Let’s Talk - The Reality Grading & Selling Pokémon Cards with CGC Grading

[@orionsires]

Have you ever graded with CGC? If so how was your experience ?

[@AIexanderJ]

Grading then is harder than doing your own taxes if you know next to nothing about this stuff like me.

[@AIexanderJ]

I definitely need help with this because I gave up today

[@Houndshobby]

Did you say CGC submissions dropped by 50%? No way, Don’t believe it! There turnaround time has 4x over the last few months. They are begging for graders to apply.

[@orionsires]

Nice I was not aware but last months submissions for all the companies dropped a bit and CGC had the biggest drop. That’s not to say they won’t get more submissions maybe they are just under staffed ? Either way I’m no expert and maybe I’m mis informed. Thanks for watching regardless and more importantly happy holidays fam! 😎🙏🏼

[@JediMasterT]

CGC submissions have been artificially propped up by companies like the mystery slabs, also streamers and resellers because to my understanding CGC is willing to work with big orders meaning like over 40k cards being graded at one time. They may cut a deal for a cheaper rate than the average collector sending in 1-20 cards or whatever. There is a couple videos that go through the actual numbers and PSA is still dominating the market in total subs.

[@WatermelonWizard]

The CGC slab is so clean. Their new label is more universal among all cards now that it’s not double tinted blue. I like it a lot a lot. Just PSA values are higher at the moment. But I think I’ll be grading my higher end cards with CGC.

[@orionsires]

Interesting, I felt the same about it when they first updated the cards but for whatever reason I keep gravitating back to psa. Great comment and happy holidays! 😎

[@000FireStorm37000]

All my vintage cards are PSA graded but my modern are going to CGC. The shot at a pristine is such a nice bonus.

[@orionsires]

Great comment definitely something to keep in mind thanks for watching and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@Churmander]

i graded over 4000 pokemon cards with CGC, about 2000 with PSA. the reason i go with CGC now even more is their new prestine 10.. if it dont hit prestine, i crossover to psa .. BGS black label 10> CGC prestine 10> BGS 10 > PSA 10 > regular CGC 10> PSA 9... the reason ppl have a hard time deciding is because it depends on each cards condition, i generally go to CGC first then PSA second

[@orionsires]

I do like the prestine CGC slabs but keeping my collection psa for now but totally understand the value CGC provides with the cost and quality 😎🙏🏼

[@fourcolorinvestments8378]

CGC Pristine 10s don't command BGS 10 prices and are nowhere near as rare. A CGC Pristine 10 is a BGS 9.5 Quad or Quad+ at best.

[@Churmander]

@@fourcolorinvestments8378 i dont disagree, however in general people rather see a 10 CGC or PSA over BGS 9.5

[@boxcarairwaves182]

Always love the videos my guy, i can always count on some wisdom. I feel the same way about cgc especially after the whole debakle with shiny vurt.

[@orionsires]

Thanks fam I still think there’s hope for CGC and a market for it but for me personally it’s gonna stay psa mostly. 😎

[@stretcher]

I'm loving the updated CGC Pristine 10 gold/black labels.

[@orionsires]

I think I’m a fan but I just don’t know about it it’s nice to have my collection look good and if it was all CGC I would understand but because it’s mostly PSA I just would rather have more psa cards. However I do like the black labels and gold labels.. they need to stay consistent at this point. Thanks for watching and happy holidays!

[@iFOMO23]

The only thing I see is something odd on the top blue frame on the back between the "e" and "m". Thanks for the hw😂🎉

[@orionsires]

lol yeah I mean it was a little off center too so maybe it got knocked because of that. CGC sure didn’t give me a break 😂

[@benjamindean7536]

Orion, you didn't talk about the CGC advantage the Gold label 10s ? I'm a collector who cares little about the slab difference and l will be using CGC in future

[@orionsires]

This is true, cost difference is a huge advantage if the card is perfect cgc can be a really good option going after that gold label and not spending so much money the cost of grading itself. Also the gold labels do look good. Thanks for sharing man yeah I think CGC could be a bigger player down the road and it could be smart to invest in grading with them now for the savings and turnaround but we just won’t know until a few years go by. Thanks for watching as always and reminding me! 😎🙏🏼

[@orionsires]

Also happy holidays buddy!! 😎

[@andyhale3467]

There’s a KZbinr that does a monthly report on how the top 4 big grading companies volumes are doing with TCG cards and all cards combined. I’ve been listening to that for a few months now. With CGC the metaphor “Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory “ comes to mind

[@orionsires]

Nice yeah it’s good to be up on all the companies it gives you an idea of where the hobby is at 😎 thanks for watching and happy holidays!

