Getting Cards "PSA" Graded

[aggie4ever]

The guy you talked to is correct, there is no way to give you an estimate of how much it will cost to grade with PSA without knowing what cards and what condition they are in. PSA charges more for cards that are worth more, for example it costs $100/card for cards value up to $1k, $150/card for cards valued up to $2.5k, and $300/card for cards valued up to $5k.

Just because you opened the packs and put the cards directly into holders doesn't guarantee that your cards are mint or gem mint. For cards from the 1990's, many cards will be 7's and 8's straight from the packs. 10's sell for so much because it's tough to find cards in nice enough condition.

Centering is one of the easiest things to tell from pictures, so people can at least tell you if your cards have a chance to grade well. Kobe Topps Chrome cards often have poor centering which will keep them from grading high.

[YayNJ]

whomever wants to charge you $300p/h to "look" at your cards is a con-man, and you should never contact them again.

[FeeDMeAgain]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

I can totally relate to the type of cards you have. Your last 9 you've shown - I recently went through the same process of figuring out if I should grade those sort of cards.

To answer your question - A part of it is if someone is selling a raw Kobe Rookie, the assumption by most people is there's some condition issue with it. So even if there's not, the assumption's there and that plays into it. Especially for the mid-end/high end stuff. I've recently been dabbling in Kobe low-end RC's though. The range for some cards can be say between $20 - $60 for the raw card & the only difference is how the card looks in the picture. So if you sell a Rookie that looks Mint in the picture compared to others, it would sell for more than the average probably.

Also, keep in mind there are sometimes fake high end sales on Ebay & they're not paid for. So as a general rule, sometimes it's best to take out the top sale if it's an outlier.

Also check out the PSA website, type in "pop report PSA" - you can search by card. As you see for some cards 10's are rare so these sell for more. Look at PSA 9 sales too. If you see a PSA 9 sale is worth more than the raw price + cost to get graded and you think the card looks flawless, then send it in.

To quickly go over your last 9 cards you pictured - these are tough, just cause of the new $20 PSA charge. If all the cards look flawless, may make sense to send them all. But if there's any corner /edge / surface issue on any of them, probably best to hold them (especially the Kobe base, Garnett base). It's definitely an art and not a science. With those type of cards, getting a PSA 9 would only break even or be a slight profit. Personally, I'd be very picky with cards like this though and just send ones that really have no condition issues. As someone who just in January went through similar cards like this - cards that were tucked away for 10+ years too & bought from random places - I found the average ratio for me in picking cards to grade was roughly between "30% - 50%" - meaning out of a batch of cards like this, I opted to grade that percent of the cards. Would be closer to 30% now given the increase in PSA grading now though.

Thank you for the response and tips! Yea, those 9 were just Randoms I picked from my stack.

Did you take a look at the first 3? Would you recommend I get those checked?

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by FeeDMeAgain

Thank you for the response and tips! Yea, those 9 were just Randoms I picked from my stack.

Did you take a look at the first 3? Would you recommend I get those checked?

Before answering your question, since you want to hold these long-term I assume wait time at PSA doesn't matter to you? If so, I'd send all these pretty much through bulk modern at $20.00 / card ... Some people may find that silly for the Jordan which is worth $500+ but I don't see the point in grading that for $100 instead of $20 just to get it back sooner when you have no plans to sell anyway ...

Checkout the Grading forum - PSA can upcharge you after the fact if declared value over $499 amount, but they rarely do that anyway. I sent in a couple cards worth $1000+ in my Value order 2 months ago and just said declared value much lower. Saves a lot of money, just have to wait a bit longer.

Anyway, to answer your question - assuming you are paying the $20/rate, the Jordan Soul of the Game is a no-brainer to grade, the Duncan is also as long as it's "8 or better" (so even minor flaws are okay & still worth it), off hand I'd say the McGrady is only worth it if it looks flawless. Autos typically don't increase in value that much when graded unless RC's. So a PSA 9 of that same card may barely sell for much more than raw in my opinion.

