Its 2022 and this is still the best tutorial and helpful video for people learning how to and what to look for in preparing for grading our cards! Thank you for creating and sharing.
I've been collecting since 1980 and I think I have developed a very good eye in my mind that I can almost tell what a card will grade. I look at all 4 corners front and back and then I will turn the card back and forth looking for any type of ding, dot or something that could have happened in the printing process and you're right about it being different for all the different types of cards and I just tell myself what I think it will grade and go for it and hope for the best!
I just wanted to thank you I've watched a lot of videos and not one came close to how you explained this grading tool.So once again thank you sir please keep doing more of these because your awesome at it
Fantastic tutorial man!!! Really helping me out since I’m going to be hopefully sending some super big cards to PSA soon if they look good! Since I’m only probably going to do this one grading order I’ve been using a bright window to judge whether or not the corners and edges are sharp. I’ve been using a plastic ruler with mm on it for center and it seems to be working good! I’m just glad that you pretty much confirmed with this video that I’m on the right track! I completely forgot about surface though so I’m going to have to check that out!
Glad it helped man! Yea you gotta check that surface though die discoloration, print lines, or the smallest scratch will ding you hard. That tool practically guarantees centering is on point though. Edges are the only I don't check hard, because it seems random with the graders and inconsistent. So i figure I can at least master 3 out 4
@@hobbylottery5014 Good thing I checked surface! I had one card nice sized dent in it. That one won't be getting sent out! The rest of them seemed pretty good though! Hopefully I'll be sending it out soon!
This is probably the most helpful video I've watched in a long time. You do a perfect job of demonstrating how to go about things. Much appreciated. Thank you.
This is a great video for me! I've always wondered if there was more to collecting and there is. I'm retired from the work force now so I have more time to get "re"-aquainted to card collecting. The video got kinda fuzzy at times but the main points were clearly delivered. Great job!
I used to grade with GMA. They gave my Jason Kidd rookie card a 10 when it had edge wear. Cracked and submitted to HGA & it got a 9. Same thing with Whiz Kidz J. Kidd when front was scratched. This was 10 years go. Gave them another chance this year and bought a Prizm WWE Stone Cold GMA 10 and when I got it checked the back and it had ink/color missing where it shouldn't. Can't trust GMA. Just saying, better off paying a little more and going with SGC or CSG.
CGC grades like GMA at the moment, they used to grade like bgs when CSG first came out with green labels. They figured giving out more 10s will have people send more to them, it just tanked resale value for csg lol
Great vid thanks found you from HGA video just submitted my first order with them last Friday. Also had 2 Lamelos in my order, he is on fire lately 🔥 ordered a centering tool from eBay!!
Thanks for watching, and congratulations on getting that submission in! Can't go wrong with anything Lamelo👍🏾That centering tool pays for itself 100 times over
Hobby Lottery, I just bought this tool and it's amazing to use as a pre-grading evaluation. I am planning to grade Marvel cards and have a question regarding edge and surface. I know this is just based on your experience, but I have 2 scenarios that I was hoping you could comment on: 1) If I look at a card in the light with my naked eye, sometimes I see what looks like a faint scratch/print line across it at certain angles. However, when I take the magnifier to this area, the card looks completely clean with no indents to the card or color/printing imperfections and no scratch. What do you do in these settings if the card otherwise looks perfect from an edge/corner/surface standpoint but your naked eye picks up on something that, on closer inspection, is not actually a defect? 2) If you have a card that has a perfect front from corners, surface, edges, and then go to the reverse side of the card and have some edge wear or "natural card bleed" as some call it on one side out of four, what do you do in these settings? I think I remember reading that 25% of the grade is the back of the card as a whole, so does PSA typically round down to a 9 if everything else on the card is perfect? I see some close up pictures of gem mint 10s from PSA and I can see a corner has minor whiting or edges can sometimes look like little specs of white here and there, but I am wondering if it was overlooked or they still take into account the overall appeal of the card? Sorry for the long post, but I hope this all makes sense. I am trying to learn the easy way instead of assuming certain things and getting burned on my return.
