General Question about Grading

TheTalkingWalnut · January 17, 2009 9:11AM

I spend most of my time on the currency board but I got my first baseball card in 1976 so I can say that I've been doing that on and off for about 30 years. I just inheirited some nice baseball, football and basketball cards and since I've never had anything graded, I wanted to ask a couple of real world questions.

I just visited the PSA website and it seems to me that if I join, then I can take advantage of the January special and submit as many cards as I want for $5 each (if under $100 obviously).

I'm not commenting on whether this is a good deal or a bad deal; I just want to know if I'm interpreting this correctly. My questions then would be:

1) Is this the cheapest way I can get cards graded by PSA?

2) If it is, can I assume that everybody who has a card graded by PSA pays at least $5 per card?

3) If #2 is true, does it make sense to pay $5 to have a card graded that I might only get $5 or $10 for on ebay?

4) Why do I see so many graded commons on ebay not selling for $0.99 each? If it cost the owner $5 apiece to grade and then they can't get somebody to pay $1 for them, how does this make economic sense?

5) If 1-4 are wrong, then what am I missing?

Thanks for your opinions

jeff8877 · January 17, 2009 9:18AM

1) Is this the cheapest way I can get cards graded by PSA? There specials are usually the cheapest way to go.

2) If it is, can I assume that everybody who has a card graded by PSA pays at least $5 per card? For most of us yes, the big sellers negotiate a better deal because they deal in bulk.

3) If #2 is true, does it make sense to pay $5 to have a card graded that I might only get $5 or $10 for on ebay? No.

4) Why do I see so many graded commons on ebay not selling for $0.99 each? If it cost the owner $5 apiece to grade and then they can't get somebody to pay $1 for them, how does this make economic sense? It doesnt. When they dont sell you also need to factor in what the cost of shipping would have been as thats what someone would have had to pay to get the card. A lot of cards are submitted hoping for a high grade...example...if you submit a 60s common and it comes back as a PSA 7 you might get $5 for it but if it is a hard to find card and it comes back as a PSA 8 it might be worth $100...so the person submitting was taking a gamble.

5) If 1-4 are wrong, then what am I missing?Your not missing anything.

Jeff

Stingray · January 17, 2009 9:19AM

Selling graded commons can be a crap shoot. For 76s I would expect for PSA 9 you could get anywhere from $8 to $12 for cards that are not considered low pops. Low pop 76s, say 15 or less graded PSA 9 could get you $18+.

TheTalkingWalnut · January 17, 2009 9:28AM

Ok, thanks a lot guys. That clears things up. It sounds like I should familarize myself with grading standards and not waste the time or money sending in any common/minor star with obvious centering, creasing, chipping. That part makes sense.

I have a bunch of 1970-71 Topps basketballs that are all in pretty good shape, even the commons. So it may be worth my while to send in 50 or so of them b/c if a good chunk of them come back as 8 or 9 or better then from what I'm hearing, the differential that I'd get from selling them as PSA 9s (plus or minus) even with the cost of grading would have a good chance offsetting what I could sell them for raw.

The last question I have is about centering. I think I've seen a cutout center device thingee that you put over the card and it determines roughly how well centered the card is. Do these exist; what are they called and where do I get one?

Thanks again

thenavarro · January 17, 2009 9:34AM

<< <i>I spend most of my time on the currency board but I got my first baseball card in 1976 so I can say that I've been doing that on and off for about 30 years. I just inheirited some nice baseball, football and basketball cards and since I've never had anything graded, I wanted to ask a couple of real world questions.

I just visited the PSA website and it seems to me that if I join, then I can take advantage of the January special and submit as many cards as I want for $5 each (if under $100 obviously).

I'm not commenting on whether this is a good deal or a bad deal; I just want to know if I'm interpreting this correctly. My questions then would be:

1) Is this the cheapest way I can get cards graded by PSA?

2) If it is, can I assume that everybody who has a card graded by PSA pays at least $5 per card?

3) If #2 is true, does it make sense to pay $5 to have a card graded that I might only get $5 or $10 for on ebay?

4) Why do I see so many graded commons on ebay not selling for $0.99 each? If it cost the owner $5 apiece to grade and then they can't get somebody to pay $1 for them, how does this make economic sense?

5) If 1-4 are wrong, then what am I missing?

Thanks for your opinions >>

#1 - It's the cheapest way I know of, other than joining in with someone else who already has a membership and sending the cards through them on the special and paying the same $5 per card (in other words, you wouldn't pay the membership fee, so you'd save the initial $100.00, but you'd have to rely on someone else)

#2 - Probably not a good assumption. PSA will negotiate special deals depending on the circumstance, and some entities submit a LOT of cards and probably have the pull to negotiate a better price. But I'm talking a LOT of cards and you'd probably have to be a MAJOR player in the industry to get a better deal.

#3 - Because you might hit a homerun on a couple cards that will more than pay for your entire submission (see #4 below for example)

#4 - using an example. I submitted 19 different 1984 Donruss cards for grading back in April if memory serves me correctly. Most of those cards are what are called "commons" and I would have had difficulty getting a dime a piece for them ungraded. In my submission, I got five 10's which is the highest grade you can get. Some of these cards had a low population of 10's, meaning that there was only a handful and less of 10's that PSA has graded. That makes those cards very valuable for Set Registry competition purposes. All of a sudden, those cards that you could pick up for a dime, were valuable. I sold those 5 for $800-$900 or so, I don't recall exactly off the top of my head. That left me with 14 cards that if I chose to sell them for .99 each, or even paid to give them away, I would still be making money overall. Those cards take up valuable storage space and I didn't want them, so I sold them for relatively low dollar amounts. This is the same situation that you see a lot of the times you are seeing cards sell for less than the cost of grading. Someone made their money somewhere else on the submission and they are simply unloading the unwanted ones.
#5 - see answers above.

