4 min 45 sec to 5 min you nailed it psa has trouble detecting it so they put the fact that they can't detect it on someone else in this case kurt there are hundreds of guys like kurt out there i have had cards that have dinged corners and put them under something heavy to flatten them out is that allowed is that ethical i think it is okay kurt is getting way to much flack for this he is not adding color cardboard or trimming etc i am pretty sure he is not selling cards raw so he sends then to psa and they grade the cards as they see fit the end
@@tomharrison6607 I have watched some of Kurt's videos and pretty much been intrigued. I find what he does to bring up grades pretty impressive and I don't see him as being a "huckster" or a "fraud". I myself would not add any of his "cleaning" methods but I have seen him round out corners and dents and DO NOT have a problem with that. It does seem PSA is being a bit "pissy".
Not sure what the difference is between old paintings being restored or old books.. they are not being truly “altered”.. just bringing them back to their best potential. Perhaps if PSA was consistent on their grading, people wouldn’t be inclined to spin the PSA wheel for another higher grade.
I’m used to the coin collecting world where cleaning is a big no-no and if detected by PCGS or NGC will get you a Details grade (i.e. Details - Uncirculated) and is worth much less than if it got a number grade like MS64. I find it hard to believe that PSA and SGC are unable to tell if a card was cleaned. Any messing around with a coin or card should be disclosed. Furthermore, we don’t know how these solvents will affect the cards 5-10-15 or more years down the road.
Mike ever since you explained the genesis of the name “Junk Wax Hero”, can’t help but think you gotta get a 30 second Juke Box Hero song parody to open your shows! Here you go! Standing in the rain, with his head hung low. Couldn't get a ten, PSA said no. Then he opened that pack, he could picture the scene. He pulled one star and it was pristine! just blew him away. He saw star cards in his eyes, and the very next day… Bought a beat up Mantle, in a secondhand store. Didn't know what it was worth, but he knew for sure… That one card, felt good in his hands. Didn't take long, to understand… Just one card, graded way down low… Was a one way ticket, only one way to go So he started vlogging; ain't never gonna stop. Gotta keep on vloggin', someday gonna make it to the top! And be a Junk Wax Hero, got stars in his eyes He's a Junk Wax Hero!
I am mainly a collector and not a seller. I cringed when I saw video of Kurt cracking a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth and soaking it in his solution. He resubmitted and I think it only went up from a 1.5 to a 2 but eye appeal makes it more valuable. I’m trying to set build just two vintage sets and definitely would want to know if one was soaked and cleaned. I wouldn’t buy it! Disclosure is the key to making this acceptable to card collectors. Otherwise it’s just alteration to increase value.
@@JunkWaxHeroI agree that disclosure would go a long way. It also says alot that every comment I see from the practitioners makes it clear that dont feel its necessary to disclose what theyve done. It would ruin their grift.
Hi Mike. As an archivist, I am torn about this issue. Paper conservation is a tried and true part of our profession. I am not sure what products Kurt is using, but I can tell you that paper cleaning is used to conserve all of our precious national documents, including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. If it is good enough for them, and does not harm them, it should be good enough for a 52 Mantle. Most likely, Kurt is using some form of distilled water, which is safe to use with paper. The real problem for PSA, in my opinion, is then what happens to their registry? And what happens to the value of cards if the card population can be altered by those people who choose to clean their cards? It becomes a slippery slope which eventually could devalue the cards of those people who purchased cards before paper conservation became an acceptable hobby practice.
Those historical documents you referenced have also seen several damaging conservation attempts (by professionals) over the years, and needed additional work to correct. Is a random person working on a sports card doing so for preservation and disclosing their efforts?
Again, I am not saying Kurt is a professional. But if you are having a problem with what a professional did decades ago, you can make the same case about modern medicine. Don't go to a doctor now to cure your disease because in 5 to 10 years their methods will be outdated. All professions evolve
The hypocrisy of PSA is once again on full display. We are talking about a company that has knowingly graded trimmed and altered cards, upcharges for giving out 10s on higher priced cards, and is a mega monopoly but yet they're somehow the moral judge and jury of the hobby. They shouldn't be allowed to acquire any vaults. The only vault I trust is my own. My cards stay with me. I do agree what Kurt's Card Care did was beyond just wiping a card down. The Wemby 1/1 sale is a joke imo. Give me proven vintage HOFers anyday over hyped rookies. For half a million, I could buy Nolan Ryan, Jackie Robinson, and Kobe Bryant great cards and still have money left over. Thanks for sharing Mike.
Card trimming or adding color to a card are deal breakers for me. However, card cleaning or paper restoration( soaking or wiping) seems reasonable. PSA could have a note on the slab "Evidence of Restoration". That way if buyers are fearful of future damage they can pass on that card.
Agreed, the ones who dont want disclosure for the most part unfortunately seem to be the ones doing the "cleaning". They want it to be accepted and viewed as okay but still want to hide and conceal what theyve done. This is nothing but a tool being used by conmen and grifters who flooded the hobby during covid. Once the money dries up, theyll all leave the hobby, and we collectors will be stuck sorting through the millions of cards theyve messed up.
I don’t use Kurt’s, but who knows what may have been done to a graded card before I get it. Orlando has shared his card after having the glue spot removed and the stain that appeared later. I would definitely spend money on many great and iconic cards instead of on a single card. Phooey on spending money on boxes and getting nothing in return monetarily. I’ll just buy singles that I want.
I like my vintage "as is". I like to think "hey I have a great card because it made it 60 years and still looks great!" A card that's cleaned with chemicals is "restored" at that point.
I decided to rip a box of '22 Stadium Club Chrome that I've had since release. No big hit to talk about but I do like this set. It's kind of like your $20 lesson in Vegas for sure..😂 I bought 3 boxes on day of release over a year ago. First box I hit 3 autos with one of them being JRod. I should've just sold the other 2 boxes..lol Not a Gronk fan..he's funny, but that spike pitch actually annoyed me.
I love this series/ and judging by the views and the interactions I’m not the only one. 80% of comps for everything on my showcases/ I pack it up and hit the beach! Grazie!
That poll is troubling. There's still lots of unanswered questions about the deactivation and what psa can/can't detect. Hopefully we'll get additional comments from PSA, other grading companies. Maybe the deactivation was initiated by something Kurt said in the SCL interview?
The deactivation happened because he posted video to his Instagram of soaking the card for an hour with before and after images. Someone sent psa.the video,.so they decertified the Jackie and every other card from that order.
On the Webanyama: I pulled a silver, and the next day, I sent it to PSA. It came back a 10, and I listed it on eBay. I COLLECT, I rarely sell. This should be enough to show how worried I am about unproven rooks. Im gonna buy vintage with some of the money for my pc.
WHats Next??; next >we will be opening the first ever "Card dirtying service" to provide customers and collectors with authenticly soiled & Aged cards...?
Regardiing the FB post offering a high-paying job buying cards, are you overlooking the possibility that it's a scam? Such as, respondents have to put up money to get this gig.
Freddie is a legend...his legendary '75 season assured him of that if nothing else...and his '79 season was stellar...like all great players, his career died as soon as he landed in Anaheim
Is there a company grading your car that says cleaning is against their rules? And do the chemicals you use on your car have the potential to create long-term issues?
I think most collectors would prefer to think that the cards in their collection have never been cleaned/altered/tampered with in any way, but the truth is we can never truly know that unless we pulled it straight from a pack ourselves. 30 years ago we happily smashed cards into screw down cases thinking in good faith that practice was a fool proof way to protect our cards long term and here we are realizing the error in our thinking 30 years later. I suspect 30 years from now we will look back at Kurt’s Card and laugh at the uproar it’s caused as sentiment either moves to embrace it or new technology offers us some way to expunge it from the hobby. I bought an 1887 Allen & Ginter card recently and while it was graded and given a number grade, no company can definitely tell me that some kid didn’t drop that thing a bowl of porridge in 1891 and proceed to clean it off with some sort of primitive household cleaning product. And if he had, why should I care? I don’t condone card cleaning but life’s also too short to lose any sleep over it.
