The Giant Professional Grading Thread

[bk2021]

Are there any articles or videos detailing how grading exploded during the pandemic and the general behaviour of those submitting?

If anyone knows a quick and easy way to convert sheets data into a table, let me know.

I just took a look at what the number of graded cards look like for each set yesterday:

502,966 RB01: Base Set
150,381 RB02: Jungle
136,920 RB03: Fossil
45,773 RB04: Base Set 2
149,810 RB05: Team Rocket
54,565 RB06: Gym Heroes
61,445 RB07: Gym Challenge
54,201 GS01: Neo Genesis
24,643 GS02: Neo Discovery
30,068 GS03: Neo Revelation
40,288 GS04: Neo Destiny
40,119 GS05: Legendary Collection
29,849 GS06: Expedition
21,761 GS07: Aquapolis
32,079 GS08: Skyridge
8,131 RS01: Ruby & Sapphire
7,021 RS02: Sandstorm
10,263 RS03: Dragon
5,358 RS04: Team Magma vs Team Aqua
5,955 RS05: Hidden Legends
13,187 RS06: FireRed & LeafGreen
14,401 RS07: Team Rocket Returns
7,779 RS08: Deoxys
5,644 RS09: Emerald
14,213 RS10: Unseen Forces
12,346 RS11: Delta Species
7,582 RS12: Legend Maker
9,428 RS13: Holon Phantoms
12,297 RS14: Crystal Guardians
10,808 RS15: Dragon Frontiers
9,747 RS16: Power Keepers
1,558 DP01: Diamond & Pearl
1,700 DP02: Mysterious Treasures
3,215 DP03: Secret Wonders
1,617 DP04: Great Encounters
1,944 DP05: Majestic Dawn
1,891 DP06: Legends Awakened
3,313 DP07: Stormfront
2,585 DP08: Platinum
2,697 DP09: Rising Rivals
7,426 DP10: Supreme Victors
5,018 DP11: Arceus
3,937 DP12: HeartGold & SoulSilver
3,430 DP13: Unleashed
3,349 DP14: Undaunted
4,587 DP15: Triumphant
5,939 DP16: Call of Legends
1,858 BW01: Black & White
551 BW02: Emerging Powers
916 BW03: Noble Victories
1,927 BW04: Next Destinies
2,340 BW05: Dark Explorers
2,496 BW06: Dragons Exalted
3,518 BW07: Boundaries Crossed
953 BW07A: Dragon Vault*
4,192 BW08: Plasma Storm
2,794 BW09: Plasma Freeze
2,140 BW10: Plasma Blast
7,150 BW11: Legendary Treasures
11 XY00: Kalos Starter Set*
3,203 XY01: XY
11,188 XY02: Flashfire
2,056 XY03: Furious Fists
3,032 XY04: Phantom Forces
3,619 XY05: Primal Clash
462 XY05A: Double Crisis*
7,650 XY06: Roaring Skies
6,521 XY07: Ancient Origins
6,750 XY08: BREAKthrough
6,584 XY09: BREAKpoint
16,287 XY09A: Generations*
7,372 XY10: Fates Collide
4,860 XY11: Steam Siege
202,675 XY12: Evolutions
15,461 SM01: Sun & Moon
11,798 SM02: Guardians Rising
22,317 SM03: Burning Shadows
44,449 SM03A: Shining Legends*
6,733 SM04: Crimson Invasion
12,190 SM05: Ultra Prism
6,510 SM06: Forbidden Light
11,278 SM07: Celestial Storm
7,142 SM07A: Dragon Majesty*
8,020 SM08: Lost Thunder
9,349 Detective Pikachu
14,665 SM09: Team Up
23,032 SM10: Unbroken Bonds
14,956 SM11: Unified Minds
200,686 SM11A: Hidden Fates*
36,061 SM12: Cosmic Eclipse
25,271 SWSH01: Sword & Shield
13,544 SWSH02: Rebel Clash
48,732 SWSH03: Darkness Ablaze
52,811 SWSH03A: Champion’s Path*
90,471 SWSH04: Vivid Voltage
11,429 SWSH04A: Shining Fates*
1,172 SWSH05: Battle Styles
2,197 SWSH06: Chilling Reign
7,046 SWSH07: Evolving Skies
13,884 SWSH07A: Celebrations*
2,296 SWSH08: Fusion Strike
7,730 SWSH09: Brilliant Stars
14 SWSH10: Astral Radiance

I’m assuming Evolutions, Hidden Fates and Vivid Voltage were the main sets being submitted given how much they stand out against the rest here. Just curious to know what was making people submit Vikavolt V amongst all the other bulk Vs.

It’s like a snapshot of a period in time that wouldn’t be replicated since no one will be sending in bulk Vs in sets after that.

[thsigma]

woohooo lets go Emerging Powers and Noble Victories! Representing the sub 1k club

Base Set being at the top makes sense, though I am curious what the distribution looks like between 1st edition, shadowless, and unlimited (and i guess 99-2000 but that hasnt been recognized in psa until more recently)

Something to keep in mind is that there are still 2020 orders not back from psa. I bet that Shining Fates in particular is going to shoot up from where its at right now.