For Scenario 1: I'd say if everything else is perfect it would get an gem mint with SGC and BGS. PSA is the strictest on surface, it possible it may be a 9, but they're so inconsistent that it may be a 10 as well. Overall it would probably gem. Scenario 2: PSA has been stricter than ever with for the last 6 months so that card will almost definitely get a 9. It would likely get a 9 with the other major players as well. Hope this helps 👍🏾
Yes this was very helpful, explanation was spot on, made sense to me and I am going to incorporate this method before sending them in for grading. Thanks.
Cool video! I have a local LCS that does PSA submissions and they will inspect for me. The math has been pretty consistent…half of the cards I bring to them they consider strong 9s or 10s, 75% of the cards they submit for me end up being 10s. I only bring them cards that don’t have obvious issues…around 75%. It ends up being around 1 in every 4 cards I would like to get graded for my PC end up being 10s. The other ones I throw up on eBay to help pay for the grading and pack costs.
This is a great video! Only things I would add, IMO, is to turn the cards horizontal to look at print lines. Also, when I have multiples of the same card/type of card I'll stack them & rotate them along the edges. It shows edge issues & can also pic up frayed corners. Did you notice a difference in grading toughness during 2021?
You might want to wipe down the back of the centering tool with the microfiber cloth before you lay the tool down on the face of the card. Lint will find a way onto important surfaces. Thanks for the great video and information
Liked your video, I'm wanting to send in some cards to get graded and I'd like to see a video on Prizm cards. Have you found a certain card to grade better then others?
Thanks for watching! In my opinion 19-20 Prizm and Revolution are the hardest. But everything else is easier. I didn't get into grading until last yr. So I only have input on those sets
Thanks for the walk through. And yes very helpful. It was exactly what was looking for. I want to be very careful with what i pay to send in. This gives me a great chance for a much better outcome.
I have the same centering tool, but had a hard time reading the lines and this tutorial really helped. I always worried about scratching the prizm and mosaic and chrome cards with the tool so i put them in the penny sleeves before I used the tool and that might have been causing me problems.
Thanks for watching! Yea it won't scratch the cards and the penny sleeve would definitely throw you off. The sleeve will cause the tool to slide out of position and you can see, even a millimeters off will make a difference
great video and insight. so, how are you able to judge if a card has a good chance of being a grade 10 before you purchase? assuming you do a number of purchases from on-line sites. on ebay, sometimes a card will look good, but often I can't tell if i am looking at an imperfection or not, or just a bad shadow or dust and smudge on the sleeve not the card...
I’ve never submitted cards for grading. On one hand, I get what you’re doing but on the other I wonder if it really impacts the final grade? Ultimately it all comes down to what the person grading the card thinks and not how much prep we do? I’m tempted to send a batch in that I think are “good” and see what the results are. Then again I have seen several of these videos that utilize the same process, so I’m sure you all know something I don’t.
Thanks for the upload! Was going to pick up this tool about a few weeks ago but it looked too confusing to try and figure out so I just didn’t bother. You explained everything really well and I have a pile of mosaic football I want to sub to HGA when I can get an order in so I was really excited to find this video!
@hobbylottery thank you for sharing these valuable techniques. I may have missed it within the comments or your description, but would you mind sharing the magnifier you're using? Also, is it 10x just like the companies use? Again. Appreciate your insight.
Just getting started: cleaning, grading, etc. What is best source (site or app) online to determine current prices? Before putting time and effort into any given card, it would be good to know it it's even worth it.
I have a bunch of stored cards in packed pulled and stored not much value raw but graded they could. I had the problem I needed this exact video to get the cards inspected so I know they are worth grading cause its $50 a card. I mean it's kind of a rip off to send cards to get graded when you don't even know if they are worth it. This is exactly how it needs to be check them before hand to know if its gonna get a good grade
I agree with the way you are grading these yourself, except, why aren't you wearing white cotton gloves? Our hands put oils in the side of the cards when you touch them.
