I was wondering what those of you with experience in grading and evaluating notes would say was the biggest things to be aware of when buying raw, ungraded bills ?
Small tears, pinholes and almost unnoticeable stains can affect the grade of the currency. They look for all of those issues.
Condition of the note. In paper money condition is more important than anything else. The slightest crease, ink spot, stain or a pinhole can lower the value. Crispness of the paper note also affects the condition.
Bumped corners & toning. As @paddyman98 & @Collecting Nut correctly point out: condition is paramount. Unfortunately, many sellers don't really get that (or they do & just hope you don't). I have got many notes with bumped corners (which suggests circulation) even though the note was crisp, it really was more AU (& not UNC). Definitely NOT worth buying! The other thing I have found super annoying is finding a tiny spot of browny-orange discolouring on the border (& even in the design) which is "toning" or a bit of exposure to moisture (in the note's lifetime) which sellers will overlook. Toning with banknotes is a BAD thing (unlike coins). This (stain-like distraction) will eliminate the note's original (or EPQ) designation. It becomes a "problem" note & once you see it, you usually want to dump that example for a huge discount. Sometimes toning is just a complete brownish fading of the entire note (once its old enough) & one must also be vigilant of light-fade. Some processed notes (washed & pressed) are actually hard to detect online (with over-exposed scans, etc). The other thing for new sellers, I always check, is misattribution (especially for WORLD currency). Several will make wild claims like the note is an "error" (when it is not) or completely mis-attribute the note (like series that have minor modifications). I found several Belgium 100 Francs (P-142's signatures on both sides) incorrectly attributed as the original P-140 (with signatures on one side/in the design). Even Numista lumps these 2 separate varieties as one (certainly not helping collectors)! If you're dealing with polymer notes (again World currency) there's another pitfall: scratched polymer -which is almost impossible to see on a scan (& often is a far too common problem). This has happened a lot for the 2011 & 2013 Canadian series (check the see-through windows). These won't be considered UNC under the TPG microscopic examination! This is one of the reasons why TPG companies have gotten so backlogged (so many collectors submitting notes to certify especially higher valued high denominations). Buying "raw" or ungraded is really "throwing the dice" like a crapshoot, when it comes to some more expensive note purchases (online). In person, you can inspect the note, but buying online doesn't allow one to do that.
And one other thing: poorly centred notes. A lot of world sellers don't get how much a poorly centred note gets knocked down by most collectors (in terms of desirability). As I wrote in another thread, sellers don't always show the note listed as the note actually being sold. You might get a 2nd batch he bought (discounted due to poor centring) & you get a lopsided design with thin borders on 1 or 2 sides.
Another thing to consider is that there are literally a tonne of notes in TPG holders that have been bleached, cleaned flattened etc. Also misattribution is not unknown with TPG: York is in Yorkshire in northern England.
