I resubmitted an 8.5 NM/Mint+ Card to CGC and it came back a Perfect 10! - Dragon Ball Super TCG 1 1

[Houler]

As an experiment and also after being upset at the 8.5 grade (knowing that it deserved a higher grade), I cracked open the previous card case (which was graded April, 2022) the card was in very carefully using Youtube tutorials as a guide and re-submitted to CGC hoping to get a 9 or the same grade at the very least, but low and behold, when I opened the package on 5/23/22, I was ecstatic to see a Perfect 10 on the label with that previous 8.5 grade card. I am grateful for the Perfect 10 card as this was my first 10 from CGC.

What I did differently was I used compressed air (not full blast, but low steady flow) on the surface of the card and carefully placed it inside a brand-new penny sleeve and brand new semi-rigid top loader and decided to re-submit with a better presented card.

I was very careful with the process, I used gloves and handled with care throughout.

The previous grades were Centering - 9.5, Surface - 8, Corners - 10, Edges - 10.

I'm thinking that I got an 8 for surface because initially the card had some dust/lint on it. I did no preparation beforehand (no compressed air) when I sent it in the first time. Also, the top loader was a bit dusty and slightly worn from what I remember.

As for the centering, I don't know how it moved up half a point from a 9.5 to 10. I guess depending on the angle you look at the card, the centering will look perfect or off balanced.

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Takeaways: Prep your cards carefully before submitting to CGC.
 

[IrishPrince]

So maybe we should be thinking about a careful wipe of cards with something like a microfiber cloth? I thought the surface grade was for something more permanent to the card -- like holo print lines, for example?

[Houler]

Also to note, this CGC Perfect 10 card isn't really "perfect", a potential buyer pointed out a scratch on that card using CGC's current magnification feature on their website, which the scratch is hard to see without the enhanced magnification (if it can be seen at all) The recent grader most likely missed that hard-to-see scratch that's thinner than a hair, that can be easily missed without the required magnification/lighting to see it.

It could be a shift in their grading standards, who knows.

 

It doesn't hurt to carefully wipe/use compressed air on the card to blow off dust or lint and what not, to better present the card.