HOW TO PSA GRADE POKEMON CARDS! (Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials)

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  • čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
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    Grading your Pokemon cards is the best way to increase their value while also protecting them from potential damage. Whether you are a entry level collector or seasoned veteran, knowing the grading criteria and how it applies to Pokemon cards is essential when determining which cards to submit and at which service level. Grading companies like PSA, BGS, and CGC rate condition on a 10-point scale assessing a card's surface, centering, corners, and edges. Unfortunately, many of the guides provided by these websites are made for sports cards, rather than Pokemon and other trading cards.
    In this video, I will share some of the tips and tricks that I've gained over 10 years of service with PSA, submitting vintage Pokemon cards. I will also share a few of the tools I use for lighting and magnifying cards while inspecting them for potential damage or flaws. Links to these tools can be found below:
    High Intensity Light (Rechargeable): amzn.to/3wvenFi (Affiliate Link)
    Desk Magnifying Lens: amzn.to/3OLHcUm (Affiliate Link)
    Thanks for watching,
    Pokemon Classics
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    ✅POKEMON CLASSICS (Social Media)
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Komentáře • 105

  • @Lediath
    @Lediath Před 2 lety +26

    Only very recently got into collecting, and this is probably the best, most informative video I've seen on card grading. Keep up the great work!

  • @darkstepwarrior88
    @darkstepwarrior88 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Love the easy going vibe with just the info. No shaky camera angles or hyped editing. You are just telling a story and educate the people.

  • @shmemsta
    @shmemsta Před 2 lety +4

    best psa video on the internet

  • @shaadow_was_taken
    @shaadow_was_taken Před 3 lety +17

    AMAZING video, so helpful, straightforward, concrete exemple, this video got it all man !!! I am just starting in the pokemon collection world and currently got in the decision process of "which card should I grade ?", and I was so afraid to grade a card and that it come back with a way lower one as I am not experienced at all. But now I am way more confident in my choice. This video really came exactly when I needed it thank you so much.

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety +3

      We've all been there and grading can be such an unfamiliar and intimidating experience at first. I was hoping this would help people get a rough understanding of what to look for . . . it gets significantly easier with experience and is a great way to maximize the value of your cards. Best of luck!

    • @shaadow_was_taken
      @shaadow_was_taken Před 3 lety

      ​@@pokemon_classics Yeah, and I have to give it a try or I will never learn. Thank you !

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety +1

      @@shaadow_was_taken It's fairly inexpensive if you start with just a small quantity. I'd also recommend pre-grading your cards and then comparing your actual grades with your guesses when you get them back. It's a great way to reflect and build awareness of condition.

    • @shaadow_was_taken
      @shaadow_was_taken Před 3 lety

      @@pokemon_classics Yeah I will do this for sure, thank you again !!!

    • @austinblake6376
      @austinblake6376 Před 3 lety

      I guess I'm kinda randomly asking but does anyone know of a good place to watch new series online?

  • @jamesdante2730
    @jamesdante2730 Před 2 lety +1

    The TOP channel for understanding the fundamentals of Investing in Pokémon Cards. PERIOD.

  • @athelstan106
    @athelstan106 Před rokem +3

    Correct me if I'm wrong/misunderstanding this, but GEM-MT 10 on the PSA grading guidelines states, "The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 *to 60/40 percent* on the front..."
    From this wording, it sounds like a PSA 10 could qualify with 60/40 centering, as long as there's no other issues of course.

  • @PeachyAenne
    @PeachyAenne Před 2 měsíci +1

    Thank you! This was a helpful explanation between grades! I'm going to send cards for the first time and I'm excited

  • @maxim9461
    @maxim9461 Před 3 lety +9

    PSA tips would be awesome if only PSA was still grading cards…
    I feel like grading is dead now it cost 300$ to grade 1 card and isn’t looking like it’s going down anytime soon it’s actually a problem

    • @justing2516
      @justing2516 Před 9 měsíci

      Oh wow really? I found my older binder of old cards. Not first edition but it has a lugia in it

  • @SpielmansCollectibles
    @SpielmansCollectibles Před 3 lety +8

    Awesome video, thanks for the explanation. I really appreciate the multiple examples of each grade since that is not something I have seen in other grading tutorial videos. I just finally sent my first cards to PSA and I am definitely anxious to get them back and see what they graded. It's hard for me to tell the difference between PSA 7/8/9 but once I get them back it will be a great learning experience.

  • @ethangoymer6693
    @ethangoymer6693 Před rokem +7

    bruh, i just sold a non graded charazard evolutions holo for $35 and it had no visible damage

  • @BalwanLBF
    @BalwanLBF Před 3 lety +4

    Great video! Just great! Deserves all the love!