I never heard of Kurt's Card Care until now! Looked him up on youtube, went through some of his videos. Just watched the one of him "fixing" a 1948 Leaf Babe Ruth! 😮 The card goes into a plate of liquid!!! 🙀
@@JunkWaxHero The reason he won't say what's in the liquid is the same reason PSA can't detect it. It's probably just distilled water with isopropyl alcohol. If he gave away the secret his business would disappear overnight. Great video by the way.
To me, using a cleaning solution on a card (like Kurt's) is tampering with the card. It's in the same category as trimming and adding color. Using a cleaning solution is altering/tampering with the card. The only "cleaning" I'm OK with is wiping off fingerprints with a microfiber cloth. PSA is the leading grading company. They should be able to detect it. Given the choice between an iconic vintage card or a Wemby 1/1, I would take the iconic vintage. Wemby just finished his rookie season, and there is a lot of volatility in his cards for that reason. I saw that Twitter (X) post about the Hagen Danner 2024 Topps Heritage card and replied to it saying it's not the first time Topps made that mistake. The first ones that come to mind regarding Topps using the wrong picture are the 1985 Gary Pettis and the 1988 Al Leiter.
Hey Mike, I hear alot of people talking about adding products to their cards like Kurts, but my question is do we know that grading companies are using anything, possibly a cleaning solution on their plastic? I recently cracked a heritage card out of an SGC slab and the surface was rough! White specs all over, I grabbed a microfiber to wipe it off, but it was the surface of the card that appeared to be chipped or faded? I know it didn't used to look like that, as I pulled and submitted the card myself. I did go ahead and grade it with PSA, it dropped 1 and a half points, where as all other cracks and resubs I've done have come back same grade, so just something I've been thinking about, any chance it's something the grading company did or something else? Thanks Mike, love your videos
Really interesting… I don’t think they’re putting anything on the card. As for the grade dropping, it happens more than you think. The companies have different standards, which often results in different grades.
even if psa hire kurt to try to figure out his method there may be an even better kurt out there that is doing something even better kurt has said so himself on a recent talk we have no clue how good some people are out there in card land
Mike, I bought my grail card and sent you a email with a picture of it. It's the 1970 Bergmann-Verlag Top Stars Jimi Hendrix from Germany. One hasn't sold in like 2 years. I seen one come up for sale with a bent corner and paper missing on the back for 450.00 which the seller then took down. So pumped, I think there are like 14 of them graded. All the paper is on the back of mine, it does have glue residue tho, since they were made to glue into a book. Do you think I should soak it? Lol. WWKD?
1) I am all for grading 1/1's as authentic (and believe I have stated such here and in other comments elsewhere). Like you said, anything less than a 10 would detract so having it labeled as authentic should be enough for the prospective buyer... and it appears that it is. 2) I'll take the Mantles and Ruths and pocket the $200K any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Anything can happen but my guess is in that 15 years, the Wemby won't be worth half a mil and the Mantles and Ruths will always, for the most part, hold their value. 3) Yes! I'll take the 51 cards over the Wemby. Also, they'd be more fun to show off than just 1 Wemby card. 4) I'm sure you're actually glad the $20 in the slots went for naught. Can you imagine what would have happened if you'd hit it for $500 or so? You're kids are now hooked on "the easy way to make money." (I understand gambling has more to do with the action than actually trying to win though.) Great video, Mike!
All great points. Yes, I was happy my $20 went quickly. Later in the week my wife dropped $20 in a machine when the kids were off doing something else, and it lasted about 20 minutes. Way more exciting, and we were glad the kids weren’t there.
I don’t have anything against card restoration if it’s safe. It’s potentially a benefit to all. In a perfect world, safe chemicals are developed and PSA examines to confirm it’s a safe restoration as well as grade the card. But this is the Wild West. Everyone is improvising. I don’t see the leadership at PSA to lead the change. It’s a amusing to see that PSA decertified the card which was used to publicly shame them and be nonplussed by the Wemby..
The thousands upon thousands of cards that have been cracked and resubmitted over and over again have destroyed the population report. This era of the hobby is a mess. Been a collector over 30 years, this era is the first I've seen that has the chance to totally destroy the hobby.
They’ll give an “A” to water-damaged cards … aren’t those “soaked”? PSA will send a card back for a 1/64” of an inch that probably came out the factory, and/but their most famous card was a trim … if you play PSA, you get PSA rules.
Yeah Kurt is the fraud. (/sarcasm) Who charges $149 yr for a "club" that has zero benefits. Other than a gated discount on their already exorbitant prices. They have butt ass ugly slabs despite having a "premium price". They have no problem with Kurt's products along as they benefit themselves for it. Aka having their name on the 1/1 Wemby. I think its more likely than not, they are trying to take him down, because they have future plans to offer restoration themselves (Which I'm sure will be fairly priced, rofl) PSA is a joke, club fees (for absolutely nothing) , the ugliest slabs of ANY grader even the F tier guys, and now add being hypocrites if they don't decert the 1/1. Here's the reality, by them doing this, Kurts business is going to explode with all the publicity and if they don't decert the Wemby is bad publicity for them. Kurt couldn't be as scummy as PSA in 1000 lifetimes.
They're both scummy. Just like all the dealers who use the juice and dont tell their customers are, scummy. Welcome to the post covid hobby. Thanks to the noobs, it's a shitshow.
Regarding the $2000 box and the $200 worth of value received from it. Of course nowadays everybody wants instant value so they’re looking for the big hit, the big chase card, big autograph, big star big prospect but that’s the problem. Cards have to mature over time and players have to develop and have a career that makes their card valuable. The old cards are valuable because the players had great careers and many of the cards were destroyed or whatever. So when people did collect cards back in the 60s or 70s, they collected the star players and if there was a rookie, nobody thought about saving all of that rookies cards Until he did something to be great. There’s a lot of hype in the card Market for prospects but most of these players will never be worth anything because topps makes 1 million of each base card. And even the inserts are made in multiple variations so I think like you said it’s a huge gamble, but if you’re buying for long-term investment, you might want to figure out a different plan.
If PSA was responsible in it's perch as a 'hobby leader' it would invest some serious R&D $ into finding out which materials are safe and which are not... It's doing all a disservice by issuing a blanket 'no tampering' when it should be fine to do 'non-restorative'(no adding color or materials) cleaning that's deemed safe... The Jackie and Wemby fiasco exposes their hypocrisy: having the Wemby in their slab is a good look for them, but a 2.5 '53 Jackie not so much... but as others have pointed out, PSA can't tell if you use KCC on your cards, so they'll only ding you when you bring it to their attention...
So is psa going to go back and get every card thats beeb cleaned .Psa picks and chooses whats ok. Its ok for psa to give PSA 8s to a card thats a 10 and they are always messing up grades and try to make people sign nda but this isn't ok
I have many vintage cards. Back then; kids didn't think oh let's put this in a protector case. So cards got bumped etc. Trading and sharing with friends. As long as it's not ruining someone's cards, who cares if someone used Kurt's products?? I haven't yet but I am considering.. thoughts?
