**Prelude:**Hello fellow E4 collectors,
Like many of us here in the family, I appreciate the satisfaction and peace of mind that comes with having a MINT condition card collection. I am sure most of you, like myself, have considered encapsulation as a means of preserving your cards safely for the future, and have considered cheaper methods by which to do so. So when it came time to fill in the gaps in my personal collection I thought I’d give GMA grading a fair shot at meeting my expectations, and so purchased 14 GMA graded 9 Mint cards from a trustworthy seller on ebay (from Canada) for a reasonable price.
I’ll start by saying that this is not a critique about the quality (consistency) of grading service that GMA provides, as they seemed to do a pretty good job at this. Rather specifically, this topic is about a BIG issue with the cases, at least for Pokemon cards, and the damage that results from them. The following expressed are solely my opinions and nothing more.
Results:
When they arrived the bad case design & fitment was immediately evident. The retention tabs (inside the case where the edge of the card sits) are NOT flush with the edge of the card as one might think - there is an approximately 20 to 30 degree slant. So when the card moves towards one side of the case to the other, it is in some cases actually moving UNDERNEATH the part of the case that is supposed to keep the card still and protected. The movement underneath this part causes it to push up card material thereby damaging the card (I.e. creates edge wear).
GMA case:
Using a digital caliper I measured the amount of top to bottom and side to side movement to be roughly 1.64 mm of movement within the case. This amount of movement isn’t ideal, but typically even that much movement wouldn’t be a concern if the case was designed properly. Japanese cards, for example, being 0.37 mm narrower than WOTC cards, are more prone to case movement. However, PSA cases have been proven not to produce damage to Japanese cards even when affixed to an industrial-grade paint can mixer. For most cards they have a near perfect fit as shown:
PSA case example:
A total of 9 out of the 14 GMA graded cards had the EXACT same type of wear in the EXACT same places, resulting in the cards likely grading PSA NM-MINT+ 8 and in some cases even NM 7. Do I blame the seller for not shipping them with this in mind? Absolutely not! The frequency and location of the damage proves that it had occurred after encapsulation and as a direct result of the poor case design.
Conclusion:
To conclude my thoughts - When it comes to keeping my cards in the best condition possible, after seeing the results of GMA’s poorly designed cases in my opinion you’d be better off keeping them in top loaders, or better yet, card savers. Even if you are looking for a budget grading service, GMA is honestly not worth it. If you ever plan on shipping your cards the chances of them remaining in great condition are slim to none, as the evidence shows. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll be sticking with PSA for the time being.
Updated for 2017, fixed typos