Fortnite Trading Cards

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by Wripper

Anyone know anything about HGA grading? I reached out a while back and they said they weren’t doing non-sport grading yet, but plan to do so. I followed up recently but never heard back. I like the look of their slabs, but not sure if they’ll be an option for FN anytime soon. Rly wish there was a better “option c” for grading right now. Feels like my PSA subs are never gonna make it back home.

I have spoken with them 3 times in the past month or so. The first time they said it would be a month to a month and a half before they start taking non-sports cards. 2 weeks later they said the same thing. 2 weeks after that they said not yet but that they are hoping to offer it at some time this spring. I messaged Tyler on FB twice because he tells people to message him directly if they have questions, but he didn't respond. I can't get a straight answer out of them so I stopped asking.

I was holding cards that I wanted to sub. I finally gave up and sent them to PSA.

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

Where are you at with grading on Fortnite? I've got some of my high end stuff in for super express and express at PSA but for the rest of it, I just don't like the idea of my cards being on the sidelines for a year. I'd like to be able to move them if things change quickly.

I'm thinking that SGC is the best bet for anything worth raw around $250 or less that I can get in and out of there and flip it quickly.

I'm going PSA super express for anything over $1000 raw.

But that leaves me with cards in between that I'm not sure what to do with. I'm leaning toward SGC just so that it eliminates some of the uncertainty for buyers in regard to condition. They can always crack it and resubmit it to PSA themselves in they want.

I have a few cards (like the promo Galaxy) that I'll sell once I get it back just to cover what I have invested. Then that takes some pressure off since everything else will be profit.

I sent one card for walkthrough a few weeks ago, I did a couple super expresses that were centered around the few BK holos I pulled from the value packs, then sent about 150 express before prices raised. First batch came back so about 100 just sitting in grading for the past few weeks.

I had been sending out a lot of bulk since Oct so those are just out there, believe one just got some recent movement.

I like the super express move for anything over $1k. This was more to prove a point but I super expressed a peely base a month ago in my sub that had a couple BK holos, it 10'd and moved that for 500 a few weeks ago (undersell after the shard auction). I know that won't last but I think that shows the opportunity PSA has with FN.

Another noteworthy sale - I just moved 3 skull trooper base 9s for $300 ea. Again something that may not last but any of those $250ish cards you have, I would not touch SGC if you think they can PSA 10.

Something like a USA holo you could snag for around 50 bucks now (Rex/Chomp?) would sell for $1k easy if PSA 10 and I think that would hold for the foreseeable future as those were not easy to find in 10 shape out of even the value packs. 10 pops are going to be so low on this stuff compared to other modern pop reports we are used to elsewhere.

I do like your last point as that is always my move, overbuy, grade all, keep bangers and pay for the rest.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by chasacar86

I sent one card for walkthrough a few weeks ago, I did a couple super expresses that were centered around the few BK holos I pulled from the value packs, then sent about 150 express before prices raised. First batch came back so about 100 just sitting in grading for the past few weeks.

I had been sending out a lot of bulk since Oct so those are just out there, believe one just got some recent movement.

I like the super express move for anything over $1k. This was more to prove a point but I super expressed a peely base a month ago in my sub that had a couple BK holos, it 10'd and moved that for 500 a few weeks ago (undersell after the shard auction). I know that won't last but I think that shows the opportunity PSA has with FN.

Another noteworthy sale - I just moved 3 skull trooper base 9s for $300 ea. Again something that may not last but any of those $250ish cards you have, I would not touch SGC if you think they can PSA 10.

Something like a USA holo you could snag for around 50 bucks now (Rex/Chomp?) would sell for $1k easy if PSA 10 and I think that would hold for the foreseeable future as those were not easy to find in 10 shape out of even the value packs. 10 pops are going to be so low on this stuff compared to other modern pop reports we are used to elsewhere.

I do like your last point as that is always my move, overbuy, grade all, keep bangers and pay for the rest.

This is really helpful. I'm not sure if I am as optimistic as you in regard to the longevity of this line. So I'm at a real crossroads. In order to submit to PSA, I would need to spend at least $100 per card or join the club for $99 and still pay $25 per card to send in as value and wait 12 months to get them back. Like I said, I just don't want my cards on the sidelines for that long.

I could see doing regular for $100 for anything that I think might sell for over $500 once it's graded. But if you start pulling a few 9s instead of 10s or, heaven forbid, some 8s, you could end up on the losing end of this one.

If I can send stuff to SGC for $25, get it back in 3 or 4 weeks and turn $25 cards into $100 cards, I'm ok with that (at least for the lower tier stuff). I just really need to think about that mid-tier stuff.

