The whole “check the sellers other inventory to determine if they grade frequently” is SUCH a great tip. I’ve had success with that and it was always one of those “ace up my sleeve” tactics that I wondered if others did. Dropping knowledge!
I'm so glad it was helpful, thank you for the kind words! Hey, I'm still learning too just trying to share what I'm learning along the way, thanks for watching
One gem rate watch-out: Make sure the demand is high. High Gem Rates = High Gem Populations = Lowered Scarcity = Value Dipping over time. The only thing that helps mitigate this is consistently high demand.
Fun video, one thing I would disagree with is the point on cards in the $5-$10 range not being good for grading. I believe they are great candidates to send in and that is mostly the range I work in. Such great opportunities to gem and make a nice profit. Another tip like the HFA comment is to not wishcast a 10 on a card or cards as you prep them no matter how much you spent on the raw. I've had that problem where I spend up on a card and it realistically is a 9 or even an eight but I just hate that I sent the $$ and put the rose color glasses on and send it in anyways. If you're not watching Little Victories channel then he is a must watch, he has been doing raw to grade for decades and has great advice and videos.
One thing about the gem rate that I think people don’t realize is that while it’s a great guide for how a card generally grades, you should discount it/assume a lower gem rate because the longer a card is considered worth grading, the ones that are already graded are on average better condition than the ones still out there. People think that this is PSA getting tougher with grading, and to an extent that may be true, but it’s mostly just more of the best supply is already graded.
I really like your videos. I came across your page yesterday. Love that you are a Seattle fan like me. I’m new new in the hobby, only a few months. I’ll keep watching.
Great video. I think one other thing to consider when grading is the frame. Like clear cut doesn't always look good in some versus others. GMA (10s) look great with black and/or gold cards.
That’s a great point! Sometimes when I have a card where the card color clashes with red PSA label, like something green I’ll send that to SGC because it looks better
Great video. I really like your comments on Home field advantage. You nail it on target your returns as 9s, not 10s. Did you watch Tyler Short video? I think the time you sub the card is important too. You can't just assume that a gemrate is 60% and send 10 old cards expecting six 10s. I can't stand SGC. But very good reason to maybe use them. Thx
Thank you! I appreciate it a lot. And yes, totally agree the older the card is, the more likely you are looking at a card that was cracked out of an 8 or just one that wasn't minty. I didn't really know how to articulate that in the video but yes totally agree its the percentage of cards that have recived 10s, not necessarily the chance of getting a 10.
Thank you!! I’m still trying to figure out what my channel is but I try and most s long video once per month and I make tons of shorts 🤷🏼♂️🫡 thanks for watching!
You know what’s funny is how i started the video I said 6 tips, the 6th was actually prepping and packing cards but I decided to cut it out because was making the video too long. But yes SUPER important
I have found great discounted cards in $5 boxes that are worth a lot more than when they were put in. Some dealers will also offer bulk discounts if you are buying more at one time.
totally! I usually don't have the patience for the value boxes but you can totally pull great cards from there. Especially players that are popping off, it might have been worth $5 when it was put in the box but under the right circumstances could jump up to be a $20 card.
In my case, I do vintage and buy lots. The cost per card is normally, but not always, cheaper per card. I try to find lots that are no worse than EX-MT on average. Once I buy a lot, I look at the cards especially the star cards and go from there.
Yeah it’s completely different too. People will pay as much or more for a 4 with good eye appeal than an off centered 5, for example, that’s never gonna happen in modern.
Yeah, you know I don’t have as much experience with high high end cards but especially PSA has a lot of control because a 10 and 9 are so different in value but not that different in condition
Thinking about grading some cards...could you please break down the $22 fee. PSA has bulk grading discounts $19/card. I assume +$3 for shipping? Appreciate any insight.
Yes that's right! $19 per card. Then they charge you about $2 per card for insured shipping. Then you also have to pay to ship them the cards. Usually about $25 or so.
Regular CGC 10? I would say the PSA 9 value CGC 10 Pristine? I would say the PSA 10 value. Something like that. I like CGC holder. PSA is too costly. I might switch to CGC.
@@DanielsonSportsCards That was originally green. Now they change to black labels. Membership for CGC get 10% to 20% off per item. 20% off is $9.60 per card.
Wouldn’t the gem rate have to do with the # of that card that were sent out. I would assume much more Lawrence’s were graded then fields, hence why he would just naturally have a lower gem rate. Could be totally off the mark tho.
Yeah it actually is. I think grading is going to get harder and harder. Less people will buy PSA 10s and more people will buy raw with intention to grade so I think what we are going to see in the coming year or two is PSA 10s are going to drop 10%-20% in return and raw cards are going to be more expensive. Just me thoughts
@@DanielsonSportsCards I kinda get the premium for a PSA 10 dropping a bit. But my main concern is that a PSA 9 is almost valued as garbage where a raw is the same as a 9. Just crazy to think
@@aceofspades6667 totally. Yeah it’s such a bummer a 9 is such trash. And what’s even funnier to me is we are talking about really tiny differences in card condition lol. I wish the hobby wasn’t to obsessed with condition, like a card in PSA 9 will be $50 but $225 in PSA 10. On like a tiny corner ding of a difference. Wild.
