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Thanks but I think I’ll just keep it as is. When the market peaks again, I’ll let it go for the right price. If the market never peaks then I have a rare card in my collection of many rare cards.

Good luck!

NE1, I also enjoyed your reference from the movie contact! 😁

NE1, you’re obviously experienced knowledge in this area is appreciated. I hear what you’re saying and although the value of this individual card is of little significance to me, I will hold onto it and perhaps one day sell it if the price is right. Also, I hope you’re right about CSG and the increased popularity of their cards they have graded. Right now, it seems as if the market is holding back on a full-fledged endorsement of CSG grades, or perhaps over time they will become the new standard in card and comic book grading. I do appreciate what you have said and will take it to heart. Thanks dude!

I hear you. I definitely would have gotten subgrades had I been experienced in card grading at all. Especially for this card. It really should’ve been graded at an eight or 8.5 but it is what it is now. Live and learn!

I’m not sure I understand why this detracts from the value or grade of the card. If it’s commonplace for this Topps finest issue to be green, why shouldn’t that then be the standard for the card?

You are totally right. I thought CSG was going to be the new kid on the block, but it looks like they’re attempt at slicing out a piece of the grading pie has not lived up to expectations.

I realized after I got back my hundred card lot that I should’ve gotten subs on some of the higher end cards. You are right that was a mistake.

I would gladly sell you my Jordan refractor for $1500, which is well below the market value of the card, especially if you have it re-graded and get the true grade which is 8 1/2 to 9. I couldn’t agree with more with you about wasting money. They won’t get any more of my cards to grade nor will they get my vast comic book collection to grade as well.

Thanks for the interesting and illuminating story. Like you, I pulled that Jordan refractor back in the day and it was in a closet for a quarter-century. I personally think that these grading companies need to have a set of universal standards they all adhere to so people like me don’t get screwed out of a big payday when the guy who got the same card graded a 9-9.5 got big $$. Oh well life goes on and the polar ice continues to melt!

Agreed.And the strict grading especially when it comes to a card like a Jordan refractor can cost you a lot of money.

Wondering how that is possible because my economy order was received three weeks before yours and my bulk order still isn’t even in grading and was received three weeks before yours.

I know right. Live and learn.

Hard to believe but I sent in an economy level group of cards to be graded and it was received in the shipping department on March 23, 2021. Now, almost 3 months later, my cards are still in the grading department and I have no graded cards even to view online. This process has bogged down to the point of ridiculousness.

Benny, it’s already been posted earlier so scroll through my posts and you will see pictures of the front and back of the card.

Just to close out this thread, CSG customer service got back to me and said the reason for the 7.5 grade on the Jordan Refractor was “greening” of the surface of the card. Not sure exactly how that affects the grade by 2.5 points, as it really seems like a BS justification to me. I guess I have to live with it now.

The sports card grading industry along with sales of those cards is an enormous bubble that could burst at any time. We think of any one card as potentially “rare“, but the truth is most cards in the marketplace are a dime a dozen. It’s one thing to get a Kobe rookie card graded at a 10, but it’s something completely different to sell it for what the market currently values the card. You really do have to have an extremely rare card graded out at 9.5 or 10 in order to get close to the market value for that card. Too many collectors think that their collection is some kind of retirement plan, but that is flawed thinking. If you are doing this primarily for the fun of the process then you have the right mindset. Good luck to all of you on landing of the big kahuna!

I suppose I could do that, but I’d like to wait and see what the grades are on the rest of the cards. I have 98 other cards waiting to be graded, but this one was the most valuable potentially. Thanks for your advice though.

Thanks for your input. I’m not sure exactly why they dinged me so bad, but I have submitted a question with pictures to customer service and I will let you know what they say if they respond.

Two full weeks ago I was told by customer service that my standard level cards had been graded and were sent for imaging and then shipping. There has been no progress in that two week period as the cards still don’t show grading of any kind. I know I’m impatient but every step of this process has taken at least twice as long as what was stated when they first broke into the sports card grading market. I know there are bound to be growing pains and a learning curve for them and us, but I feel like unless you pay for the higher level of grading categories, your cards are lost in a processing quicksand. I hope they get these kinks worked out as soon as possible if they are to stay in business grading sports cards.

First of all thanks for your very well said comment. Obviously I couldn’t agree more about the strictness of their grading on centering. My Jordan Refractor card should have graded at an 8.5 on centering and they gave us 7.5 which destroyed any chance I had of big money on that card. I submitted my concerns to customer service that they will just say whatever they need to say to justify their position and to try to pacify me as a customer. It’s definitely a rocky start for them with me as I have 98 other cards waiting to be graded. I really want to see these guys succeed, but as you said if the low grades on good cards continue they may shoot themselves in the foot.

I’ve measured the centering and it is not a 6.5. At worst it’s a 7.5 and even if the rest were 8 1/2 or nine‘s it should still come out to an eight. Doesn’t matter it is what it is right?

JJ I agree but do you think it’s bad enough to downgrade it 2 1/2 points?

That’s why I wrote customer service and sent them the pictures. I needed an explanation and obviously I didn’t get subs so I’d like to know because the corners are sharp, the edges are perfect the centering is the only thing that I can see that might’ve been slightly off, and the surface was perfect under 30x lighted magnification. There certainly isn’t enough to downgrade it to a 7.5. I’ll let you know what they say if they respond.

At the request of CSG customer service, I have provided them with front and back photographs of the Jordan refractor card that they originally graded at a 7.5. I have consulted with numerous people in the sports card grading field, and the consensus is that the card should have graded at an 8.5 or nine. I would be fine with such a grade, but the 7.5 that CSG gave the card is, in my opinion overly strict, especially for a card that is affected in value greatly by the downgrade it received. The difference between the first year Jordan refractor at a 7.5 and that of an 8.5 or nine is potentially thousands of dollars. Ordinarily, I would just take my lumps And be done with it, but there is too much money involved and too many questions as to why it received such a low grade. I’ll keep you posted.