To Grade or Not to Grade? The Process I Use To Determine if I Should Send a Card in to PSA

BASEBALL CARD COLLECTOR INVESTOR DEALER (in that order)
w/ Chris Sewall
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baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards, soccer cards, t206 Honus Wagner, 1952 topps mickey mantle, 1954 topps hank aaron, 1951 bowman willie mays, 1968 Nolan Ryan, 1933 goudey babe ruth, 1989 upper deck Ken Griffey Jr, 1986 fleer michael jordan, 1965 Joe Namath, 1957 Bill Russell, 1951 Bowman Willie Mays, 1961 Fleer, 2003 exquisite, 2003 topps chrome refractor LeBron James, 1980 topps Rickey Henderson, t205 Ty Cobb, 2000 Tom Brady, National Treasures, 2012 panini prizm, silver prizm, panini flawless, PSA, Beckett, BGS, BVG, SGC, GMA, HGA, CSG, BCCG, pop report, GEM MINT 10, Goldin auction, Heritage auction, Robert Edwards Auctions, Pwcc, probstein123, COMC, starstock, card ladder, bowman chrome xfractor, Rookie card, rookie patch autograph, RPA, donruss optic holo, fleer ultra, blazer division, RC

[@scratchthrift3370]

Would love to see a vintage version of this. As I get back into the hobby I am trying to do this better but so far have not done well determining what to send

[@mackymintle7806]

If only EVERYONE in the hobby operated like this! Think of how much faster, snd how much cheaper getting a card graded!

[@gridironstars]

Yes! Would love to see more permutations of this. Been in the hobby for 40+ years and have never submitted for grading but have the urge, this helps!

[@jakestoe]

I'm in the same boat. I have a few cards that I think have a shot at a 10 and could be worth a few thousand if so but I just can't pull the trigger on sending them in fear of something happening to them in the process. I've never sent any card to be graded either.

[@hipdave1427]

@Nashcards

[@ksteege120]

Same here, I'm looking more at whether vintage cards that get a 6 or 7 might be worth it...

[@stevenherschkowitz2591]

Nice, informative video. Thanks! Yes, it would be great to see further examples, especially a handful of examples from a few older decades and star levels. For example, 1930s, 1950s and 1970s for both a superstar and a minor star. I would assume for some of the more valuable cards, one needs to somehow factor in the value of the card simply being authenticated. For cards for which there are known forgeries, I am guessing that you might virtually always want the card graded, but would love to hear your thoughts and opinions

[@sportscardfactory]

Yes vintage would be interesting because I'm personally in that stage of exploring and collecting vintage and determining authentic vs. counterfeit.... ultra-modern might be interesting on a prospect level of factoring in forecasting within the volatility side of it

[@mdmccullough76]

Yes I would love to see more of these examples! Awesome video

[@Warbler97]

This was very interesting. I think a video with vintage cards as the examples would be a cool follow-up. Might be nice to hear which grading companies you consider based on the condition and resale value of the card, too.

[@gabriels1163]

If resale value is the only thing that matters then PSA is the choice. They are worse in every other way compared to the other big companies, but they have the highest resale value.

[@GaryAa56]

It's only because they have corned the market on grading, which, by the way, is illegal in business if you think about it.

[@tmo8284]

I agree Chris that Kobe 96 E-X2000 Rookie card is way better looking and rarer than his Topps Chrome. Also no greening issues like many of his Chrome cards.

[@rgmiller]

I'm actually going through this process right now - thanks for the insight!

[@philly_joe3705]

Thanks! Educational and the template can be used for all grading companies. People just need to be honest with themselves when estimating grade and value's being assigned. The 3 tier grade model is perfect. Would like to see vintage and/or non-sports cards.

[@phillipwhitejr8980]

Thank for taking the time to break this process down. I’ve been wanting to send cards off but not knowing do I or not. This was a big help.🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@BenFoxRubin]

Super helpful, very informative. Thanks for this video. Would love to see more

[@scottfiscus1431]

Awesome stuff. Please do another one for vintage. Thanks.

[@kyleb350]

Helpful video! Good point on the new rookie volatility.

[@Sqwack27]

Cool and informative video, Chris. Great way of looking at the big picture!

[@DanielMartinez-nv5gb]

Quality content on your channel that’s why I’m subscribed. Much better than following these other guys walk around card shows just fist bumping the whole time. Thank you Chris!

[@chaszrainsford]

Thanks man, I'm new to this grading racket - this explained alot!

[@jbru223]

Really liked this video. I would love more comparisons in the future.

