I read today about a 1971 Topps set (I know, not vintage) that sold for $10K. All the cards were graded 8. That figure sounded like an astonishing sum for a relatively recent set, even a condition sensitive set like '71 Topps. But then I got to thinking -- how much would it cost to get the whole set graded? The set has 752 cards. So even at just $10 per card, three quarters of the sale price went to the grading company.

My question is, what does it really cost to get 750 cards graded? Are the amazing prices that are reported for large graded complete sets really the result of the added value of the grading? Or are they just the result of the added COST of the grading?

Paul, if one were to grade a 700+ card set, I'm sure any of the
grading companies would give you a discount. So it wouldn't be
$10 a card, probably half of that or even less.
Then again a raw '71 set as example would probably not net all
8/88's - you would do a ton of upgrading it to have every card
at 8/88.