I think asking if Kurt's is good or not depends on who you are asking. If you are a collector or investor with a slew of cards that are already graded, then you probably hate the product. If you are a new seller and don't have many cards and are strictly trying to make a buck, you probably love the product. I'm waiting to grade my cards, they are such low pops that an "original" with oxidation on the back may be worth more than one that's been cleaned in the future. I was also thinking if I get them graded to just get them authentic. Most of the cards I have the highest grades on psa are like an 8. At that point with pops under 20, who cares if the card is a 5,6, or 7? As long as they are centered with sharp corners. So even as someone who has farted with cleaning there is still a strategy, I don't plan on soaking all my cards. Would I soak a 1975 panini Zeppelin, pop 10, going for like 2k in an 8? No. I believe there to be one 8 and one 7. Like I said a card with some oxidation on the back in the future may hold more value. Now would I clean a 1980 David Gilmore Pop Festival, pop 6; with brown mold around the edge? Yes. The card is perfectly centered, and the mold has ruined the card. I don't plan on selling it for 10 years so even if the solution did something to the card and it fades, it will still look better than it did, Plus I would have no problem disclosing that it was cleaned ten years ago if the card has an issue then, if it doesn't, then why say anything? Would I clean a 1997 Ultra Figus Pantera from Argentina that's wrapper sticks to the cards over time and ruins them? Absolutely. Again, the card is ruined with black stuff all over the back. I took some medical alcohol, dunked it, gingerly hit it with a makeup sponge while dunked and the black stuff came off. A card that would have graded a 1 or 2 is now in the running for an 8 or 9. Again, I don't plan on selling it for awhile, but I would have no problem showing before and after pictures when selling it. The only problem with that is the same thing that just happened to Kurt.
@@JunkWaxHero I don't feel like all cards are made to be cleaned. I've seen several cards from the 48 leaf set that look bleached. I wouldn't dunk a card from that set. I believe a saw a Paige and a Joe Louis (Kurts) card that look way too white from that set along with a few others. If I was using cleaning to flip cards and not to just spruce up a couple for my own pc I would target late 60's-80's rc's. A Joe Jackson cracker jacks card I think it was on a high rollers video brought like 300k, it graded an 8. It just looked way too nice and white. I would want some oxidation on it if it were me, just saying, it was like over 100 years old. It makes me wonder if any of the Mantle 10's were cleaned? Even some of the 50's cards that Kurt has cleaned has seemed to change the color just a hair, the Clemente rc he cleaned at least. I don't see it happening as cards got more waxier.
The wemby is still active . That’s like a 1/1 . I’m sure psa said if he see colour change etc then it will be reactive . Im sure for sure sure that vintage cars tho u could see the colour change . I’m sure that card was deactivated
If it's undetectable, then whats the issue. I don't see the issue if you can restore a card to the point where the restoration is undetectable/ you're just cleaning the card rather than altering it (you're just reversing any damage or removing dirt or discolouration).
Kurt doesn’t say what’s in his cleaner. No one knows if it will degrade a card over the course of years. There’s evidence that it does, as many people have pointed out.
@@JunkWaxHero I guess. 90% sure it’s just 10-30% alcohol in distilled water + neutral shoe polish. I use it but I don’t sell or grade my stuff, just my personal collection (Pokemon cards)
Several million for a modern, late career, "authentic" Jordan auto, with the enormously overrated logoman patch seems ludicrous. I don't care if a company stamped "1/1" on it. Yes, he's a GOAT, but there are tons and tons of Jordan cards and autos out there.
So ? Are the cards still not out there in PSA slabs ? How many people really check the certificate ? If you put serious money in this hobby (PSA), seriously bad things can happen.
That fenway display case you bought is pretty cool! I like how it looks with the 2 slabs on it. Are you still collecting bobbleheads? I have a bobblehead new in package with an oddball rookie card of Ichiro Suzuki if you're interested. If you are ill just ship it to you, im not trying to sell it. Let me know 🤟
I understand that people have concerns about the long term repercussions of what the card care products will do to the cards. But I am having trouble finding credible backing/proof that this will happen. I have heard of one example of a graded card where over time a stain began to show after being encapsulated for years. It is unknown what was done to this card before grading. It could of been a stain that was bleached out and reappeared or it could of been something clear spilled on the card and it finally started to show after aging. I have not seen anything definitive, the long term effects have only been speculation. On the other side of the issue Kurt has described his methods as being industry standard for other categories of items and the substances he uses have been used to clean, restore, preserve items such as artwork, old documents, etc. A fast fact for everyone, The Declaration of Independence has to be regularly treated to keep it from deteriorating into dust over time. From my perspective as someone who is trying to weigh both sides of the issue, Kurt has made a better argument for what he does then the people who are adamantly against what he does. It seems that Kurt specifically is being targeted with this issue, but he looks to have high standards in the products and processes he uses. Even then all his methods are wrapped up in one bundle and labeled "bad." From what I have seen there are some things he does that make sense and some that should be questioned and tested objectively. Since he is the target, that means that he will be blamed for anyone else using sketchy methods on cards to sneak one past the card graders. Which is not justified. Sketchy people were doing sketchy things long before Kurt came around. We as a community have put a high value on a cards grade. Therefore people will do whatever they can to get high grades. What needs to happen is the community needs to continue to have conversations with facts, not speculation, to figure out what the industry standard should be. There is one truth. Our hobby revolves around things made from cardboard. Cardboard was never made to last. Everyone's cards in graded slabs will break down given enough time. When PSA encapsulates a card, it does not pause time for that card. It is not held in suspended animation. At some point we will have to have the discussion if we need to start using substances to preserve the oldest cards or just let them crumble.
@@JunkWaxHero I am curious about what you disagree with. I thought I was presenting the issues at hand and saying we need to be discussing this respectfully. One side of the issue is making a better case than the other. For those who do not think cards should be cleaned and/or pressed, why? I am open to hear why. Actual facts and evidence. I am undecided on some items and decided on others in this issue. I can be convinced. Just not in the way many content creators are just gaslighting and strawmaning Kurt's Card Care (You are not one of these people, I watch you because you are respectful, even headed and just love the hobby).
@@thebeardedcollector19 sorry, I thought I’d made my case clear. You talked about the Declaration of Independence, but it is known that that is restored, and we know what it was restored with. No one knows for sure what is in Kurt’s products. He also sells the cards privately to people who don’t know they’re cleaned with chemicals. And we don’t yet know what impacts those chemicals might have on cards. How often do we see old slabs and say “how did this get that grade?” because it looks worse? Could it be because the chemicals degraded? PSA says cleaning is against their terms for the same reasons. So I believe that Kurt hides the cert numbers so no one can report him. He doesn’t want PSA knowing he’s doing it. And he doesn’t want buyers knowing he’s doing it. If it can be proven that there’s no long-term impact, I think it would be fine.
@@JunkWaxHero Maybe I misunderstood, I thought you had disagreements with what I said. You were talking about your disagreements from your video. I am in no way a Kurt Apologist and have never bought anything from him, but I have followed him on Instagram long before this whole Wemby thing came up. I have never gotten the impression from his post that he is trying to hide anything. He goes into depth openly about his process on IG. He does regular Livestreams on IG where people can comment. From what I have seen if people do not know what he is doing it is because they are not looking. As for me, I am looking for best practices and the truth. Unfortunately we are programmed by our media/politics to attack the person and not the policy/methods. Therefore many people are approaching this card cleaning thing like attack dogs and not truth seekers. Many content creators are not having the conversations that we need, they are just creating content bashing someone from a very ignorant point of view. Normally I do not jump into the comments section to blast away. With you, I know a respectful conversation can be had. If there is something wrong with how I see things, I want to be corrected with the truth, not someone hurling insults. I appreciate your videos, perspectives, and love for the hobby. Thank you.
@@thebeardedcollector19 he’s teaching people his methods, but from what I’ve seen he hides his slabs so PSA doesn’t know they’re his. And why doesn’t he sell them publicly? I’m not attacking Kurt. I don’t know him at all. I just don’t like his methods.
