I just recently bought my first PSA-graded Pokémon card to re-start my collection after I found out my childhood collection was gone. I am really keen on getting a graded card collection started now.
I would like to ensure proper protection of my “future collection”. I found a YouTube test video in which it was shown that in contrast to CGC and BGS graded cards, PSA did not offer any sunlight / UV-light protection.
As most Pokémon cards on the market are PSA graded, would you recommend buying PSA graded cards anyway? Or should I only look out for BGS/CGC graded cards?
In case you guys recommend going ahead with PSA graded cards, are there any affordable UV-protection cases for PSA-cases? Like a slab for the slab?
I imagine the majority of collectors who have graded cards probably keep them stored away in the dark lol so UV protection doesn’t matter.
If you want to start getting into graded cards I’d suggest you shouldn’t buy one over the other because the case. These cases from any company are not 100% UV proof.
Any card or any case in a UV protected frame of sorts would be better than these cases alone. Although, even with a UV protection frame, I’d rather not risk it.
In case I go with PSA-cases, do I need to panic each time I get them out of the storage box?
Would I need to close all the curtains and illuminate only with LED light?
CGC and BGS cases would at least provide some UV protection. But on the other hand it might be difficult to complete the collection without any PSA-graded cases as they are most popular for Pokemon TCG.
I am really torn here…
Any of those company’s should be fine indoors. If you display any in the open, I’d say switch them out every year and keep out of direct sunlight through a window.
Keep your cards out of direct sunlight if you want them to keep their appearance, but even indirect sunlight will degrade at a slower rate.
PSA is the gold standard for Pokemon cards, and you may choose to only collect those. If you do, you’ll miss out on lots of great opportunities with cards graded by CGC, BGS and SGC. Buy the card, not the grade they say. Some choose to buy the grading company, not the card. No wrong answers.
Thank you all for your comments and advice. Considering everything I guess I will follow the advice to buy any of the graded cards and just be careful not to expose it to sunlight.
I’ll reiterate what others have hinted at. You need to think on the scale of months, not minutes. UV intensity is important but the duration of exposure is far more important.
When you place a card somewhere, ask yourself if the accumulation over months or years is something you are comfortable with. For me, in the closet is always fine. In the shade of a bookshelf is probably ok on the order of months. On my desk next to the window, I try not to keep things near the sunlight or in the same spot for over a week