Gloves ruin dexterity, and you're more likely to knick a corner or edge when handling cards with gloves. Cotton gloves would be especially bad, if anything you would want some form of latex or rubber gloves however professional graders at most companies are not wearing gloves during the process. Just hold the cards gently by the edges. You would have to have abnormally oily hands to leave residue on a card while holding it by the edges.
As much money as the card companies are charging us to buy these cards, they should be perfectly done. Without having to buy any gadgets to see if they are centered or not. They the card companies should inspect their cards before putting them in the silver foil that they come in. Back then at 10 cents to 50 cents a pack didn’t seem to bother anyone. But now at 5 dollars to 500 dollars a pack should be more then enough for them to get it right. By constantly changing the cutting blades and Inspecting every single card with robotic measuring equipment would be the right thing to do. Just like inspecting parts that are put into aviation. Make them right or throw them away. Nobody wants to send in a card to get an 8 or 9. Especially when you pay $1,000.00 for a box!!!!!
It's solid, but have switched to a larger magnifier since posting this vid. I started to get headaches during long stretches of pre-grading due to squinting through that smaller loupe
If you go to gotbaseballcards.com and scroll to the bottom of the page you will see it in the best sellers section. However, you can find plenty of decent one's on Amazon with built in LED lights
Its 2022 and this is still the best tutorial and helpful video for people learning how to and what to look for in preparing for grading our cards!
Thank you for creating and sharing.
Thanks a lot, glad it helped!
I second @kobela333's comment. Good stuff.
@hobbylottery5014 where did you get your loop?
@@JPfreedom I got the basic needs from Amazon
This is the best centering tutorial ever made. Everyone should see this video
Thank you, glad it was helpful!
Best tutorial I have seen on this subject, bought the grading tool after I viewed this. Hope you do more. Thanks!!
Glad it helped!
I dont even collect sport cards but the method is perfect for the tcgs I collect - thank you! :)
What are tcgs ?
I've been collecting since 1980 and I think I have developed a very good eye in my mind that I can almost tell what a card will grade.
I look at all 4 corners front and back and then I will turn the card back and forth looking for any type of ding, dot or something that could have happened in the printing process and you're right about it being different for all the different types of cards and I just tell myself what I think it will grade and go for it and hope for the best!
Awesome video -- Looking into grading my cards and my dad's pc in '23 -- will definitely reference back to this video. Thanks!
I just wanted to thank you I've watched a lot of videos and not one came close to how you explained this grading tool.So once again thank you sir please keep doing more of these because your awesome at it
Fantastic tutorial man!!! Really helping me out since I’m going to be hopefully sending some super big cards to PSA soon if they look good! Since I’m only probably going to do this one grading order I’ve been using a bright window to judge whether or not the corners and edges are sharp. I’ve been using a plastic ruler with mm on it for center and it seems to be working good! I’m just glad that you pretty much confirmed with this video that I’m on the right track! I completely forgot about surface though so I’m going to have to check that out!
Glad it helped man! Yea you gotta check that surface though die discoloration, print lines, or the smallest scratch will ding you hard. That tool practically guarantees centering is on point though. Edges are the only I don't check hard, because it seems random with the graders and inconsistent. So i figure I can at least master 3 out 4
@@hobbylottery5014 Good thing I checked surface! I had one card nice sized dent in it. That one won't be getting sent out! The rest of them seemed pretty good though! Hopefully I'll be sending it out soon!
This is probably the most helpful video I've watched in a long time. You do a perfect job of demonstrating how to go about things. Much appreciated. Thank you.
This is a great video for me! I've always wondered if there was more to collecting and there is. I'm retired from the work force now so I have more time to get "re"-aquainted to card collecting. The video got kinda fuzzy at times but the main points were clearly delivered. Great job!
Excellent video. Glad I found it. Now I know what to check before sending my cards off. Thanks.
This video was very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time.
This video was the best and showing me how to grab my cards. Thank you very much have a blessed day.