[@robertdasilva9346]

Thank you Chris, I love how you take the time to help educate us about things involving the hobby. I agree with the others who suggested doing a video with vintage cards.

[@reallygraycards7139]

Thanks Chris! I don’t see nearly as much “grading volatility” in modern and ultra-modern. I do, however, find my best guess is often off on vintage. With your wealth of experience would love to see this on pre-junk.

[@twobentstaplescomics6522]

Great breakdown Chris. I’m more of a comic book guy, but when evaluating books to submit for grading, the same rules apply. Excellent assessment.

[@kfordham281]

I would like to see some vintage examples. A bit self serving as I have a handful of 1961 Fleer basketball cards I’m considering to send to PSA but wondering if it’s worth sending or just buying them already graded. I’m working on a mid-grade set for the PSA registry.

[@mccards]

Excellent. Yes make this a series. Also Ive been wanting you to breakdown how you organize your cards.

[@matthewelliott2213]

Loved this episode. Perfect explanation of why to grade the Buster and not grade the Kobe--sounds counterintuitive, but made perfect sense for your example cards.

[@garyw.9628]

Chris, you are a gem ! Great videos, great speaking style, honest and considerate of others.

[@swampdonkeyoffgrid190]

Interesting and appreciated. Mostly a collector but still like to pursue quality and value. I think in this day and age we all need to learn more about pregrading. Definately worth more conversation.

[@brixico1404]

Really enjoyed this video and hearing your thought process.

[@Ruouiji]

I have the 1986 Jerry Rice rookie, I don't want to grade it, I want to sell it raw for top dollar! Great video!

[@RParmable]

Thanks this helped quantify what deserves being graded very well . Thanks Chris- more like this please. 👍

[@stevef]

Loved this. Yes, please do vintage. I collect 40’s and 50’s. Building sets with PSA.

[@thay4794]

Could you do a video on PSA's grading level tiers? Found that super confusing. Like under $200 or over $1k prices. It's not $30 if your cards worth thousands but its up to us to correctly assess it when submitting?

[@dustinandrews7409]

Please do more. That was a very informative video

[@davewebbtheauthor]

Thanks for this analysis and demonstration. I recently found over a thousand of my old cards that were preserved in plastic for decades and while looking into their value have been appalled that you need to pay so much to get cards graded. The PSA prices are outrageous and not worth it in my opinion because there is no guarantee that you even sell the card after it's been given a score. I was excited to find these old crisp-looking cards with 4 sharp edges, but now not so much since the values I think they're worth are based on the PSA scores and I refuse to pay for that.

[@matthew1072a]

Awesome sauce! Would love to see some vintage!

[@adamlee1562]

Great video Chris! Ya, some ultra rare stuff would be good to show your decision making process. Ie, last one sold was 3 years ago, or very low numbered cards of stars with no sales, etc

[@Bosche7272]

I’ve always enjoyed your content and appreciate the questions of mine you’ve answered. However, I’m going to need more content. A video per day should do it.

[@rj-vj8gr]

interested Christopher love to c more like this. especially vintage

[@JZ1968JZ]

Agree that the video is informative. One issue with the first example is that selling costs are not factored in. If you add selling costs (assume 15% of the $30 difference), that is an additional $4.50, so you would lose $7.50 in the card's total valuation. Another way to look at it is 85% net x $42 = $35.70; subtracting the PSA grading fee gives $2.70 net income for the card. Or the alternative, 85% net x $12 = $10.20 net income without the PSA grading fee. Adding this step would help provide insight into the profit or loss decision to send the card.

[@lucabrasisleepswiththefish77]

Many questions answered, Chris. Thank you. What I would like to know is related to storage. Aside from complete sets, if you have multi-thousands of slabbed cards in multiple boxes. What are your deciding categories to store, sort (and retrieve) a certain card from a certain box? That would be a great help w/my archives.

[@WanderingWeekends]

I’d love to see a vintage example. I have several hand me downs… probably wouldn’t ever sell them but could make it easier for my kids to if they were graded. Regardless of their grade.

[@BobMarley-ol6xt]

I learned the hard way sending in cards with long waits Sometimes better to sell raw

[@888strummer]

Terrific video and would love to see some vintage of players like Mays or Aaron. For anyone starting out selling; this is a super helpful video

[@prestonporter7866]

Very cool video concept. If you make them, I’ll watch them.

[@kimberlymccarthy8441]

Great info/stats ⚡ any advice is very appreciated, tks, looking forward to more videos ❣️✌️

[@rlsfrny]

I would love to see this kind of piece about vintage. Something about a big star card, a hi# common and a lesser HoF. Thanks, Chris

[@joshthompson8747]

Definitely need more of these,❤️💯

[@jrodjdcollectibles5930]

Yes Chris, do more of these. Do vintage next! Then maybe another vid on ultra modern. Thanks

[@whitesoxfancardcollector]

A vintage episode would be great.

