So happy!! 1 1

[Yeahiwasder4dat]

To address what I was referring to as inconsistent 8.5s here are two cards. 

Raichu has a few horizontal factory scratches. Large diagonal scratch is on case. Clean edges, corners.

vs 

Both graded 8.5.

Not sure why it's trying to upload picture of Raichu multiple times.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Yeahiwasder4dat

[Jabour]

I have received 4 submissions back from CGC and have received 1 10 in about 250 cards. 

I don't have a problem with the rarity of 10's. It is the new rarity of 9.5's that seem to be a problem. My first two submissions of pack fresh cards had about 30 to 40 9.5s and 1 10. My next 2 submissions of pack fresh cards received mostly 8.5's and 9's with very few 9.5's and no 10's. I think the difficult standard they had set has gotten even more difficult. Every 9.5 I received was fine because I knew it was a psa 10. With all of these 8.5's and 9's I am much more confused of the standard.

[Holku]

Does CGC give any non-Japanese cards a perfect 10?  I check ebay sold listings, and find very few CGC 10 cards, and almost all of them are Japanese.  Apparently Japan uses better blades on their cutters, uses better paper, and centers better?

When I look at CGC's card grading tiers, it seems there is some inconsistency too.

Perfect 10 - It has no post-production flaws under 10x magnification in all four sub-grades.

Pristine 10 - A Pristine 10 card must have perfect centering and no evidence of any manufacturing or handling defects. Corners will appear perfect to the naked eye and Gem Mint under 10x magnification. The surface is free of print spots and should also display perfect gloss.

To me, it reads that a perfect 10 allows for production/manufacturing defects, but not pristine 10.

The statement "the surface...should also display perfect gloss" is nonsense to me.  If you compare a Japanese and non-Japanese card, the paper is different, and Japanese paper is perfectly(?) flat and can have consistent gloss, while non-Japanese cards use a paper that is not perfectly flat, so by definition it can't have perfect gloss.  I feel there should be an allowance for how a card was manufactured.  Otherwise, when/if CGC comes out with their census, you're going to look at all cards manufactured in 2020-2021 and find the highest graded cards are going to be 9.5s here.  If miraculously in 2022 some cards are getting 10's, people aren't going to just say a 9.5 from 2021 is as good or rare as a 10 in 2022.  They are going to say all 2020 and 2021 cards are lesser quality.  Even if they were the best printed cards, handled with kid gloves and with close scrutiny by eye, appear flawless, there is a flaw that can be seen at 10x magnification, so it's not even pristine.

IMO, a lot of cards that are 9s and 9.5 should be getting pristine 10s because they are flawless to the naked eye.  CGC can justify it and say at 10x magnification they see flaws.  Some other company can open up shop and do 100x magnification for ultra-perfect cards then.  No one cares that much about 10x-magnification flaws CGC.  "Hey, you know at 9x magnification, the edge looks perfect, but if I zoom in 1 more time, I spot a flaw."

[JohnBurke]

On 1/25/2022 at 3:23 PM, Holku said:

Does CGC give any non-Japanese cards a perfect 10?  I check ebay sold listings, and find very few CGC 10 cards, and almost all of them are Japanese.  Apparently Japan uses better blades on their cutters, uses better paper, and centers better?

When I look at CGC's card grading tiers, it seems there is some inconsistency too.

Perfect 10 - It has no post-production flaws under 10x magnification in all four sub-grades.

Pristine 10 - A Pristine 10 card must have perfect centering and no evidence of any manufacturing or handling defects. Corners will appear perfect to the naked eye and Gem Mint under 10x magnification. The surface is free of print spots and should also display perfect gloss.

To me, it reads that a perfect 10 allows for production/manufacturing defects, but not pristine 10.

The statement "the surface...should also display perfect gloss" is nonsense to me.  If you compare a Japanese and non-Japanese card, the paper is different, and Japanese paper is perfectly(?) flat and can have consistent gloss, while non-Japanese cards use a paper that is not perfectly flat, so by definition it can't have perfect gloss.  I feel there should be an allowance for how a card was manufactured.  Otherwise, when/if CGC comes out with their census, you're going to look at all cards manufactured in 2020-2021 and find the highest graded cards are going to be 9.5s here.  If miraculously in 2022 some cards are getting 10's, people aren't going to just say a 9.5 from 2021 is as good or rare as a 10 in 2022.  They are going to say all 2020 and 2021 cards are lesser quality.  Even if they were the best printed cards, handled with kid gloves and with close scrutiny by eye, appear flawless, there is a flaw that can be seen at 10x magnification, so it's not even pristine.

IMO, a lot of cards that are 9s and 9.5 should be getting pristine 10s because they are flawless to the naked eye.  CGC can justify it and say at 10x magnification they see flaws.  Some other company can open up shop and do 100x magnification for ultra-perfect cards then.  No one cares that much about 10x-magnification flaws CGC.  "Hey, you know at 9x magnification, the edge looks perfect, but if I zoom in 1 more time, I spot a flaw."

They do give English cards perfect 10s. Just looking at ebay isn’t giving you a great example because many people don’t sell them. Hell I just saw an example of one the other day, here you go https://www.instagram.com/p/CZCzEqElzEa/?utm_medium=copy_link

And thus, yes people do care about the minute differences because the differences are really actually there. That’s why cgc 10s sell for more than psa 10s, because they are literally better condition. And why cgc 9.5 = psa 10 in terms of quality 

[bulldog1986]

I actually prefer that they are harder to get. For years I've seen too many fake 10's in PSA cases that don't nearly deserve the grade they were given. Now if you actually get a 10, it was because it was pristine, it was perfect, it was deserving.

CGC has had a rep as a tough grader since late 2020, I don't know why this is still a surprise to people.....