Cleaning (with distilled water and other natural ingredients) is acceptable. They do it all the time with famous paintings. It’s called restoration. Otherwise, these famous works of art would degrade over time. News alert: These antique paintings are more important and have a higher value than baseball cards.
@@JunkWaxHero the same PSA who knowingly graded trimmed cards, gives favorable grades to influencers, has zero transparency into its subjective grading rationale, graded known counterfeits is now all of sudden the moral authority in this industry? Sorry, that’s a joke.
I tend to be ok with cleaning card to certain levels. Plus CGC comics offer a CLEANING and pressing for fee. That is acceptable for comics. But cleaning cards not soaking cards is everyone complaining about. Cleaning cards should be acceptable or maybe grading companies should offer a fee of cleaning sort of somewhat CGC. Beside i think PSA is getting flac on BBB ON there’re customer service reviews and i am curious about PSA were resubmit because the grade was 7 or 8 and the customers was a 9 or PSA GOD mode 10. I think PSA POP count is some what jaded with some PSA slab that were resubmitted for high grade.
How do you ban card cleaning of cards when purchasing a raw card and then you turnaround and send it to PSA for grading. Then PSA detects the card had been previously cleaned but that was not disclosed to you when you purchased it raw. You can’t know the complete history of a raw card or if someone used a cleaning product on it before you purchased it. Think about all the raw cards bought and sold on eBay an Whatnot. This issue of cleaning cards is going to ruin the industry if we don’t watch it and PSA is in the front leading the way of doing so.
Kurt has stated he has over 20,000 customers, and shortly his products will be on Amazon. And thanks to all the publicity this has gotten, I'm sure that's going to skyrocket. Old saying: There's no such thing as bad publicity. Congrats Kurt on likely being made a multi-millonare over this.
Kurt isnt going to accept being hired by PSA to incriminate himself. Furthermore, as for the Jeter SP, I think alot of people are going to get burnt on that card. It is not a rare card.
@@JunkWaxHero You're counting artificial scarcity. A numerical grade never dictates value on truly rare collectibles. PSA alone has graded nearly 25,000 copies of that Jeter. That's not counting other grading companies and those still sealed and ungraded loose copies. I try counting the overall supply of the card. It's safe to say that card manufacturers printed millions of cards to upkeep demand. There might be a few exceptions like refractors and other short print inserts from the 90s, but there is a ton of supply for most cards.
@@vintagecollector5340 right but there are so many registry collectors who want that 10. I get what you’re saying, but the registry is king with a ton of people.
@@JunkWaxHero That's just proof that most people don't understand true scarcity. PSA is going to pop control that card, as long as people truly believe the grade makes it rare. I've bought some original photos where I've not seen a single duplicate of them since purchasing them two years ago. Compare that to a pop-controlled PSA card and tell me which one wins with the true scarcity.
@@JunkWaxHero That Jeter in PSA 10 sells multiple times a year. That's not many sales, but PSA and everyone else knows that. As long as the grade makes the card "rare", PSA will add very few (if any) gem grades of that Jeter. They might add enough to keep people hopeful, but that's it. That's just how it is. Have faith in the idiots of the hobby willing to buy into artificial scarcity, and PSA will gladly control population for you on your "rare" gem grades.
@@adambye2531 great, now if every other grifter out there rubbing their spunk on the cards would follow suit, this would be a nonissue. But we both know that wont happen, this hobby has become too shady. You people claim you want cleaning to be an accepted practice but then you want to hide what you've done from the customer.
A few known grifters and conmen doing it 50 years ago isn't the same as every newbie from the last 5 years doing it. It wasnt a hobbywide issue until now. And as much as I've seen you defend it, you must've been one of those few conmen doing it back in the day.
@@JunkWaxHero Agreed. And I'm not defending the guy, I don't like Kurt or his practices, but people are freaking out like this is something that he invented. A large percentage of tobacco cards were collected by gluing them into scrapbooks and there are now tens of thousands of those cards in slabs. Another YT guy recently found a collection of 48/49 Leaf short prints glued to index cards and the discussion was about if or how the cards could be removed without damage, and not a single mention of the ethics about removing them, because no one cared.
@@JunkWaxHero he was. Imo Wemba will not reach Shaq level. Look at Shaq cards tho, they are relatively low priced. It kills me to see Wemby worth more than one of the Goats
You kind of left everyone hanging on the Jordan + breaking backboard story. Could you not have watched the basically 5 second clip within your own video for legal reasons or something?
dont trust kurt one little bit. Very dodgy person. Anyone experimenting with autos on cards is going into dangerous waters. so many different issues with the product which could cause a tonne of lawsuits. If someone gets an allergic reaction to his solution, what does one do? has he really thought everything through or just went for the quick buck and now blown up in his face. If he was legit, he would go the right way about running his business, but he doesnt.
Tiffany cards. Mine your own business. PSA makes sure you give out a refund. PLease Submit Again can’t properly grade cards how can detect if card is soaked. I love Kurt he is restoring art same thing TIFFANY CARDS KISS MY A$$
What's your opinion on Kurt's Card Care? And any other topic I addressed here...
4 min 45 sec to 5 min you nailed it psa has trouble detecting it so they put the fact that they can't detect it on someone else in this case kurt there are hundreds of guys like kurt out there i have had cards that have dinged corners and put them under something heavy to flatten them out is that allowed is that ethical i think it is okay kurt is getting way to much flack for this he is not adding color cardboard or trimming etc i am pretty sure he is not selling cards raw so he sends then to psa and they grade the cards as they see fit the end
@@tomharrison6607 I have watched some of Kurt's videos and pretty much been intrigued. I find what he does to bring up grades pretty impressive and I don't see him as being a "huckster" or a "fraud". I myself would not add any of his "cleaning" methods but I have seen him round out corners and dents and DO NOT have a problem with that. It does seem PSA is being a bit "pissy".
@@cardphins68 i agree
Not sure what the difference is between old paintings being restored or old books.. they are not being truly “altered”.. just bringing them back to their best potential. Perhaps if PSA was consistent on their grading, people wouldn’t be inclined to spin the PSA wheel for another higher grade.
I love Kurt's products
I’m used to the coin collecting world where cleaning is a big no-no and if detected by PCGS or NGC will get you a Details grade (i.e. Details - Uncirculated) and is worth much less than if it got a number grade like MS64. I find it hard to believe that PSA and SGC are unable to tell if a card was cleaned. Any messing around with a coin or card should be disclosed. Furthermore, we don’t know how these solvents will affect the cards 5-10-15 or more years down the road.
Exactly
Mike ever since you explained the genesis of the name “Junk Wax Hero”, can’t help but think you gotta get a 30 second Juke Box Hero song parody to open your shows! Here you go!
Standing in the rain, with his head hung low.
Couldn't get a ten, PSA said no.
Then he opened that pack, he could picture the scene.
He pulled one star and it was pristine! just blew him away.
He saw star cards in his eyes, and the very next day…
Bought a beat up Mantle, in a secondhand store.
Didn't know what it was worth, but he knew for sure…
That one card, felt good in his hands.
Didn't take long, to understand…
Just one card, graded way down low…
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started vlogging; ain't never gonna stop.
Gotta keep on vloggin', someday gonna make it to the top!
And be a Junk Wax Hero, got stars in his eyes
He's a Junk Wax Hero!
This is amazing and going into my newsletter
Awesome! Love your channel.
@@RJM1977 thank you!
wouldn't be surprised if these companies create their own card care solutions somewhere down the line that are approved for PSA.
They would need to disclose their ingredients, which Kurt’s doesn’t do.
