Scratched Up Reverse Holos. Replaceable or a Lost Cause?

General
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Apologies for any formatting/spelling issues in this post. Currently typing this post on my phone before bed!

Just spent the evening sorting all of my reverse holo cards by set so they can be prepared to go into binders once my main collection and supplies arrive at my house. (Just flew home for the summer, shipped collection) All of these reverse holos from looking just at the backs all range from LP + to NM+, the only real damage on the back maybe being a few white spots or a corner that’s a little rough. (I’ll take pics tomorrow when I’m less tired!) These cards were all opened from packs and sorted into long white cardboard boxes. (The ones commonly seen at card stores) The main issue is dumb 10 year old me didn’t sleeve the reverse holos I got from packs, so the fronts got scratched up. (Never again… I wish I could go back in time and stop my dumb self from doing sooooooo many things!)

The scratching is most aggresily seen in the Diamond and Pearl era cards up until Black and White. I’d compare these cards to the look of the XY Evolutions reverse holos. From first glance they look fine, but once you tilt them the card lights up with scratches.

I’m also in the process of going through the cards in my collection and deciding whether or not they need replacement. Any physical marks on the cards (indents/creases/whitening) will kick the card out of my collection and throw it into the “Future EBay Lot” pile.

So, I’m at a crossroads with my reverse holos. I don’t like the scratches, but can accept that’s just a trait those cards will always have. Is it worth trying to replace them, or would the replacements basically be the same scratched up quality? I don’t want to become incredibly picky about my reverse holos if it’s literally going to be impossible to find ones without scratches.

So, my main questions end up being

-Have scratched up reverse holos. Worth finding replacements, or will replacements just be the same?

-How picky should I be with reverse holos (I know this is subjective and brings up a wide range of opinions)

-What do the reverse holos, especially from the DP era, look like in your collection? Are they scratched up as well?

Thanks!

-A very sleepy Pokesoap

PS, I’ll update the thread with some photos tomorrow showing the scratches. I need to sleeeeep.

EDIT!

Here’s an example of one of the cards. Reverse holo Riolu from Platinum. Cards from DP- Call of Legend display similar scratching issues. Some less severe and some more so. I found this Riolu to be a good mid ground. (I’m removing cards with extreme scratching/wear from my collection)

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Depends on quite a lot of factors.

If you have many scratched up cards, do you really want to spend the time and money to go through listings and check the photos for acceptable quality?

If the scratches are really bad and noticeable, I don’t figure it’d be too hard to find replacements for them. But if the scratches are barely noticeable and you’re hoping to find pack-fresh cards as replacements then that becomes an arduous task as it’s hard to determine whether a card’s actually mint or not from looking at photos.

Yeah, pictures would help a lot here.

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Though I’ve never been a fan of reverse holos, this was not the reason why. However, I do know from my past cards that even so much as looking at rev holos from sets like diamond and pearl or legendary collection can cause scratching. Lol, and the pop report for psa 10 rev holos of legendary collection reflects that theory.

I think one or 2 scratches would be ok. Don’t go full on psa grader and inspect every part of the card for a single scratch. If it looks good from a particular distance of your choosing, then I think that should be good enough. It could take a long time to find that many rev holos in such good of shape. I fear that the chances of receiving that good of a rev holo from ebay or troll and toad in rapid succession are slim to none.

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I have quite a few reverses from the DP-Platinum era, and one of the striking things about them for me, is the abundance of factory lines on nearly every single RH.

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Hello! Giving the thread a quick bump! Added some photos to my first post. Will reply to responses once I have the time to write more thorough thoughts. Thank you for the responses so far!

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I added some photos to the original post if that changes any thoughts/opinions!

I’m thinking of keeping what I have now (except for extremely scratched holos) and ordering what I need to fill in the blanks. If what I order is in much better quality, then I’ll make a replacement pass on the reverse holos I already own.

I’m not if even big sellers (Troll and Toad, TCG Player sellers, Collectors Cache) have kept their reverses in good shape (probably just thrown in a big box like mine) so asking for pack fresh I know is unrealistic. But, if I can have a better condition option, then I don’t mind taking the time and money to do so. I’m just concerned what I already have is what I’m going to be getting from orders.

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Mine either display several scratches, factory lines, and in extreme cases silvering on the sides. They are extremely hard to find in true pack fresh condition especially with the abundance of issues.

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Very true. I’ve barely handled them and they’re all scratched up. Just from being in the box has caused damage unlike non-holo bulk.

That’s what I’m trying to keep myself from doing. If I wanted PSA quality, I’d just buy a pre graded card. I’m just at a crossroads of how picky I should be. My plan right now is to keep and sort the reverse holos I have and order some reverse holos from sellers on TCG player. If they come in much better condition than the reverses I have, then I’ll make an effort to replace them. I know pack fresh is pretty much impossible with these, but I’ll take a card that has a few scratches over several any day of the week.

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