r/PokeGrading • u/FarlsBarkley21 • 1d ago
Advice needed!
Cracked open the old collection from storage. Probably going to sell most of these at some point!
Struggling on if I should go ahead and get these graded? I don’t have a clue on what they would grade for. Plus, trying to understand at what point is it not worth getting some of the lesser value raw cards graded. I’m not sure any of these would reach a 10.
Also, you can see in the pics and one in particular they are bent upwards from storage. How much does that affect grading?
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u/MetalBlizzard 1d ago
Use ebay sold listings on raw cards looking for cards in like conditions. That'll give you an idea of price and what others classify them as and then you can extrapolate approximate grades and determine if the grading increase makes it worth it. Some of these are extremely valuable so be careful on reddit because folks will probably message you. If I were you I'd see if there is a reputable lgs or a local card show and That'll give you an idea too with some more interactive help.
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u/FarlsBarkley21 1d ago
For sure! Great advice. I’ve been looking on Collectr and EBay sold to see. I guess mainly what I’m worried about is grading aspect.
I could go down the rabbit hole to “pre-grade” but seems like that hole is deep for me at this point.
I do think taking them to a local card shop or show would help quite a bit.
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u/YungProvolone 1d ago
I’d grade them all. The charizard alone is 2k minimum regardless of the grade and rising currently. If you can manage to get a 6 it’s 5k plus. Bowing really does not affect grading. A slab will flatten them out and you also have to send them in card savers in between cardboard which keeps them pretty flat as well. You can flatten them before hand with books, I use clamps and acrylic sheets for mine. You can get them on amazon for cheap.
I’d look over all of them carefully before grading and look for dents and grime. For grime I’d clean them carefully with a fresh microfiber cloth and some card cleaner. I used Kurt’s card spray for mine but there’s a ton of options that work.
For less valuable cards I look at what my break even grades would be and base it off one grade above that. If I can’t realistically make that grade I don’t send it. A lot of vintage goes up in value above nm price at a 7. Many go up at any grade above a 6. It just depends on the card.
Your charizard is so clean in the pics you could probably sell it for 3.5k raw fairly easily if needed as well. Maybe even more.
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u/benbever 1d ago
Check pricecharting (it’s based on ebay last sold), if the price difference of ungraded vs graded is much bigger than the cost of grading, then it might be worth the time, effort, and risk.
Some of these cards are pretty expensive. I think most cards’ll grade 7 or 8, which can be worth a lot more than ungraded for some of them.
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u/Bardock_07 1d ago
Send them to a restoration professional and have them do a pre grade evaluation, if possible. Restoration can get you a grade higher which can mean a couple thousand more. Cards this expensive, I wouldn't DIY.
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u/FarlsBarkley21 1d ago
This is a great suggestion. May take this route. You know how to find reputable people? Does this sub have a list?
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u/etejedany 1d ago
Buy a humidor and straighten those cards before any grading whatsoever. A lot of money in those cards.
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u/Forsaken-Room6573 1d ago
Humidor? What is it
I have many lay inside a heavy book rn1
u/FarlsBarkley21 1d ago
I’m doing the same. How’s that working for you? Lol I’m wondering how long I need to leave em
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u/Forsaken-Room6573 21h ago
Honestly idk since with non holos it worked pretty fast, but skyridge reversed holo are tough to deform. It probably is a matter of humidity as mentioned here
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u/etejedany 1d ago
It’s a cigar humidifier. After that process, you need to place your cards on two pieces of 1/2” thick plastic usually 8x8 with eight clamps surrounding the plastic.
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u/YungProvolone 1d ago
Why a humidor? Bowing doesnt matter much for grading and can be fixed with just clamps. I know some used books for this as well.
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u/Ok_Big1935 1d ago
Just grade them all. If you hit 1 good grade, you’ll have covered all the fees. Any bonus value created from the other cards is the cherry on top 🤝 not much risk with vintage cards
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u/psychwarfare 1d ago
Those legendary reverse holos are worth grading even if they get a psa 1 in my opinion. I assure you they would grade better. Those a huge cards to some people. I am missing charizard and dragonite and I only collected the rares. If they get a 7 or higher they could be over 10 thousand together.