I am mainly a collector and not a seller. I cringed when I saw video of Kurt cracking a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth and soaking it in his solution. He resubmitted and I think it only went up from a 1.5 to a 2 but eye appeal makes it more valuable. I’m trying to set build just two vintage sets and definitely would want to know if one was soaked and cleaned. I wouldn’t buy it! Disclosure is the key to making this acceptable to card collectors. Otherwise it’s just alteration to increase value.
Agreed
@@JunkWaxHeroI agree that disclosure would go a long way. It also says alot that every comment I see from the practitioners makes it clear that dont feel its necessary to disclose what theyve done. It would ruin their grift.
Hi Mike. As an archivist, I am torn about this issue. Paper conservation is a tried and true part of our profession. I am not sure what products Kurt is using, but I can tell you that paper cleaning is used to conserve all of our precious national documents, including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. If it is good enough for them, and does not harm them, it should be good enough for a 52 Mantle. Most likely, Kurt is using some form of distilled water, which is safe to use with paper. The real problem for PSA, in my opinion, is then what happens to their registry? And what happens to the value of cards if the card population can be altered by those people who choose to clean their cards? It becomes a slippery slope which eventually could devalue the cards of those people who purchased cards before paper conservation became an acceptable hobby practice.
Those historical documents you referenced have also seen several damaging conservation attempts (by professionals) over the years, and needed additional work to correct.
Is a random person working on a sports card doing so for preservation and disclosing their efforts?
Again, I am not saying Kurt is a professional. But if you are having a problem with what a professional did decades ago, you can make the same case about modern medicine. Don't go to a doctor now to cure your disease because in 5 to 10 years their methods will be outdated. All professions evolve
Paper conservation is here to stay.
I really appreciate your perspective here, John. Thanks for checking in.
Some great points raised here. 👍
The hypocrisy of PSA is once again on full display. We are talking about a company that has knowingly graded trimmed and altered cards, upcharges for giving out 10s on higher priced cards, and is a mega monopoly but yet they're somehow the moral judge and jury of the hobby. They shouldn't be allowed to acquire any vaults. The only vault I trust is my own. My cards stay with me. I do agree what Kurt's Card Care did was beyond just wiping a card down. The Wemby 1/1 sale is a joke imo. Give me proven vintage HOFers anyday over hyped rookies. For half a million, I could buy Nolan Ryan, Jackie Robinson, and Kobe Bryant great cards and still have money left over. Thanks for sharing Mike.
Thanks Chris.
100%
Folks just flock to Psa. Vintage cards look better without a slab or grade.
Card trimming or adding color to a card are deal breakers for me. However, card cleaning or paper restoration( soaking or wiping) seems reasonable. PSA could have a note on the slab "Evidence of Restoration". That way if buyers are fearful of future damage they can pass on that card.
Yeah they should do that and grade it as Authentic, but they can’t detect it.
Agreed, the ones who dont want disclosure for the most part unfortunately seem to be the ones doing the "cleaning". They want it to be accepted and viewed as okay but still want to hide and conceal what theyve done. This is nothing but a tool being used by conmen and grifters who flooded the hobby during covid. Once the money dries up, theyll all leave the hobby, and we collectors will be stuck sorting through the millions of cards theyve messed up.
I don’t use Kurt’s, but who knows what may have been done to a graded card before I get it. Orlando has shared his card after having the glue spot removed and the stain that appeared later. I would definitely spend money on many great and iconic cards instead of on a single card. Phooey on spending money on boxes and getting nothing in return monetarily. I’ll just buy singles that I want.
100%
Absolutely Ken. Thanks
This is wild. Thanks for the information and coverage... I appreciate the integrity. "Cleaning" cards feels ironically "dirty" to me. Lol.
I like my vintage "as is". I like to think "hey I have a great card because it made it 60 years and still looks great!" A card that's cleaned with chemicals is "restored" at that point.
Agreed
4 am on the west coast watching this in the background while sorting cards.. I really should go to bed soon..😂
I had slept for 7+ hours by that point 😊
I decided to rip a box of '22 Stadium Club Chrome that I've had since release. No big hit to talk about but I do like this set.
It's kind of like your $20 lesson in Vegas for sure..😂
I bought 3 boxes on day of release over a year ago. First box I hit 3 autos with one of them being JRod. I should've just sold the other 2 boxes..lol
Not a Gronk fan..he's funny, but that spike pitch actually annoyed me.
@@jakestoe funny. Gronk usually annoys me, but I enjoyed that.
But those cards ain’t gonna sort themselves
I love this series/ and judging by the views and the interactions I’m not the only one. 80% of comps for everything on my showcases/ I pack it up and hit the beach! Grazie!
Prego!
Great news on Kurt’s
I had 5 or 10 of those foil Jeter cards at one time... sold them on ebay in 2005ish.
That poll is troubling.
There's still lots of unanswered questions about the deactivation and what psa can/can't detect. Hopefully we'll get additional comments from PSA, other grading companies.
Maybe the deactivation was initiated by something Kurt said in the SCL interview?
Yeah good question. I’m not sure.
The deactivation happened because he posted video to his Instagram of soaking the card for an hour with before and after images. Someone sent psa.the video,.so they decertified the Jackie and every other card from that order.
On the Webanyama: I pulled a silver, and the next day, I sent it to PSA. It came back a 10, and I listed it on eBay. I COLLECT, I rarely sell. This should be enough to show how worried I am about unproven rooks. Im gonna buy vintage with some of the money for my pc.
Smart
PSA stands for "pretty sure altered"
WHats Next??; next >we will be opening the first ever "Card dirtying service" to provide customers and collectors with authenticly soiled & Aged cards...?
This is one of those things that seems outrageously unlikely today but could eventually happen and become normalized
Regardiing the FB post offering a high-paying job buying cards, are you overlooking the possibility that it's a scam? Such as, respondents have to put up money to get this gig.
I am! Have you heard that about this post?
@@JunkWaxHero Not about this post specifically, but it's the first thing I thought of as you read it.
Psa sucks period
Freddie is a legend...his legendary '75 season assured him of that if nothing else...and his '79 season was stellar...like all great players, his career died as soon as he landed in Anaheim
Yeah shame what happened
Cards are an investment.
If you buy a 52 Chevy are you supposed to leave the dirt on or do you clean it up and increase the value?
Is there a company grading your car that says cleaning is against their rules? And do the chemicals you use on your car have the potential to create long-term issues?
the car argument is a 94 iq response. trust me
You don’t think all work done on that 52 Chevy isn’t documented and disclosed?
I think most collectors would prefer to think that the cards in their collection have never been cleaned/altered/tampered with in any way, but the truth is we can never truly know that unless we pulled it straight from a pack ourselves. 30 years ago we happily smashed cards into screw down cases thinking in good faith that practice was a fool proof way to protect our cards long term and here we are realizing the error in our thinking 30 years later. I suspect 30 years from now we will look back at Kurt’s Card and laugh at the uproar it’s caused as sentiment either moves to embrace it or new technology offers us some way to expunge it from the hobby. I bought an 1887 Allen & Ginter card recently and while it was graded and given a number grade, no company can definitely tell me that some kid didn’t drop that thing a bowl of porridge in 1891 and proceed to clean it off with some sort of primitive household cleaning product. And if he had, why should I care? I don’t condone card cleaning but life’s also too short to lose any sleep over it.
I never heard of Kurt's Card Care until now! Looked him up on youtube, went through some of his videos.
Just watched the one of him "fixing" a 1948 Leaf Babe Ruth! 😮
The card goes into a plate of liquid!!! 🙀
Yup. And what is that liquid? He won’t say.
@@JunkWaxHero The reason he won't say what's in the liquid is the same reason PSA can't detect it. It's probably just distilled water with isopropyl alcohol. If he gave away the secret his business would disappear overnight. Great video by the way.
