[mark.alan.rose@hotmai]

I'm interested to know your thoughts on choosing which cards to get graded. I have no feel for whether a specific card is going to score well when graded; therefore, I've never taken that leap. I'm currently on the fence about the following two cards: Luka status rc gold #7/10 and Zion origins auto silver ink #2/49. If I get the Zion graded, does it make sense to do the dual grading whereby the auto is graded in addition to the card? Also, I have a lebron topps chrome rc that seems obviously off center based on the white outside framing. Is it smart not to get it graded then? Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

[btrav13]

If your goal is to flip the Luka and Zion for profit then I would absolutely grade them and you'd want to use PSA. PSA graded cards sell for more. That being said, I like the BGS sub grades. For anything staying in my personal collection I use BGS. I have two orders out with PSA right now for cards I plan on selling once they come back.

If everything else is fine on the LBJ I'd grade it as well if you're looking to sell it for money.

There's a tutorial on YouTube about how to inspect a card for grading but I can't find it so I'll just give the summary. You need a $10 LED desk lamp from Walmart and a $10 magnifying jewels lens from Amazon.

Start with an eyeglasses cleaning cloth. Breathe a couple of hot breaths of air on the card and look for smudges that you can very lightly wipe clean. Then use the lens to check for scratches. Use the lens to look at the corners and edges. If that all works out send it in to PSA for grading.

I did my first PSA submission in December and it's a bit of a process. You'll need to go to eBay to come up with a reasonable value for the card based on how you think it will grade. The higher the value, the more expensive to grade. BUT DONT LIE ABOUT IT because PSA will charge you the correct amount. If the card is selling graded as a PSA 9 for $5000 don't enter the card with a value of $1500 to save money. It won't work.

After you have an account at PSA you'll log in, log each of your cards and then print out 4 copies of the submission form. They want the cards in a card saver (not a top loader and not a mag) and they want them in order top to bottom in the order they were entered into the form. You'll attach a sticky note to each card with your submission number and line number. So for example with three cards the top card would read "Submission 1234567 Line 1/1". Second card would be "Submission 1234567 Line 1/2" and so on.

You'll also need to write the order number and the grade level you paid for (grade levels depend on the value of the card) on the outside of the box. I highly suggest using a credit card because you pay nothing until it's all done. It will save you time because otherwise you'll get a "we're done" email and have to mail them a check.

Then you'll package them up safely and mail them to PSA. It will take a few weeks after they receive them to even see an order in your PSA account. My order that arrived there 12/26 was officially made into an "order" under "my account" on 1/14". None of my cards were worth over $500 so I was "economy" which is 40 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER they create the order and they're checked in. It's going to take a while.

Unless someone can show otherwise, I think you need to do two submissions as you're grading 1 card only and 1 card with a card and autograph grade. And yes, I'd grade both the card and the autograph.

[roberts.matt23@gmail.]

PSA MUCH EASIER ON GRADING AS WELL - MORE LIKELY TO RECEIVE A 10 - BECKETT BY FAR MORE STRICT

[walls29@yahoo.com]

As mentioned by btrav13, a graded card will likely sell better. Considering that a card of that magnitude/value, a serious buyer/collector would be much more comfortable shelling out cash on a graded version. Often, it is very difficult to assess the condition through photos (without being able to examine the card in hand) which could drive a buyer away from a raw version.