[@petert4738]

Yes please make more

[@RockfromPhilly]

Great video. Can't wait for another. Ultra Modern would be interesting to anyone who has invested in these cards.

[@tonyhamilton9764]

I like your outline of how to determine this. I wish the new to the hobby speculators would stop sending garbage to PSA. I won't mention the player that I PC, but he's a local star, not a big name nationally and I recently saw a glut of his very recent Topps Holiday rookie slabs hit ebay. You can't take a dollar card (at best) and slab it and then tell me it's a $30 card. Grading is a mess right now.

[@NathanBairdIndyStar]

Fantastic work. Please do more of these occasionally.

[@edgerushcards7590]

Would love to see a few more choices from that 2010 year. Give or take a year.

[@otisthebeef3142]

Loved this concept. Please do some more like this!

[@zengarden8592]

Thank you for the information on that. Very detailed info. Helps alot to know how it really does benefit you in the long run

[@dsg148]

I'd probably add one more quick calculation that probability weights the value of the card to understand at what % chance of a 10 (or whatever your highest grade estimate is) is it worth sending in the card. For example, you set your desired return on investment, and you know what the sale prices are at 8/9/10 and you give a range of probabilities of grading at each level and goal seek your probability weighted return to match your desired ROI. Then if the chances of getting the highest grade are too unbelievable, you can feel confident in not sending in the card. Really just puts more structure and data around your intuition. I wouldn't rely on something like this standalone, but it could help in your decision making process, and could help you to spot the ones where a calculated risk is worth taking (though those spots should be kind of obvious where there's a step function chance in value between your middle and high grades, like going 9 to 10).

[@lowrollerscratcher3563]

If you own Kobe Bryant rookie cards. Since the cards is free. You should consider psa grading for 30 bucks. You will still make big profit on psa 7 or 8

[@richardbianco9674]

Counterintuitive to reselling but if you had a longer term mindset, having the Kobe graded wouldn't be a disaster either. Short term you are completely right. If holding for say 2 years or more ( say as in a pc for now and eyeing to resell on the future). The value in that one will most likely "catch up" plus you eliminate the risk of any further dings/ damage sitting raw.

[@joelrooks389]

I would love more videos like this with vintage cards.

[@JeffreyStrain]

Really enjoyed this video and would love to see more in the future. I also think you need to do videos where you pull a random box from behind (in your video background) you and go through the cards that are in it while giving the reasoning of what you plan to do with them.

[@Krysdavar]

Don't forget about that annual "fee" ($100) you have to pay PSA, to be a "subscriber" to even be able to purchase their service!

[@davidthompson62]

Great top that only the top 20%_30% of seller understand themselves! Keep it up, we need your help!

[@urban420cards]

My fav Kobe rookie. I have a PSA 8. Got it during his low years during allegations and always wanted a major catd from this set. And I came off. Hope you get an 8. I'm so happy to have one and I made an upside because I paid $40.

[@Cards-In-The-Closet]

I would love to see how you would decide on vintage football. Thanks!

[@davidbobo9740]

Thanks for the course . I'm wondering if I should grade my cards. I have 70's and 80's in every condition.

[@tx_cardshark]

Really like this video . More if these for sure. Vintage baseball maybe some 80’s football . Thanks it helps to do the research and it’s hard to comp when I send my cards to SGC because they are limited in sales

[@johnherb1508]

Thanks for sharing your thought process, Chris. Good info.

[@247willg]

Another great video Chris, good job on creating new content,, never seen any video like yours, 👍

[@psychokittytv4530]

This was a great video, and I would be happy to see more like this. Especially since they are actually your cards, and you're actually thinking of grading them. I found this video very interesting. Thanks!

[@rick43]

Great video and would love to see more. Thanks Chris.

[@joeym2675]

Nice video! Very Informative! And definitely Enjoy seeing your take on what and what not to grade! Definitely would like to see more! I think it would make great content for videos with a lot of the cards you send to grade depending on if it’s worth your time! It’ll definitely get views! Just because I think a lot of us like seeing into your thoughts as a seller or collector! And even the quick flips!

[@mitchmitchellsports]

I would be interested in expanding this topic to vintage and rare cards.

