Grading tutorial? Advice before you submit?
 

Wondering if there are seasoned “DIY” home graders who might share their advice with the rest of us to help project likely TPG grades before we go to the trouble and cost of submitting to SGC, PSA or BVG

Perhaps there has been threads on this subject in the past?

I am familiar with the technical definition of the grades from the major TPGs but I struggle sometimes projecting grades to justify the effort and cost to submit.

I’ve seen jewelry loops used, have heard of careful measurements to ensure cards are not trimmed, high end scans etc. But I’m not sure I have seen a comprehensive method that other successful DIY grading collectors have tested and semi-validated.

I’m becoming a bit OCD about my own collection (I’m a HOF baseball collecrtor - a long way to go still!) and prefer to have all of my display cards graded - and I sell my graded dupes to help pay for what I still need for my HOF quest.

Any advice or techniques to share? I believe the conventional wisdom is that grading standards are a bit of a moving target, subject to inconsistencies, and probably more stringent now than in the past.

Looking forward to hearing your advice -

Thx,

Jeff

I use a card centering scale, black light, a magnifying glass (5-10x) as well as a digital microscope that has a display unit on it. Works on coins well and a bonus with cards too.

I am also experimenting with a digital readout manual caliper to try and gauge card H x W. I am a bit uncomfortable with this at the moment as I am nervous as to what it may be doing to the card edges. I have been searching for a complete digital measuring version of this that is calibrated well. But I have not found one just yet. There has to be an ‘app for that’ but I have not seen it yet.

Not sure if that meets the OCD bar, but I imagine it is in the ballpark.

With HOF cards that are older, it really does not come into play for me. Regardless of condition, I will tend to grade them. For newer cards in much better condition, I can get a bit more selective with what I will select.

I asked this question here about a year ago and it was pretty much ‘do what you like.’

So I came up with the above.

The problem is....
 

1) On a good day the grading companies are inconsistent and on a bad day bordering on incompetent. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of people cracking and resubmitting - getting the same card back within a 3 grade range!! If you are REALLY good I would say you should be able to consistently land within a 1 grade deviation. Depending what you collect, that could represent some significant price differences, I just don't think it is realistic to get any better than that.

2) Have seemingly changed their standards over the years. Today's "7" looks very different from a 7 graded 15 years ago (with plenty of exceptions)

Tools - DEFINITELY a 10x lighted loupe. A blacklight. sample cards from the years you are looking at to check for sizing.

Really helpful advice, Butch... re: your approach to generally sending in older HOFers but scrutinizing the newer ones per your plans above - do you mind if I ask where your cut-off is?

For instance, I was a kid in the 70's and lots of star/HOF cards from that era that are really only worthy of submission if they are at the very highest (8+) grades. I might try some of your techniques listed above for those (Rose, Ryan, Yz, etc)

Where do you cut off where you just submit vs. DIY before you submit?

Thanks again - appreciate the time and advice

Jeff

Thanks Howard... yeah, I'd settle to be within 1 grade of actual/received. I'll admit that I have sent in some newer cards (80's rookies, Mattingly, Strawberry, Sandberg) pretty certain they were very high grades and they came back with a big miss (by me).

Total waste of $$.

I've gotten better but I'm not sure I'm a +/- 1 grade DIY expert yet - at least not reliably.

Is this something this forum has ever considered - would we ever "crowd source" grade estimates for each other to see if we can save each other the time/cost to submit? Could get unwieldy, I suppose.

It feels like there may be some way to community-pre-grade somehow.

I'll keep try to learn myself as well.

Thanks again -

Jeff

I am a bit more liberal to the cut off. Mid 70s works for me. I get a bit more tweaky from 80's on. And my range of cards that I have stops at 99. I am not inclined to go further unless I am hunting specific cards in which case they tend to be graded already. And for me, personally. I can afford SGC and that is where I send cards when I get enough, which ain't many either. 3-4 tops at a time and not all that frequent.

I am still stinging over the Wild-Card Stockton 1000 point card I recently sent to SGC. It came back as 'A' evidence of trimming. Which, was not the case at all but what do you do with that?