I know the high end is going to PSA and I know that I'm going to start moving my Italian stuff with a bad corner raw. No sense in sitting on something that's never going to get sent in for grading.

I really appreciate your insights on this because I'm still really new to the entire grading thing, and trading cards in general. I've been a high end toy collector so I'm used to speculating on things and figuring out when is the right time to sell. It's nice collecting something that takes up so much less space. ha ha.

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

This is really helpful. I'm not sure if I am as optimistic as you in regard to the longevity of this line. So I'm at a real crossroads. In order to submit to PSA, I would need to spend at least $100 per card or join the club for $99 and still pay $25 per card to send in as value and wait 12 months to get them back. Like I said, I just don't want my cards on the sidelines for that long.

I could see doing regular for $100 for anything that I think might sell for over $500 once it's graded. But if you start pulling a few 9s instead of 10s or, heaven forbid, some 8s, you could end up on the losing end of this one.

If I can send stuff to SGC for $25, get it back in 3 or 4 weeks and turn $25 cards into $100 cards, I'm ok with that (at least for the lower tier stuff). I just really need to think about that mid-tier stuff.

I know the high end is going to PSA and I know that I'm going to start moving my Italian stuff with a bad corner raw. No sense in sitting on something that's never going to get sent in for grading.

I really appreciate your insights on this because I'm still really new to the entire grading thing, and trading cards in general. I've been a high end toy collector so I'm used to speculating on things and figuring out when is the right time to sell. It's nice collecting something that takes up so much less space. ha ha.

Haha I'm not sure I can say the same on my end! Lol

And not a problem. I agree with everything you mentioned above. I just prepped and sent another 65 card Regular order today, and there will probably end up being a couple where I break even on the grading cost. I figure if I can hit another 10-15 on the conservative side, still worth it. But this is definitely something that in many cases directly conflicts with the new Regular price and weighing wait times.

On the positive for PSA I will say I've seen a lot of guys mention sending to HGA, BGS, SGC, so I think the PSA pop report "shock" may not end up being as much as expected. Could help the market in general if they are spread out to those other companies as well and offer something for everyone.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by chasacar86

Haha I'm not sure I can say the same on my end! Lol

And not a problem. I agree with everything you mentioned above. I just prepped and sent another 65 card Regular order today, and there will probably end up being a couple where I break even on the grading cost. I figure if I can hit another 10-15 on the conservative side, still worth it. But this is definitely something that in many cases directly conflicts with the new Regular price and weighing wait times.

On the positive for PSA I will say I've seen a lot of guys mention sending to HGA, BGS, SGC, so I think the PSA pop report "shock" may not end up being as much as expected. Could help the market in general if they are spread out to those other companies as well and offer something for everyone.

Well, it looks like my dilemma was solved for me. PSA just suspended all service levels except for Super Express.

I'm curious to see what this means for BGS, SGC and HGA. How loyal are people to PSA? Will they hold their cards until they resume service? Or will they start sending elsewhere? It's going to be interesting to watch.

[Snagdizzle]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

Well, it looks like my dilemma was solved for me. PSA just suspended all service levels except for Super Express.

I'm curious to see what this means for BGS, SGC and HGA. How loyal are people to PSA? Will they hold their cards until they resume service? Or will they start sending elsewhere? It's going to be interesting to watch.

I think that is the biggest question, historically PSA has been the premium slab as far as returns, but the Fortnite niche' may be accepting of others more broadly. That said, I think on the higher end stuff, you will be doing yourself a disservice by going down another channel for grading. I would let the market test that hypothesis. Sure, you could send to SGC, but pricing for PSA isnt even sorted out, adding in a tier 2 or 3 grading company, is only going to make that landscape messier.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by Snagdizzle

I think that is the biggest question, historically PSA has been the premium slab as far as returns, but the Fortnite niche' may be accepting of others more broadly. That said, I think on the higher end stuff, you will be doing yourself a disservice by going down another channel for grading. I would let the market test that hypothesis. Sure, you could send to SGC, but pricing for PSA isnt even sorted out, adding in a tier 2 or 3 grading company, is only going to make that landscape messier.

I completely agree with you. My high end stuff (over $1k) will go PSA Super Express. I'll hold anything in that $200-$1000 range for now. I'm just going to test the waters with some $50 - $150 cards to SGC and if I'm able to double my money on them, then I'm ok with that.

I really appreciate the insight and advice from everyone in these forums. You guys are awesome and I'm really learning a lot from all of you.

