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Life Long collector: New to grading.
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14 posts in this topic

Good Evening,

 

I am new to the grading community as you probably can figure out yourselves based on the headline. I have a lot of cards auto and vintage (from my father prior to 90's) so my question is extremely simple.How do know what to get graded and what not to get graded? For example I have some cards of current "stars" in baseball that are not graded auto's but I also have vintage things that are not autos so I'm curious as to how to determine what to send in first while on a budget.

 

All the Best,

 

R.K.

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58 minutes ago, RKgant said:

Just note that you likely do not have "10s". I would be shooting for 8's and 9's, and if after paying to grade it would still be worth it, then grade some.  Start small with just a few.

This can't be stated enough for new collectors to hear. It doesn't matter if you just pulled a 2021 card out of a fresh pack, that doesn't mean the condition is Gem Mint, especially to meet CSG Gem Mint standards. Even today, Panini and Topps leave much to be desired in their printing and quality control. The average pack pulled card today is likely an 8.5-9. I actually think CSG sending so many older cards back ungraded with a label of Altered/Trimmed isn't exposing fake or fraud, it's exposing inconsistent and poor manufacturing from decades ago. CSG and their tough standard is going to be the company that makes 9s cool again and I'm totally here for it.

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I would experiment with some cards you think should grade high, send them in and see what you get or post some pics of a couple and let us look at them. Even if these cards (pre 90's) have been taking well care of they will not get 10's especially with CSG. Don't get me wrong I really like CSG and they are a great option for grading but the graders that grade using the 4 sub grades are almost impossible to get 10's even on new cards. I recently sent in a couple hundred cards when they were charging $8 a card just to get them slabbed knowing the slab really isn't going to increase the value. Unfortunately CSG is really the only affordable option for grading now, so send some of the better ones in (don't send in person auto cards your first go around) and see what you think. 

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Thank You, this kinda explains what just happened to me recently, I had 2 of the same card from 88-89 come back altered/trimmed when if I remember correctly I had the whole case..

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I've used CGC grading for comics for years, but I'm new to CSG grading.  I have ~5 boxes of Donruss baseball cards, all from 1988.  So, as an experiment, I sent in a bulk order of 51 for grading. 

I just got the grades back, and they were surprising.  These are all new cards, stored for 30 years and forgotten.  I picked 100 or so of the most valuable ones (with plenty of multiples), then set aside the ones with obvious flaws. 

Well, I guess "obvious flaws" is different for me than someone more experienced.  And some things are very different between comics and cards.  For example, printing flaws on comic books don't detract from the grade, unless it is very noticeable.  But they count here.  Same with off-center printing.  I was only looking at corners and edges, and other human-caused defects.

Anyway, I guess I did alright?  Not sure.  What do you guys think?  My grades were:

2 at 6.5

2 at 7.0

4 at 7.5

10 at 8.0

17 at 8.5

16 at 9.0

I was really surprised there weren't any 9.5 or 10.  I guess those are as rare as the 9.9 and 10.0 in comics. 

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15 hours ago, Tedsaid said:



I was really surprised there weren't any 9.5 or 10.  I guess those are as rare as the 9.9 and 10.0 in comics. 

Agreed... brand new cards are certainly not 10's.  Slightly off center, slight surface defects.  CSG grading seems more aligned with BGS (which wakes sense as one of their head graders came from beckett). 10's are extremely rare.

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17 hours ago, Tedsaid said:

I've used CGC grading for comics for years, but I'm new to CSG grading.  I have ~5 boxes of Donruss baseball cards, all from 1988.  So, as an experiment, I sent in a bulk order of 51 for grading. 

I just got the grades back, and they were surprising.  These are all new cards, stored for 30 years and forgotten.  I picked 100 or so of the most valuable ones (with plenty of multiples), then set aside the ones with obvious flaws. 

Well, I guess "obvious flaws" is different for me than someone more experienced.  And some things are very different between comics and cards.  For example, printing flaws on comic books don't detract from the grade, unless it is very noticeable.  But they count here.  Same with off-center printing.  I was only looking at corners and edges, and other human-caused defects.

Anyway, I guess I did alright?  Not sure.  What do you guys think?  My grades were:

2 at 6.5

2 at 7.0

4 at 7.5

10 at 8.0

17 at 8.5

16 at 9.0

I was really surprised there weren't any 9.5 or 10.  I guess those are as rare as the 9.9 and 10.0 in comics. 

It's going to be fun when they eventually release a population report.  I'd expect you're going to have roughly 51 of 51 Donruss 88 cards in the registry.

But you're correct cards are graded much differently than comics.   It makes sense from the standpoint that a card is one small square of paper and comics are 8-15 and printed and cut using an entirely different process.  I'd imagine to scrutinize so much print would be nearly impossible to be efficient at, and the expected error on print quality, registration, and defects is much more common.