@@horsetooth thanks… I get your point, but Pepsi says what’s in their soda and they still do fine.
@@JunkWaxHero Kurt's spray smells more musty than isopropyl alcohol. Not sure what it is, mineral spirits?
To me, using a cleaning solution on a card (like Kurt's) is tampering with the card. It's in the same category as trimming and adding color. Using a cleaning solution is altering/tampering with the card. The only "cleaning" I'm OK with is wiping off fingerprints with a microfiber cloth. PSA is the leading grading company. They should be able to detect it. Given the choice between an iconic vintage card or a Wemby 1/1, I would take the iconic vintage. Wemby just finished his rookie season, and there is a lot of volatility in his cards for that reason. I saw that Twitter (X) post about the Hagen Danner 2024 Topps Heritage card and replied to it saying it's not the first time Topps made that mistake. The first ones that come to mind regarding Topps using the wrong picture are the 1985 Gary Pettis and the 1988 Al Leiter.
Hey Mike, I hear alot of people talking about adding products to their cards like Kurts, but my question is do we know that grading companies are using anything, possibly a cleaning solution on their plastic? I recently cracked a heritage card out of an SGC slab and the surface was rough! White specs all over, I grabbed a microfiber to wipe it off, but it was the surface of the card that appeared to be chipped or faded? I know it didn't used to look like that, as I pulled and submitted the card myself. I did go ahead and grade it with PSA, it dropped 1 and a half points, where as all other cracks and resubs I've done have come back same grade, so just something I've been thinking about, any chance it's something the grading company did or something else? Thanks Mike, love your videos
Really interesting… I don’t think they’re putting anything on the card. As for the grade dropping, it happens more than you think. The companies have different standards, which often results in different grades.
Topps had a long history of putting the wrong guy on cards. My favorite is Gary Pettis 1985 Topps card that actually features his 14 year old brother.
Yes but did Pettis tell Topps before they released it?
even if psa hire kurt to try to figure out his method there may be an even better kurt out there that is doing something even better kurt has said so himself on a recent talk we have no clue how good some people are out there in card land
Kurt is not going to incriminate himself by showing PSA what to look for.
Well done 🎉
Mike, I bought my grail card and sent you a email with a picture of it. It's the 1970 Bergmann-Verlag Top Stars Jimi Hendrix from Germany. One hasn't sold in like 2 years. I seen one come up for sale with a bent corner and paper missing on the back for 450.00 which the seller then took down. So pumped, I think there are like 14 of them graded. All the paper is on the back of mine, it does have glue residue tho, since they were made to glue into a book. Do you think I should soak it? Lol. WWKD?
Amazing! Congrats! I’m behind on my email
1) I am all for grading 1/1's as authentic (and believe I have stated such here and in other comments elsewhere). Like you said, anything less than a 10 would detract so having it labeled as authentic should be enough for the prospective buyer... and it appears that it is.
2) I'll take the Mantles and Ruths and pocket the $200K any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Anything can happen but my guess is in that 15 years, the Wemby won't be worth half a mil and the Mantles and Ruths will always, for the most part, hold their value.
3) Yes! I'll take the 51 cards over the Wemby. Also, they'd be more fun to show off than just 1 Wemby card.
4) I'm sure you're actually glad the $20 in the slots went for naught. Can you imagine what would have happened if you'd hit it for $500 or so? You're kids are now hooked on "the easy way to make money." (I understand gambling has more to do with the action than actually trying to win though.)
Great video, Mike!
All great points. Yes, I was happy my $20 went quickly. Later in the week my wife dropped $20 in a machine when the kids were off doing something else, and it lasted about 20 minutes. Way more exciting, and we were glad the kids weren’t there.
I am against cleaning cards, but the changing of the cards may happen with nothing on the card (hulking of Kobe chromes). What happens then?
Cool autos Scott!
Maybe they are banning it because they're plastic holders aren't uv resistant and/ or PSA doesn't want to pay for uv protection.
Interesting. What does UV have to do with it?
I don’t have anything against card restoration if it’s safe. It’s potentially a benefit to all. In a perfect world, safe chemicals are developed and PSA examines to confirm it’s a safe restoration as well as grade the card. But this is the Wild West. Everyone is improvising. I don’t see the leadership at PSA to lead the change. It’s a amusing to see that PSA decertified the card which was used to publicly shame them and be nonplussed by the Wemby..
Kirks card care messes up PSA card population control
The thousands upon thousands of cards that have been cracked and resubmitted over and over again have destroyed the population report. This era of the hobby is a mess. Been a collector over 30 years, this era is the first I've seen that has the chance to totally destroy the hobby.
They’ll give an “A” to water-damaged cards … aren’t those “soaked”? PSA will send a card back for a 1/64” of an inch that probably came out the factory, and/but their most famous card was a trim … if you play PSA, you get PSA rules.
Yeah Kurt is the fraud. (/sarcasm)
Who charges $149 yr for a "club" that has zero benefits. Other than a gated discount on their already exorbitant prices.
They have butt ass ugly slabs despite having a "premium price". They have no problem with Kurt's products along as they benefit themselves for it. Aka having their name on the 1/1 Wemby.
I think its more likely than not, they are trying to take him down, because they have future plans to offer restoration themselves (Which I'm sure will be fairly priced, rofl)
PSA is a joke, club fees (for absolutely nothing) , the ugliest slabs of ANY grader even the F tier guys, and now add being hypocrites if they don't decert the 1/1.
Here's the reality, by them doing this, Kurts business is going to explode with all the publicity and if they don't decert the Wemby is bad publicity for them.
Kurt couldn't be as scummy as PSA in 1000 lifetimes.
They're both scummy. Just like all the dealers who use the juice and dont tell their customers are, scummy. Welcome to the post covid hobby. Thanks to the noobs, it's a shitshow.
Regarding the $2000 box and the $200 worth of value received from it. Of course nowadays everybody wants instant value so they’re looking for the big hit, the big chase card, big autograph, big star big prospect but that’s the problem. Cards have to mature over time and players have to develop and have a career that makes their card valuable. The old cards are valuable because the players had great careers and many of the cards were destroyed or whatever. So when people did collect cards back in the 60s or 70s, they collected the star players and if there was a rookie, nobody thought about saving all of that rookies cards
Until he did something to be great. There’s a lot of hype in the card Market for prospects but most of these players will never be worth anything because topps makes 1 million of each base card. And even the inserts are made in multiple variations so I think like you said it’s a huge gamble, but if you’re buying for long-term investment, you might want to figure out a different plan.
Great browser cleaning today
Thanks!
If PSA was responsible in it's perch as a 'hobby leader' it would invest some serious R&D $ into finding out which materials are safe and which are not... It's doing all a disservice by issuing a blanket 'no tampering' when it should be fine to do 'non-restorative'(no adding color or materials) cleaning that's deemed safe... The Jackie and Wemby fiasco exposes their hypocrisy: having the Wemby in their slab is a good look for them, but a 2.5 '53 Jackie not so much... but as others have pointed out, PSA can't tell if you use KCC on your cards, so they'll only ding you when you bring it to their attention...
Do you think chemicals are safe?
So is psa going to go back and get every card thats beeb cleaned .Psa picks and chooses whats ok. Its ok for psa to give PSA 8s to a card thats a 10 and they are always messing up grades and try to make people sign nda but this isn't ok
I have many vintage cards. Back then; kids didn't think oh let's put this in a protector case. So cards got bumped etc. Trading and sharing with friends. As long as it's not ruining someone's cards, who cares if someone used Kurt's products?? I haven't yet but I am considering.. thoughts?