Best of luck and hope this helps shed some light on it.

Mike

Stingray · January 17, 2009 9:39AM

I would expect that if this is your first time sending in cards plan on being disappointed. I have heard many a story of first time submissions coming back with grades owed than expected. It takes a few times to learn what to expect your cards to grade.

storm888 · January 17, 2009 9:43AM

There may still be some old measuring widgets around, but the best one
is JRuler.

Scan your cards and measure them on the screen.

JRuler

////////////

In general, if you have to measure the stuff, there is an "eye-appeal"
issue.

Just read the PSA guidelines and eyeball the things. If they look OC,
they usually are. (Cards with OC qualifiers are not worth much, usually.)

........

Picking cards to grade is not a lot different than picking currency.

TheTalkingWalnut · January 17, 2009 9:43AM

Well, I've been an appraiser for almost 15 years so I hope I can at least pull out the really obvious stinkers, but that is a valid point.

Stingray · January 17, 2009 9:47AM

It would not hurt to throw up some scans on here and get the opinions of other forum members.

storm888 · January 17, 2009 9:48AM

"Well, I've been an appraiser for almost 15 years so I hope I can at least pull out the really obvious stinkers, but that is a valid point. "

////////////////////////////////

Sending cards to be graded is always a gamble.

You never know what you are going to get until you get 'em back.

WinPitcher · January 17, 2009 10:04AM

If you can grade currency you can grade cards.

Good luck.

Steve

TheTalkingWalnut · January 17, 2009 10:16AM

Ok: if I uploaded these correctly I have 240 dpi scans of Reggie and a random basketball card. The Reggie is not perfect, I know this. But I'm curious how you guys would call the centering - nothing to worry about; 55/45, 61/39, what?

The basketball is about typical; some are better and some are worse. I see some splotches, chipping and a horizontal line, so this obviously isn't a 10. But it's as good a place as any to start.

lsutigers1973 · January 17, 2009 10:32AM

Reggie is definitely worth grading. Even in a PSA 5 hodler it will sell for more than an ungraded card.

ymarea · January 17, 2009 10:33AM

I'm only eyeballing, so these are guestimates.

The Jackson looks to be about 40/60 L/R, with the T/B centering even better. Ellis looks to be about 65/35, T/B; 55/45 L/R. I'm certain that someone will measure for exact figures.

Dboneesq · January 17, 2009 11:27AM

<< <i>Ok: if I uploaded these correctly I have 240 dpi scans of Reggie and a random basketball card. The Reggie is not perfect, I know this. But I'm curious how you guys would call the centering - nothing to worry about; 55/45, 61/39, what?

The basketball is about typical; some are better and some are worse. I see some splotches, chipping and a horizontal line, so this obviously isn't a 10. But it's as good a place as any to start. >>

I just looked at THE REGGIE ... I'd say t/b is close to 50/50 and l/r about 35/65. A CARD WORTH SUBMITTING!

nam812 · January 17, 2009 12:01PM

Scanning with the lid open will create a black background and allow for other to see the crispness of the corners (or lack there of) more clearly.

Edited to add: Reggie Jackson rookie is 52/48 B/T and 36/64 L/R. I can not see the corners well, but the 36/64 is just barely inside the centering tolerance for a PSA 9 (Centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.)

TheTalkingWalnut · January 17, 2009 12:28PM

Thanks for all the feedback. The Reggie was put into a hard thick case by my cousin and I haven't decided on whether to remove it or not. From what I can tell, the corners are good but not pristine. I'm thinking an 8 would be fantastic and a 7 would be more realistic.

Dboneesq · January 17, 2009 12:46PM

<< <i>Thanks for all the feedback. The Reggie was put into a hard thick case by my cousin and I haven't decided on whether to remove it or not. From what I can tell, the corners are good but not pristine. I'm thinking an 8 would be fantastic and a 7 would be more realistic. >>

As another poster stated, it would be a good idea to scan with the cover open so we can see the contrast of the background against the card's borders and corners. Based upon your current pic, it looks like the card MAY get a 7, possibly a 6. JMO. Best of luck with your find! Wishing you MANY MINT CARDS!

HanCholo · March 2, 2009 9:38AM

I was wondering if anybody had any advice on what kind of card protectors to use to submit cards for grading. I have some in the acrylic cases with the screws, but I heard they don't allow those.

I got a '53 topps Warren spahn that I need to get graded and I need to be as careful as possible (I'm hoping for the elusive 10 grade)

Also, does anybody have any experience with the walk-in grading service? I was wondering how long it takes and are there usually huge lines since they only do it once a month?

thenavarro · March 2, 2009 10:01AM

<< <i>I was wondering if anybody had any advice on what kind of card protectors to use to submit cards for grading. I have some in the acrylic cases with the screws, but I heard they don't allow those.

I got a '53 topps Warren spahn that I need to get graded and I need to be as careful as possible (I'm hoping for the elusive 10 grade)

Also, does anybody have any experience with the walk-in grading service? I was wondering how long it takes and are there usually huge lines since they only do it once a month? >>

Use Card Saver I's for your submission. Not the hard protectors. Pack carefully and they'll be fine. I don't have any experience with PSA's walk-in service. Good luck.

Mike

HanCholo · March 2, 2009 10:21AM

Thanks.

General Question about Grading

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