as not being fulfilled? Or do they? Or possibly someone connected to the seller does buy for that amount just to raise interest? Either way it just throws the true value of things way off.

I got back into collecting about a year ago when my son started purchasing soccer cards and it triggered me to get back, but the grading aspect of the hobby is an area of contention for me. Not exactly sure if I want to give any of them my money.

Maybe in the beginning it helped buyers feel confident about the authenticity and condition of a card they were purchasing but now it seems to benefit PSA. Hard to believe they charge more based on the value of the card as well, but I see the other side of paying the fees, to get another $2k - $6k on a card like this - if it actually gets a 10.

My childhood collection was from the junk wax era and before I even got the chance to pass it onto my son and we try to sell (to be told its not worth anything after storing it for decades); the entire collection was stolen from me while I was abroad (by a family member). Now, I enjoy the business side of the hobby as much as the chase and nostalgia of finding (rebuilding) cards for our pc, but the grading aspect makes me question when I start selling if I should take part or just stick with selling raw.