[Supernaut]

So with PSA effectively shutting down submissions and SGC now raising prices from $25 to $75 per card, what options are there for Fortnite card collectors? HGA doesn't take non-sports yet. CSG doesn't either. GMA is garbage. BGS is backed up for a year.

Will we see an increase in raw prices for good quality cards?

[Snagdizzle]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

So with PSA effectively shutting down submissions and SGC now raising prices from $25 to $75 per card, what options are there for Fortnite card collectors? HGA doesn't take non-sports yet. CSG doesn't either. GMA is garbage. BGS is backed up for a year.

Will we see an increase in raw prices for good quality cards?

Its pure speculation at this point. But my gut says current slabbed stuff will do well, will see a influx of raw (esp non-usa) get listed and more importantly, will probably see peeps bite the bullet and jam some mid tier stuff to PSA at $300 a whack (guilty)

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by Snagdizzle

Its pure speculation at this point. But my gut says current slabbed stuff will do well, will see a influx of raw (esp non-usa) get listed and more importantly, will probably see peeps bite the bullet and jam some mid tier stuff to PSA at $300 a whack (guilty)

I have some slabbed S1 promo cards coming back today. I have duplicates so I may put one up and see what happens before the population explodes as PSA works through the backlog.

The glut of raw Italian stuff is coming. At the rate that we're all ripping those mega boxes coming out of Germany, there's going to be an abundance of substandard crystal shards for the taking. Prices could go either way because some people may be fine with those cards for their PC since the front typically shows well but others may want the US prints just because of their scarcity compared to the Italian stuff.

I'm with you on the mid-tier stuff. The problem is that most of mine is Italian and I don't know how harshly PSA will grade the bad corner on most of them.

At what price point are you considering super express? I have a BK base that I'm sending but I also have some other legendary shards from S1 and S2 as well as Optichromes from S2.

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

I have some slabbed S1 promo cards coming back today. I have duplicates so I may put one up and see what happens before the population explodes as PSA works through the backlog.

The glut of raw Italian stuff is coming. At the rate that we're all ripping those mega boxes coming out of Germany, there's going to be an abundance of substandard crystal shards for the taking. Prices could go either way because some people may be fine with those cards for their PC since the front typically shows well but others may want the US prints just because of their scarcity compared to the Italian stuff.

I'm with you on the mid-tier stuff. The problem is that most of mine is Italian and I don't know how harshly PSA will grade the bad corner on most of them.

At what price point are you considering super express? I have a BK base that I'm sending but I also have some other legendary shards from S1 and S2 as well as Optichromes from S2.

From my experience, if it has the crimp and rest is clean an 8 is the projected outcome. Some edge chipping, 7 in play.

[Wripper]

Thoughts on a Raw Peely going for $117.50??

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Wripper

Thoughts on a Raw Peely going for $117.50??

I think a raw just went for $80 27 minutes ago lol. Either way, all inclusive niceness.

[Bruin7]

BOLD STATEMENT COMING:

I’m treating US Print cards as 1st prints while Italy & definitely Brazil as 2nd Prints. There I said it. There is a clear difference in pricing both Raw & Graded now from all three countries.

[Bruin7]

There was also been an influx of Series 1 Mega Boxes overseas creating new listings for Italy print cards. I didn’t see such a reload stateside.

[Zalgardos]

Originally Posted by Bruin7

There was also been an influx of Series 1 Mega Boxes overseas creating new listings for Italy print cards. I didn’t see such a reload stateside.

Definitely.

According to paninis customer support, they returned all the fortnite products from their euopean and middle east locations to Germany, checked them and packed them into new boxes.

I believe them, because it would take incredibly more space to store packed and sealed mega boxes with a lot of air within instead of flat boxes, booster packs and sealed crystal cards. And that for a product nobody wants and they are already loosing money on ( at least at that time).

The reason for the ugly shrink wrap was, that the boxes had been packed within the shipping center ( which is a huge fulfilment service provider) and they used the local available packaging machine instead of shipping them to their own location, wrap it and ship it back.
I believe that is also the reason why there is no UPC price on the new mega boxes.

That all makes sense to me because they wanted to get rid of all the fortnite stuff.
8 weeks ago you were able to buy the whole inventory on some items, e.g. I could have bought more than 600 second quality tins or 2000+ booster boxes at once.

And then demand exploded - first they restricted the order quantitiy on most products, and now you are only able to buy some stuff with special personalized coupon codes to avoid massive reselling.


They also spoke of a special and great announcement for all Fortnite S2 Collectors for mid-april.

