My first and last PRO card

Aaronman · January 12, 2003 1:01AM

I finally broke down and took the plunge into the world of PRO grading. Here's the story. I won a 55 Bowman Aaron in an 8.5 PRO holder. The card shows up and I was pretty impressed. One little tick mark on the upper right corner. I bought the card thinking it was going to be trimmed. While in the holder I eye balled it against another 55 Bowman and it seemed to measure OK. Now I'm starting to think I have an sure fire 8 that I paid $230 for. I decided to crack it open. I couldn't break the seal. I resorted to a screw driver and started prying near the label at the top. After 10 minutes of plastic drilling I had to stop because the screw driver slipped and put a hole in my left index finger. After I cleaned up the blood and wrapped a bandaid around my finger I went out the the garage. I then resorted to a bow saw. This 8 was coming out of the holder! I sawed off the top of the holder and then went back to the evil screw driiver and finally cracked the seal. I now had the card in my hand and it looked great. I went to the closet and dropped it in a plastic holder and was ready to put it on a PSA invoice with some others. I flipped the card over to get the card number and found a 3 inch @#&$*##'n crease on the card. Needless to say that will be my last purchase of a PRO card.

Enjoy,
Doug

PS - Finger and bow saw are doing well these days and no, I didn't put the creas in the card with my sophisticated removal process.

zardoz51 · January 12, 2003 1:03AM

Had to find out the hard way, didn't we???????

Tipem · January 12, 2003 1:10AM

Doug,

Sorry to hear that you had to spill a little blood to find out what most of the rest of us know.I think that most of us learned the hard way also,only not by spilling blood.This board spreads the word as well as it can,but we can't get to everyone.

Spread the word!!!

Mantlefan · January 12, 2003 1:13AM

No problem Doug. Simply send it back to PRO...it's sure to regrade a "9"!

aconte · January 12, 2003 1:37AM

I appreciate hearing these stories. It reminds me even if I ever get the urge not to buy Pro.

aconte

qualitycards · January 12, 2003 1:46AM

<< <i>I bought the card thinking it was going to be trimmed >>

DOUG - You willingly paid $230.00 knowing it would be trimmed? Man! For the same money you could have paid full SMR on a PSA-7. Does anyone have any reverse stories about PRO? Every story I've heard has been that the buyer of the card got screwed! Remember, if we do not buy or bid on any PRO cards, perhaps fewer and fewer sellers will submit to them, and they will be forgotten in this industry, and fade away never to be heard of again...jay

zardoz51 · January 12, 2003 1:52AM

Jay

A reverse story? Something like my PRO 9 crossed oved to a PSA 10? or 9? or even an 8NQ?????

THAT would be a urban card legend if ever there was one.

tbub · January 12, 2003 2:32AM

GUILTY I fell for the cheap PRO-10 Gem Mint bought a 75 f. jenkins for $6.99 looked real good in holder after I popped it out noticed a print defect that became visible without holder . Sent it in anyways and ended up with a psa8 Not a horror story , but not worth the effort.

braves72078 · January 12, 2003 3:24AM

The best advice here.....Listen to the knowledgeable members here on the board....read their posts and USE the info.....The old saying "Something that seems too good to be true usually is"

Scoop · January 12, 2003 5:45AM

Aaronman, do you mean it is not 'creased' to the front of card? If so, this is only a cardboard wrinkle on back which I collect.

Please email me at scoppe67@msn.com if you are interested in selling.

Thanks, JIM

uniship · January 12, 2003 6:32AM

Aaronman, sorry to hear about that wrinkle/crease, but I have to say thanks for a post that made me laugh out loud. I can certainly relate when it comes to trying to get a card out of a holder and drawing blood. ARRRGH!

Stump · January 12, 2003 6:52AM

Never bought a Pro or tried to remove one from the holder.

I think I will never do both!!!!

Thanks for the info I am truly sorry for the guinee pigs of the world

Dave

BigKidAtHeart · January 12, 2003 9:11AM

I do think it is a bit ironic that the card grader that is
the Easiest to get cards (even trimmed ones) INTO
ends up being the one that is the hardest
to get cards OUT OF!

qualitycards · January 12, 2003 9:15AM

ZARDOZ - OK! I'll settle for a victory story that a vintage card popped out of a PRO holder and got within 2 grades of the PRO grade

...jay

mikeschmidt · January 12, 2003 9:22PM

I actually still have a few PRO cards left over from before the days that they were known as a trimmed/altered card company. Believe it or not -- when they first came out, they did not have such a reputation, and many dealers were taking advantage of their low cost grading. Now, if I have any reliable way on getting the cards out of the holder, I would resubmit. I actually think one of the 9's I have has a good chance for crossover into a nine holder.

(and P.S. -- this is only early 80s high-grade Phillies cards -- stuff people clearly weren't altering when PRO first came out. Ever notice that most PRO cards anymore seem to be either high-grade HOF'ers or T-206's so short that you can practically shave with them?)

brucemo · January 13, 2003 2:05AM

I have used a table saw to open a PRO holder, and it works.

In case anyone wondered why I did this, I wanted the holder. I threw away the card.

bruce

My first and last PRO card

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