There are videos that show that the cleaning gets reversed over time and stains come back
Oh. Also not a huge fan of the whole grading process since it's so subjective between different individuals and companies.
I think asking if Kurt's is good or not depends on who you are asking. If you are a collector or investor with a slew of cards that are already graded, then you probably hate the product. If you are a new seller and don't have many cards and are strictly trying to make a buck, you probably love the product. I'm waiting to grade my cards, they are such low pops that an "original" with oxidation on the back may be worth more than one that's been cleaned in the future. I was also thinking if I get them graded to just get them authentic. Most of the cards I have the highest grades on psa are like an 8. At that point with pops under 20, who cares if the card is a 5,6, or 7? As long as they are centered with sharp corners. So even as someone who has farted with cleaning there is still a strategy, I don't plan on soaking all my cards. Would I soak a 1975 panini Zeppelin, pop 10, going for like 2k in an 8? No. I believe there to be one 8 and one 7. Like I said a card with some oxidation on the back in the future may hold more value. Now would I clean a 1980 David Gilmore Pop Festival, pop 6; with brown mold around the edge? Yes. The card is perfectly centered, and the mold has ruined the card. I don't plan on selling it for 10 years so even if the solution did something to the card and it fades, it will still look better than it did, Plus I would have no problem disclosing that it was cleaned ten years ago if the card has an issue then, if it doesn't, then why say anything? Would I clean a 1997 Ultra Figus Pantera from Argentina that's wrapper sticks to the cards over time and ruins them? Absolutely. Again, the card is ruined with black stuff all over the back. I took some medical alcohol, dunked it, gingerly hit it with a makeup sponge while dunked and the black stuff came off. A card that would have graded a 1 or 2 is now in the running for an 8 or 9. Again, I don't plan on selling it for awhile, but I would have no problem showing before and after pictures when selling it. The only problem with that is the same thing that just happened to Kurt.
Thanks for this perspective
@@JunkWaxHero I don't feel like all cards are made to be cleaned. I've seen several cards from the 48 leaf set that look bleached. I wouldn't dunk a card from that set. I believe a saw a Paige and a Joe Louis (Kurts) card that look way too white from that set along with a few others. If I was using cleaning to flip cards and not to just spruce up a couple for my own pc I would target late 60's-80's rc's. A Joe Jackson cracker jacks card I think it was on a high rollers video brought like 300k, it graded an 8. It just looked way too nice and white. I would want some oxidation on it if it were me, just saying, it was like over 100 years old. It makes me wonder if any of the Mantle 10's were cleaned? Even some of the 50's cards that Kurt has cleaned has seemed to change the color just a hair, the Clemente rc he cleaned at least. I don't see it happening as cards got more waxier.
The wemby is still active . That’s like a 1/1 . I’m sure psa said if he see colour change etc then it will be reactive . Im sure for sure sure that vintage cars tho u could see the colour change . I’m sure that card was deactivated
If it's undetectable, then whats the issue. I don't see the issue if you can restore a card to the point where the restoration is undetectable/ you're just cleaning the card rather than altering it (you're just reversing any damage or removing dirt or discolouration).
Kurt doesn’t say what’s in his cleaner. No one knows if it will degrade a card over the course of years. There’s evidence that it does, as many people have pointed out.
@@JunkWaxHero I guess. 90% sure it’s just 10-30% alcohol in distilled water + neutral shoe polish. I use it but I don’t sell or grade my stuff, just my personal collection (Pokemon cards)
Several million for a modern, late career, "authentic" Jordan auto, with the enormously overrated logoman patch seems ludicrous. I don't care if a company stamped "1/1" on it. Yes, he's a GOAT, but there are tons and tons of Jordan cards and autos out there.
Agreed
Hey Kip, I just sent you a bottle of KCCJ (Kurt's Card Care Juice) Let me know when you're done soaking my 72 Reggie Jackson.
@@horsetooth Wish I could help, but I'll be too busy repacking my ET cards into Xmas rack packs.
@@KipArmadillodude, send me the one with Elliott and et on the bike!
I got no problem with cleaning cards
So ? Are the cards still not out there in PSA slabs ? How many people really check the certificate ? If you put serious money in this hobby (PSA), seriously bad things can happen.
That fenway display case you bought is pretty cool! I like how it looks with the 2 slabs on it. Are you still collecting bobbleheads? I have a bobblehead new in package with an oddball rookie card of Ichiro Suzuki if you're interested. If you are ill just ship it to you, im not trying to sell it. Let me know 🤟
Wow that’s really generous! I would definitely take it. I love Ichiro. Can you email me for my address?
@@JunkWaxHero of course
Kurt is BAD for the hobby.
I understand that people have concerns about the long term repercussions of what the card care products will do to the cards. But I am having trouble finding credible backing/proof that this will happen. I have heard of one example of a graded card where over time a stain began to show after being encapsulated for years. It is unknown what was done to this card before grading. It could of been a stain that was bleached out and reappeared or it could of been something clear spilled on the card and it finally started to show after aging. I have not seen anything definitive, the long term effects have only been speculation. On the other side of the issue Kurt has described his methods as being industry standard for other categories of items and the substances he uses have been used to clean, restore, preserve items such as artwork, old documents, etc. A fast fact for everyone, The Declaration of Independence has to be regularly treated to keep it from deteriorating into dust over time. From my perspective as someone who is trying to weigh both sides of the issue, Kurt has made a better argument for what he does then the people who are adamantly against what he does. It seems that Kurt specifically is being targeted with this issue, but he looks to have high standards in the products and processes he uses. Even then all his methods are wrapped up in one bundle and labeled "bad." From what I have seen there are some things he does that make sense and some that should be questioned and tested objectively. Since he is the target, that means that he will be blamed for anyone else using sketchy methods on cards to sneak one past the card graders. Which is not justified. Sketchy people were doing sketchy things long before Kurt came around. We as a community have put a high value on a cards grade. Therefore people will do whatever they can to get high grades. What needs to happen is the community needs to continue to have conversations with facts, not speculation, to figure out what the industry standard should be. There is one truth. Our hobby revolves around things made from cardboard. Cardboard was never made to last. Everyone's cards in graded slabs will break down given enough time. When PSA encapsulates a card, it does not pause time for that card. It is not held in suspended animation. At some point we will have to have the discussion if we need to start using substances to preserve the oldest cards or just let them crumble.
I really appreciate how thoughtful and professional your comment is. I do disagree, obviously, but that’s okay! You make some good points anyway.
@@JunkWaxHero I am curious about what you disagree with. I thought I was presenting the issues at hand and saying we need to be discussing this respectfully. One side of the issue is making a better case than the other. For those who do not think cards should be cleaned and/or pressed, why? I am open to hear why. Actual facts and evidence. I am undecided on some items and decided on others in this issue. I can be convinced. Just not in the way many content creators are just gaslighting and strawmaning Kurt's Card Care (You are not one of these people, I watch you because you are respectful, even headed and just love the hobby).
@@thebeardedcollector19 sorry, I thought I’d made my case clear.
You talked about the Declaration of Independence, but it is known that that is restored, and we know what it was restored with. No one knows for sure what is in Kurt’s products. He also sells the cards privately to people who don’t know they’re cleaned with chemicals. And we don’t yet know what impacts those chemicals might have on cards. How often do we see old slabs and say “how did this get that grade?” because it looks worse? Could it be because the chemicals degraded?
PSA says cleaning is against their terms for the same reasons. So I believe that Kurt hides the cert numbers so no one can report him. He doesn’t want PSA knowing he’s doing it. And he doesn’t want buyers knowing he’s doing it.
If it can be proven that there’s no long-term impact, I think it would be fine.
