PS - I say in the video that maybe the card can get a 10… I will probably never re-grade it anyways but the card is honestly just a solid 9, even after I clean it.
Nice video! I really appreciate the cleaning tips. I have a few cards with spots of something on them but I have mostly been afraid to attempt to clean them.
I’m a newbie, but I’m curious why you would crack a high grade card to put in a binder. For regrading I totally understand but surely you paid quite a premium for the graded 9 over an ungraded NM-M card that would look just as nice in your binder.
Very nice! Do you offer a third party cracking service? I used to feel comfortable cracking for my binder, but had an expensive slip-up last year, where the pliers scraped a holo line across my Latias gold star 9. Since then my pile of “need to crack” cards has grown and I’m scared to touch them.
Thanks. First, on the cleaning, I would advise you try it first on a lower value card to get a feel for it. I’ve cleaned so many cards (other hobbies before Pokemon, namely MtG) over the years that I’ve gotten really comfortable with it. WOTC cards (esp the e-series) are not as fragile as you think, you just have to be really careful. Almost anything on the surface of the card can be cleaned off without risk to the card if you’re careful. It can make a huge difference.
Second, why would I crack a PSA 9 card out for my binder? Because I like pack fresh, mint (by the PSA standard) cards in my binder! Most of my binder cards are “mint” (PSA 9) quality cards. I’m just really meticulous about it. I also collect some graded PSA 10 cards. I have most of my cards posted in my collection thread and have (slowly) been making videos of my binders. This week I plan to do Neo Destiny and Expedition and post it in my collection thread.
Oh no that sounds like a nightmare. I can see how that would affect your mojo in terms of wanting to do it again. If it makes you feel better, I think I nicked the top of a PSA 9 TRR Scyther EX with my screwdriver a while back. I adjusted my technique after that. It’s all about getting a clean case break. The dicey ones seem to happen when you get a bad case break. The way I do it now, honestly it’s once in a blue moon that I’ll get a bad break. My failsafe if the case opens funny is to carefully go around the card and remove all of the edging like I did for the top edge in the video. Then the top just lifts off. I’ve only had to do that once but it is a pretty surefire way to get things back on the rails.
Really good advice. I wil definitely be using it for when I clean my cards prior to my next PSA submission. I must say, it is a bit painful watching you crack 9s out of their cases, but you clearly protect them well.
Question: What do you do with the old binder cards that would fetch lower grades?
Thx, glad it was helpful. Mostly when I end up with cards like the 6/7 range umbreon holo it’s from a bulk or set purchase. I picked up a “mint” aquapolis holo set back in Feb. Less than half of the cards ended up being mint in PSA terms, so I had to buy quite a few PSA 9s to upgrade the set. The umbreon was the worst condition of the original bunch and for whatever reason also took me a long time to find a suitable upgrade for. I’ve been keeping any extra cards worth PSA grading (typically if I estimate it would get at least an 8) in penny sleeves inside card savers. At this point I have around 300 that I’m going to send in to PSA. I’ll sell those through PWCC when they come back graded. I have some cool extras like maybe 75 or so EX cards and an entire mint set of reverse TRR (long story on that one). I don’t really have time to sell all of that on my own, hence the use of PSA + PWCC.
Cards like the extra umbreon that aren’t worth grading to me stay in their ultra pro semi rigid sleeve then go into a top loader, then into a box in my closet. I will sort them out someday but that involves time!
That was very nicely done. The plastic bag is a great idea too. Does cracking the bottom corners help a lot? The few times I have done it was just the top corners.
Wow this is really helpful, and yet I’m still terrified to try it. I’m the most clumsy guy ever, so I’m sure I’ll be back in here talking about a jacked up card.
@jonandek, very nice video! I particularly like the plastic bag pro tip:) Most videos on YouTube that show you how to crack PSA cases only cut two corners, I’m curious, do you find cutting all four corners work better from your experience?
I do find it helpful to cut all four corners… although it’s hard to say that you NEED to. You don’t want a case to develop a crack on the top or bottom while you’re prying it open. Doing it my way, that only happens once in a blue moon. I feel like cutting all four corners puts less pressure on the case front when prying.
I realize there is one more key thing I should have also said during my video.Once you begin prying the case (the part where I put the screwdriver in the top middle after prying open both side lips), you don’t want to let the case top come back down again. If the card has shifted at all, the card could get damaged when the case comes back down on it. That’s why I put my fingers in the top of the case at that point, to prevent that from happening
