PSA Grading Help

General
1

Hey guys I am thinking about sending off some cards to PSA to be graded for the first time ever but first I wanted some help with what to look for in a Gem Mint 10 card so I have some understanding for other cards to send in. Also I have 2 cards that have slight imperfections and I’m wondering if these little marks will make the card grade really low.

First is this machamp which looks very minty with no scratches or whitening or anything but the bottom left corner has this very slight mark, like its lifted up just a tiny bit. will this diminish it’s chances at a 10? could it get a 9?


Second is this fossil mew which is very minty as well but has this very slight indent on the back of the card which can only be seen at a certain angle but still, also is the centering alright on it?


I really appreciate the help and am very excited to get into grading cards, hopefully can get some 10’s with my fav pokemon! :grin:

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It is so hard to tell from the photos, but usually a bend/crease will not allow any higher than a 6. I cannot say if the ones you have shown are bad enough to count as such, but from what I hear something like the masaki promos are notorious for looking minty and grading as 6’s or so for the issues on the corners with slight bend/creases. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to submit a couple of these through Scott and the forum grading service as I think the small fee would be well worth the experience dipping your toes in the grading pool. Nothing can beat experience in grading to see what certain cards may get. I have graded well over 1,000 thus far, and I have a good feel for what will be 9+ or not when I see them in person, but it is hard to tell from photos and I still have never caught a good eye on determining 9 vs. 10’s. Maybe someday.

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I’ve blown up the Fossil Mew;

To me, that qualifies the card at around an 8 or 7 from experience.

Some only get bumped down to a 9, but this is likely not to be missed by the graders.

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Alright yea that’s what I was thinking, and I agree it is hard to tell from photos being as these 2 I bought were described as MINT from the seller but Like I’ve read before one persons opinion of what is Mint is very different from another persons. Thanks for the help and I might end up sending these in just out of curiosity. I’ll be searching for that Gem Mint Fossil Mew :sunglasses:

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They likely may not even catch that.

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