I’m starting this thread to document my progress and share my journey as I get back into the hobby. Which started last year.
I first found this community about a year ago when I needed help spotting a fake card. Since then, I’ve made it my mission to educate myself on authentication. Whenever I’m unsure, I dive down the rabbit hole comparing high res scans, studying sales listings, and obsessing over the fine details. I’ve realized that truly knowing the card is just as much fun as owning it.
Right now, I’m focusing on learning while I collect. I don’t have one strict set I’m chasing; instead, I’m picking up cards that catch my eye and speak to me. Even though prices across the board have been increasing lately, I’m sticking to my rule of collect what you enjoy.
I also plan on sharing my collection of retro and vintage handheld consoles. This is a big part of the hobby for me because it’s where my journey started playing Pokémon Ruby for the first time as a kid. I love the hardware as much as the cards, so I’m looking forward to sharing some of those items here too, even the non Pokémon ones. Excited to share my Mail Days and progress with you all.
Gonna start with the 3 cards I graded myself for the first time. I haven’t sent a second submission yet, but maybe in the near future I will grade some others. I was a bit sad by the grade my Tag Team Gengar got since I didn’t see a single dent. I might crack it to get a better look, but I didn’t find anything before sending it in.
Very nice start. Some really great selection of cards so far and it is very lovely to see you taking your time and pacing yourself rather that going all in. It really helps to stick to a goal and more importantly a budget. Looking forward to reading more about your journey and see you progress through your goals. Thank you for sharing.
I’m a huge fan of Tag Team cards in general. I already have a couple of ungraded copies that I plan to send to PSA in the future, but I really wanted to secure a guaranteed 10 now before prices keep increasing. Also the label has some sort of printing hiccup on the left side. Didn’t notice at first when it arrived the other day.
Thankfully nothing happened to the slab because the seller sent it in a bubble mailer with a thin piece of cardboard to protect it from possible damage…
Finally secured the Giratina. I’ve had my eye on this card for some time, and I finally managed to add the Lost Origin hit that i mainly wanted to my collection. It feels great to finally have it in hand.
I’m still on the hunt for the Rayquaza VMAX Alt Art (Evolving Skies) and the Lugia V Alt Art (Silver Tempest) to round out the trio, but for now, I’m just enjoying this one. Debating if to get them before those 2 keep increasing in price.
I’m also currently debating a sealed item that’s up for sale. I don’t usually collect sealed, but this one is tempting me since i want to open it. If I end up pulling the trigger, I’ll be sure to share it here. For now, here is the Giratina.
Finally picked up this Karen’s Umbreon. I definitely waited longer than I should have and watched the prices skyrocket, but I’m still incredibly happy to have it in hand. I’m currently debating if it’s worth trying to crossgrade this to a PSA 10 or if I should just keep it in the BGS slab. The white dots are from my scanner and not the slab or card itself.
I also wanted to ask regarding the holo pattern. I don’t know much about swirls, but I can see 1-2 in there. When I move the slab under the light, the pattern almost looks like it’s moving or shifting it’s hard to explain, but I’ve included pictures. It looks like a spirals out rather than multiple lines on top of each other. I’m not sure if that’s strong enough to be considered a “true” swirl by the community’s standards, or how to even classify it, but i really like how it looks.
Here is what it looks like. Have to admit, I really like the placement since they are within each other rather than overlapping. Apologies, I am terrible at taking pictures of the swirl. Maybe I will try and get better shots from other angles later.