  • @cffan1
    @cffan1 Před 2 lety +2

    4:50 me with my desk lamp lol

  • @HanSoars
    @HanSoars Před rokem

    one of the most comprehensive videos on grading, well done

  • @brownishtint
    @brownishtint Před 10 měsíci

    I think from this video I may have a base set Charizard psa7-8 Definitely has VERY light scratches on the holo (almost unnoticeable) but there isn't any white marks or dents. Very good video, helps a lot

  • @GoldenEdgedGreg
    @GoldenEdgedGreg Před 8 měsíci

    This video was flawless, perfect 10, the only whitening in the corner is minuscule, literally just your pronunciation of the word. Besides that I’ve probably watched a hundred PSA grading videos and absolutely none of them compare to the volume of information on how their scale works, honestly PSA the company doesn’t explain their grading process this clearly. Thank you so much!

  • @Pokenon.ampontiktok
    @Pokenon.ampontiktok Před rokem +1

    Thank you you are helping me start grading the cards i have right now

  • @GothicPurple
    @GothicPurple Před 14 dny

    I have a PSA 9 card with a semi-notable dent on the front....absolutely never coming out of that case

  • @bongo_guy2346
    @bongo_guy2346 Před 2 lety +1

    Thanks

  • @zoranaleksov1633
    @zoranaleksov1633 Před 3 lety +4

    HI mate what about silvering on front of card how do they grade that the same as whitening on back ? cheers

    • @twillz1111
      @twillz1111 Před 3 lety +1

      I’m curious as well about silvering

  • @mikeblaze365
    @mikeblaze365 Před rokem

    There was a dod above the word pokemon on the ten to the right

  • @fedorsmekhov3064
    @fedorsmekhov3064 Před 2 lety +1

    Best vid I ever seen ima subscribe

  • @gatton4792
    @gatton4792 Před 2 lety +3

    i think my card is a psa 9-10 its insane nothing is there! i check magnification and stuff and its amazing thank you so much!
    Also question, how to we get it graded

  • @AndrewJaws
    @AndrewJaws Před 3 lety +1

    Coincidentally I bought an edge measuring tool and I was looking at magnification tools

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety

      Edge-measuring is a great idea . . . that's one that I've always just ball-parked. I might have to look into something like that.

    • @AndrewJaws
      @AndrewJaws Před 3 lety +1

      @@pokemon_classics it was only about $7, definitely worth having with the other tools

  • @bensosa8618
    @bensosa8618 Před 2 měsíci +1

    I have 3 psa 10s with 3 dots on the back corners

    • @MecoDaHedge
      @MecoDaHedge Před 2 měsíci

      Did you have to pay to submit them

  • @RockHash
    @RockHash Před rokem +6

    I have so many perfect cards that are slightly off center and I swear it agitates me so much knowing I could of easily have gotten a 10 if the damn thing was centered. A lot are off by like 10 percent which is just makes me want to (insert Vegeta rage yelling)

  • @ungraded_treasures4057

    I’ve been seeing a trend where 6-9s have perfect backs nothing to detect and a 10 have the white dots. In at least 6 spots. And this is with recent 7 certs as well as 27 certs.

  • @adwe6428
    @adwe6428 Před 3 lety +1

    Great video. Really helpful :)

  • @Truthbomb101.
    @Truthbomb101. Před 3 lety +3

    Which ones in order would affect grading more? Print lines, off centre cards or whitening?

  • @elijasnoe8924
    @elijasnoe8924 Před 3 lety +1

    Very informative video thank you 😊😁💪

  • @LimeBall
    @LimeBall Před 2 lety +1

    Great video.

  • @miguelrivera3816
    @miguelrivera3816 Před 2 lety +1

    I have a perfect card tyranitar 1st edition no whitening pack fresh centered perfect but I have an ink line error is that going to take a away from a 10 ?

  • @mariegalbraith7953
    @mariegalbraith7953 Před 2 lety +1

    When I look at my cards I see that there is no whitening at the backs of some of my cards, but on the front when I hold it in the light I can see silvering edges on some of the edges. I have seen many videos and no one ever talks about this issue. Does that not factor same as the back?

  • @xuanaochan925
    @xuanaochan925 Před 2 lety +1

    may i know did japanese cards have print lines affected grade?

  • @rwcs1975
    @rwcs1975 Před rokem

    Thank you so much I am grading a dragon look thing

  • @JoseGarcia-wc5zx
    @JoseGarcia-wc5zx Před 3 lety +2

    Do you believe in strong 9 and weak 9s?

  • @realbillymiller1011
    @realbillymiller1011 Před 3 lety +1

    Excellent, thank you.

  • @s3nterLOL
    @s3nterLOL Před 2 lety +1

    where can i get the plastic sleeve with the rate?