@@JunkWaxHero Maybe I misunderstood, I thought you had disagreements with what I said. You were talking about your disagreements from your video. I am in no way a Kurt Apologist and have never bought anything from him, but I have followed him on Instagram long before this whole Wemby thing came up. I have never gotten the impression from his post that he is trying to hide anything. He goes into depth openly about his process on IG. He does regular Livestreams on IG where people can comment. From what I have seen if people do not know what he is doing it is because they are not looking. As for me, I am looking for best practices and the truth. Unfortunately we are programmed by our media/politics to attack the person and not the policy/methods. Therefore many people are approaching this card cleaning thing like attack dogs and not truth seekers. Many content creators are not having the conversations that we need, they are just creating content bashing someone from a very ignorant point of view. Normally I do not jump into the comments section to blast away. With you, I know a respectful conversation can be had. If there is something wrong with how I see things, I want to be corrected with the truth, not someone hurling insults. I appreciate your videos, perspectives, and love for the hobby. Thank you.
@@thebeardedcollector19 he’s teaching people his methods, but from what I’ve seen he hides his slabs so PSA doesn’t know they’re his. And why doesn’t he sell them publicly?
I’m not attacking Kurt. I don’t know him at all. I just don’t like his methods.
Cleaning (with distilled water and other natural ingredients) is acceptable. They do it all the time with famous paintings. It’s called restoration. Otherwise, these famous works of art would degrade over time. News alert: These antique paintings are more important and have a higher value than baseball cards.
@@mrunlimited3 it’s not acceptable according to PSA!
@@JunkWaxHero the same PSA who knowingly graded trimmed cards, gives favorable grades to influencers, has zero transparency into its subjective grading rationale, graded known counterfeits is now all of sudden the moral authority in this industry? Sorry, that’s a joke.
There is no place for Kurt's in the hobby
I tend to agree
I tend to be ok with cleaning card to certain levels. Plus CGC comics offer a CLEANING and pressing for fee. That is acceptable for comics. But cleaning cards not soaking cards is everyone complaining about. Cleaning cards should be acceptable or maybe grading companies should offer a fee of cleaning sort of somewhat CGC. Beside i think PSA is getting flac on BBB ON there’re customer service reviews and i am curious about PSA were resubmit because the grade was 7 or 8 and the customers was a 9 or PSA GOD mode 10. I think PSA POP count is some what jaded with some PSA slab that were resubmitted for high grade.
How do you ban card cleaning of cards when purchasing a raw card and then you turnaround and send it to PSA for grading. Then PSA detects the card had been previously cleaned but that was not disclosed to you when you purchased it raw. You can’t know the complete history of a raw card or if someone used a cleaning product on it before you purchased it. Think about all the raw cards bought and sold on eBay an Whatnot. This issue of cleaning cards is going to ruin the industry if we don’t watch it and PSA is in the front leading the way of doing so.
PSA is ruining the industry by not accepting cleaned cards?
Kurt has stated he has over 20,000 customers, and shortly his products will be on Amazon. And thanks to all the publicity this has gotten, I'm sure that's going to skyrocket.
Old saying: There's no such thing as bad publicity. Congrats Kurt on likely being made a multi-millonare over this.
Yeah no doubt this controversy has helped him. It’ll be interesting to see what happens moving forward.
I would be able to find better cards for the pc
Sorry .i found my comment..you didnt delete..your Spine has miraculously grown back...sorry
I’m not in the business of deleting comments
Kurt isnt going to accept being hired by PSA to incriminate himself. Furthermore, as for the Jeter SP, I think alot of people are going to get burnt on that card. It is not a rare card.
There are 21 of them, and a ton of collectors who want it. How is it not rare?
@@JunkWaxHero You're counting artificial scarcity. A numerical grade never dictates value on truly rare collectibles. PSA alone has graded nearly 25,000 copies of that Jeter. That's not counting other grading companies and those still sealed and ungraded loose copies. I try counting the overall supply of the card. It's safe to say that card manufacturers printed millions of cards to upkeep demand. There might be a few exceptions like refractors and other short print inserts from the 90s, but there is a ton of supply for most cards.
@@vintagecollector5340 right but there are so many registry collectors who want that 10. I get what you’re saying, but the registry is king with a ton of people.
@@JunkWaxHero That's just proof that most people don't understand true scarcity. PSA is going to pop control that card, as long as people truly believe the grade makes it rare. I've bought some original photos where I've not seen a single duplicate of them since purchasing them two years ago. Compare that to a pop-controlled PSA card and tell me which one wins with the true scarcity.
@@JunkWaxHero That Jeter in PSA 10 sells multiple times a year. That's not many sales, but PSA and everyone else knows that. As long as the grade makes the card "rare", PSA will add very few (if any) gem grades of that Jeter. They might add enough to keep people hopeful, but that's it. That's just how it is. Have faith in the idiots of the hobby willing to buy into artificial scarcity, and PSA will gladly control population for you on your "rare" gem grades.
“Why can’t PSA detect it?” I think the easy answer is because it doesn’t do any harm and it is dumb to ban cleaning.
"Dumb to ban cleaning".....I'm glad you feel.that way. Will you be disclosing to your customers which cards you've "cleaned"?
@@johnwayne9828 Of course. Will disclose liquid used (saliva or tap water), cloth used and how long cleaning/buffering took place (in seconds).
@@adambye2531 great, now if every other grifter out there rubbing their spunk on the cards would follow suit, this would be a nonissue. But we both know that wont happen, this hobby has become too shady. You people claim you want cleaning to be an accepted practice but then you want to hide what you've done from the customer.
I don't like Kurt, but people have been soaking and cleaning cards for more than 50 years.
Agreed, but now way more are and he’s making it easier and teaching the masses how to do it.
A few known grifters and conmen doing it 50 years ago isn't the same as every newbie from the last 5 years doing it. It wasnt a hobbywide issue until now. And as much as I've seen you defend it, you must've been one of those few conmen doing it back in the day.
@@JunkWaxHero Agreed. And I'm not defending the guy, I don't like Kurt or his practices, but people are freaking out like this is something that he invented. A large percentage of tobacco cards were collected by gluing them into scrapbooks and there are now tens of thousands of those cards in slabs. Another YT guy recently found a collection of 48/49 Leaf short prints glued to index cards and the discussion was about if or how the cards could be removed without damage, and not a single mention of the ethics about removing them, because no one cared.
In his rookie season, Shaq had better stats than Wemba. In every category. Wemba is overhyped
I know. Shaq was amazing.
@@JunkWaxHero he was. Imo Wemba will not reach Shaq level. Look at Shaq cards tho, they are relatively low priced. It kills me to see Wemby worth more than one of the Goats
@@RCA_Dome Shaq’s career coincided with a low point / junk wax era of Shaq’s cards. I loved Shaq.
@@JunkWaxHero yes. Early career. When he went to Lakers and Heat, junk wax era was over.
@@RCA_Dome less demand for late-career cards 🤷🏻♂️
The hobby is bad for honest people...?
You kind of left everyone hanging on the Jordan + breaking backboard story. Could you not have watched the basically 5 second clip within your own video for legal reasons or something?
Good question. Yes, and I’m not sure what the rules are. But I can get a “strike” from TH-cam under certain circumstances.
dont trust kurt one little bit. Very dodgy person. Anyone experimenting with autos on cards is going into dangerous waters. so many different issues with the product which could cause a tonne of lawsuits. If someone gets an allergic reaction to his solution, what does one do? has he really thought everything through or just went for the quick buck and now blown up in his face. If he was legit, he would go the right way about running his business, but he doesnt.
Tiffany cards. Mine your own business. PSA makes sure you give out a refund. PLease Submit Again can’t properly grade cards how can detect if card is soaked. I love Kurt he is restoring art same thing TIFFANY CARDS KISS MY A$$