Wanting to get my first card graded, questions.
ProCharger
Posts: 3 ✭
A little back story. My grandpa remarried in the early 90's and her daughters husband (her son-in-law) was a coach at Miami. He ended up giving me a full uncut preforated sheet of the 94 hurricanes Bumble Bee set that was signed by Warren Sapp. This also has the Dwayne Johnson card which is the one I want to have graded and possibly sell.
Being a preforated card I see some people have them cut and some fold, fold, pull apart. Which is the better way to go? I will be honest, I am scared to death to do the fold and pull apart method, if that is the best way to go are there places that offer this service? The sheet itself is incredible and I can not see any flaws on the Dwayne Johnson card, no dents, scratches, etc. but like I said it is still in full sheet form. I am not saying it is a 10 but to my amateur eye the way it sits I can not find any flaws. It has been a safe queen...but mainly for the autographed Sapp, I don't think anybody saw "The Rock" coming.
2nd, that brings me to declared value. I have no idea where it should be and it seems with this card it can be all over the place depending on the grade. What service level should I be using?
Any thoughts or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Brett
Comments
Good question. PSA might not grade your card if it's cut out. Perforated cards should be carefully torn apart.
Check on eBay and see if there are any graded examples for sale and see if they are cut or torn.
Sounds like a great item!
These should always be carefully torn on the perforations. Same with SI for Kids cards. Never cut from a perforated sheet! PSA won’t give it a numerical grade if you do. If you fold it a couple of times and you’re careful, it should be fine.
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
This is where the water gets muddy to me. 95% that are graded for sale on ebay are torn apart. BUT the only PSA gem mint 10 certainly looks at least trimmed. It is missing the fuzzy edges that all of the others have.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/404049439719?hash=item5e13392be7:g:bc4AAOSwmjVjfhUj&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAAsJJa2Vhxn9KPlr1jm7wZHawK8Gcjh/AAzQxRXWtm+Tg3EohkEcCLpANtWXxtuHGXg1oeQlp6EfC5qgHx5Fdui9mVTyi0q3o6cejwvXFX5XVpsN34RcBUhCNNubJ6BY4gB+N6WsYg+yb9v30UvhWCF/EfmKPGYfOgC0+ceC0x32pSXblT74t6e7id0Z1YibIdssJUGfjV2gjMvn3Oc6IuwsaKuxz8QNSdh0RIPlELp8Z8|tkp:Bk9SR8aM_K_KYQ
^^Hard to tell with the white background and I am looking on my phone.
Quite some time ago, I carefully cut some cards from a Topps magazine because I too was concerned with tearing the cards. I remember getting some back graded and some ungraded with "evidence of trimming" noted.
I now always bend back and forth a few times and tear cards apart. Still worrying I will cause paper loss on the card I am grading.
Just fold it on the perforated edges several times and that will make the tearing easier and more accurate. Sometimes you will not even have to tear much as constant folding along the perforated edges will already loosen the card from its place on the sheet. I understand your concern with handling the card and tearing can potentially damage it, but folding first minimizes that danger.
In terms of what service level is appropriate, just figure out what the card would grade first. As a general rule, if its a modern card such as this is, and you really do not see any flaws on it, declare the value as if its a PSA 9 and chose the service level that fits that value range. If it does end up a PSA 10 (which is a rare grade even for cards that seem "perfect"), PSA will just notify you that you have to pay a bump up in fees equal to the money needed to get you on the next grading tier for a PSA 10. It's not a penalty or anything, so feel at ease determining the value to be that of PSA 9.
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
That card would probably get an 8 today!
Appreciate all of the info given. Good stuff, thank you!
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
With big dollar cards like those on that sheet this is my suggestion: go on ebay and find the cheapest SI For Kids perforated sheets that you can. Preferably from the late 90s or early 2000's. The newer sheets aren't perforated like the older ones. Pick up one or two, and practice. I've been told that you should fold over and over until the card basically detaches itself, and I've been told to only fold a couple of times and then tear it out.
Good luck and keep us posted! Wasn't too long ago those Miami Hurricane sheets could be had for much MUCH less than what they go for today.
Great advice above. I’d buy cheapies to practice with
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
I recently graded out my 1980 Burger King Star Wars cards that came in 3 card perforated panels. I folded them back and forth along the panels, and then pulled them apart. The more I folded the easier they tore… but I still felt queasy doing it!
When I got them back graded, I did not feel like the perforation determined the grades…It seemed to me that the grades were based more on things like corners and centering, not so much on the perforation. My cards mostly graded from PSA 5 - 9 but I knew that before I sent them…. I only owned the 1 full set from childhood, and wanted to preserve my keepsake.
I can post some of the pics here if you want (if you think it will help you) …. the pictures are all shown in the psa set registry if you want to look there.
Good luck with yours… practicing separating cards will surely help you feel better about doing it.
Live long, and prosper.
Here are some pics....
Live long, and prosper.
LarkinCollector and Erikthredd were very helpful with this, when I separated the SI for Kids Jordan. Here is the advice I got.
They crease very easily. The best method I've found is folding a 3-card row one way fully, then back the other. Find a clean table/desk with a 90 degree corner, place the remaining 6 with a heavy book over on top, the pre-folded 3 hanging over and firmly pull down. Repeat until you've got singles. It's not perfect, but after a bit of practice, it's becoming pretty rare that I screw them up.
ETA: Folding back and forth until the basically fall apart is another option, but in my experience mangles the perforations enough that you're capped at a max grade of 8. I have yet to get a 10, but have received several 9s with the method detailed above.