  • @stormycloud9288
    @stormycloud9288 Před rokem +1

    My card is probably like an PSA seven or six

    • @stormycloud9288
      @stormycloud9288 Před rokem

      My card is and vintage fossilized first edition wheezing

  • @vgames8204
    @vgames8204 Před 3 lety +1

    Great Video!
    I was wondering whether you happened to know much more about the 'declared value' of a card when filling out these submission forms is declared value just the raw ungraded cards market price?
    Also if in your experience if you ever had final grade fees and how did this effect the cost to you in regards to return shipping and insurance of your now graded card.
    Are there extra costs dependent on final grade given and new market value of a card?
    If so do you know how this is worked out or if this is even a thing?
    What are final grade fees?
    Or is the cost of grading just simply the service cost and postage?
    Would be great if you could shed some light on this..also would be cool to see you do a 'How to measure Pokémon card centering with a measuring tool' and i think OC grades are also determined by the skew of a card a.k.a Diamond Cut. Thanks in advance Pokemon Classics !
    Nice collection and love the intro very clever!

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety +1

      Short answer: The declared value is the approximate value of the card in it's current condition (mainly for insurance purposes with return shipping). The grading fees vary depending on the service level you choose. HOWEVER, if you send cards that are significantly more valuable than the chosen service level, they may be up-charged after the grading process is complete. In my experience, this is pretty rare, generally affecting cards that are obviously worth more . . . for example sending a NM-MINT Shadowless Charizard at a regular service level (meant for cards under $200) which grades a PSA 8 and is worth $3500, is definitely going to get hit with a higher grading fee.

    • @vgames8204
      @vgames8204 Před 3 lety

      @@pokemon_classics Thanks for clearing this up! Great answer this will really help me and others moving forward. I guess i was overthinking it to some extent, i would never send vintage high valued cards on a saver service!

  • @Rasukix
    @Rasukix Před rokem

    amazing video, just got my childhood cards out!

  • @CastleShield
    @CastleShield Před rokem

    Really good work dude!

  • @ryanmcshane1695
    @ryanmcshane1695 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Do print lines ever affect the grade?

  • @amypecor
    @amypecor Před rokem +1

    I love your videos ♥️

  • @Cyber-du1hi
    @Cyber-du1hi Před rokem +1

    if i have like 1 tiny bit of white on the edge would it affect the card grading a lot?

  • @gilbertmelendez8836
    @gilbertmelendez8836 Před rokem

    Great video I really appreciate the tips

  • @monsieurleoford7008
    @monsieurleoford7008 Před 17 dny

    how low would the psa of a card be if the back side of it is not as vividly coloured as they normally should be

  • @H3LLMOUTH
    @H3LLMOUTH Před 3 měsíci

    Thank you!

  • @user-cf4pj1fe4u
    @user-cf4pj1fe4u Před 3 lety +1

    Great!! I have a question. If everything is perfect but have one factory line(black) can i get psa 9-10?

  • @RockHash
    @RockHash Před rokem +4

    Damn dude I would not want him grading mine. Iv seen some scratches on cards that got a 10 and perfect conditions getting a 9-9.5. It’s all about luck and how that person feels that day. Which is why I sometimes send it twice. One time my rainbow rare Ho-oh Promo got an 8 and I sent it as a regular card again and I swear it came back a 9. I thought it was a 10 but my magnifier only is a 20x and my light could illuminate an entire room, but that wasn’t enough I guess.. All luck on who’s grading. I should try getting a job there, I’ll always hook ppl up with an extra .5 or 1 if it could possibly get that. That’s how they should grade, if it has the possibility of being a 10 from another grader, why be a dick and grade it a 9 or 9.5? Just my 2 cents.

    • @moreno_163
      @moreno_163 Před rokem

      How long it takes to get it back ?

  • @mikeblaze365
    @mikeblaze365 Před rokem

    I'm surprised you don't use a centering tool

  • @guilberrodriguez3156
    @guilberrodriguez3156 Před rokem

    Great info thanks

  • @kingturk
    @kingturk Před 3 lety +1

    Can you please go over how to clean a pokemon card for grading? I've seen some videos with cotton swabs and just a hint of water but is there a way to get rid of some possible whitening too? Like I'm just not knowledgeable about it and trust your feedback!

    • @RockHash
      @RockHash Před rokem +1

      There are card stores that actually have that stuff. Help fix scratches or corners. Even have an exact blue marker/pen kinda mix that can fix up anything on the back blue side. Works great for me.

  • @mikebriggs7824
    @mikebriggs7824 Před rokem

    Great video! 👌😎

  • @willymot
    @willymot Před 3 lety +1

    dont know if this vid is too old for you to reply but how does silvering on the border on WOTC cards affect the grade?

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety

      It depends on how prominent it is. Generally, cards with light silvering are still capable of earning PSA 9 grades and sometimes even PSA 10's. Silvering that looks is more uneven (like chipping) often drops to a PSA 8 , at best.