[@WatermelonWizard]

Can you give me Channel name pls?

[@andyhale3467]

@@WatermelonWizard PikapikaPaPa Video series is called Poke Market Update

[@WatermelonWizard]

Great chat & topics as usual! I watch all your video.

[@orionsires]

Thanks fam! I try to cover things I think are important as I evolve as a collector but I don’t always have all the information so maybe in the next video on CGC I’ll compare the premium grades 😎

[@orionsires]

Thanks for always watching and supporting !

[@RalphNation704]

I feel where you coming from big bro . I look for the card to match the color of the label . Red cards look good in psa. Old cgc looks good with blue cards . Etc

[@orionsires]

That’s definitely a thing 😂😎

[@soulreaperw6403]

It’s hard to like PSA when their labels and slabs look like such dogshit. The only thing they have going for them is the brand name.

[@orionsires]

This is partially true I’ve always thought CGC slabs looked nice but just prefer the big name in grading personally it could change down the road though 😎

[@inkbypurdy]

Happy Holidays man! Can't wait to watch you complete 151! In my opinion with the current market its smarter to grade with a more acceptable grading company. I still have considered grading with cgc but still on the fence

[@orionsires]

That’s the thing if CGC does end up getting more widely adopted and treated as the standard which they could achieve , it would be great for early adopters. I may some day regret selling all my slabs at a break even or discount price for the ones that weren’t 10’s. Great comment thanks for watching and happy holidays!! 😎🙏🏼

[@Teacherguy06]

Thanks for the grading info. I mostly send to PSA even though I like the feel and look of the CGC slab.

[@orionsires]

Yeah I think eventually people will get over going with psa traditionally and they’ll start to grade more with CGC but for now I’m sticking with psa unless I see a really good deal with cgc. Thanks for watching and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@WatermelonWizard]

I don’t mind having slabs between PSA/CGC/ beckett 10’s. I would only care about “uniformity” unless I’m displaying a set of some sort. Otherwise, every card is unique in that way. I want to keep my slabs in a foamed box for storage, with maybe a couple for display.

[@orionsires]

I hear you and yes it’s mainly for display purposes but yet still it looks nice when I check my briefcase and the psa slabs all match and line up 😎🙏🏼

[@JediMasterT]

This is the big debate right? I think this is difficult to unpack because the bottom line is, opinions are like buttholes and everyone has one....that being said... In my experience, - PSA and CGC grading has been for me relatively consistent in terms of condition to grade...the idea that CGC is just "handing" out 10s is absolute horse shit, don't believe me? submit to them, you'll find out. - I was on the CGC band wagon UNTIL I did a bulk sub that got absolutely rail roaded, so I basically dumped $300 to crack every single slab I got back and sub them to PSA. So that put a bad taste in my mouth and I won't be subbing to them as much as I have been. Also, there turn around time is getting worse as PSAs get's better. - Big sellers are throwing thousands if not ten's of thousands at CGC to quick flip and build the plastic mania. - I believe that people are starting to hate the "slab premium" and are moving more towards Raw cards, HOWEVER these people have no idea how to value raw cards so these raw ( 5-7 graded cards ) are paying PSA 9 prices like idiots but whatever what can you do. The ones that can buy low and sell high in the "mid range" of these "potential grades" are the true winners...queue whatnot streamers lol.

[@orionsires]

Fantastic comment seriously enjoyed reading this. Yeah I would say CGC is a tough grader honestly. Thanks for watching and engaging with your own perspective and opinion as well as experience subbing. Happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@RalphNation704]

All trainers are different . I love our community ❤

[@orionsires]

For sure everyone has their strategy that works for them 😎

[@mitchgilbert6894]

CGC pristine grade is so exclusive that only a black label bgs can really compete .. yugioh looks good in cgc

[@orionsires]

The CGC labels definitely look good but I’m still a psa guy at heart 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@naturesepyon]

