Introduction

Graded cards are, in some aspects, a sought after commodity.  After all, those who take the time and effort to send their cards into a grading service, such as Beckett or PSA, can see some fruitful returns over the years.  Graded cards in other hobbies such as football, baseball, and basketball have really taken off.  However, in the racing hobby, it seems there is some resistance to the graded card movement.

Other Hobbies

In the other collecting realms, graded cards tend to fetch a premium over their ungraded counterparts.  For instance, a graded rookie card of a star player, such as Michael Jordan, can fetch hundreds more than an ungraded card.  Why?  Graded cards represent a supposed true condition of that card at the point in time of that card's life when it was sealed in a plastic slab.  Companies like Beckett and PSA grade the cards on the condition of their corners, edges, surface, and centering.  If you have an autographed card, Beckett will even grade the autograph, for a small fee.  So, what's the big draw?

While a graded card presents a good representation of that card in a professional's mind, ungraded cards are left to the description of those collectors selling them.  While one collector might look at a card as being in MINT condition, another may see dings on the edges or corners which make them believe the card is less than mint.  By sending cards to a professional grading service, that sense of perception can be erased.  When you buy a graded card, you know what you are getting.  Therefore, they will tend to go for much higher prices in the market.  However, we aren't quite there yet in the racing collector world.

The Racing Hobby

I have sent quite a few of my Jimmie Johnson cards in for grading over the years.  I can say, from experience trying to sell them, collectors do not seem to be too interested in the distinction between a graded card and an ungraded card.  Simply put, there doesn't seem to be much of an increased premium in the high-end market.  Why?  I'm not really sure why graded, high-end cards do not carry much weight on the market, but I have heard others say they like to touch the cards and be able to handle them.  That, I think, is a dividing line behind TRUE collectors and those who look at them as investments.  So, you may need to determine what side of the line you fall on.  However, keep in mind that there is a gray area between the two.

Collecting versus Investing

Collecting is a fun hobby, especially in the racing world.  We have so many different kinds of memorabilia and autograph cards that it is sometimes hard to keep track of all of them.  Some of us like getting anything, while others are disappointed when we don't get our driver or a star driver.  Why?  Because we wan't to sell them off or trade them off for cards of our driver!  I think this is one area that sets us apart from the other hobbies.  There are so many inflated cards loaded into other hobbies and so many sets to purchase, that many collectors buy boxes and boxes of cards just hoping to get the pull of a lifetime.  In the racing world, with fewer sets to collect, it can be MUCH easier to get those pulls.  I have had two in recent years, a Jimmie Johnson Signature Series card and a Joey Logano 1/1 printing plate.  On the baseball and football side, I have yet to make a spectacular pull.  This is all nice, but what is going on in other sports that's not happening too much in the racing hobby?  That's where investors factor into the mix.

Investors are buying boxes upon boxes of cards looking for the spectacular pulls.  Call it a lottery of sorts.  If there are great pulls out there that can turn dollars really quickly and you can afford it, why not make the investment?  Have you seen those high-dollar auctions in the other hobbies?  Cards of Jordan, Manning, Ruth, Williams, and other stars can go for thousands of dollars.  Many of those cards have been graded by someone who invested time and money in that card to turn it around for a profit.  In the end, if there is a high demand for the card in the current market, that profit is most likely to be attainable.  This explains why you only see certain cards surface from time to time.  It's most likely that someone collected it, put forth the effort, and decided the time was right to part ways with it.  There are a few of these in the racing community, but they are getting harder to come by.  Now days, it seems like everyone gets the cards and passes them into the market almost immediately.  However, there does tend to be a gray area.

People, myself included, tend to move through phases.  We may collect items with the though of hanging onto them for years.  At some point, we begin to look at the collection we've amassed and decide it's time to whittle it down.  When we acquired the items, cards in this case, some of us have sent them off for grading.  We wanted to ensure that nothing bad happened to our prized collectible items.  Only later do we decide to part ways with these cards and they enter the market, as a graded card.  We straddle the line between investor and collector.  We love the cards we collect and want them to be protected, so we get them graded.  However, as circumstances change, we filter them into a market of racing collectors who are looking at the collectible aspect of it versus an investment.  Therefore, I believe it will take quite some time for the graded market of racing cards to explode like it has in the other sports.

Conclusion

While it may take some time for the graded market to open up in the racing hobby, it will eventually get there.  If you are on the fence about getting your cards graded, ask yourself what you are looking for.  If you are looking to just collect cards and be able to handle them however you wish, grading probably isn't the proper route for you to take.  However, if you cherish your collection and have no intention of parting ways with any of it in the near future, grading is the absolute best path to go.  The cards are sealed in a plastic slab and are free from spills and other damage which degrade their quality.  If you're looking to invest in high-end cards, wouldn't you want to protect that money and maximize your return in the future? The racing hobby is primitive compared to the other sports.  However, given time, I do believe graded cards will bring their much deserved higher premiums.  It's just a matter of when.

*This article is opinion-based and based on the experiences of the author