Is this Clemente rookie card worth crossing over?

WeekendHacker

I recently picked up this card; it's the last one I need for my Clemente PSA registry set. Looking for the opinions of more experienced PSA members on the potential crossover grade this would get. I appreciate any valuable input. I'd be really disappointed if it came back as a 7 it is graded as GAI 8.5 NM-MT+. I cut out the GAI label to get a larger scan of the card. The back is clean with 50/50 centering L/R & 40/60 T/B. Please help!!

mealeworm

Looks like an 8 from the scan. Only thing I can wonder about is the uneven looking right edge. I collect 57's and they have tons of rough cuts and most of the time it isn't a factor in grading. But never had a high profile card with an edge like that. I would go for the 8 if it was me.

aro13

There is a good chance that card was in a PSA 8 holder originally.

calleocho

aro13 is probably right

KyleBicking

send it in for a crossover with a minimum grade of an 8. don't crack it until doing so. maybe you can save yourself the stress of risking putting the card from a GAI 8.5 to a PSA do not graded.... you just never know.

Kurtman9

If you send it in with "crossover service" in a GAI holder, you are wasting your $. It will come back M/G. Crack it out and take your chances. As it was mentioned, it may take 2 submissions to get the 8.

BarkusD

I recently submitted a number of 50s/60s cards for crossover service. Half crossed and half did not, but the holder had no bearing. GAIs crossed just as well as SGCs. I would definitely take a shot at corssover before risking cracking the holder and submitting.

Aaronman

I would not crack it out. Your safest bet would be to use the crossover service with a minimum grade as already recommended. I would be nervous about it being in the GAI 8.5 holder. I would guess it was not previously in a PSA 8 holder. I don't see any advantage to putting that card in an GAI 8.5 (or 92 if it were SGC). I don't think it (the extra .5) will add any extra value over a high end PSA 8. It's well centered, the corners look OK (not great) and it looks like there might be little chipping on the border. I suppose you could always question the source of where you got it (i.e. who the person was, did they submit it, was it in another companies holder before ...)

Doug

WeekendHacker

Thanks for all the insight! I will probably submit it to PSA in the holder and request no grade less than 8.

What holder will typically support more value, a PSA 8 or GAI 8.5. I am fully aware and support the philosophy that you buy the card, not the holder, but sometimes individuals prefer one company over another. Any further insight on this area?

Boopotts

<< <i>I would not crack it out. Your safest bet would be to use the crossover service with a minimum grade as already recommended. I would be nervous about it being in the GAI 8.5 holder. I would guess it was not previously in a PSA 8 holder. I don't see any advantage to putting that card in an GAI 8.5 (or 92 if it were SGC). I don't think it (the extra .5) will add any extra value over a high end PSA 8. It's well centered, the corners look OK (not great) and it looks like there might be little chipping on the border. I suppose you could always question the source of where you got it (i.e. who the person was, did they submit it, was it in another companies holder before ...)

Doug >>




There may not be an advantage for a dealer who works primarily on Ebay, but after talking to quite a few dealers who do mostly shows a GAI 8.5 will outsell a PSA 8 everywhere except online.

Boopotts

<< <i>Thanks for all the insight! I will probably submit it to PSA in the holder and request no grade less than 8.

What holder will typically support more value, a PSA 8 or GAI 8.5. I am fully aware and support the philosophy that you buy the card, not the holder, but sometimes individuals prefer one company over another. Any further insight on this area? >>



I think it's a wash. Unless you need it for a registry set I'd leave it where it is. One nice thing about a GAI 8.5 is you can sometimes get the bidding waayyy up there if the card is well centered. Unsophisticated buyers-- or, to be more precise, bidders who know just enough to get themselves in trouble-- will bid on it hoping it will cross to a PSA 9 if they crack it and submit it, while card doctors will figure it only needs a little bit of 'enhancement' to get that precious bump. (BTW, this would probably be a good time to add that I have never seen a card in a GAI 8.5 holder that I thought had a realistic shot at getting a bump at PSA. Not that they don't exist, but they have to be incredibly rare).

If you want to sell put in on Ebay with a reasonable starting bid that reflects whatever you want to get out of it and a low resolution scan; you could be pleasantly surprised at the hammer price.

ctsoxfan

<< <i>There may not be an advantage for a dealer who works primarily on Ebay, but after talking to quite a few dealers who do mostly shows a GAI 8.5 will outsell a PSA 8 everywhere except online. >>



Not necessarily. Even this weekend, at Fort Washington, many dealer friends of mine were lamenting their decision to have so many GAI cards - collectors see the half grade bump cards for what they are, and the few days of them bringing a premium over a PSA card of the same grade are long gone.

gstarling

<< <i>BTW, this would probably be a good time to add that I have never seen a card in a GAI 8.5 holder that I thought had a realistic shot at getting a bump at PSA. Not that they don't exist, but they have to be incredibly rare). >>


I've crossed 3 GAI 8.5s. All 3 crossed to PSA 9s. I currently have another 8.5 in right now. All cracked. All submitted raw.

WeekendHacker

I am pretty ticked at PSA. I sent this card to them via the walkthrough service ($75.00 grading fee), mailed via registered mail ($17.50), paid for PSA to return to me via registered mail ($16.60) and in their opinion this card "did not meet the minimum grade I requested" of PSA-8. I am on the fence to crack the case and resubmitt raw (would cost another 100 bucks and it may come back as a 7) or terminate my business with PSA all together. I doubt I will choose the later because they have 3 other submissions of mine (raw) totaling about 140 cards. Someone, please someone tell me why this card didn't meet the minimum grading standards of a PSA-8. If I sound pissed, I am, I had no where else to vent. I have a 56 Clemente (PSA-8) with a raw cut along the bottom, the 55 card has a raw cut on the right side.

mikeschmidt

You can never tell from a scan, obviously.

Is the bottom right corner blunted, perhaps?

I think most people acknowledge that on crossing-over, best bet is usually to crack and resubmit. That said - if you don't get the grade you want, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.

fiveniner

I have never had luck with crossovers however my luck changes significantly when I crack them my self and send them in raw.I have never cracked a card of that type of profile however I have cracked several lower profile cards with no damage done however it is risky.

Kurtman9

I hate to say I told you so, but...

If you feel confident the card is PSA 8 quality, crack it and submit raw. I've been down the "crossover" road recently and had awful results, even with 8.5s from BVG and 8s from SGC where I only asked for 8s. They won't give you an 8 unless it is a very highend card, at least in my experience. Additionally, the word is that PSA is not too fond of GAI, so it only follows that they would be more hesitant to grant the requested crossover grade on GAI cards.

mealeworm

Kurtman makes some good points.

If you can look at the card and grade it yourself objectively and see it being an 8 then crack it. You might have to submit it a few times also. Bottom line if the card is truely an 8, cant say for sure from a scan, then it will end up in an 8 holder.

You also have to try submitting it under specials and renewals to offset the grading fees. You need to figure out where the break even between selling as a high end card and the purchase of one already in a psa holder might be.

KyleBicking

Whats the going rate of a GAI 8.5? I imagine you could get an auction house to list it, get a decent price for it, and then buy yourself a PSA 8. I don't know if the corners/edges of that card would merit an 8 though.

Slabbed

I SECOND THAT MOTION OF KYLE'S