Grade a flawless diamond card or leave it encased?
 

So I know this question has been asked and the general impression I’ve gotten is that most people prefer these cards in their original case. The only reason I’m asking the grade or not question again is with regard to this particular card and the auction that happened here:


[url]https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Panini-Flawless-Diamond-Gems-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-ROOKIE-20-PSA-10-PWCC-/353003225152?hash=item5230a1c040%3Ag%3AzvgAAOSwn2lea%7EYp&nma=true&si=0JiYY%252FkG16ev3oswGqOaX6OBoOI%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557[/url]


I hope that link works, not sure if I did it correctly. I’m asking the grading question again for this card because it seems like that auction went for a pretty good price (I think - but I don’t know what a Giannis flawless rookie is supposed to go for); do you guys think original encased flawless diamond cards sell for more vs psa 10s? The same? Less?

I have one of these cards and I’m contemplating whether I’m supposed to grade it or leave it and just accept what the market bears if I ever sell it. Thanks in advance for any opinions!

I like them to stay encased as they came out personally.

But if you have a nice copy and it's centered and REALLY flawless, I'd send it in for a minimum grade of 10.
If it won't get a 10 make sure they don't break the seal.

A PSA 10 would outsell an encased card in just about every case. A 9 maybe not so much. So if you crack you better be pretty certain you have a strong chance at that 10.

That card doesn't look like a ten to me. Grading is dumb, especially on a sealed card. Gorgeous card regardless.

It is my personal opinion that I don't think encased cards should be broken out of their encasing, at least if all of them (ie Flawless Base) are encased. Random encased cards from sets where not all are encased is a different matter and they probably can be, though if it doesn't gem it will probably be seen as worth lower.

Yeah, I really like the look of the flawless giannis in its uncirculated format and I don’t really want to grade it (and have no intention of selling it anytime soon). I guess I was just kinda wondering how much I might be leaving on the table.

I had been under the impression that these diamond cards were more desirable in the original case but that auction had me wondering!

Leave in case. Leave sealed. Don't break. Don't grade.

[QUOTE=boxbuster7;16065243]That card doesn't look like a ten to me. Grading is dumb, especially on a sealed card. Gorgeous card regardless.[/QUOTE]

What doesn't make it a 10 though? Looks perfect from the pics.

Edit: Just having a closer look and the centering is not perfect but that doesn't mean it's not a PSA 10.
I think PSA and BGS have many holes in their grading game so I would never pay a premium for their labels.

I also hate when they're graded.

I will change my graded copies I've purchased to sealed if they come up for sale.

Last time someone told me Panini will reseal it for you but I probably would never bother to do that being all the way in Australia and run the risk of any damage.

i haven’t seen any other sales of this card...and the others that are for sale are pretty exorbitantly priced. there’s not that many of them out there (20) so it’s difficult to tell, but is it possible that an encased version could be worth more? i know it’s a weird question but there’s no way the psa 10 holder cost the seller money, is there?

[QUOTE=Ra3;16065391]i haven’t seen any other sales of this card...and the others that are for sale are pretty exorbitantly priced. there’s not that many of them out there (20) so it’s difficult to tell, but is it possible that an encased version could be worth more? i know it’s a weird question but there’s no way the psa 10 holder cost the seller money, is there?[/QUOTE]
To me, being encased is more valuable/appealing than being graded (at any grade), as I prefer it to be in its original state. I also prefer Topps Finest being unpeeled so am a bit funny like that.
Because there's this big madness about graded cards it would probably be worth more graded gem, but not to people like me.

you have so much new blood in the hobby that wants the cards graded. Gary Vee and others have told them it’s the safe way to buy and invest. So I think things are changing and you’re going to see a lot more of these cards graded. and of course you have a lot of collectors who just have to have all of their cards slabbed.

[QUOTE=bmf;16065474]you have so much new blood in the hobby that wants the cards graded. Gary Vee and others have told them it’s the safe way to buy and invest. So I think things are changing and you’re going to see a lot more of these cards graded. and of course you have a lot of collectors who just have to have all of their cards slabbed.[/QUOTE]

With Flawless I don't think there's a lot of evidence of the grade making a whole lot of difference in price compared to almost every other release.

I would be dubious even a BGS 9.5 brings out a premium.

I think an 8 or 8.5 you'll lose money. And Flawless actually isn't that Flawless. The corners are generally poor and centering is an issue.

[QUOTE=drobfan8;16065385]I also hate when they're graded.

I will change my graded copies I've purchased to sealed if they come up for sale.

Last time someone told me Panini will reseal it for you but I probably would never bother to do that being all the way in Australia and run the risk of any damage.[/QUOTE]

Do you know if Panini will reseal only graded copies of the cards? Or where I can find more info on this?

[QUOTE=GetSumGasolInYa;19052189]Do you know if Panini will reseal only graded copies of the cards? Or where I can find more info on this?[/QUOTE]

I’ve never heard of them resealing cards. Is this really a thing?

The possibility of resealing bothers me, it is no longer in its original form, though if panini did that, it would appear that it is, but it wouldn’t truly be uncirculated.

I would be against this practice.

[QUOTE=GetSumGasolInYa;19052189]Do you know if Panini will reseal only graded copies of the cards? Or where I can find more info on this?[/QUOTE]

No idea. You'd need to call Panini.

[QUOTE=hermanotarjeta;19054139]The possibility of resealing bothers me, it is no longer in its original form, though if panini did that, it would appear that it is, but it wouldn’t truly be uncirculated.

I would be against this practice.[/QUOTE]

The issue for me isn't so much about the seal, it's uniformity.

For example. I have a 2012 Base diamond Tim Duncan in a BGS slab and another in a HGA slab.

I would never grade Flawless. Would much rather them sealed. If I had the chance, I would have Panini reseal them.

I also had a 2014 Klay and Draymond sealed, but the seal was broken! Just baffling why someone would do that.

[QUOTE=NBAicons;19054126]I’ve never heard of them resealing cards. Is this really a thing?[/QUOTE]

That's what I've heard.