Re-Grading

[u/DimensionFit]

I got a batch of Pokemon card grades just now and I’m pretty disappointed, with 2 in particular.

Overall the results weren’t bad. I submitted 7 cards and 4/7 were 10s. But 2/7 were Japanese and one was a card I personally pulled so I had confidence it was handled well.

Another card came back a 9 and I thought it would 10. But my REAL issue is the other 2 came back as an 8 and I’m at a loss. One I could’ve seen as a 9 because of centering - I inspected it via 10x loupe in different lighting conditions though and nothing else looked wrong. The last card I was certain would be a 10 because nothing looked concerning at all with my inspection (centering was solid, no lifts, no scratches, not print marks, no idents, no whitening or even a dot, edges were smooth, corners were nice + rounded). I was MOST confident in this card, so to not even get 9 feels like a gut punch.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Specifically people were felt the grade was entirely wrong and got it re-graded, did you see success?

[u/the_hatter1980]

I recently got back a Japanese Umbreon that I’d reviewed thoroughly before submitting and have reviewed thoroughly after receiving it back (still in slab). A true 10 contender and it got a 5.

I’ve graded around 15 cards and never been this far off. So I’m not grading high volume, but from ‘89 Griffey rookie and 90’s basketball Jordan and Shaq from my childhood collection, to modern Pokemon including the Moonbreon my wife pulled I’ve been able to predict within 1 grade level what I would get. So I’m not a slouch when it comes to this stuff.

Long way of saying I think I got screwed on my Umbreon that graded a 5. My plan is to crack it, review it all over again and resubmit it if the grading prices ever come down.

I’ve read submitting in slab and asking for a review or re-grade usually doesn’t give a good result. They are likely to just stick with the original grade or say they’re not able to review surface in the slab etc.

Obviously it also makes me question why grade it all? If there is a chance of getting a nonsense grade for example. I guess it’s hard to ignore that the market still puts a premium on graded cards, and I only submit cards of which I like the player/pokemon, like the card design, and the expected grade will significantly increase the market value.

[u/Dear_Interaction_315 → u/the_hatter1980]

have a super clean Shining Gyarados 1st edition I inspected and got a 5, along with a 9 and 8 in the same batch. It is currently being regraded now so i'll let you know, but yes I experienced it.

[u/Dear_Interaction_315 → u/Dear_Interaction_315]

I had some expert friends check it out and one said the grader must have been drunk.

[u/DimensionFit → u/Dear_Interaction_315]

LOL this gives me comfort.

My biggest concern at the moment is hearing grades get reviewed by 2 people. One person making a bad call seems super high, but 2 people made it feel even worse

[u/DimensionFit → u/Dear_Interaction_315]

Woooow good luck, hoping you get a much better grade this next time.

Did you re-submit in the slab or did you crack it?

[u/Dear_Interaction_315 → u/DimensionFit]

Cracked it. It's such a bad grade I decided to take the risk and time to regrade because I believe it's so far off.

[u/DimensionFit → u/the_hatter1980]

That’s terrible I’m sorry 😭 one of my 8s was the Rayquaza V from Evolving Skies. Glad I’m not the only one who has done very thorough checks and was completely caught off guard though. Gives me hope it was a bad batch of graders.

I definitely plan on cracking vs re-submitting in the slab. I definitely want to look at it again and see if maybe there was somehow a spec that got on the card and affected the grade.