I used to grade with GMA. They gave my Jason Kidd rookie card a 10 when it had edge wear. Cracked and submitted to HGA & it got a 9. Same thing with Whiz Kidz J. Kidd when front was scratched. This was 10 years go. Gave them another chance this year and bought a Prizm WWE Stone Cold GMA 10 and when I got it checked the back and it had ink/color missing where it shouldn't. Can't trust GMA. Just saying, better off paying a little more and going with SGC or CSG.
CGC grades like GMA at the moment, they used to grade like bgs when CSG first came out with green labels. They figured giving out more 10s will have people send more to them, it just tanked resale value for csg lol
Great it’s a 10 but it’s not satisfying
Great vid thanks found you from HGA video just submitted my first order with them last Friday. Also had 2 Lamelos in my order, he is on fire lately 🔥
ordered a centering tool from eBay!!
Thanks for watching, and congratulations on getting that submission in! Can't go wrong with anything Lamelo👍🏾That centering tool pays for itself 100 times over
Should have watched this before sending some cards in. Thanks man, great content
Glad it helped, thanks for watching!
Great job! Very informative. Appreciate the upload.
Hobby Lottery, I just bought this tool and it's amazing to use as a pre-grading evaluation.
I am planning to grade Marvel cards and have a question regarding edge and surface. I know this is just based on your experience, but I have 2 scenarios that I was hoping you could comment on:
1) If I look at a card in the light with my naked eye, sometimes I see what looks like a faint scratch/print line across it at certain angles. However, when I take the magnifier to this area, the card looks completely clean with no indents to the card or color/printing imperfections and no scratch. What do you do in these settings if the card otherwise looks perfect from an edge/corner/surface standpoint but your naked eye picks up on something that, on closer inspection, is not actually a defect?
2) If you have a card that has a perfect front from corners, surface, edges, and then go to the reverse side of the card and have some edge wear or "natural card bleed" as some call it on one side out of four, what do you do in these settings? I think I remember reading that 25% of the grade is the back of the card as a whole, so does PSA typically round down to a 9 if everything else on the card is perfect? I see some close up pictures of gem mint 10s from PSA and I can see a corner has minor whiting or edges can sometimes look like little specs of white here and there, but I am wondering if it was overlooked or they still take into account the overall appeal of the card?
Sorry for the long post, but I hope this all makes sense. I am trying to learn the easy way instead of assuming certain things and getting burned on my return.
For Scenario 1: I'd say if everything else is perfect it would get an gem mint with SGC and BGS. PSA is the strictest on surface, it possible it may be a 9, but they're so inconsistent that it may be a 10 as well. Overall it would probably gem.
Scenario 2: PSA has been stricter than ever with for the last 6 months so that card will almost definitely get a 9. It would likely get a 9 with the other major players as well. Hope this helps 👍🏾
@@hobbylottery5014 definitely so helpful, thank you so much for your quick reply and insight.
Great info, new sub. Look forward to watching other content.
Glad it was useful, thanks for subbing!
Great video, thanks man!
Great video very thorough and easy to follow
How do you clean a Topps card from the 60’s or 70’s how do you straighten the corners and how do you adjust the sides?
New to grading. What a great video. Loupe & Grademaster on the way!
Yes this was very helpful, explanation was spot on, made sense to me and I am going to incorporate this method before sending them in for grading. Thanks.
This is such great info. Thanks!
Thanks for watching, glad it was helpful!
Cool video! I have a local LCS that does PSA submissions and they will inspect for me. The math has been pretty consistent…half of the cards I bring to them they consider strong 9s or 10s, 75% of the cards they submit for me end up being 10s. I only bring them cards that don’t have obvious issues…around 75%. It ends up being around 1 in every 4 cards I would like to get graded for my PC end up being 10s. The other ones I throw up on eBay to help pay for the grading and pack costs.
This is a great video! Only things I would add, IMO, is to turn the cards horizontal to look at print lines. Also, when I have multiples of the same card/type of card I'll stack them & rotate them along the edges. It shows edge issues & can also pic up frayed corners. Did you notice a difference in grading toughness during 2021?