[redsticktcg]

@thsigma

woohooo lets go Emerging Powers and Noble Victories! Representing the sub 1k club

Base Set being at the top makes sense, though I am curious what the distribution looks like between 1st edition, shadowless, and unlimited (and i guess 99-2000 but that hasnt been recognized in psa until more recently)

Something to keep in mind is that there are still 2020 orders not back from psa. I bet that Shining Fates in particular is going to shoot up from where its at right now.

I’d be shocked if emerging powers ever gets to 1k XD. At least Noble Victories can get carried there by the Meowth and N (even though I imagine many of the raw ones out there are well played nowadays

[pokecollectoramy]

CGC just sent out a survey for feedback on lots of things. It’s very similar to the survey they sent out before they upgraded the holder and label for CSG (their sports division). Things could get interesting if enough people tell them to make changes to the label, etc

[zorloth]

@pokecollectoramy

CGC just sent out a survey for feedback on lots of things. It’s very similar to the survey they sent out before they upgraded the holder and label for CSG (their sports division). Things could get interesting if enough people tell them to make changes to the label, etc

I didn’t see that much related to label design in the survey, and they didn’t give a place to leave detailed feedback on the label. Personally, I hope that they change their label to be more color neutral. The current label color is unnecessarily polarizing.

[pokecollectoramy]

@zorloth

@pokecollectoramy

CGC just sent out a survey for feedback on lots of things. It’s very similar to the survey they sent out before they upgraded the holder and label for CSG (their sports division). Things could get interesting if enough people tell them to make changes to the label, etc

I didn’t see that much related to label design in the survey, and they didn’t give a place to leave detailed feedback on the label. Personally, I hope that they change their label to be more color neutral. The current label color is unnecessarily polarizing.

It was much more subtle in parts of multiple questions like when they asked about the label of competitors, also in the questions about what’s important to us, and the obvious one of how we rate the label lol

All I want is CSG labels for CGC

[Wombo]

Does anyone have any experience with submitting to PSA through Polaris? Thinking about finally sending off some cards as I believe the price point is more reasonable with the recent announcement of the ‘Value’ tier. I only plan on sending a maximum of around 10 cards as it’s my first submission and I’d like to get a better idea of the process before proceeding with more bulk orders.

[acebren]

@Wombo

Does anyone have any experience with submitting to PSA through Polaris? Thinking about finally sending off some cards as I believe the price point is more reasonable with the recent announcement of the ‘Value’ tier. I only plan on sending a maximum of around 10 cards as it’s my first submission and I’d like to get a better idea of the process before proceeding with more bulk orders.

I’ve sent off a couple subs, what questions do you have? It’s the same process as Ludkins in case you have sent with them.

[Wombo]

@acebren

@Wombo

Does anyone have any experience with submitting to PSA through Polaris? Thinking about finally sending off some cards as I believe the price point is more reasonable with the recent announcement of the ‘Value’ tier. I only plan on sending a maximum of around 10 cards as it’s my first submission and I’d like to get a better idea of the process before proceeding with more bulk orders.

I’ve sent off a couple subs, what questions do you have? It’s the same process as Ludkins in case you have sent with them.

I’ve never sent cards off before, I’m just wondering about the general service and customer support. One of my biggest questions would be; do they give frequent updates on the status of orders? I’ve seen a few people within this thread and on Instagram that have struggled with getting updates through a few service providers (not specifically Polaris).

[acebren]

@Wombo

@acebren

I’ve sent off a couple subs, what questions do you have? It’s the same process as Ludkins in case you have sent with them.

I’ve never sent cards off before, I’m just wondering about the general service and customer support. One of my biggest questions would be; do they give frequent updates on the status of orders? I’ve seen a few people within this thread and on Instagram that have struggled with getting updates through a few service providers (not specifically Polaris).

They do have a tracker which may or may not be accurate at the time of viewing. bottom line is your order will be done when its done.

[mightymax]

@Wombo

@acebren

I’ve sent off a couple subs, what questions do you have? It’s the same process as Ludkins in case you have sent with them.

I’ve never sent cards off before, I’m just wondering about the general service and customer support. One of my biggest questions would be; do they give frequent updates on the status of orders? I’ve seen a few people within this thread and on Instagram that have struggled with getting updates through a few service providers (not specifically Polaris).

you are better doing it yourself. middle men orders are put in different tiers. they don’t communicate with you well either. everyone just says that they are busy but they are just not a great service to use right now.

[eeveeteam]

Sports collectors take on high risk when buying a rookie card early in the player’s career, hoping that player has a nice career.

The equivalent for Pokémon collectors is hoping Charizard does not tear an ACL or pull a hammy.

[ronsoman]

@Wombo

@acebren

I’ve sent off a couple subs, what questions do you have? It’s the same process as Ludkins in case you have sent with them.

