Hoping for assistance in determining if cards are in good enough condition to send in 1 1

[Mosstastic_22]

Using the below card as a benchmark can anyone tell me their impression on what they think a card like this would grade as? I can use it as a benchmark for other cards going forward  

thanks 

[FearlessPC]

It seems like CGC is quite a bit stricter when it comes to grading than PSA. I'd say they're around the level of BGS as far as being strict with grading. 

That said, the first thing that stuck out to me is that this card is a bit off-center both on the front and back. So centering might get a 5 or a 6?

For the corners, I see a little bit of whitening on at least two of them so the corners might get around a 7 or an 8.

For the edges, I see a little bit of whitening around the edges so maybe around a 7.

For surface, it's really hard to tell, but I see a little something on the top backside of it. It's an old card so it wouldn't surprise me if if had tiny scratches or other blemishes on it. I'd say surface might get a 7. 

Overall, I think this card would get somewhere around a 6.5. If it got an 8 or above, I'd be very surprised.

The smallest things seems to greatly affect grading with CGC due to how strict they are.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but that's my best educated guess. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by FearlessPC

[rroboo7]

Here is the way I come to a consensus. What are the two worst subgrades your card is going to receive? From the looks of it, the edging is not that bad apart from a little whitening at the top and silvering on the front 8, maybe 8.5 on a good day. corners are the best aspect of the card however the top-right on the front is questionable. Now for the biggest problem, surface and centering. Top-bottom of the card is not good at all and the left-right seems 40/60 this subgrade seems like a 7. Surfacing of the card is another issue with the heavy scratches on the holo along with white dots on the back. If two of the lowest subgrades are the same, that is the highest overall grade the card will receive. I would expect a 7, maybe a 7.5 max. It is a nice card but the centering and surface you need to take into account.

Edited October 25, 2020 by rroboo7

[PaulS.]

Great card! While we cannot give opinions on grades here, it looks like a nice card. I would suggest you check eBay sales prices to see if they are worth enough for you to grade. 

 

Paul

[theCapraAegagrus]

Do playing cards have something akin to OSPG?

[Ron Churches]

27 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

Do playing cards have something akin to OSPG?

Not that I think is generally reliable or published by any reputable source that I've seen.  Pokemon TCG price benchmarking is all about verifying recent secondary market data and things are very volatile right now.  This card in NM condition was 20-30 early this year, maybe a little more.  It doubled, then has at least doubled again over the last few months.  I'd absolutely get this graded.  I don't think it's a 9 or a 10, but any first edition in NM condition would appreciate significantly and justify the 10-20 dollar grading fee, imo.  

[theCapraAegagrus]

2 minutes ago, Ron Churches said:

Not that I think is generally reliable or published by any reputable source that I've seen.  Pokemon TCG price benchmarking is all about verifying recent secondary market data and things are very volatile right now.  This card in NM condition was 20-30 early this year, maybe a little more.  It doubled, then has at least doubled again over the last few months.  I'd absolutely get this graded.  I don't think it's a 9 or a 10, but any first edition in NM condition would appreciate significantly and justify the 10-20 dollar grading fee, imo.  

Does this mean that people who sell ungraded cards have no reference points for condition? I personally have no clue how to grade something like centering. I can tell that this wouldn't be a 10, but I would be interested to learn card grading.

[Ron Churches]

1 hour ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

Does this mean that people who sell ungraded cards have no reference points for condition? I personally have no clue how to grade something like centering. I can tell that this wouldn't be a 10, but I would be interested to learn card grading.

I mean, there are lots and lots of resources I've found online, but nothing centralized and/or authoritative.  It takes a lot of research to really be able to assess these cards well.  

[Mosstastic_22]

Never received any notifications for the replies but I appreciate everyone giving their opinions. I figured that surface / centering would be the two biggest issues, just wasn't sure "how big" of an issue those would be. Given that the alternative is to probably leave it in a toploader and risk getting worse I'll probably still have it graded. I'll let you folks know if/when it comes back. 

Thanks all

[alohaboyz]

7-8 (if there are no scratches on the holo.

[Poke_Rogue_TCG]

On 10/24/2020 at 2:30 AM, FearlessPC said:

It seems like CGC is quite a bit stricter when it comes to grading than PSA. I'd say they're around the level of BGS as far as being strict with grading. 

That said, the first thing that stuck out to me is that this card is a bit off-center both on the front and back. So centering might get a 5 or a 6?

For the corners, I see a little bit of whitening on at least two of them so the corners might get around a 7 or an 8.

For the edges, I see a little bit of whitening around the edges so maybe around a 7.

For surface, it's really hard to tell, but I see a little something on the top backside of it. It's an old card so it wouldn't surprise me if if had tiny scratches or other blemishes on it. I'd say surface might get a 7. 

Overall, I think this card would get somewhere around a 6.5. If it got an 8 or above, I'd be very surprised.

The smallest things seems to greatly affect grading with CGC due to how strict they are.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but that's my best educated guess. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think FearlessPC is pretty spot on, except I think the centering will probably come in around the 8 mark - anything lower and I think CGC considers it OC. Even the OC Lapras I attached has a centering of 8 in the CGC database. Overall, as long as the card doesn't have major scratches, minor creases, or dirt/stains you should be fine. Like others have said, it's 1st Edition, so it's probably worth grading anyway... If I had to guess, based on what I can see, I would say a 7 to 7.5. Maybe a 6.5 if there is something we cannot see.

Best of luck with grading! Let us know what happens.

-Poke Rogue