First off I would like to say this is my first post on here, this seems like a very cool and informative place. I was pointed here by gem mint pokemon. I am not a hardcore collector by any means but I love to talk and read about collecting and I can only get so much on Reddit lol.
Anyways, I have a 1st edition shining noctowl and a reverse holo legendary collection alakazam in my collection and I am wondering about getting them graded. The alakazam has a factory line across the front but other than that it looks good. Maybe a PSA 8 or even 9? The noctowl is a bit worse with some whitening on the back. The front actually looks pretty good. Would it be worth it to get these graded? I also have an English birthday pikachu too that I might consider grading. I would probably use a middle man to send my cards with theirs to PSA.
Depends why exactly you want to grade them. From what you’ve said it sounds like you’re going for monetary value. If that’s the case I’d say it’s a long shot to really increase value with the conditions you’re describing. With grading fees and what not, they may do better as raw cards.
I almost always only send cards in for Grading if they are “worthy” of Mint 9’s or Gem-Mint 10’s. If a card comes back lower than that, then I’m pissed off. For instance, PSA just gave me an 8 on a “PACK-FRESH” Pulled myself M-Tyranitar FA from Ancient Origins. The card is Mint as fuck, yet they gave it an 8. They also gave 5 of my Pack-Fresh Japanese cards 9’s. I’m confused…?
For nostalgia- grade anything you deem worth it to you. Good way to protect cards and keep them in the state they are currently in. I mean it is only about about $120 or so (incl shipping both ways) for 10 cards through @smpratte 's grading service.
Grading for value/resale unless you are sure of a solid 9 and at least a slight chance at a 10 it’s not really worth it in general. Almost all cards that get 8 or below lose money over selling them as raw NM/MINT unless you are talking about something real valuable or rare. 9’s break even or are in that range for a lot of old WOTC stuff, some harder to find things can even make some money. Usually what I grade is older WOTC or ex era cards that the 9’s break even for me and the 10’s are the profit.
For other tcg/ccgs what is quality like from packs? I have no experience really other than with pokemon so I was wondering if yugioh, magic or sports cards have any sort of issues out of packs or are they usually 10 worthy?
Sorry for the late reply. Not sure if there is a way to set up push notifications from Tapatalk. I think my main goal with wanting to get them graded is to increase value over time. Although me and a friend decided that they probably wouldn’t get better than a 7 or 8. I will probably just keep them in a binder or top loader in this case.
After doing some research you are right about the resale value. Really only worth it to get a 9 or 10. I’ll probably just keep them in top loader or a binder for now.