Thank you, very helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
You might want to wipe down the back of the centering tool with the microfiber cloth before you lay the tool down on the face of the card. Lint will find a way onto important surfaces. Thanks for the great video and information
Thanks man, we’ll done. I’ll be using this technique for non sports cards.
Perfect centering turorial, I would have liked to see more on the other aspects though.
Centering tool definitely helps 🙌🏽
Awesome video!
Liked your video, I'm wanting to send in some cards to get graded and I'd like to see a video on Prizm cards. Have you found a certain card to grade better then others?
Thanks for watching! In my opinion 19-20 Prizm and Revolution are the hardest. But everything else is easier. I didn't get into grading until last yr. So I only have input on those sets
Good info. You did a job of explaining how you do it. Very helpful. Thanks 🙏🏼
Fantastic tutorial sir! Keep doin' what you do and I hope you continue to get 9s and 10s sir!
I appreciate it man!
The Harlem Shake! ... love it
Thanks for the walk through. And yes very helpful. It was exactly what was looking for. I want to be very careful with what i pay to send in. This gives me a great chance for a much better outcome.
Awesome content. Subscribed! Cheers bro 💪
Thanks for subbing man, glad it helped!
I have the same centering tool, but had a hard time reading the lines and this tutorial really helped. I always worried about scratching the prizm and mosaic and chrome cards with the tool so i put them in the penny sleeves before I used the tool and that might have been causing me problems.
Thanks for watching! Yea it won't scratch the cards and the penny sleeve would definitely throw you off. The sleeve will cause the tool to slide out of position and you can see, even a millimeters off will make a difference
What about with older basketball cards I have tons of raw Jordan’s over 150 and I have no clue if they are good to grade
Awesome lesson... needed this... great stuff...
Glad it helped!
This just popped up in my feed. Great video. Very informative. Thanks!
Great explanation! I was wondering how the checked centering of non bordered cards. Thank you Sir.
Super helpful! Thanks for sharing!
great video and insight. so, how are you able to judge if a card has a good chance of being a grade 10 before you purchase? assuming you do a number of purchases from on-line sites. on ebay, sometimes a card will look good, but often I can't tell if i am looking at an imperfection or not, or just a bad shadow or dust and smudge on the sleeve not the card...
Do you know what microfiber cloth you use? Link?
I sent it to you on Instagram my guy👍🏾
I’ve never submitted cards for grading. On one hand, I get what you’re doing but on the other I wonder if it really impacts the final grade? Ultimately it all comes down to what the person grading the card thinks and not how much prep we do? I’m tempted to send a batch in that I think are “good” and see what the results are. Then again I have seen several of these videos that utilize the same process, so I’m sure you all know something I don’t.
Thanks for that information best I've seen. I'm going to get that tool. That was too cool. Keep up with the cool 😎 videos.
Thanks for the upload! Was going to pick up this tool about a few weeks ago but it looked too confusing to try and figure out so I just didn’t bother. You explained everything really well and I have a pile of mosaic football I want to sub to HGA when I can get an order in so I was really excited to find this video!
Thanks for watching! Yea you'll definitely have good results using, good luck on your Mosaic sub 👍🏾
@@hobbylottery5014 feel free to check me out when you get a chance. i will be explaining the card tool as best as i can once i receive it in the mail
@@upnorthcomics subbed 👍🏾
Does this method work for vintage cards?
What should I do with a card that has a different name on the back from the one on the front? Does a misprint give or take value?
What batteries do you use for the magnifier
How do you add or come up with the total grade? Do you add them and take the average
Think you for the info
WOW GREAT video.. Thanks
Great video! You got a new subscriber. Thank you.
You hit it on the head. Good eyes and experience
Do you always focus on the number 3 on the scale?
What about scratches on the surface of the card and print lines?
Thanks! Great video
Excellent educational video.
Glad it was helpful!
Always waiting for your new video😊😊😊
Thanks for watching man 👍
Very Helpful!
Glad it helped 👍
tip: no need to apologize multiple times, just keep talking to us bro.
