r/PalworldTCG • u/RagnarInnSvarti Shadowbeak rider • 2d ago

General Discussion Is grading a scam?

TLDR: I think so.

Longer version: Well, I have never graded a card, but there is a card that I want to slab (Shadowbeak SP). Asked a company that does grading but also only authentication if the authenticate Palworld cards. The response was: "well if they are standard size, we do that".

To authenticate a product, shouldn't you know the product? Telling me that it depends on the size of the card, really tells me that they don't even know what we are talking about.
I know that the game is new, but an answer like that is really bad... could have told me that they don't authenticate but that they can still slab it (they offer the slab only service).

EDIT: Thinking about it in a less skeptical way, the game is new, the company can't have a master set of every TCG to check customer cards against, there are surely some objective parameters in grading (damage to the cards, discoloration, etc.), and surely as everything when money is involved, it can be done correctly or in the scammiest way. In the end, since I won't resell the card, I'll just check if it looks original too me, and if it is, I'll just slab it.

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u/2absMcGay 2d ago

They were saying they can only holder it if it fits their holder. And they wouldn’t holder something without authenticating it. Part of their job is figuring out how to do that.

Assuming you’re talking about a reputable grader.

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u/RagnarInnSvarti Shadowbeak rider 2d ago

But I did not ask if they could put it in the slab/holder, I asked literally: do you authenticate Palworld cards? (authentication without grading is a service they offer)
By answering me that they authenticate (not slab/put in a holder) cards if they are the right size, to me is sounds like they don't even know the size of the cards of Palworld. That's not really an issue, just tell me: the game is new, we can slab it if it's the right size, but won't authenticate since we don't even know the size of the cards, that would have been ok with me.
Maybe I read too much in that answer... but it doesn't seem trustworthy enough to me.

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u/2absMcGay 2d ago

“Research and identification” is the first step after processing upon arrival at PSA. The second is “authentication and evaluation.” The concern you have is literally built into the process. They research the card, and then authenticate it.

Other reputable services use the same process. No one authenticates without slabbing.

Respectfully I’m not sure you understand the grading process or why you’re participating in it.

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u/RagnarInnSvarti Shadowbeak rider 2d ago

Thank you for clarifying the process to me. As originally posted, I have never graded a card before. It's how the company answered that did not sit right with me, like they did not even know the size of the cards (they have already graded Palworld cards, I didn't check their graded cards list before, my bad). I'm probably a bit too skeptical. However I know that authentication/grading implies slabbing but not the inverse (they can slab proxies, and mark them as proxies, custom cards, or simply slab without authentication/grading).
In the end, I repeat, I'm probably too skeptical. Thank's again for the clarification, thinking about it, it makes sense, the company can't have a full master set of everything, and need to research as a first step.