  • @cluelesstrainer
    @cluelesstrainer Před 11 měsíci

    Thanks!

  • @amei7412
    @amei7412 Před 2 lety +1

    Thanks for the helpful info. I have a Rayquaza vmax Alt Art. the border on the front is 2mm on the left and 3mm on the right. Also a spot with slight whitening maybe slightly raised on 1 corner on the back. Would this exclude it from a PSA 9?

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 2 lety +1

      Based on your description, a PSA9 still seems possible. Modern cards tend to grade better overall than vintage. Can’t say for sure though, based on just a description.

  • @ymy381116
    @ymy381116 Před 11 měsíci

    Thank you 🎉❤

  • @raivenbeatz1468
    @raivenbeatz1468 Před 2 lety +1

    Hey man great explanation ! I have a celebrations charizard and would like to get your opinion on what grade you think I will get :) is there anyway I can send you a pic ?

    • @RockHash
      @RockHash Před rokem

      This is his job, of course he wouldn’t, unless you paid him under the table a couple extra hundred.

  • @mikeblaze365
    @mikeblaze365 Před rokem

    Does it have a blacklight

  • @polvorin15764
    @polvorin15764 Před 2 lety +1

    How do I decide which cards should I grade? I started collecting now with the celebrations 25th set and GO set. Just the most valuable of each set are to be considered grading? As of right now the grading costs more than some of my best cards... 😅

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 2 lety

      Generally speaking, I wouldn’t send any cards at $30 submission tier unless they were worth at least $100. Unless, of course, they are cards with sentimental value that you intent to keep. Even then, I would wait for grading prices to drop.

    • @RockHash
      @RockHash Před rokem

      @@pokemon_classics Glad your giving out some advice. I feel like when you grade you should always give it the highest score it could possibly get. Like if your debating whether to give it a 7 or 8, just give it the damn 8 😂

  • @rob8969
    @rob8969 Před 4 měsíci

    If the foil has several scratches is it still worth getting the card graded?

  • @turbo8628
    @turbo8628 Před 3 lety +1

    Great video.
    At what point will a card get an off-centre grade?
    Also, the print quality on some cards, not necessarily the foil, but for off-centre prints (usually the text)... what i mean by this is when you have a card that has black text with a white border for example. If the interior of that text is not central, how will that affect the grade?

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety

      PSA tries to avoid the OC (off-center) qualifier, generally a card needs to be extremely off-center (90/10) to receive that designation. I'm not sure I understand your second question; I'm not aware of any texts that aren't one solid color . . . maybe that's more common on modern?

    • @turbo8628
      @turbo8628 Před 3 lety

      @@pokemon_classics hyper rare charizard and braixen from cosmic eclipse on the card number of the 236. This interior and exterior of the set number is not well alligned.
      Thanl you for the reply. Pretty sure my mewtwo card is at least 90-10 from top to bottom

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety +1

      @@turbo8628 My expertise is limited to vintage, so I don't have an answer for you on that one. It sounds pretty cool though, if it's that off-center though.

    • @turbo8628
      @turbo8628 Před 3 lety

      @@pokemon_classics if i didnt open it from a pack myself i would swear it was a fake tbh. Quite the shock. I will let you know when i get the return (have to save to send first though haha).
      Thanks again 👍

  • @mikeblaze365
    @mikeblaze365 Před rokem

    I mean back then I'd be scared with the prices being where they were

  • @adriang9673
    @adriang9673 Před 11 měsíci

    Do you use something to figure out the centering?

  • @whatsupbra43
    @whatsupbra43 Před 3 lety +1

    How long does the research and ID stage usually take for bulk?

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety

      That depends on the service level, lately it has taken months though. It's usually the longest phase.

  • @CHUCKZ2
    @CHUCKZ2 Před 3 lety +1

    HOLD UP
    The psa 9 actually has better centering left to right than the 10 0_0 wth

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před 3 lety

      The centering on a 10 doesn't have to be perfect, they have a range for centering with each grade.

  • @SHIT2TITS
    @SHIT2TITS Před rokem

    How much does warping effect the rating? I have some good cards that are in good condition but I'm worried about the warp

    • @pokemon_classics
      @pokemon_classics  Před rokem +1

      I'm honestly not sure . . . I've sent some that are slightly curved without issue, but I usually keep my cards in Card Savers or Toploaders to avoid this. You could probably flatten out card curving with some sleeves, Card Savers, and heavy books.

    • @SHIT2TITS
      @SHIT2TITS Před rokem

      @@pokemon_classics thank you for the reply 🙏

  • @LupercalRising
    @LupercalRising Před 3 lety +1

    I like to send some blind so it's a real surprise

  • @JusZard
    @JusZard Před rokem

    Peek peek peeek pee peeeeekaaaaaa