GRA Grading?? (Carew)

williplett

Anyone heard of this company? Judging by the grade they gave this Carew, they seem to be on par with PRO or GEM Elite. I am actually looking to get a PSA 9 or 10 of this Carew. I would say cracking it out and submitting this one might land me a 7...tops.

studentT206

Heard of them. Trimmed. Don't bother.

D

jrdolan

One of the most common rookie mistakes (which also happen to veterans who are new to eBay or grading services) is to think you can buy a card cheap in a PRO, GEM, AAA, RARE, GRA etc. holder and crack it out and send to PSA. You figure, "Even if it's overgraded by GRA, I saved money. And if it's graded accurately I hit the jackpot." Yes, I know that thought process from painful experience. Forget it ... overgrading is the best you can hope for. Much more likely the card is fake or trimmed. Some of those bozo "grading" services put counterfeits in a slab and stick a 9 or 10 on it. All of them put doctored cards in slabs and stick a 9 or 10 on it.

In my opinion the credible grading companies are (in descending order): PSA, SGC, GAI, BVG (the vintage side of Beckett). Don't bother with any other letters you may see on a plastic slab.

rbeaton

Here was my little experiment. I got the GRA 10 for around $2, then spent $5 to have PSA grade it...

=>

Any questions?

Robert

julen23

Graded Rookies Authenticated? That is an incorrect name for a grading company, considering the Carew card is not his RC.

Robert, you are on POINT!!!

Julen
_________
Collecting:
1980 Topps: Over 4,000 cards from vending and wax boxes awaiting a giant bonfire
1969 Topps Master: # 1 1
1987 Kraft Dinners Home Plate Heroes

jrdolan

rbeaton, you did extraordinarily well in not getting a doctored card. GRA 10 to PSA 5 is a triumph. Congrats, but I'd quit while I was ahead!

NickM

It's in a screw-down. If that doesn't say "skip it", nothing does.

Nick

Stone193

Hey! Remember the college dude from NGS?



His web is still up. I've got to say - that was one of the more entertaining threads were have had.

It's kind of hard to start another grading company in this climate - SCD sure didn't last that long?

Remember there is always PSG as an alternative!

mike

Stingray

Scroll down and you will find a listing of quite a few grading companies. Did not have time to go through the list. Wonder how many are still around?

LINK


Stingray

Brian48

<< <i>Heard of them. Trimmed. Don't bother.

D >>



Just so everyone is aware, I have (unfortunately) had a lot of experience with GRA graded cards.

First off, it is very difficult to mask a trimmed card in a GRA holder. The holder itself is recessed to the dimension of a standard sized card. A trimmed card would standout like a lightbulb when slabbed.

That being said, the same design that makes it very easy to spot a trimmed card, also has tendency to hide virtually all other defects (ie. corners, surface, edges, etc..). You literally cannot view the corners properly at all.

It is more than likely this card is not trimmed (since GRA can't get away with it), however has a boatload of other problems that you cannot detect until you actually remove the card from the holder. The holder itself is a joke. It is held together with just a screw that has a coating of rubber laminent over the head. You can actually reuse the holder over and over again without any problems.

jrdolan

I miss the guy who claimed he made $1.5 million by age 15. He was truly funny, though he didn't mean to be. Slicing and scrunching pre-1957 cards so they would fit in a post-1957 holder. That must have been an open-admission college.

Mike, are you still offering a dozen seal-it-yourself holders and a dozen PSG 10 Gem Mint flips for $12? I really think PogoStick is the next great kitchen table name-your-grade service. Watch out, PRO!