[Filthy]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

Before answering your question, since you want to hold these long-term I assume wait time at PSA doesn't matter to you? If so, I'd send all these pretty much through bulk modern at $20.00 / card ... Some people may find that silly for the Jordan which is worth $500+ but I don't see the point in grading that for $100 instead of $20 just to get it back sooner when you have no plans to sell anyway ...

Checkout the Grading forum - PSA can upcharge you after the fact if declared value over $499 amount, but they rarely do that anyway. I sent in a couple cards worth $1000+ in my Value order 2 months ago and just said declared value much lower. Saves a lot of money, just have to wait a bit longer.

Anyway, to answer your question - assuming you are paying the $20/rate, the Jordan Soul of the Game is a no-brainer to grade, the Duncan is also as long as it's "8 or better" (so even minor flaws are okay & still worth it), off hand I'd say the McGrady is only worth it if it looks flawless. Autos typically don't increase in value that much when graded unless RC's. So a PSA 9 of that same card may barely sell for much more than raw in my opinion.

$20 per card? Where are you seeing this? I’ve looked at PSA site, and cheapest price I can find is $50/per card. Just curious, as I was hoping for a cheaper option than $50, and you seemed pretty confident in $20.

[rms13]

Does that person work for PSA or are they a scam artist that is offering to put your cards in fake PSA cases?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FeeDMeAgain]

Originally Posted by rms13

Does that person work for PSA or are they a scam artist that is offering to put your cards in fake PSA cases?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

His website says " I am a certified USPAP compliant appraiser with the International Society of Appraisers."

He's been in the news, paper, Forbes... Maybe that's why?

I don't know but too much for me.

[FeeDMeAgain]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

Before answering your question, since you want to hold these long-term I assume wait time at PSA doesn't matter to you? If so, I'd send all these pretty much through bulk modern at $20.00 / card ... Some people may find that silly for the Jordan which is worth $500+ but I don't see the point in grading that for $100 instead of $20 just to get it back sooner when you have no plans to sell anyway ...

Checkout the Grading forum - PSA can upcharge you after the fact if declared value over $499 amount, but they rarely do that anyway. I sent in a couple cards worth $1000+ in my Value order 2 months ago and just said declared value much lower. Saves a lot of money, just have to wait a bit longer.

Anyway, to answer your question - assuming you are paying the $20/rate, the Jordan Soul of the Game is a no-brainer to grade, the Duncan is also as long as it's "8 or better" (so even minor flaws are okay & still worth it), off hand I'd say the McGrady is only worth it if it looks flawless. Autos typically don't increase in value that much when graded unless RC's. So a PSA 9 of that same card may barely sell for much more than raw in my opinion.

I am not an expert, but most of my cards are flawless. As in no dents, marks scratches or anything. I only have 1 Kobe Rookie that has 2 small dents.

But I have like 200 + decent cards ranging per online $50-$1000 each some going for 5-15K +. best if I just probably held on to most except for the best ones to get them graded?

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by Filthy

$20 per card? Where are you seeing this? I’ve looked at PSA site, and cheapest price I can find is $50/per card. Just curious, as I was hoping for a cheaper option than $50, and you seemed pretty confident in $20.

Here's the link - https://www.psacard.com/pricing

It's $20/card for Value - grading modern cards from 1972 - 2017. It was $12/card up until a few weeks ago when they upped it to $20. The declared value of each card must be $499 or below graded, but again they don't check this beforehand and will upcharge you to a higher price after they grade it if they have to. You would need to buy the silver membership for $99 to get this deal ($99 total). Or there's some group submitters, haven't used them personally though.

PSA is extremely delayed right now by the way. Would probably take 8 month - 1 year to get them back. The only other option is $100 or more per card to get them back a bit sooner maybe in a few months.

My recommendation for all the cards you've shown is go with $20/card. Only for cards that are obviously worth over $1000 raw, would I even consider spending $100 to grade it. But given you're not looking to sell anytime soon, just go with the cheapest option. They'll be graded the same or at least they should be. Of course that Kobe Refractor is a totally different beast ... Pay whatever service level is appropriate (use raw value for reference)

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by FeeDMeAgain

I am not an expert, but most of my cards are flawless. As in no dents, marks scratches or anything. I only have 1 Kobe Rookie that has 2 small dents.