I prefer CGC over PSA. As a collector of vintage cards, CGC just has better labels for the more obscure cards. For example, there are plenty of consistent error cards in vintage. PSA won't label them a error, CGC will. (1ed Butterfree, Slash Krabby, etc.) For a true master set, I can only come close to this being reflected in the labels with CGC. This speaks to collection uniformity to me. Also it's the most affordable option for grading my entire collection over time. Pristine CGC 10's sell for a huge amount, which usually sell more than a PSA 10. For myself, I like CGC 10's and Pristine 10's for selling and subsidizing my collecting. & typically strive for CGC 9. 9's are usually standard for being "Mint" which is supposed to be a reflection of how the card was minted/ manufactured. If the factory produces a card with off centering, that's fine to me, as that's the minted condition of the card out the factory line. I just don't like damage/ wear on the cards. PSA doesn't have their version of Pristine 10. CGC Pristine 10's are just a harder grade than a PSA 10. The reality is, no one wants a junk slab or low grade card, unless its an exceptionally rare card. PSA has more lawsuits from clients than any other grading company. I could be wrong about this, but it's my understanding that the higher the value of the card you grade with PSA, also increases the amount you pay them.

[@orionsires]

You have a TON of great points and they only help educate me better on what collectors want and how they feel. I actually think I might regret selling my slabs some day but I can always do it again. I really enjoyed reading your comment and truly hope it finds others looking to buy into cgc grading. I think you’ve even made me rethink things actually now. I wasn’t aware about the issues people have with psa but when you’ve got millions of subs piling up it’s kind of understandable right ? Either way I loved reading this comment and yes you are right the more expensive the card the more expensive the grade. But you can slip cards through bulk a lot of times seems to work well for folks. Thanks for watching and happy holidays!😎🙏🏼

[@JediMasterT]

The higher the value after grading the more you pay is true for both PSA and CGC

[@Dinosaur_Doggo]

@@JediMasterTUh no. CGC does not upcharge you for sending them High value items in bulk submissions. Got several of my 1st Ed Vintage zards in 10 and they didnt charge me an extra penny more.

[@TheFunSheet]

@@Dinosaur_Doggowhen do you guess Cgc will grade boosters? If at all?

[@naturesepyon]

@orionsires CGC isn't perfect, as a collector, I wish they labeled the base set thin & thick stamps. Which they don't currently do, but they do label the grey stamps and ghost stamp pikachu. Which is a bit of an inconsistency on their end. I'd also like to see swirl count added to cosmo foil labels. As grading continues to improves and companies find ways of removing human error from the grading process. We'll likely see changes across all the companies and specialization in certain brands of trading cards. I strongly believe eventually the most consistent company will emerge to be the most successful using a system of scans to verify authenticity and AI to judge condition. I think grading a fake card will become reputation and company crushing in the future especially with more and more expensive cards and prolific/ famous people getting involved.

[@Doors067]

I use sgc my local shop compares the value to cgc and it hurts because i feel SGC is far superior

[@orionsires]

I’ve been curious about SGC the slabs look good with the foam insert protecting the card if it bounces around. At the end of the day as long as the card is clean that’s all that matters right? Great comment and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@James-dt1kl]

Theres going to be a big shift over the next 5 - 10 years where a CGC GemMint 10 will = PSA 10 A Prisitine 10 will truly rival the BGS Black Label also. For now the sheep will continue paying to 2x-4x mark up a PSA 10 commands over a CGC GM10 . Vintage PSA 10's will be hit where most early PSA 10's would struggle to hit a 9 these days (looking at you 0XXXXXXX to 4XXXXXXX cert 1st Ed Charizard!!) I know many who are buying CGC 10's over PSA's as they are the same in all but price.

[@orionsires]

Yeah hey I still love CGC slabs just didn’t have the best experience grading with CGC in the past and will probably try them again soon. 😎🔥

[@fourcolorinvestments8378]

A CGC Pristine 10 will never equate to a BGS 10 black label.

[@Normm24]

Not a CGC fan. If I’m honest with myself. I’d say mainly the resale value. Along with they are not consistent as I think they should be. To me the case and label are more attractive though.

[@orionsires]

I think many can agree with this point. Thanks for the input and watching my stuff! 😎🙏🏼

[@SDCISHERE]

Amazing

[@orionsires]

Just like all your comments 😎

[@SDCISHERE]

@@orionsires❤ Man U are are kedge Eng ❤ledgers legend 😂

[@paulwilliams2024]

I wish coconut did change the labels

[@orionsires]

CGC ? I think your phone autocorrected but honestly I should start a new grading company called Coconut Grading 😂 might even become a hit! Or an inside joke at the least right 😎

[@paulwilliams2024]

@@orionsires whoop yea autocorrect sorry about that

[@WatermelonWizard]

I disagree with non Black-Label (10’s & under) from BGS > CGC. I would bid higher on CGC 8-9 rather than BGS 8-9. Same with the lower grades.

