The Giant Professional Grading Thread

I had a bgs 9 lugia 1st edition once and i swear it would have been a psa 8 MAYbe. 2k card because it said 9 but i didn’t like the condition for the money.

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I always find it funny when people say BGS is a stricter grader than PSA. Sure, it’s harder to get a BGS 10 than a PSA 10, but for any grade under 10, PSA is way stricter.

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I’ve had a mixed experience with Beckett as well. I have found that slabs since 2017 or so have been far more consistent, but anything prior I have found either graded really well or just flatout wrong. I have also at times found PSA slabs that I feel were over or under graded, however the consistency overall seems much higher and especially for grades < 8. I am a big fan of buying PSA 6s for binder copies for example.

I watched a few of Leonhart’s recent grading videos, and it was interesting to see all of his BGS 8.5s and 9s actually become PSA 9s and his 9.5s become PSA 10s across a variety of sets/cards and these were all fresh grades since he goes right to Beckett near where he lives.

So I’m not sure if Beckett has tightened things up or changed their standards a bit, but in my experience they have gotten better recently on the ones I’ve purchased and also from what I’ve been seeing in cross-grades.

Regardless, 99% of my Pokemon slabs remain PSA and I tend to stick to 9-9.5+ for BGS if all possible.

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Yep and a lot of that had to do with centering in my experience. BGS seems to be much more lax on that. Centering strictness goes CGC>PSA>SGC>BGS

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Hi! Just a few questions, as surely you guys have more experience that I am with PSA grading system! I recorded a video with closeups from some of my old-binder cards (plus some other modern stuff) that I dont know if they are fine to grade, Can you please help me deciding or giving me some orientation? Thank you in advance! (video doesnt have audio, just image!)

This is the one Im more confused about, since I dont know if this would be treat as damaged or not


Centering is one of bgs most weighed subs. They do 60% centering and corners and 40% surface and edges(cant confirm but this is what i have heard from a supposed customer service call with another bgs submitter who does a lot like I do). I suspect this is why they are not liked for pokemon because those weights are skewed to sports fans.

I had several cards cgc and sgc 8.5 drop due to centering subs alone. 1st ed sgc 8.5 blastoise got all 8.5 except centering dropping it to bgs 8. Same with pack pulled absol ex getting 8.5 with all 9.5 subs execpt one 9 and a 8 centering




Ill never submit an oc card to bgs again

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those slabs you posted are pretty clear-cut examples of what you are saying.

Oddly tho my exp is the opposite for vintage magic. They let some really OC vintage cards rock in the 9-9.5 grades. Maybe bc the border is thin and black so it doesn’t drag down eye appeal as much? who knows

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In general, I try to be harsh, but it is good to not expect the best outcome when grading. I can see a fair amount of wear on the edges on the backs, not much whitening or chipping, but definitely some wear and un-even edges on most. The foils also appear to be in various conditions of near mint, with some closer to light play with light scratches and buffing. They’re not bad, but as far as grades go, I think you’re looking at 7s mostly. The bending, if there, might push some down to a 6 or 5, and a softer light with a human eye can pick out more nuanced detail. Again, I may be harsh, but that’s my honest opinion. I find most of the cards from my old collection are in this range. stored in binders without sleeves, but rarely touched. shuffled only once or twice with grimy hands. you know.

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hey, thank you! not harsh at all, just beign realistic which is what I wanted! :). I didnt expect PSA10/PSA9 for all the vintage cards for sure, I was more into the 7/8 range, but specially with that Zard I didnt knew what to think as the card is not damaged per se, or at least in the most common use of the word! Im not planning to sell the cards (except for a few duplicates I have that I dont need), just protect them to not be damaged from now on. The thing is that I dont know if with this cards would be easier and cheaper just to pick for example a PSA7 Blaine’s Charizard or grade the one I have since (expecting at least a 7!) and I dont know if the 30$ per card + shipping and insurance from Spain will be worth or not :sweat_smile:

Honestly it’s been so long I don’t even remember what cards I sent, let alone what tier :melting_face:

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THis is where I think the new or less established-in-pokemon grading companies have value: Just wanting to encase and protect the card, regardless of the condition. Is it worth it to pay the fee to protect the card? Perhaps. I might do that with my original chase card, even though it’s a solid PSA 7… The question of value is something you have to decide. :slight_smile: However, nice cards. Definitely good nostalgia there!

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I’ve always used PSA but want to use BGS’s GCR (graded card review). I was just wondering can I send beckett a PSA graded card through beckett’s GCR service or is that not an option. Just wondering.

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The verbiage on their site is a bit confusing but I’d imagine it’s just review Beckett’s companies.

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I purchased a sealed one for 650 a while back and it has the same one little imperfection. I would say its a perfectly fine buy. At 500 if it gets a PSA 9 you will break even maybe lose a little. If it hits the 10 (which is very possible) then your chilling.

All of my $30 PSA order are already in assembly. They were entered June 30th, so basically a month to process. It feels weird not waiting a year. :upside_down_face:

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Gosh. I submitted the $50 tier, arrived June 24 and it’s been in grading for 3 weeks. It’s not like I mind, but it makes me wonder. Do they prioritize those who have memberships?

Whatever, it’s not that bad. Clearly other people have waited longer.

All 3 of my PSA orders are in grading that they received on 7/1

Hi! What is the minimum service level at which PSA adds pictures of the cards to the certificate now? Regular?

I know a lot of people use grading services not for the grade, but for the encapsulation and the grade is just a nice to have.

I’m wondering if this ever could be a product where you can encapsulate your card at home. Something more permanent than a one-touch mag case but without the need for sonic welding. I haven’t seen any permanent encapsulation methods on the market but I think there’s a target audience for one.

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hey guys! i have never graded with PSA before and realized the time kinda got away from me this past few weeks. i am trying to hurriedly assemble my july special order and am purchasing a membership now. there are options available as US and International, but I cannot find any information anywhere about these two memberships. Logically, I am assuming that because I am from Canada, I should pick the International membership option, but it’s more expensive and like said, doesn’t actually tell you that there is a domestic and international membership option. sorry if this is confusing, i am rushing, but if anyone knows what im going on about pls lmk!

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