But I have like 200 + decent cards ranging per online $50-$1000 each some going for 5-15K +. best if I just probably held on to most except for the best ones to get them graded?

Definitely make a chart of the following for each card:

Raw Value - PSA 8 Value - PSA 9 Value - PSA 10 Value - Condition

And base the above values off "completed listings" on Ebay from the past few months, averages.

For example, I have 10 Topps Dirks Rookies. Back in January, I went through this process & it looked something like this (guessing off hand)

20 - 30 - 60 - 150 - (condition)

So from a math standpoint, I noticed based off this that it would only make sense to grade the Dirks if I was pretty confident they would receive a 9 grade at least. I ended up grading 4 of the 10 I had. All 4 I deemed as "9 worthy" and none of the 10 were perfect or "10 worthy".

Also, when looking at condition - Corners, edges, surface, centering. If just 1 of those have issues, can still be a 9 though (if minor, if noticeable issue on any of them could be brought to 7 or 8) Do things like turn the card at different angles to see any surface issues / coloring /creases, turn card on side to see if corner dings up at all or if can see any white when card is face down or edges/corners. I'm not a grading expert but in general unless a card is really hard to see the surface (like a dark card like 1996 Metal Kobe), for most cards if you don't see any noticeable flaws at all they're probably a 9 or higher. My 2 cents.

[Archangel1775]

Originally Posted by FeeDMeAgain

Hello,

Thanks for the feed back.

I am looking to actually get the cards looked at. And hopefully get them PSA grade on it.

I do understand people on here can look at it from online with pictures, but its not same as in person.

What company does this officially where I can get a certification on it?

I can look at them myself as well. Almost all of my cards are mint. I literally opened the packages, placed them in 2 protectors. and left them in box 25+ years ago.

Does it matter if its in the same plastic protectors after this long? Should I replace to other "newer" ones?

Educate yourself on the grading process.

Then just send them to Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) yourself. Go to their website here:

https://www.psacard.com/services/tradingcardgrading

No need for anyone else to gets hands on and potentially damage them amongst other things. I don't understand why you're insistent on getting someone else to just "look" at them. On top of that, you're going to trust one person to "look" at them opposed to posting quality pictures and getting the opinion of members with over 1000+ years of combined experience just on these boards. Sounds like a nice collection.

There are certain cards where, due to the value, have to go express or better. Anything like that should be slabbed, period. If you insist on getting someone to look at them and have them graded, there are a few trusted members here on the boards that do group submissions. Those would have to be for your less expensive cards.

[Harper]

I would not use that guy you talked to. He may be a professional appraiser but I doubt he knows anything about grading and card condition relative to the group here. Cards and grading are a whole different beast. He sounds like An antique roadshow type. Not what you need

[Harper]

Also do you have any serial numbered cards in the PC from your late 90s box breaks?

[JustRachel]

You definitely have some cool cards there. And some good wisdom has been shared in this thread. I'd add just a bit more....

First, pics of the front help, but when they're still in the toploader and there's no pic of the back, giving a decent assessment of condition is difficult. That being said, I see minor condition issues on pretty much all of the cards. I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think you have shown us any cards that have a shot at a 10 grade. You said you don't see issues, but they're there. 9 and 10 grades of older cards require close inspection and pickiness. I suspect most of what you showed would be no higher than 8...maybe a possible 9 here or there.

That being said, the cards are freaking awesome.

The only card I see that is a no-brainer is the Jordan Soul of the Game. That card is worthy of submission at most grades, and barring any major surface or back damage, it needs to be slabbed in my opinion. The 98 Fleer Kobe would need to be a 9 to be worth grading, and it looks iffy at best.

These are just my opinions. I am not a PSA grader and cannot say for certain what they might say about any particular card. With better pics, we could offer better opinions.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do with your awesome cards.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

You definitely have some cool cards there. And some good wisdom has been shared in this thread. I'd add just a bit more....

