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Cracked Mtg PSA Cards

ComebackComeback Posts: 22
in Buy, Sell & Trade - Cards & Memorabilia
Dear all,

as some of u know I'm an Italian player and collector. In Italy there are some quite important collectors but most of them are also important player that play in the PIMP challenge so they costantly looking for altered artist, signed and minty card.

This is just for introduce the following question:

HOW PSA IS MANAGING CARDS THAT ARE CRACKED AFTER BEEN GRADED?

I personally know at least 2 friends of mine that have bought beta psa cards just for crack it and play with minty rare cards like:

- 3x PSA9 Underground Sea Beta
- some PSA9 Moxes Beta
- 1x PSA9 Time Walk Beta
- 1x PSA9 Berserk Beta

What do u think about it? It's possible to define a % of cards that are registered but someone cracked it?
My work in progress:
40 Dual Lands A/B: 73 % :wink:
40 Foil Japanese Fetches: 15 % :cry:
PSA Arabian Night Registry Set: 40% GPA 9.2 :frown:
Sedge Troll Global Set :eek:

Comments

  • tmmoosetmmoose Posts: 253 ✭✭
    If PSA is told about the cracking, they will adjust the population reports appropriately. Obviously if no one tells them, they can't adjust it. One way people "tell" PSA is by including the flips from cracked cards with a subsequent submission. I guess they would some kind of verification like this, otherwise you'd get people claiming to have cracked things left right and centre causing all sorts of havoc.

    The % of cards that are cracked will vary significantly by card - cards where 9s are pretty each to get and and 10s are difficult, or the number of 9s is probably somewhere between slightly and vastly overstated. The same applies where 8s are easy and 9s are harder but worth a lot more.

    For example, I would expect for Alpha the number of 8s for some cards is a bit overstated and the number of 9s is massively overstated as some dealers make a habit of trying to bump cards up to the next grade to make the card worth more.

    You also have the problem you mention, which I would guess accounts for a lot less of the cracking that goes on.

    Obviously the number of 10s should be fairly reliable! But on some sets there are a lot less 9s than you'd think - this is one of the reasons why I'm happy with collecting PSA 9 rather than PSA 10 cards on my Alpha set - they're probably a bit more rare than people realise but the prices are significantly below what 10s go for. On my other sets I'm mainly after 10s, so it doesn't pose a big problem from my perspective.
  • ThulnanthThulnanth Posts: 502
    Hey Comeback,

    Truth be told, the population numbers don't mean much, IMHO. To start with the numbers are artifically low as many cards have yet to be submitted. Over time they get inflated by crackout/resubs, skewing them the other way. As a rule I only really put any stock in the pops of 10's, as they don't see much crackouts, and then only once a LOT have been graded.

    In the end get a card because you like it or need it for a set, and forget the pop report - just my $.02 worth image

    Take it easy,
    Jared
    "You consider me the young apprentice,
    Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes,
    Hypnotized by you if I should linger,
    Staring at the ring around your finger" - Sting

    Ray Thiel (1964-2007) - the man who showed me more wonderful games & gaming sessions than I ever dreamed possible... you ran out of hit points too young, my friend.
  • NicksBetaMagicNicksBetaMagic Posts: 33
    I would agree. I really only look at the number of 10's out there and the cards that have zero 10's in the population or the 9's that only have 1 or 2 in the population. The rest is probably incorrect. I know people that crack 9 moxes and play with'em. Why, I don't know because an 8 mox will look just as good and will be much less expensive than a 9, I think. Hey! you could grade your type 1 deck and just play with the encapsulated cards!!! Might take you a while to shuffle but they'll be safe at least.

    Lastly what do you guys think about BGS cards. I think that they look SO much better than the PSA stuff but their website is not friendly at all to collectors. It seems you can get BGS 9.5 stuff on internet stores for cheap because no one looks for them. Thoughts?

    Nick
    "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - PLATO -
  • ComebackComeback Posts: 22


    << <i>
    In the end get a card because you like it or need it for a set, and forget the pop report - just my $.02 worth image
    >>



    That's the truth, I agree with you but however pop report and # collectors drive the cost; if the number of available cards is less than # collectors the price could increase more than a bit.

    In add, IMHO I'm not sure there are a lot of beta 9's for playset cards like volcanic islands, underground seas so the cracked process for this cards could be really dangerous for pop report, this is just the south europe scenario!
    My work in progress:
    40 Dual Lands A/B: 73 % :wink:
    40 Foil Japanese Fetches: 15 % :cry:
    PSA Arabian Night Registry Set: 40% GPA 9.2 :frown:
    Sedge Troll Global Set :eek:
  • tmmoosetmmoose Posts: 253 ✭✭


    << <i>Lastly what do you guys think about BGS cards. I think that they look SO much better than the PSA stuff but their website is not friendly at all to collectors. It seems you can get BGS 9.5 stuff on internet stores for cheap because no one looks for them. Thoughts? >>



    I like the BGS concept (e.g. sub-grades) and the look and feel of the holders, but they are a lot less prevalent than PSA cards and although 9.5s probably have a good chance of crossing over to 10s, its not something I've ever really had the urge to try or wanted to take the risk on ...
  • NicksBetaMagicNicksBetaMagic Posts: 33
    On the subject of cracking and re-submitting PSA 9's in hopes to get a 10, I can't really fault anyone who tries but I don't agree with it. that is one reason why it says on the registry that there are all those PSA 9 Beta Black Lotus' out there. I know for a fact that Spacebaby re-submitted many times over the same power cards in hopes to get a 10. As well as other collectors I'm sure. Can you blame him? No, lots of money to be made. But I still don't agree with it.

    With the BGS 9.5's. A BGS 9.5 will ALWAYS get a PSA 10. ALWAYS!!! BGS is so picky about the subgrades I feel that even a BGS 9 with some 9.5 subgrades has a good chance at getting a PSA 10. I have graded multiple BGS 9.5 cards, one being a beta mind twist, and it has returned a PSA 10. If you have some and want to crossover to PSA to improve your set I would feel comfortable in doing so. Unless you have unsteady hands and you're worried about f'ing up the card. The case BGS put cards in is pretty tough. Eventually and if BGS makes their website more "user friendly" i wouldn't rule out me crossing over to their side simply because the encapsulation and subgrades is so neat to look at.

    Nick
    "Only the dead have seen the end of war." - PLATO -
  • asian007asian007 Posts: 34
    most of my cards come back as 8's so i'm happy with them i don't crack them!

    on the bgs grading, nearly every modern set ever graded just about has gotten stronger market value than PSA.

    The site is a cool thing to put online, but in the end of the day it comes to what people will pay.

    there are actual BGS collectors, that will not buy any PSA...vice versa. maybe a market if you get in now, you will reap major rewards later.

    if you do crack the cards out or convert 10's to 9.5's vice versa, it would be a courtesy to change the pop by contacting PSA or beckett, as i think many collectors won't be happy...
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