Grading Sportscards: How to Package Your Cards Part I

The holder that you place your raw card into is the key to keeping that card in the same condition throughout the trip from your front doorstep to the grading company of your choice. Both Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) encourage people submitting not to use both top loaders and screw down holders.

Top loaders are discouraged because it can be difficult to remove the card from the holder due to the fact that the opening is not staggered. This makes it hard to increase the size of the opening to remove the card without touching the card. In addition, top loaders are very rigid so if there is difficulty removing the card, there’s a tendency to bend the holder to get the card out, which in turn bends the card. These two factors sometimes make people resort to shaking the holder upside down until the card falls out, which is obviously not a good idea. You can place the card in a mylar sleeve before putting it in the holder to protect the surface but there are too many other problems with top loaders. Screw down holders are also a bad idea because when they are screwed too tightly the surface of the card will make contact with the hard plastic, which could alter the surface of the card or the ink on an autographed card. In addition, a mylar sleeve won’t fit because the sleeve is slightly larger than the card and a screw down has a slot that fits the card exactly.

My suggestion is to place it in a semi-rigid Card Saver. The opening is staggered for easy removal of the card, a mylar sleeve easily fits and the fact that it is not as hard reduces the risk of damage for the reasons previously mentioned. This is the way to go. In part two of the series I will explain the shipping and invoicing process.

Happy Collecting

Joe (joe@joeknowscards.com)