[@tdsportscards]

Great video...that is exactly how I figure out if I'm gonna grade something...I also figure in how many are listed for sale...if I see 5 sold and 50 more listed then I figure in supply and demand also unless I determine it has a solid chance at a 10 then it'll be going either way

[@luthravin4774]

That was an awesome video lesson Chris!! Thanks I really understand more because of it.. outstanding!!

[@brianfast7799]

I would love to see more of this type of video content. I am just getting back into the hobby, and have quite a few baseball and some basketball from the 70s. Need to consider whether to send any of what I have off to grade, I guess just more examples of the difference between what flaws would result in a 7, versus and 8 or 9, for example. Thanks for all your videos, I am really enjoying them and learning a lot.

[@fun-kingsports8376]

Would be interesting to see this formula on some 2019-2020 cards of the 3 major sports. Seems like baseball rookies in that era need to pull a 10 to even consider grading. Even if they have been playing well. Thanks for the vid!

[@murrayscott3513]

I would like to see more videos like this. Cheers!

[@randyburnett2941]

yes could you do some more videos like this

[@jaakkopeltola1677]

Thank you Chris!

[@BobsSportsCards]

Really like this video. Would love to see more. Thanks Chris

[@thrillofthehunt7080]

That's what I do. Isn't super difficult. It just sucks when it comes back and you know it's wrong. Or, in the case of a really rare card I had that I examined like crazy under magnification, it came back marked altered with three tiny surface wrinkles right where a grader's thumb would have been from taking the card out of the case and that you are 100% positive were not there when you sent it in lol.

[@Gatesmasher01]

Always enjoy your time and your knowledge.

[@mackymintle7806]

8:35. This fact is why I am waiting for a future, where a less prone to bias method becomes the standard. I’m a vintage ( pre-1970) collector 95% of the time, and through the years, I’ve seen and handled 10’s of thousands of slabbed cards. It’s not uncommon to find a cards that are 2+ grades of deviation from another identical card.

[@marciamolumby8935]

I agree with you

[@bobo44donemilking51]

Especially with psa

[@Tupiaz]

Would like more videos like this.

[@seamhead23]

Please do more!!

[@briantaylor910]

First think I check is population report. Not grading a card with a high population, would sell raw.

[@shawnq9658]

Really good video my friend.I recently just started collecting a kid and now as an adult Ive been curious about the whole grading sustem,how much the fees are,etc so this vid was very educational.Plus I have several friends that are curious as well and Ill be sharing this with them.Also,one of those friends has several Kobe rookies and cards and I believe he may have the one you used in this vid

[@spic0li]

To Grade Or Not To Grade Our 4 Fathers....COMC is great if you don't have an eBay selling account going. Literally all cards are speculated at an average grade of 8 straight out of the pack, 9s & 10s are cards that present a flawless quality above & beyond what's common for average pack condition cards. We also now have PSA politics with them being all high & mighty so more reluctant to give maybe a 9 or 10 even if the card deserves it. Hopefully Kobe guy from 2weeks ago takes a look at this Kobe Chris just assessed & maybe learns something....🙄 Great Vid would be nice to see you do a few examples as well with some T206's to understand a 3 or a 4 is much more knowledge information they redundant modern 8s,9s&10s

[@kenkluge9473]

Great vid. Lot's of good information 🇺🇲🇺🇲⚾⚾

[@sportscarddealfinder]

Great video, as always Chris! I haven't sent to PSA yet - just HGA and SGC. HGA was awful (like 60 days late) and their grades were REALLY tough. SGC were much closer to what I thought the cards would grade, w/ just 1 outlier (I thought at worst a 9.5 and it was a 9). But I have a few higher end cards I may send into PSA.

[@collectorinvestordealer]

Good luck if you decide to go for it!

[@chrisk2209]

Great video master Jedi! Thanks for all your content

[@bigskyupcycling2646]

Hi Chris. Yes, please make more of these videos...Really interesting for the average collector. I sent you an email about grading one-of-ones...would love to know your thoughts on grading something that doesn't have any "comps." Thanks for the great content. Cheers!

[@smithchrisfivestar]

Chris, can you expand on how your formula changes if looking at slabbing something for your pc?

[@honson7]

I would love to see more videos like this one!

[@PushnButtons62]

REALLY enjoyed this very helpful video! Thanks Chris!

[@RichardRennes]

I`m sure people would like to see one for vintage/rare cards. Probably not so much on ultra modern, as the same thought process can basically be used from the Buster card for ultra modern. And don`t forget everyone, EAT YOUR VEGGIES!! 😋😋

[@htsports3232]

Great video! Love the content

[@jcrim999]

great video - would love to see more on this

[@MSUCollector]

More with vintage!!

[@toddbaptista4027]

Yes to more examples!