Why Do "Basement Slabbed" Coins Go Relatively Cheaply N Ebay

Lots of people don't even look at those auctions very closely because (almost) everybody knows that those basement slabbers will overgrade the coin, sometimes severely overgrading it. With that said, if you are looking for a coin and you can tell from the pics what the true grade might be, or you are willing to take a chance on a coin then by all means you will find seom deals.

Lots of people who buy slabs obviously want to leave them in slabs, but for those who would be cracking it out of the slab and they like the looks of a coin in a poorly graded slab, then by all means, free that coin and use it, just don't rely on the slabbers to be accurate at all.

Slabs typically command a premium due to the reputation of the TPG (PCGS, ANACS, NGC mainly), so all that goes out the window with the basement slabber too.

I do buy the coin. When doing so, it would seem that coins in the "unreputable" slabs present greater bargains because there is an extra "stigma penalty" attached to them that drives their prices down to well below what a "raw" coin of the exact same grade/condition would bring. That's what I guess I find interesting. Take that same coin out of the BS slab and put it in a flip and it'll go for double the price.

Kinda weird anomoly really.

It seems like having it "basement slabbed" regardless of what they graded it - which is usually ridiculously high - further erodes the value folks put on it. So it is as if the purpose of the slab ( to legitimize and inflate the worth with a ridiculously high grade ) is countermanned and the coin gets less desirable than even its raw counterparts.