I’ve never sent cards off before, I’m just wondering about the general service and customer support. One of my biggest questions would be; do they give frequent updates on the status of orders? I’ve seen a few people within this thread and on Instagram that have struggled with getting updates through a few service providers (not specifically Polaris).

If you’re someone who likes to be able to check the status of their order in real time, I wouldn’t recommend any middleman.

[1999basic]

Updates were/are essentially nonexistent with Ludkins – which, admittedly, is very likely due to the nonexistent rate of progress at PSA. But their responsiveness to email contacts has been excellent. I’m now at 20 months and counting on an Oct. 12, 2020 bulk order through Ludkins.

[emba]

Yo, does anyone know if Ludkins UK/EU is going to be back as an official dealer for PSA value submissions?

[kazambolt]

@Wombo

Does anyone have any experience with submitting to PSA through Polaris? Thinking about finally sending off some cards as I believe the price point is more reasonable with the recent announcement of the ‘Value’ tier. I only plan on sending a maximum of around 10 cards as it’s my first submission and I’d like to get a better idea of the process before proceeding with more bulk orders.

Yeah I submitted a small Economy order with Polaris earlier this year. I had no problems with the whole process, not a lot of updates and really not a lot of communication necessary but it’s really not much different than submitting directly.

Lots of others have pointed out the cons of using a middleman and they’re all mostly valid. Personally I don’t think you get a lot more updates when submitting directly but at least you do know you get the most up to date info when you can look at the PSA website yourself.

The 2 biggest pros for middlemans are when you’re only submitting a small # of cards and if you’re moving. PSA can’t change your return address after an order gets to QA2, and if that ends up being more than a week or so, could put you in a tricky spot if you’re moving addresses. I’m about to run into this myself and hoping it doesn’t end up being an issue. Might have to route packages to the new address before I’ve fully moved in there.

Also a PSA membership costs $100 and since Polaris is able to only charge $30 a card, just like PSA, submitting a small # of cards through a middleman lets you bypass the $100 membership fee. However, once you’re submitting 40, 60, 100s of cards, that $100 cost may be worth it for the assumed lower turnaround time, etc.

[pokecollectoramy]

@1999basic

Updates were/are essentially nonexistent with Ludkins – which, admittedly, is very likely due to the nonexistent rate of progress at PSA. But their responsiveness to email contacts has been excellent. I’m now at 20 months and counting on an Oct. 12, 2020 bulk order through Ludkins.

Same, my order is from October 28 I believe. Got an upcharge about a month ago and no update since. Hoping this is light at the end of the tunnel soon lol

[knotchi]

@mightymax

you are better doing it yourself. middle men orders are put in different tiers. they don’t communicate with you well either. everyone just says that they are busy but they are just not a great service to use right now.

Do we know if this is still the case with Polaris? With Ludkins, the name and price of their tiers were different from PSA but now with Polaris, their tiers are nearly 1-to-1 with PSA’s tiers.

[Wombo]

@kazambolt

@Wombo

Does anyone have any experience with submitting to PSA through Polaris? Thinking about finally sending off some cards as I believe the price point is more reasonable with the recent announcement of the ‘Value’ tier. I only plan on sending a maximum of around 10 cards as it’s my first submission and I’d like to get a better idea of the process before proceeding with more bulk orders.

Yeah I submitted a small Economy order with Polaris earlier this year. I had no problems with the whole process, not a lot of updates and really not a lot of communication necessary but it’s really not much different than submitting directly.

Lots of others have pointed out the cons of using a middleman and they’re all mostly valid. Personally I don’t think you get a lot more updates when submitting directly but at least you do know you get the most up to date info when you can look at the PSA website yourself.

The 2 biggest pros for middlemans are when you’re only submitting a small # of cards and if you’re moving. PSA can’t change your return address after an order gets to QA2, and if that ends up being more than a week or so, could put you in a tricky spot if you’re moving addresses. I’m about to run into this myself and hoping it doesn’t end up being an issue. Might have to route packages to the new address before I’ve fully moved in there.

Also a PSA membership costs $100 and since Polaris is able to only charge $30 a card, just like PSA, submitting a small # of cards through a middleman lets you bypass the $100 membership fee. However, once you’re submitting 40, 60, 100s of cards, that $100 cost may be worth it for the assumed lower turnaround time, etc.

This answered just about everything I need to know. Thanks to everyone who replied!

[candle]

@pokecollectoramy

@1999basic

Updates were/are essentially nonexistent with Ludkins – which, admittedly, is very likely due to the nonexistent rate of progress at PSA. But their responsiveness to email contacts has been excellent. I’m now at 20 months and counting on an Oct. 12, 2020 bulk order through Ludkins.

Same, my order is from October 28 I believe. Got an upcharge about a month ago and no update since. Hoping this is light at the end of the tunnel soon lol

I’m in the same boat. Sub 215P-A had upcharges sent and paid for but no update since. Mid Oct 2020. I emailed Peter today to ask about it. Hope he’s doing well