What if you hit an auto and are scared to grade it cuz it has print lines and a scratch came out of the pack like that and it might not even be a 9? I’ve never graded before ever I need some help
100% agree with packs are not guaranteed 10. Pulled a topps chrom x fractor elly. 10 is around 800$ but it has 2 massive print lines. So, I'm only going to get 60$ for it.
Ah that's so frustrating!! Yeah it's a sad reality. It's getting harder and harder too to find these high end cards in good condition raw out in the open market. More and more people are grading their cards
@@rileybrown4740 yeah it basically comes out to that. $18.99 per card is the fee. But then you pay $2/card in shipping and then you also have to pack and ship the cards to them and pay for that shipping yourself, so $22 is a good number to go by
Another way to think is multiples. For instance. Take a 5 card lot of a star player if a PSA 9 goes for 25, but a PSA 10 goes for 75, you need 2 10’s to cover the cost and the 9’s become profit. It is wise to look at the overall submission instead of individual cards. A 50% gem rate on a 50 card order should be profitable. It has been for me, but I pick specific cards.
@@DanielsonSportsCards I do multiple all the time. It is about the overall submission and not individual cards. Just got a 39 card sub back with only 13 10’s but 3 are pop 1 and 1 is a pop 2 of a super hot player, on card RC auto. That one card will more than pay for the submission. Everything lose pure profit. Also look for fandom cards. Just got a PSA 10 on a pop 5 card that sells for $200 RAW
@@johnnyw6467 I haven’t ever owned a 1/1.. in my opinion it’s actually similar to grading any decently valued card… you’d probably break even in a 9 or close to it and lose on an 8 and make a premium on a 10. If you saw anything that indicated it was flawed or damaged and thus risking an 8 I wouldn’t bother. If you had a MASSIVE one of one though that’s like a high 5 figure or 6 figure card I’d just grade that sucker to authenticate it
PSA WILL GRADE BREAKERS CARD ON A CURVE FOR CHEAPER, and quicker turn around. The regular collector will have a 10, and get a 9 just because PSA prefer business from breakers sending them 500 cards a month. Waiting for a class action lawsuit.
Your profit margins do not seem to include expenses/commissions for selling cards. How are you selling cards so you are getting the full retail price? Thanks
Good video gems or bust I don’t care what the 9 goes for example AR prizm silver $150 raw gem $450-$500 and these comments bashing grading your grading the wrong brands 2023 prizm only way to go this year mosiac u will get crushed
Unfortunately it’s a necessary and permanent scam. I hate it as much as the next guy, but it’s pretty much the epitome of “it is what it is” and this emoji 🤷🏻♂️
@chrisrunyon2372, sports cards were big in the 80’ and 90’s then it found itself in a death rattle. It will never make a strong comeback with PSA grading.
That's because you have probably lost a lot of money doing so just to be honest. It's ok, so did I when I first started. I am almost a 6 fig sportscard seller into my 2nd year doing so full time. Really part time because doing something fun isn't work but mainly because if you know how to properly do it you work about 2 to 3hrs a day on the days you want too.
I don't necessarily disagree. I really wish the hobby was just about the card and that the condition didn't matter so much. It's wild to me that the exact same card with a minor flaw will sell for $100, but in a PSA 10 will go for $400
When are people going to wake up and stop using PSA or allowing them to dictate the price market. There are much better and nicer slab grading companies.
Yeah I tried to give some good reasoning as to why it can make sense to use SGC. TBH if price were no issue, SGC slabs look far better in my opinion. Red label doesn't look good with all cards. Black is complementary is anything.
@@DanielsonSportsCards best response ever. the real question is how does anyone take advice from guys who's nips poke through their shirts cause they don't wear an undershirt?
It definity CAN be worthless. Especially when some cards in a PSA 10 are selling less than the cost of grading. However grading the right cards and getting the right grades can be very profitable.
Here's the content I want. I know grading seems arbitrary - and often is. HOWEVER, I'd love to see someone show magnified examples of corners, edges, centering, surface, etc. - and explain why "this one would probably get you a 10 in this category, while THAT one would only get you a 9." I just want to have a better idea of how crisp corners need to be, how crisp edges need to be, how many surface imperfections are too many, etc. No card is perfect, but many get 10s. I want to see visual examples of that sliding scale - with an explanation.
Thanks for the vids! I always thought cards were 10s straight out of the packs and got dinged up afterward. I'm new to the hobby and just started buying blasters and tins. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled a Moritz Seider YG Canvas until I noticed the terrible top cut of the card was all frayed badly. What a disappointment.
Isn’t that a tragedy?? Yeah cards get dinged up from people handling them for sure, but the majority of people take pretty good care of them. They come out of packs donkey condition all the time. 🙄😭
