Proper way to open a wax pack for grading?

NamesJay

OK, so the scenario is: you open a hot wax box and want to find the cards that you think will grade highly, so you want to pay close attention to how you handle and treat the cards so you don't decrease their value in the way you handle them.

What are your techniques for opening up boxes?

Is there a special way to open the pack? Do you wear gloves? Do you use a microscope to look for discrepancies? How do you store the cards after opening the packs?

Any help would be, well, helpful!

lawnmowerman

I wear gloves and open packs with scissors. Gradeable cards go in penny sleeves right away, then into cardsavers later. The non gradeable star cards go into binders and the junk in common boxes.

Sometimes I give the junk to my 18 month old to do as she pleases

EagleEyeKid

I open up all my packs and boxes in an anti-virulent chamber.
Donning my goggles and latex gloves, I use a razor blade to carefully slit open each pack. After finding specimens suitable for grading, each one of those cards are then examined closely under a 40X microscope to check for micro-organisms that may reside on the surface. Each one of those cards are then placed into a 1 inch acrylic holder and packed with dry ice and shipped to PSA.

cravetopps

<<<I open up all my packs and boxes in an anti-virulent chamber.
Donning my goggles and latex gloves, I use a razor blade to carefully slit open each pack. After finding specimens suitable for grading, each one of those cards are then examined closely under a 40X microscope to check for micro-organisms that may reside on the surface. Each one of those cards are then placed into a 1 inch acrylic holder and packed with dry ice and shipped to PSA. >>>

I thought I was the only one who did this. I guess it's more common than I thought.

diamondman

don't open the box just send the whole box to PSA and let them open it and just put min grade 10 and the ones that won't grade 10 tell them to keep them.

if it is a foil pack I use scissors if a wax pack just open slowly.

gocatsgo538

I usually take a chainsaw to it...



Seems to work pretty good.

baseballfanatic

<< <i><<<I open up all my packs and boxes in an anti-virulent chamber.
Donning my goggles and latex gloves, I use a razor blade to carefully slit open each pack. After finding specimens suitable for grading, each one of those cards are then examined closely under a 40X microscope to check for micro-organisms that may reside on the surface. Each one of those cards are then placed into a 1 inch acrylic holder and packed with dry ice and shipped to PSA. >>>

I thought I was the only one who did this. I guess it's more common than I thought. >>




Wow. Ditto for me too

vintagetoppsguy

Welcome! You need to ask Gary D. He is the resident expert on this. He opens his packs very carefully as to preserve the wrapper and not damage the cards. Good luck!

BobaFett72

contact the local fire dept. and request the jaws of life.

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

I open my packs just like you. One fold at a time.

BobaFett72

66Starfire

What? No torch to melt the wax?

PROMETHIUS88

Actually, we take hours just to prepare for the momentus occasion here. Generally the wife and I send the kids away to Grandmas 2-3 days prior to the actual event so that we can completely sterilize the entire house. Once that is done, nobody can come or go from the house until the cards are hermatically sealed for shipping to PSA. Once we have finished cleaning and gotten a good nights sleep, we awaken to shave each other from heaad to toe and disinfect in a totally separate area of the house so as not to get any stray hairs on the surface of the cards. We don latex gloves and our breathing aparatus and enter the room completely naked otherwise....that way we know the other person isn't pocketing that gem mint specimen to keep for him/herself. The room is only slightly lit by flourescent lighting as we wouldn't want any natural sunlight to affect the surface of our cards. As we approach the box, one of us(usually decided by a coin flip) carefully opens the box with sanitized tongs and distributes the packs evenly between the two of us. We begin opening them one at a time with anti-static tweezers that have chemical-free rubber tips and sort into piles. The ones we belive have a shot at the elusive "gem mint" status are quickly measured for centering and size reqirement and put under a 60x scope with infra-red light to find any surface imperfections or corner/edge wear. Our specialized computer program gives us the probability of that particular card receiving a "10" and we then seal it with our state of the art sealer and place it in a vacuum sealed box for shipping to PSA.

******If a 5 year old kid can open a pack of Topps 40-50 years ago...quite possibly with ice cream or whatever on his hands, and it has made it to the present day to receive a 9 or a 10, I don't think we have to go so far!
C''MON!!! WE COLLECT SPORTSCARDS HERE...... IT'S FOR FUN........WE AREN'T DOING BRAIN SURGERY!!!!

PROMETHIUS88

Does anyone else do this????

EchoCanyon

Does anyone else do this????

Does anyone give a ridiculous response to a legitimate question? Apparently many people do.