General Forum

I recently purchased Topps 2022 baseball cards and am determining which of the duplicates to keep. They all look like 10s to me. Isn't every new Topps card a 10? What would qualify a card for a lower grade, beyond being damaged during shipping or opening?

I don't usually collect/purchase new cards, but thought I'd give it a try.  

We must be opening different cards if every card you pull out is a 10! Whitened and dinged corners, centering (front and back), surface and print lines, whatever it is called when the prism borders don't line up with the picture, missed foil stamping, rough edges, blurry pictures on older cards, paper loss, and probably a million other things. I don't think the people who work at the printing plant really care how they turn out as long as their paychecks clear. 

Google pre-grading cards and you'll find lots of resources.

I forgot my favorite when they crimp the cards in the edge of the packs when they seal them. Back in my day we had gum and wax stains too.

EddieLeon wrote:

I recently purchased Topps 2022 baseball cards and am determining which of the duplicates to keep. They all look like 10s to me. Isn't every new Topps card a 10? What would qualify a card for a lower grade, beyond being damaged during shipping or opening?

I don't usually collect/purchase new cards, but thought I'd give it a try.  

When you have a monopoly there's no need to be concerned with quality.

watch some youtube videos on grading. :)

Also I'm not sure about grading 2022 cards yet.. No such thing as a perfect 10 besides my wife.

Do your homework and study a bit 1st please 

Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies. I'm quite familiar with grading vintage cards. The irregularities among new cards (the subject of my post) are by comparison minute. 

There is absolutely NO reason to grade anything made in the past 5 years or so unless it's already a high value card and you KNOW you'll get a 9 or better. It won't gain any value without a high grade. Plus, return time for getting cards graded is completely ridiculous now. By the time you get a card back now, nobody is looking for it anymore.

Ding!

Number 1 answer!

Just have a glance at Upper Deck hockey from last year and this year zero quality control and since no one else makes hockey 

as a breaker recently said - what am i supposed to open if i do not open this garbage.

All i ever want are cards centered with 4 corners present but NO they still insist on black borders ugh!

You cannot go into grading with the expectation of 10s because grading is very subjective. Tiny imperfections on the cards as others have mentioned can knock the grade down a half or whole number. If you are interested in grading, then I would only try to grade cards that have potential future value, such as serial numbered, short print, etc. Also, if you have a handful of cards you are thinking about grading, search them up on eBay and look at the sold listings. How much are they going for in a PSA 8, PSA 9, PSA 10?. If a PSA 9 is going for $50, but it costs $100 to grade and takes a few months to get back, then not worth. But you also need to keep in mind that if you determine the current cost is worth it, by the time you get it back the market value could have significantly dropped, so you are playing with fire.

As I mentioned in a related thread, other grading companies are gaining traction off of the backlog at PSA. Check out others which may offer a lower price and turnaround time: SCG, CSG, HGA, etc.

https://gosgc.com/

https://www.csgcards.com/

https://hybridgrading.com/

EddieLeon wrote:

I recently purchased Topps 2022 baseball cards and am determining which of the duplicates to keep. They all look like 10s to me. Isn't every new Topps card a 10? What would qualify a card for a lower grade, beyond being damaged during shipping or opening?

I don't usually collect/purchase new cards, but thought I'd give it a try.  

you said it Spaz... $50 becomes 75 cents..

I think the OP answered his own question. If they all look like a 10 to you, that's good enough.  Put them in top loaders or albums and enjoy them.  A slab with a number 10 (or more likely 9 or 8) on it won't make it look better. These grading companies have fooled a lot of people into thinking that they are a necessary part of the hobby. And they're laughing all the way to the bank.