Super helpful. Thanks a lot!
Glad it was useful! Thanks for watching!
What if the sides measurements are different from the top and bottom measurements?
Shouldn't you center the back as well?
@hobbylottery thank you for sharing these valuable techniques. I may have missed it within the comments or your description, but would you mind sharing the magnifier you're using? Also, is it 10x just like the companies use? Again. Appreciate your insight.
Yes it was helpful thanks
Glad it was helpful👍
Just getting started: cleaning, grading, etc. What is best source (site or app) online to determine current prices? Before putting time and effort into any given card, it would be good to know it it's even worth it.
Try out price charting 🤜🏽🤛🏽
Could you make a video on how to check centering on NFL Prizm cards? Please.
Great video thanks for all the info
No problem, thanks for watching!
Great information and great video. Definitely going to get one if those. Thanks for sharing 👍.
On the Mosaic. It looks like the 9 runs thru the middle of the M symbol on the top left
Yes thank you
I have a bunch of stored cards in packed pulled and stored not much value raw but graded they could. I had the problem I needed this exact video to get the cards inspected so I know they are worth grading cause its $50 a card. I mean it's kind of a rip off to send cards to get graded when you don't even know if they are worth it. This is exactly how it needs to be check them before hand to know if its gonna get a good grade
Just got the tool im here for this
This is what I'm looking for thanks
thanks helpful video :) ... newbie nba collector here
Really great job.
great vid bro, very helpful fam
I bought five of these.
Good stuff bro!
Good job on the vid 👍🏾👍🏾
Well...maybe you should start the Hobby Lottery Card Grading Co. ?
Cheers!
⚾Baseball is the best.
Great video, thank you
Glad it helped!
micro fiber wont scratch holos?
No, not at all 👍🏾
Good video bro, I use gloves though, don’t know how that would work with the tools you got there
Very helpful appreciate you!
No problem, thanks for watching!
355 subs? Should be wayyy more than that. Plus, you could be a hand model lol
😂 thanks for watching!
Thanks. Good one. Do you use any particular company? I use BGS.
Glad it helped! At the moment I'm just using SGC and PSA
I agree with the way you are grading these yourself, except, why aren't you wearing white cotton gloves? Our hands put oils in the side of the cards when you touch them.
Gloves ruin dexterity, and you're more likely to knick a corner or edge when handling cards with gloves. Cotton gloves would be especially bad, if anything you would want some form of latex or rubber gloves however professional graders at most companies are not wearing gloves during the process. Just hold the cards gently by the edges. You would have to have abnormally oily hands to leave residue on a card while holding it by the edges.
As much money as the card companies are charging us to buy these cards, they should be perfectly done. Without having to buy any gadgets to see if they are centered or not. They the card companies should inspect their cards before putting them in the silver foil that they come in. Back then at 10 cents to 50 cents a pack didn’t seem to bother anyone. But now at 5 dollars to 500 dollars a pack should be more then enough for them to get it right. By constantly changing the cutting blades and Inspecting every single card with robotic measuring equipment would be the right thing to do. Just like inspecting parts that are put into aviation. Make them right or throw them away. Nobody wants to send in a card to get an 8 or 9. Especially when you pay $1,000.00 for a box!!!!!
I have the same loop. I love using it.
It's solid, but have switched to a larger magnifier since posting this vid. I started to get headaches during long stretches of pre-grading due to squinting through that smaller loupe
Still hard to go by unless your cards are being graded by PSA, but I'm sure it gets you closer to 9's and 10's no matter
Thanks for the info man
Are there any companies that will grade them for no cost and you split the profits when they sell?
You need an individual that will do that for you not a grading company.
m here in 2024 and feeling this helps.
ps-im a hockey only guy but that mosaic looks cool. is that just a base??
Yup. A base
Anyone know the name of the loupe used?
If you go to gotbaseballcards.com and scroll to the bottom of the page you will see it in the best sellers section. However, you can find plenty of decent one's on Amazon with built in LED lights