[Mahomie]

Originally Posted by Zalgardos

They also spoke of a special and great announcement for all Fortnite S2 Collectors for mid-april.

Interesting

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Bruin7

BOLD STATEMENT COMING:

I’m treating US Print cards as 1st prints while Italy & definitely Brazil as 2nd Prints. There I said it. There is a clear difference in pricing both Raw & Graded now from all three countries.

This feels about as bold as picking BK to be the top dog for years to come lol.

I will take this one step further and add in a thought I've had with ranking recently:

USA shards



USA holos
Italy shards



Italy holos

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Bruin7

There was also been an influx of Series 1 Mega Boxes overseas creating new listings for Italy print cards. I didn’t see such a reload stateside.

If you've talked with any overseas guys they basically say it's a completely different scene over there as this stuff isn't affordable to many, hence the gathering and reselling of them.

I've heard through a couple of them who have reps at Panini out there that repacks are just about done, so yes the absolutely expected influx of Italy shards has occurred and I would now expect we see those dial back at some point soon.

Many now look at Italy shards as "overproduced" when in reality I just searched "drift crystal shard" and 4 returns worldwide popped up. 10x the demand on FN in a year and I'm curious how overproduced everyone thinks they were/are.

We just saw two peely USA sell in the past couple months. The $7300 sale pulled 0 out of pcs. 0! USA will not be easy to come by. It will be Italy or nothing for 99.9% of eventual collectors of this. Man reason I scooped up quite a bit over the past month or so, I think they are (in the most jokingly expected way) now a bit more underappreciated and overlooked.

[ShaiEllis]

I seriously believe Italy prints will get closer & closer to the US prints after some time.
What i think happened here is that there was absolutely no interest in the products in Europe until now. Therefore i dont see any overproduction we just see every product getting sold now that has been already sold in the US some time ago. Europe always is late in adapting to US trends, therefore i could really see a lot of upsight for these prints. Quality wise however i cant tell how much better the US prints really are.

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by ShaiEllis

I seriously believe Italy prints will get closer & closer to the US prints after some time.
What i think happened here is that there was absolutely no interest in the products in Europe until now. Therefore i dont see any overproduction we just see every product getting sold now that has been already sold in the US some time ago. Europe always is late in adapting to US trends, therefore i could really see a lot of upsight for these prints. Quality wise however i cant tell how much better the US prints really are.

In hand there is a tremendous difference. I used to have this view so I get where you're coming from.

I can get on board with Europe not coming around until now but there is no way there are more than 50 USA shards of each skin out there. Now it would not surprise me if there are 300-500 of the italy version. There were far fewer USA megas produced than overseas megs.

[BobPaletas]

Originally Posted by chasacar86

In hand there is a tremendous difference. I used to have this view so I get where you're coming from.

I can get on board with Europe not coming around until now but there is no way there are more than 50 USA shards of each skin out there. Now it would not surprise me if there are 300-500 of the italy version. There were far fewer USA megas produced than overseas megs.

I could not agree more, Italy/Brazil cards will always be behind USA cards.

[Wripper]

Question: if you all had large amounts of duplicates that you didn’t want to hold, how would you go about selling them on eBay? As singles or as lots? Obviously singles would deliver the highest ROI 9 times out of 10, but who really wants to list single cards that are worth <$5?

If listing as lots, would you group them with duplicates of the same card, or would you list lots of all different cards? Lastly, what’s the proper # of cards to list in a lot (4, 8, 10, 15?) and would you do a buy now/best offer or an auction?

Sry lots of questions, but curious how everyone views this. A recent Holo lot of 16 selling for $355 sparked my interest on this topic.

[chasacar86]

Originally Posted by Wripper

Question: if you all had large amounts of duplicates that you didn’t want to hold, how would you go about selling them on eBay? As singles or as lots? Obviously singles would deliver the highest ROI 9 times out of 10, but who really wants to list single cards that are worth <$5?

If listing as lots, would you group them with duplicates of the same card, or would you list lots of all different cards? Lastly, what’s the proper # of cards to list in a lot (4, 8, 10, 15?) and would you do a buy now/best offer or an auction?

Sry lots of questions, but curious how everyone views this. A recent Holo lot of 16 selling for $355 sparked my interest on this topic.

I'd honestly just send to comc. FN lots seem hit or miss on interest and splitting up would prob be very time consuming.

[Wripper]

Originally Posted by chasacar86

I'd honestly just send to comc. FN lots seem hit or miss on interest and splitting up would prob be very time consuming.

Thanks for the response. I’ve never used COMC. How does it work sending to them?