Altered Cards

paedog

I submitted a batch of cards to PSA for grading. Most graded fine but too many came back trimmed. I bought most of them on Ebay. Anyone have advice on how to identify cards that are trimmed? I don't want to continue to waste money on trying to get cards graded that are trimmed. Thanks.

49ersGuy

One thing I do is if there is a card I suspect I bring up a couple different PSA graded cards in different tabs that have a similar cut and compare the length and width of the cards. Generally if one is altered you will notice a slight difference. While this is not the most perfect way of checking it has helped me rule out many cards

sushihotwings

Buying raw cards on EBay from unknown sources I have found to be a minefield unfortunately. These are some great ideas from others posters. Stick to larger established sellers for buying raw or in person transactions. I know this can damper the thrill of the chase for a deal. I only buy graded off eBay now and even that isn't foolproof as seen by that recent Jordan fake in a fake PSA slab posted here. But this is rare occurrence still I think.

yankeeno7

Even the larger sellers are not exempt. The ones that buy raw sets/lots for resale mostly will not know if a card is altered unless very obvious.

49ersGuy

While I prefer to buy from well established sellers the drawback is that they generally handle high quantities which tends to make it more difficult to catch the not so obvious trimmed cards. The one huge benefit here is that they generally will take the card(s) back no questions asked if you find a card to be trimmed.