[@orionsires]

Interesting thanks for the input as I see more comments I see that folks really seem to have taken a liking to CGC. These comments help me better gauge how folks like the company/slabs. 😎

[@RalphNation704]

I open 2-3 etb/boosters and buy singles on the rest . Completing a set is a great accomplish meant . Just never cared for it

[@orionsires]

That’s a good way to go about it 😎

[@BavarianPokeWorld]

I only use CGC for Error cards.

[@orionsires]

I did forget to mention CGC is on top of the card error game great comment and happy holidays! 😎

[@pokeohtcg]

Idk about that anymore, CGC said errors are disqualified from obtaining the new gold label. I'm waiting for their response on wtf they mean.

[@Dinosaur_Doggo]

Do you even know that for Modern cards, CGC Pristine Gold Label consistently sold at 150-200% prices of PSA 10s of the same cards? Yes it’s harder to get the Pristine 10 than the common “participation trophy” PSA 10. But PSA 10 is the premium of PSA, while with CGC you could potentially get more value with their Premium. This phenomena is only for modern cards, ultra modern ones. 151, van Gogh, etc. For vintage psa is still better, but at the same time they are pop controlling their vintage real hard, it wont be possible to get a 10 if you send them vintage nowadays. Oh and about CGC submission going down, seems like absolute hogwash. As people already mentioned. They are jam-packed right now. Turnovers are slower than ever. And their pop reports increases massively.

[@orionsires]

Hey I can appreciate any information from others maybe I’m not getting the full picture with CGC but so far. That is an interesting point about modern being great with CGC as opposed to PSA for vintage. I definitely believe they are pop controlling at psa though. CGC with its lower pricing could and SHOULD pass psa eventually in subs if they maintain a low cost alternative. Only time can tell. Great comment and thanks for watching and giving your input. Also happy holidays fam! 😎🙏🏼

[@zachexum4203]

CGC is kinda all over the place in my experience. I’ve seen 9.5s that look like 8’s and 9’s such as yours that look like 10’s. Makes no sense, guess that can be said for any grading company.

[@orionsires]

Yeah I didn’t feel great about my submission but maybe I just need to be way pickier moving forward with what I grade. Great comment and thanks for watching !! 😎🙏🏼

[@bryanmarcia4104]

PSA is just as bad. I submitted a card and got an 8 and cracked it open and resubmitted and got a 10😂😂😂

[@4yourEyEzs]

That charzar is a 9.5 they did you wrong bro

[@orionsires]

Yeeeeh 😂

[@austinreed.]

PSA is King and 151 is King. You should crack those WOTC CGC and submit to BGS or PSA

[@orionsires]

Eh I’m just gonna sell them, BUT what’s interesting is I feel like psa mid grades would have sold way faster. I’ve never seen a charizard card of mine sit for sale this long. I swear it’s because it’s CGC. Lol 😂

[@austinreed.]

@orionsires Yeah man talk about a company self destructing. They were actually doing well before they decided to remove half grades and change up from the blue labels. I honestly think it's the labels that male them unattractive. Black and white, boring.

[@AIexanderJ]

I have a charzard card I got in a plastic slip 25 years ago. I wanted to sell it but needed to get it graded. I tried going to the cgc whatever website and It was more complicated than filing your own taxes straight through the irs. Ive given up on selling it. It was the real original charzard that you showed at the beginning. But I'm watching these videos to find out if I should give up.

[@orionsires]

Just sell it without being graded on ebay? They’ll authenticate it. 😎🙏🏼

[@AIexanderJ]

@orionsires I remember getting it 25 years ago or so I got it for a hundred bucks.. and I've seen thoes cards go on ebay from 40 to 3k... I've never sold anything on ebay and I'm in a bind, it would suck to find out it was a 2 or 3 thousand dollar card I sold for 40 bucks. I wish I knew more people like you personally I could turn to and ask for help

[@AIexanderJ]

@@orionsires Ebay itself will authenticate it? How?

[@tripxez8478]

I dont sell my cards so i use a noname company just so i can slab them up. And maybe one day someone will buy if i decide to sell

[@orionsires]

Totally understand I almost did that when I first got back into collecting and at the end of the day I really just wanted cards graded for the protection display aspect but for reselling the company label definitely makes a difference. Regardless thanks for watching and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@JustAverageJeff]

CGC is scummy I won't touch them with a 10ft pole because they are working with Sean Bassik the owner of Omega Mystery Boxes and just this last year they graded over 200,000 cards with CGC and over 90% of thewm aren't even worth the $35 that their mystery pack costs.

