Working on a pack fresh binder collection now (YuGiOh series 1 - so 600+ cards LMAO). It feels like a no-brainer move to me. the cards just pop and you get to be that guy in 20 years who grades their binder into 9s and 10s if the price goes up
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CGC is still pretty new and I don’t have enough experience with it in Pokemon to dispute what you are saying there Zorloth. I think that table can be true. The only thing I would note about CGC (which applies to all graded cards anyways) is really look at the card. Having cracked and handled thousands of slabs from the three companies, PSA is the most consistent to me. A nice PSA 9 can easily convert over to a BGS 9.5, albeit probably not a quad 9.5. A nice PSA 8 can be pack fresh but for centering or some other “natural” surface flaw.
In terms of CGC, generally they are quite strict, but I also think they’re still trying to figure it out. And Beckett’s grading standards have tightened up recently too. So in this time of flux, more important than ever to buy the card, not the grade.
Case in point, yesterday I received two CGC copies of the same mtg alpha card in the mail. One was graded 8 overall, the other 8.5. Both had 8.5 edge grades. But the cards could not be more different, particularly the edges. BOTH were misgraded, IMO. One card was basically pack fresh and should have been a 9 edge score. The other should have been more like a 7 or 7.5. The edges looked like they had been chewed by and insect versus the pack fresh crisp edges and they both got an 8.5. So they are still figuring it out. I think it’s much rarer to see such an obvious discrepancy like that with PSA.
Caveat again is that I have purchased only a limited number of CGC pokemon cards. Many CGC mtg cards, mostly non-foil/non-holo. The mtg foil grades I have seen from CGC have been very strict overall. I have cracked EVERY single CGC card I have purchased out of the case, so have definitely been up close and personal with the cards and the inconsistency. I only collect BGS-slabbed cards for mtg, and PSA for Pokemon.
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Nice! That’s how I think about it too. It’s a nice hedge on grading company de jour, slab changes, standard changes etc.
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That’s definitely been my experience overall in equivalent grade for CGC vs PSA across both Pokemon & Magic. I would say though that because of the sub-grades and the way final grade is calculated for CGC (or BGS), that sometimes it can look better/worse depending on the sub-grades. So like you could have a CGC 8 with a couple 8.5 scores and a couple 8 scores, or an 8 with all 8 subs and a 7.5 sub end up looking quite a bit different despite both being an 8 overall.
Of course, the same thing can apply to a PSA card as well, so the sub-grades do sort of let you pick and choose what you like in a card (i.e. nicer centering or surface, or nicer corners/edges) whatever it is that you value in terms of condition. So as mentioned, buying the card over the grade is still worth doing if you can.
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I want to answer the Professor Research and Gold Star Greninja example.
- The professor’s research is less desirable
- Professor’s research is printed on best quality paper (I think you mean Full Art one, quality control is higher than common / ol rare papers)
- Because point 2 the PSA 10 pop ratio of the Professor’s research is 29/50 58%. Greninja printed on poor quality papers has less psa 10 175/839 20.85%.
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Yea I now have a bigger appreciation for the sub grades. I used to hate them because they looked so ugly especially with .5’s but at least you know why you got what you got and if you are looking for better edges then you look for a card with a higher edge score.
Want a better surface ? Boom here’s a 10 on surface.
Corners mean the most to you? Same thing here’s a card with perfect corners but a small ding on the back. It’s now a CGC 6/7 and you save money.
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Oh I hadn’t realized a full art was printed on different paper than regular cards. I honestly just thought they had more layers or a different fondly layer on the card. Also yea seeing those numbers I can also see how a card that can get a easier ten won’t be as valuable than a card which is hard to grade.
This is pretty close on a good day. But a normal day is more like.
Wotc near mint is PSA 6-7 condition and priced higher then the PSA 9… Some sellers are really out of tune with pricing on raw cards