Merry Christmas everyone (quick grading question)

Gemyanks10

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas albeit it's almost over. I ripped a bunch of 1980 Topps baseball today and have some very nice cards that are submittable. I have a question as it pertains to corners. On a couple of the cards, there are "fuzzys" or "excess cardboard" on a couple of the corners. The corners are sharp except for this excess junk hanging off and I don't dare try to cut it off for fear of damaging the card. Does anyone know if PSA deducts for this or if I should try and get rid of this before subbing? Other than these "bat ears, fuzzys or whatever", the corners are fine if this makes sense..has anyone seen this? Thanks for any help fellas.


Jimmy

MULLINS5

Thanks for asking this Jimmy, I too am wondering the same thing.

Gemyanks10

<< <i>Thanks for asking this Jimmy, I too am wondering the same thing. >>



No problem! I've seen these weird corners before, but never on submittable cards so it was never an issue. With these cards today, they are otherwise perfect except for these weird fuzzy things. I honestly don't know what to call them lol. And they don't detract from the overall eye appeal, I just know they are there and it's kind of a nuisance.



Jimmy

lawnmowerman

Whenever I've come across the excess cardboard cling-ons, I removed them with tweezers or a small, sharp pair of scissors. I never gave them a chance to deduct because of it. I believe they will. My thinking is, if it's not supposed to be there and it is, they will deduct for it.

thehallmark

I do believe PSA deducts for the corner-hanger. IMO, cutting off that little bit is a misdemeanor instance of doctoring the card. I also believe there are MANY cards in slabs that have had their corners cleaned up in this fashion.

lawnmowerman

<< <i>I do believe PSA deducts for the corner-hanger. IMO, cutting off that little bit is a misdemeanor instance of doctoring the card. I also believe there are MANY cards in slabs that have had their corners cleaned up in this fashion. >>



I have a different opinion on that. if it's not supposed to be there, I see no harm in removing it. It's not like anything is being added to the card, it's removing a foreign object. Same principle as removing wax imo.

grote15

<< <i>

<< <i>I do believe PSA deducts for the corner-hanger. IMO, cutting off that little bit is a misdemeanor instance of doctoring the card. I also believe there are MANY cards in slabs that have had their corners cleaned up in this fashion. >>



I have a different opinion on that. if it's not supposed to be there, I see no harm in removing it. It's not like anything is being added to the card, it's removing a foreign object. Same principle as removing wax imo. >>



+1

Same as removing wax from front of card with a nylon. Not the same as card doctoring or altering.

ETA: As a rule of thumb, doctoring is when you add or alter to enhance what's already there as opposed to removing a foreign object or substance, such as wax stain or extraneous string of cardboard that's not part of the card itself..

Gemyanks10

Double post

Gemyanks10

<< <i>

<<

<< I do believe PSA deducts for the corner-hanger. IMO, cutting off that little bit is a misdemeanor instance of doctoring the card. I also believe there are MANY cards in slabs that have had their corners cleaned up in this fashion. >>



I have a different opinion on that. if it's not supposed to be there, I see no harm in removing it. It's not like anything is being added to the card, it's removing a foreign object. Same principle as removing wax imo. >>



+1

Same as removing wax from front of card with a nylon. Not the same as card doctoring or altering.

ETA: As a rule of thumb, doctoring is when you add or alter to enhance what's already there as opposed to removing a foreign object or substance, such as wax stain or extraneous string of cardboard that's not part of the card itself.. >>



Thanks for the replies guys. I can definitely see both sides of the coin on this issue. I however don't see any issue with trying to remove any excess cardboard that isn't supposed to be there to begin with. As Tim stated, it's the same as removing excess wax on the front card of the wax pack, which I've done in the past. I don't agree with or support altering a card in anyway shape or form, but I don't feel any moral wrongdoing in attempting to try and get rid of these corner hangers.
I will have to be extra careful in attempting this because as I said, I've never done it before and will have to try and find the proper tool to do this because I don't want to have an accident. Other than these corner problems, in my eyes the cards are pristine.
I just wasn't sure if PSA did in fact deduct for this. I could see where they would, but I can also see where it's not really a huge deal because the corners look fine besides these cardboard "hairs" sticking out. I'm curious now if I own any cards already in slabs with these.


Jimmy

slum22

Jimmy,

Best of luck in your sub. I can definitely see both sides of that argument. I also wonder how PSA handles this as I believe they are lenient with rough cuts on edges and this would be the equivalent problem for corners.

thehallmark

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I do believe PSA deducts for the corner-hanger. IMO, cutting off that little bit is a misdemeanor instance of doctoring the card. I also believe there are MANY cards in slabs that have had their corners cleaned up in this fashion. >>



I have a different opinion on that. if it's not supposed to be there, I see no harm in removing it. It's not like anything is being added to the card, it's removing a foreign object. Same principle as removing wax imo. >>



+1

Same as removing wax from front of card with a nylon. Not the same as card doctoring or altering.

ETA: As a rule of thumb, doctoring is when you add or alter to enhance what's already there as opposed to removing a foreign object or substance, such as wax stain or extraneous string of cardboard that's not part of the card itself.. >>



I think there's a really fine line here, and your definition leaves open quite a bit for debate. However I think on the great cosmic list of things one can do to a card to make it more appealing, removing the corner hanger is among the least offensive. In my opinion it's nothing to get worked up about. However if a grading company was to detect the extra cut and penalized the submitter for it, I wouldn't have a problem with that.

mrpeanut39

I've opened a lot of 83 Topps Baseball and the hanging chads seem to be a common occurrence. If I feel a card is gradable, I don't let the peach fuzz prevent me from placing a card in the grading pile. I haven't monitored it that closely, but I do know that I have one at least one card that's graded a PSA 10 with this issue.

I'm not sure how easily visible it is, but this Cedeno card has whiskers on both top corners.



If I can find the motivation, maybe I'll look through my set to see if I can find other examples.