As you can see, it’s a beautiful card that would likely get a 9 or 10 if not for the fact that it has a bend in the bottom right corner (every card in the pack was like this):
Your browser does not support video embedding. Please update your browser.
Your browser does not support video embedding. Please update your browser.
So my questions are:
Is it possible/worth trying to fix the bend? Or would I just be further damaging the card?
PSA, as I understand it, wouldn’t give this more than a 6. But is it possible it could get higher than a 6 surface grade at BGS or CGC? I ask because I’m aware of examples of cards graded by both companies that received 7/8 surface grades despite having even more significant surface damage than my Latios. FWIW: I’m not going to sell the card, but I happen to be collecting PSA 10 sets and I need this card in PSA 10 lol. I know that this guy isn’t getting there, but if it’s potentially possible for him to get an 8 at BGS/CGC, I wouldn’t mind grading it and putting it in my set as a placeholder. But any lower than that and I’ll just put him in a toploader and call it a day.
Any thoughts about any of these considerations? Could use some input and would be curious to know if anyone has experienced similar.
Looks fine to me imo.
If you’re really worried then maybe put under a flat heavy object like a Pokedex of all 893 Pokemon.
Try for 1 to 2 days, maybe no more.
I’ve had pikachu’s that had a bend like yours under light and still got a good grade.
It wouldn’t hurt to get the card graded. More or less slabbing it will help you protect it.
I understand you want to take extra precaution (especially when its pack fresh)
@zorloth ohhhh I see. The corner is just slightly bent in one direction or another. Technically the PSA 6 dock is for indent and crease. For structural damage to the card because of that. Damaged cardboard. Make sense? So if you left it like that it may get a 6. But that is something that with delicate hands, you could bend slightly back just like you would with holo curve/bow and not have it create said damage. If it were my I would just attempt to prod it slightly and see if it wants to gently straighten rather than buckle. Only you can be the best judge seeing it in person. Try taking a pic of the card look at the edge, a profile shot of the edge to show the extent of the bend.
I agree with Kami. Put it in a sleeve into a book to flatten. You can fix and it won’t get a 6.
I’ve seen weird corners like this before - in my case (and it looks like yours as well) they might be more accurately described as “droopy corners” rather than a crease/bend. They are not particularly attractive, but unless you can see actual card stock deformation where there’s a crease (and I don’t see that in your vids), it’s possible they will not be automatically knocked down to a 6 by PSA. Unless it was a fluke by PSA, the few cards that had droopy corners ended up coming back as 9s. Whether that was because they were in card savers for so long that they naturally straightened out before they arrived at PSA or that PSA doesn’t automatically knock droopy corners, I couldn’t tell you for sure. If you can’t see any actual creasing or dents, and the rest of the card looks clean, I’d definitely throw it in to see how it grades.
To further clarify my previous statement, I don’t see it as structural damage, an indent or crease, as hypernova calls it, damage of sorts to the card stock. A slight slight bend is really where when you push it any further, it causes that. But hasn’t happened yet. Make sense? A book or a slight prod (delicate) can fix that. Though I’d probably go with a book. I’ve done it with very valuable cards before. Not too much weight.
Hmm – it’s definitely there. And I can see it pretty well in the vids.
The flat heavy object idea is a good one but my concern with that is if there’s any particulate matter on the card, that putting a heavy weight on could cause an indentation. I’ve had numerous cards damaged like this before. I started wiping my cards with a microfiber cloth before sleeving them, which seems to work pretty well for most sorts of cards. But I don’t want to try that with this card because the surface is very frail – I’ve actually damaged a reverse holo (not an ex, but similarly fragile) by doing this once.
I appreciate the input, and I will consider it – thanks!
@zorloth gotcha. I understand completely. I was obsessive over trying with my 1st ed Raichu. Similar thing. Looked like a 9 if I could just get it flat. No crease, no dent. I meticulously took lens cleaner tissue that I use on my Camera lenses and gave it a nice clearing up, put in brand new premium penny sleeve, gave both pages of a not too heavy book a brush where it was going to lay and did it. But it’s scary, and I don’t blame you for avoiding that idea. If you can’t delicately prod it, you might just have to let it be and grade it. Fine line between holo bend/bow and something like that. The two types of condition on a card are different branches of the same tree. A different tree than damage.
Honestly, it appears to be structural damage to me. But maybe I’m wrong. I’m also a bit worried about the book approach because there’s almost certainly dust or other particulate matter on the surface that could damage the holofoil with pressure. But it’s definitely a suggestion that has some merit to it, and I could see it helping with the bend.
Interesting – I hope PSA will see it that way. And yeah, there’s no creasing or dents that I can see. The surface is clean, although it does have a few print scratches, I think. Definitely PSA 9 or 10 if not for the bend. I hope that you’re right that they will disregard it. I’m thinking maybe it would be better to hedge my bets with BGS or CGC, though? That way if it gets a 6 surface grade, it could still get a 7 composite.
Ok – good to hear I’m not crazy lol. And yeah, it’s definitely something to be aware of for cards with large holo surfaces (namely reverse holos and exs). It’s not really an issue with non-holos, though. Particulate matter isn’t large/solid enough to indent cards (in my experience), but if there’s particulate matter on the card, any pressure is placed on the card, and the card shifts around at all, it will get very scratched. I personally believe that perfect fit sleeves help to prevent this by limiting the amount of room the card has to shift around. Perfect fits are standard practice when playing MTG decks with foils for this exact reason – any dust that touchs the surface of the card can cloud/scratch the surface.
I have quite a few PSA 10s (ex cards) with similar things. I’m not sure if it was just a printing issue with ex or not. I find PSA either doesn’t notice them or knows it’s a printing issue and won’t dock you for it. I think this still has a shot at a 10
Congrats on the grade:) I had a couple identical to that that I sent for reviews and PSA upheld their “opinion” that they were 6s for that bend damage. If I can find them, or if I get others, I guess I’ll have to try cgc:eyes:
Thanks for updating this thread (and sorry for the bump again!). I was curious how you moved forward.
I have this same exact issue on a card… a minor bend around the corner that may be considered damage if not remedied, clearly seen only under direct reflected light.
I’m fairly insistent on getting it graded by PSA so I’m trying to correct it with the weighted book method. My card has a much smaller holo region so I’m not too concerned about dust damage. Haven’t seen many other threads about this specific type of issue!
. Yeah, CGC seems to be a bit less harsh on surface. Definitely worth giving it a shot!