ISO FAQ for card grading, submitting, etc.

buckeyefanatic

Greetings CU gang.

I'm interested in submitting a group of modern cards for grading, and I was wondering if anyone had some advice for me? Maybe a link to a FAQ on the subject or just some helpful words? I did some searched for FAQ and grading, etc on the boards, but they came up empty. Where can I buy a 10x or better loop? Would someone recommend better than 10x?

Any advice would be helpful, thanks!

- bf

ajmoeller81

I use a scanner to grade my cards. Just already had one and didn't feel like spending the extra cash on a loupe... Although scanning takes much longer than a loupe would take.

Here's a good site for how to grade vintage:

http://www.seanet.com/~brucemo/card_articles/grading.htm

It's not modern but it's a start.

From what I can tell you in my experience is modern cards need to be perfect. Centering can be measured easily with a scanner by counting pixels. I inspect the corners at 800% and will allow for 1 pixel to be off, anything more and it can't be on more than 1 corner... and even then you're playing from behind. Edges are pretty easy to inspect and surface is the same way.

Try picking up some already graded 10s and 9s and inspecting them so that you can have an idea of what the graders are looking for. Good luck to you and enjoy the hobby!

buckeyefanatic

/

BUMP.

Anyone around tonight that might have another link or resource for me? I did go over that last link - thanks that does help. I've got my 10x/20x loupe and I've looked at my cards, but aside from looking for obvious problems, I'm still left wondering a little. I'm sure there is some more info out there, just trying to track it down! Thanks all...

-bf

EagleEyeKid

but aside from looking for obvious problems, I'm still left wondering a little.

If you're still left wondering after you've gone thru the proper protocol, then you're
lacking in a specific area that you're obviously not comfortable with. Is this going to be
your first submission? Submit a few and see what happens. If you have other PSA cards
laying around in the grade that you're looking for; it may help by studying that card to get an idea
why it receive the grade it did. Brucemo's examples are a perfect start to familiarize yourself to
PSA's standards.

For modern cards, you only need to know these 2 and practice practice practice.
Learn it, eat it, live it....

GEM-MT 10: Gem Mint.

A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card. Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus, full original gloss. A PSA Gem Mint 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it does not impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.
MINT 9: Mint.

A PSA Mint 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.

mudflap02

buckeyefanatic -

Welcome to the big kids boards! You'll find this one a little more mature than the other side of the street- any word on the baby?

mudflap02

And to try to answer your question, here's my process for submitting. I won't submit anything (unless I just want it slabbed) unless I think it will get a 9 or a 10. I go through my pile, pulling anything out that I can find a flaw with. I almost completely ignored centering on my first sub., and it cost me bigtime. A great way to measure centering is to take some high res scans of your cards, blow them up, and count the pixels on each border. Sounds boring, is boring, but if you're a nerd like me you don't really mind it. Check all the corners, and hold the card at an angle under a bright light (front and back sides) looking for any scratches or indentations. Go over the edges, and check for print dots. After you've done all this, set the cards aside for a week. Now go boack over your best ones, and weed through them again - you would be surprised how much you missed the first time around. Set cards aside. Repeat process until you can't weed any more cards out. Submit and enjoy grades!

notowellint

The cards I send in are from the 1980s and I only send in cards that I think will get a 9 or 10. So far, my track record is that I get back about 15% of any submission in 8s. The rest are all 9s and 10s with nothing lower than 8. I don't use a loupe or scanner, just good old fashion eyeball. I do examine the cards quite carefully under a bright light (I find that natural light by a window during the day actually works quite well). You have to be very objective and if something doesn't sit well with me then I don't submit it, even if I'm not entirely sure why I'm rejecting it (usually this will have something to do with the overall feel or appearance of the card and that does play a role in the grade assigned). Lastly, don't forget centering...in fact, that's probably the first thing I look at. If it's not centered well then the rest of the card's condition is irrelevant.