 

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18 hours ago, oluckydayo said:

It's going to be fun when they eventually release a population report.  I'd expect you're going to have roughly 51 of 51 Donruss 88 cards in the registry.

LOL ... that would be awesome.  But yeah, for now, it's unfortunate.  These cards aren't worth a whole lot.  I mean, I picked the ones to grade based on eBay sales - anything that was maybe $50 - $200.  But I was going with PSA 10's, not CSG 7's, 8', and 9's. 

I guess I'll just have to put them back in the closet for another 30 years or so, and then sell them. 

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On 7/14/2021 at 7:51 PM, Tedsaid said:

I've used CGC grading for comics for years, but I'm new to CSG grading.  I have ~5 boxes of Donruss baseball cards, all from 1988.  So, as an experiment, I sent in a bulk order of 51 for grading. 

I just got the grades back, and they were surprising.  These are all new cards, stored for 30 years and forgotten.  I picked 100 or so of the most valuable ones (with plenty of multiples), then set aside the ones with obvious flaws. 

Well, I guess "obvious flaws" is different for me than someone more experienced.  And some things are very different between comics and cards.  For example, printing flaws on comic books don't detract from the grade, unless it is very noticeable.  But they count here.  Same with off-center printing.  I was only looking at corners and edges, and other human-caused defects.

Anyway, I guess I did alright?  Not sure.  What do you guys think?  My grades were:

2 at 6.5

2 at 7.0

4 at 7.5

10 at 8.0

17 at 8.5

16 at 9.0

I was really surprised there weren't any 9.5 or 10.  I guess those are as rare as the 9.9 and 10.0 in comics. 

Getting 9.5s is not easy ... getting 10s is even harder. On oldschool stuff like 1988 Donruss even moreso unless you are inspecting stuff with a loupe. The stock is notoriously skinny, the packaging didn't protect a thing (especially corners) and then there's the typical print spots and centering to worry about. The key Rated Rookies from the past could sell very well in 9.5s and 10s ... because it's hard to get them. CSG 9s might sell for better than you might think. 

Edited by ChrisOlds
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On 6/25/2021 at 6:44 PM, RKeyworth18 said:

Good Evening,

 

I am new to the grading community as you probably can figure out yourselves based on the headline. I have a lot of cards auto and vintage (from my father prior to 90's) so my question is extremely simple.How do know what to get graded and what not to get graded? For example I have some cards of current "stars" in baseball that are not graded auto's but I also have vintage things that are not autos so I'm curious as to how to determine what to send in first while on a budget.

 

All the Best,

 

R.K.

Take a pile of 50 cards. this is going to take time. but you need to know the values of the cards. I go buy what it costs to grade the card. Right now for bulk it is $12, double that and you now have a minimal raw price point of $25($44 with subs)for your cards to even be considered for grading. This should keep you from wasting money and grading cards that will not resell for enough to justify the price or any price swings you will incur while they are sitting in a warehouse. So now we use the minimal price point to compare what the card sells for raw( which you could save a bunch of time and effort selling raw if it is not worth it to grade the card in the first place). Now start going through your stack of 50 cards. First thing is price point. Second thing is centering. If the card is off center, it doesnt get sent. If it is centered, put it in a second pile for later. your discard pile should grow a lot faster than your grading pile. after your first go through, take the grading pile and now pull the cards out of sleeves and hold them under a light to check surface and corners. I am very picky and will not grade cards with one bad corner(unless value determines it, or vintage) I would also suggest buying a jeweler's loupe to examine surface(cheap on amazon). The graders are going to look under magnification so you should too. Out of 50 cards using this process, you should end up with 10 or less cards in your grading pile. There is a lot more to consider when grading vintage cards and the values are higher so most vintage should be graded if you know its authentic and hasn't been tampered with. If you are grading for your own pc, then grade whatever you want protected and authenticated. This is my own dumb little system that I use and it seems to be working, figure out what works best for you and remember to enjoy the hobby. 

I use that double the grading cost and compare to raw price because the resale value of these slabs is just not there yet and it is going to take a long time to get there. I only send eye appeal vintage or cards that imo will gem. If you are going to try and flip CSG slabs right now, you have to realize that you are probably going to get raw or less than raw prices(depending on the grade).

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Quote

It's going to be fun when they eventually release a population report.  I'd expect you're going to have roughly 51 of 51 Donruss 88 cards in the registry.

I dont care who you are, that right there is funny! And dang you for making me check my bulks to see if I put an 88 Donruss in there! Glavine maybe but it wouldve had to have been perfect in every way.

Edited by MountainG
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