First, pics of the front help, but when they're still in the toploader and there's no pic of the back, giving a decent assessment of condition is difficult. That being said, I see minor condition issues on pretty much all of the cards. I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think you have shown us any cards that have a shot at a 10 grade. You said you don't see issues, but they're there. 9 and 10 grades of older cards require close inspection and pickiness. I suspect most of what you showed would be no higher than 8...maybe a possible 9 here or there.

That being said, the cards are freaking awesome.

The only card I see that is a no-brainer is the Jordan Soul of the Game. That card is worthy of submission at most grades, and barring any major surface or back damage, it needs to be slabbed in my opinion. The 98 Fleer Kobe would need to be a 9 to be worth grading, and it looks iffy at best.

These are just my opinions. I am not a PSA grader and cannot say for certain what they might say about any particular card. With better pics, we could offer better opinions.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do with your awesome cards.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

Good post - I’ll also add to clarify I didn’t look at any of the cards for condition. As the above poster said at very least need picture of front and back which would be tedious. And even then corner dings & surface issues can be tough to see.

I recommend searching eBay for grades cards with high resolution photos and really evaluating them. At very least

[The Finest]

Are we going to see a picture of the Kobe Chrome Refractor?

[jfyffe]

Originally Posted by The Finest

Are we going to see a picture of the Kobe Chrome Refractor?

https://share.icloud.com/photos/09kM...mXA2u2zQ#Heath
Here you go 😀

[The Finest]

Originally Posted by jfyffe

https://share.icloud.com/photos/09kM...mXA2u2zQ#Heath
Here you go 😀

Didnt you say you have a 1996-97 topps chrome refractors #138 Kobe Bryant

[montej1695]

Originally Posted by The Finest

Didnt you say you have a 1996-97 topps chrome refractors #138 Kobe Bryant

Not even the OP.

[jfyffe]

Originally Posted by montej1695

Not even the OP.

Yep, was just a joke.

[FeeDMeAgain]

Originally Posted by JustRachel

You definitely have some cool cards there. And some good wisdom has been shared in this thread. I'd add just a bit more....

First, pics of the front help, but when they're still in the toploader and there's no pic of the back, giving a decent assessment of condition is difficult. That being said, I see minor condition issues on pretty much all of the cards. I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think you have shown us any cards that have a shot at a 10 grade. You said you don't see issues, but they're there. 9 and 10 grades of older cards require close inspection and pickiness. I suspect most of what you showed would be no higher than 8...maybe a possible 9 here or there.

That being said, the cards are freaking awesome.

The only card I see that is a no-brainer is the Jordan Soul of the Game. That card is worthy of submission at most grades, and barring any major surface or back damage, it needs to be slabbed in my opinion. The 98 Fleer Kobe would need to be a 9 to be worth grading, and it looks iffy at best.

These are just my opinions. I am not a PSA grader and cannot say for certain what they might say about any particular card. With better pics, we could offer better opinions.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do with your awesome cards.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

Thank you once again for a great post!!!

I plan on taking them to a local card shop next week. While I am there, I am thinking of buying a few sealed boxes. Maybe a few to open and a few to "keep to invest"

But I have to admit.... I haven't watched basketball in ages. I could name almost all players from 1990s.... since early 2000s life / work got in the way.

I couldn't even name any new rookies out there.

Do you recommend any good companies to buy from still? As in sealed boxes.

I remember Tops and Hoops used to be the "low tier" and Tops Finest / Upper Deck / Bowman's Best were a few of the better more expensive ones.

Thakn you for your feedback!


Is chrome or tops finest still around? SP? Upper Deck?

[bigdog2003]

No Topps anything for basketball anymore. Panini has the basketball license. Also, basketball box prices are insane right now.

[mjohnatgt]

The McGrady card you have in penny sleeve and screwdown case, may get an AUTHENTIC ALTERED grade from PSA if it's not recessed (space for the card to fit in). Pressing to remove creases is an alteration and PSA cannot tell if it was done maliciously or honestly to attempt to preserve the condition. So if you send any in that you've been storing in screwdowns, write "SLAB AS AUTHENTIC IF IT DOES NOT RECEIVE NUMBER GRADE" or try sending to BGS or SGC instead.