Will my overall card grade stay the same if I resubmit a slab to add subgrades to it? 1 1

[grababeh]

Hello,

Thought I’d ask for some clarification since I’m not really sure how to view what the cgccards website says. 

I’ve got two Pokémon cards that both graded CGC Pristine 10. Absolutely super happy, but I didn’t request subgrades for them since I didn’t realize just how good they were before sending them in. 

Is there a way to resubmit these Pristine 10 slabs to add the subgrades, while keeping the overall grade the same? Or would the card need to be completely regraded and risk having the grade change? 
 

And if the answer is yes, that the overall grade remains the same, how would I submit them? Via normal service with the slab as is, or by reholder? 
 

Clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. 

[NickiO CS]

Hello @grababeh, 

Thank you for your question! Submission for subgrades, would require regrading and be submitted for normal grading with sub-grade service added on. When you submit a card for regrading, in many cases the card will retain its grade, however, receiving the same grade is not guaranteed.

It is also important to keep in mind that your card will need to be removed from its holder. Holders are designed to be hard to open and tamper evident. While we strive to remove every card safely, we cannot completely eliminate any risk of damage. 

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! 

 

[grababeh]

Thanks @NickiO CS,

I was asking because @CGC Mike has previously stated on multiple occasions that resubmitting a slab to add subgrades should not change the overall grade, since CGC guarantees that cards are not over graded. 

When you say that the grade is not guaranteed to stay the same, are you talking about the risk of damage from being removed from the slab, or from a previously missed flaw being discovered or something?

So, is the card basically being graded all over again with no bias/consideration to its previous grade? 
 

Thanks!

[KaileeS CS]

Hi @grababeh, thank you for your inquiry. Yes, Nicki is referring to the potential damage that may occur when removing the card from encapsulation. In theory, the grade should remain the same, but as Nicki said, our holders are meant to be tamper-proof so it's a little tricky cracking them out at times. Usually, this isn't an issue but there is an inherent risk each time we crack a card. Hope this helps!

[grababeh]

Thanks @KaileeS CS 

On a side note, I’m a bit confused about how you guys grade cards when there is or isn’t a request for sub grades.

There have been people speculating that you guys grade differently when sub grades aren’t requested, i.e, that standards are actually not as strict. I know you guys don’t record sub grades into your system when they’re not requested. 

So here is the question, assuming we’re dealing with a really good condition card (something not easily gradeable based on a super big flaw). For example, a potential Pristine 10 card:

Do you guys take all four sub grades into account in order to assign this grade, and you simply do not record them into the system? How else would you know that I have three 10 sub grades and one 9.5, the qualification for pristine?

Similarly, I know that if a card is a Perfect 10, it gets free sub grades. I can infer from this, that in the case of a really good condition card, all sub grades are considered, even if they are not requested. 

Could you provide some clarification? Should I feel that a card that I graded a Pristine 10, WITHOUT sub grades, is graded differently or less strict than an identical card in Pristine 10, WITH sub grades?

Thanks!

[KaileeS CS]

Hello @grababeh, our grading process is proprietary, so I cannot give a whole lot of information on this. We of course take into consideration the details of your card when grading without subgrades - corners, surface etc. However, we don't save this information in the system which is why we need to regrade the card if you choose to send a card back in to receive subgrade designations. Hopefully this helps!

[grababeh]

Ah, I see what you mean. Makes perfect sense.

So, @KaileeS CS, assuming that nothing goes wrong when removing a card from encapsulation for regrading to add sub grades, I.e. no operator error/unwanted damage, do you guys honor the previous overall grade, or is it subject to change? Have you ever assigned a lower overall grade when someone resubmitted a card to add sub grades (not considering damage from removal from encapsulation)?

Thanks a lot for the info!

[MattM CS]

Hello @grababeh,

Yes this has occurred previously. Unfortunately we can not control how cards are handled after leaving our offices. These could be mishandled, receive sun damage, and or damaged during shipping from a seller to a buyer. In these situations, the cards are graded anew and there previous grade is void. If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know.