[@orionsires]

Interesting this is news to me. Thanks for the information I’ll have to double check this but that’s not a good thing for your business to be associated with mystery boxes in general. I mean mystery boxes are an entirely different topic but thanks for the heads up. I understand why you’d feel that way about CGC. I still like the slabs and the labels aren’t terrible I just need more consistency from them. Hopefully they stay the same over next few years. Thanks for watching and happy holidays ! 😎🙏🏼

[@JustAverageJeff]

Rattle has a bunch of videos on it@@orionsires

[@Greeey]

Absolute conflict of interest for the owner of a mystery box company to be working with a grading company directly. Sounds very shady

[@JustAverageJeff]

Totally and SB went around a couple months before CGC got rid of subgrades and went around and bought thousands of 9.5's and then upgraded them to 10's after the change sounds like insider trading to me Nostalgia Nomics just hosted SB on one his lives I would be weary of anyone associating with SB@@Greeey

[@freshkingwhybeaprince3646]

I personally love cgc! There slabs are so much nicer and feel way better. Cgc all day !

[@orionsires]

Hey that’s great, nothing wrong with other players in the market 😎

[@pokeohtcg]

I can't sell the new CGC slabs for shit! And PSA turnarounds are now faster than CGC. We all know PSA 10s aren't legit, but they come back at a faster higher rate, and they sell for a big premium. There is no argument when it comes to $$$

[@orionsires]

Thanks for the comment and perspective! Psa turn around is faster ? Maybe things have slowed enough for that to be the case. Psa 10’s aren’t legit but the premium is great. Sometimes they get pretty close to perfection. Thanks for watching and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@Axe_z33]

Psa for wizards , CGC and Beckett for everything else

[@orionsires]

Ok I see you vintage psa basically 😎

[@RogersLawnCare]

CGC wouldn’t be so hard to sell if so many people didn’t dog them. Their cases are so much better made than psa. They look cleaner to me also. Psa messes up and makes just as many mistakes as CGC they are the same in my book. I actually prefer CGC just because of how nice their cases look.

[@orionsires]

No that’s not too far off, they definitely get a bad reputation but I agree the casings are better quality and maybe they’ll upgrade their labels at some point while staying consistent with their case style. Consistency is really important in the terms of CGC being more adopted. Thanks for sharing and happy holidays fam 😎

[@THECHIMPLIFE]

reality of grading is its a scam! fact!

[@orionsires]

Well I think it’s very subjective but to call it a scam is a bit misleading- I do think it’s got quite out of control money wise but sports cards have grading why not Pokémon cards being valued for hundreds of thousands? Seems just as popular and without grading it’s very hard to trust photos or raw listings in general. But thanks for watching and happy holidays! 😎🙏🏼

[@Manlet420]

Here are my "hot takes", I think PSA is just too established to not be the GOAT of slabs. BGS lowkey looks/feels the nicest but owning anything under a BGS 8 makes 0 sense and CGC is kinda Walmart of grading. Quick turnaround, low price, low(er) sales but still rivals the big dogs. And AGS is a big LOOOOOL of a company. Overall CGC seems like good slabs to churn and burn through lower end cards to more casual buyers.

[@orionsires]

That’s a pretty good take and I’d say I agree with most of it, I could see having cgc in my collection but they need to either stay consistent or change their design again and get it just right. Anyways great comment and thanks for watching! Happy holidays 😎🙏🏼

[@jpidgey]

Vintage cards have more value with PSA. However with modern, and this isn’t just my opinion, listen to TCA or Ketchumallcollectibles, the CGC Pristine 10 is way more desired and fetches a higher price. The population for psa 10s for some of these modern cards are way too high. The issue is, if you don’t get a pristine that’s where the value tanks.

[@orionsires]

Ahhh thank you for the input and I definitely value TCA and Ketchums opinions. It seems like this is the case. Vintage psa still holds the crown, but ultra modern black labels are becoming the move if you know the card is perfect. Great comment thanks for the info. Happy holidays and thanks for watching! I figured this would be a good topic. Maybe my problem is that I submitted a lot of OK cards. Next time might try to send cards for that black label. 😎🙏🏼

[@jpidgey]

Thanks for the response! I definitely enjoy watching and listening to your content. Keep up the great work!