Examine cards before Grading?

Do you guys examine your cards under a microscope (or something similar) before you submit them for grading. Or is this taking it too far? Discuss.

absolutely.

10x lighted magnifier----because if you dont---they will.

Interesting, I may have to look into picking one up.

i use a loupe

similar to this one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/30x-21mm-Jewelers-E ... 53dd4134f5

I just eye ball it. 1/1 so far on a 9.5 Currently I have 3 vintage cards in which won't be close to gem so it didn't matter

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

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Not exactly true; it's not a dumb question.

You have to know what to look for, but the biggest factor is hoping that the grading company will miss seeing a defect that you see. Example, your card isn't quite 50/50 and you hope it will fit into their criteria for a 9.5 or 10. When you get it back, you realize that you spent $5-10 when you could have saved it and the card is a 9.

Secondly, they usually catch what you don't see - a surface wrinkle, a small discoloration or another minor defect. So a loupe is handy.

I have a loupe, but it needs a new battery since I think it was accidentally left on and drained the battery. I've submitted with and without a loupe. I've gotten plenty of PSA 10's as well as BGS 9.5's from either method.

Loupe or not, the main thing is to never hype up your card's condition. If it's off center - it's off center. A soft corner is always a soft corner. You always have to be objective about the conditions of your cards.

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

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I don't and have had success. It's not a requirement but using something I'm sure helps.

Im 2/2 with gems, without using a loupe, I just use my eyes, and if I see any little flaw, I dont sub it

bballcardkid said:

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

Click to expand...

I don't and have had success. It's not a requirement but using something I'm sure helps.

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Yeah I just use naked eye vision and have had plenty of success. I take the time to examine them closely though, it's not just an automatic submission for anything close.

Probably 90% of my submissions have been 9.5.

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

Click to expand...

Not a dumb question at all, i have always graded cards by looking at them by eye and have had a good part gem. ::facepalm::

Krom said:

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

Click to expand...

Not a dumb question at all, i have always graded cards by looking at them by eye and have had a good part gem. ::facepalm::

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Obviously it's much easier to get higher grades from modern sets. Clearly I wasn't talking about Chrome or most modern sets, which is MUCH easier to see flaws on.

ALL_THE_HYPE said:

bballcardkid said:

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

Click to expand...

I don't and have had success. It's not a requirement but using something I'm sure helps.

Click to expand...

Yeah I just use naked eye vision and have had plenty of success. I take the time to examine them closely though, it's not just an automatic submission for anything close.

Probably 90% of my submissions have been 9.5.

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Maybe you would be at 100% using a loupe. It's what they use to grade your cards, so it makes sense to use it too. I don't really care if you or anyone else has a good success-rate subbing modern cards, because they are generally in better condition anyways. I was talking about older stuff or non-Chrome cards. I wasn't thinking about how much this board is geared towards prospectors and modern collectors. It makes sense to use a loupe whether you have a high success rate without one or not.

Im 4/4 on gems with my eye and scanner

Grading modern and vintage are two different beasts. Modern is much easier to grade by eye, especially shiny modern in that light contrasts their surfaces well. If you grade vintage cardboard, a loupe should be standard operating procedure. Surface wrinkles, chipping, paper loss, breaks...all of these things can occur on a level below even that of those with 20/10 vision.

sportscardtheory said:

No offense, but this is kind of a dumb question. Of course you look closely with a loupe or better. If you don't, you are taking a shot in the dark.

Click to expand...

No offense taken. But really? A dumb question? I'd bet most collectors send cards in without additional inspection (other than what you can see with the naked eye). Although I respect your opinion, I refuse to see how it's a 'dumb question'.