To grade or not to grade?

Grading
1

Hey all,

Wondering what you guys would do in this situation.

Recently came across a decent sized lot of Neo Holos (1st Eds and Unlimited), Aquapolis / Expedition / Skyridge Holos and Reverse Holos with a few other misc WOTC and early Nintendo stuff mixed in.

Sent all the acceptable Holos and better Reverse Holos in to CGC and was quite happy with the return, with the best cards being:

Aquapolis H29 Umbreon CGC 8.5
Base Set 2 Charizard CGC 8.5
Legendary Collection Reverse Pikachu CGC 8.5
1st Neo Destiny Dark Tyranitar CGC 9

With my favorite artwork:

Skyridge Reverse Gyarados CGC 9

Must have missed something on one of the cards, as it got a 6. But the rest were 8s - 9.5s. Not bad for a 60ish card vintage sub. Wonder how many 9s would cross to PSA 10s and 8.5s to PSA 9s.

What would everyone do with all the Rares / Uncommons / Commons? All look to be in mint - pack fresh shape. I have a good 50ish 1st Ed Neo Destiny I am contemplating grading and a few Skyridge singles.

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Neo bulk is some of the better bulk out there, so those cards are definitely worth grading. I would definitely wait until the price of grading drops, though.

Skyridge non-holos are a bit more niche, but there is definitely a market for them, and their scarcity makes them good grading candidates, as well.

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@Cerulean - so you wouldnt grade them with CGC? PSA just takes so long and is so much more expensive =S

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Currently for this month you can grade them at PSA for 18$/card. I am subbmiting my whole base set 1st non holo cards, for that price is a very good deal IMO

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If you’re looking to maximize resale value after grading, PSA bulk tends to sell better than CGC bulk in my experience. I assume that it is mostly driven by set collectors who already have the holographic cards in PSA and are now trying to fill in their sets to match.

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$18 a card is ridiculously expensive for any non-1st Ed. Base bulk. Heck, I would argue it’s even expensive for most 1st Ed. Base bulk considering many of them are going for around $40 in a PSA 9 now.

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I personally wouldn’t grade any of that stuff with CGC because you would really be cutting into your profit margin, but if you need the money now, feel free. Completely depends on your situation.

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agree, I wouldnt even consider grading with CGC, very hard to sell as you say as most people collect on PSA

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You shouldnt be subbing anything that you plan to sell that isnt holo to cgc or bgs. Nobody will buy. Even 1st ed base non holos

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Thanks for everyone’s input. Will most likely look at sending them to PSA

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Idk if this is controversial or not but I don’t think any would make those crosses. Both CGC 9 and 8.5 grades include wide swaths of conditions within their umbrellas compared to the PSA 10 and 9 grades you’re hoping to cross to

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I’ve had some gem-quality cards with 9 centering get CGC 9s before. If that’s the case with OP’s cards, then PSA 10 isn’t out of the question. Similar with CGC 8.5s – mint-quality cards with very poor centering that would have reasonable shots at PSA 9. Putting aside these situations, though, I think you’re generally correct (with newer certs at least).