I only have Pokémon psa cards…and now have 3 cards that move in the case when you tilt/move the case (1 of which is a very expensive card); this bothers me.
Psa has told me on the phone this card movement in the case should NOT happen, and offered to re case my cards if I wanted to pay.
When researching Beckett cases, I found this on their site-
“Each card is protected by a crystal clear archival inner sleeve to prevent the holder itself from damaging the card. Each card will be virtually free of internal movement.”
This truly felt like music to my ears to hear their case guarantees no movement in the case. To anyone that has a Beckett Pokémon card, can you give me some feedback on their case?
My only other main question is about sleeves within a graded card case. I’ve read many don’t like this, but if it helps avoid damage to the card while in the case, isn’t that BETTER than maybe not seeing the card “in its glory” as many say? Im wondering if a Beckett case allows for no movement without the sleeve
I may not be the best person to help you as I have owned exactly 1 bgs card but it doesn’t slide around at all and I didn’t mind the sleeve at all. That said I also cracked the case 10 minutes after I got it so not an expert by any means.
I only have Pokémon psa cards…and now have 3 cards that move in the case when you tilt/move the case (1 of which is a very expensive card); this bothers me.
Psa has told me on the phone this card movement in the case should NOT happen, and offered to re case my cards if I wanted to pay.
This is a concern that is brought up fairly regularly. You can re-encase them if you want, but no harm will come to the cards while moving around inside a PSA case. Japanese cards do tend to move a bit more inside the case, and especially the older ones.
When researching Beckett cases, I found this on their site-
“Each card is protected by a crystal clear archival inner sleeve to prevent the holder itself from damaging the card. Each card will be virtually free of internal movement.”
This truly felt like music to my ears to hear their case guarantees no movement in the case. To anyone that has a Beckett Pokémon card, can you give me some feedback on their case?
The Beckett case sleeves tend to hug the card in place on the edges. There’s some variance in the sealing process so sometimes they allow some very slight movement, but again no concern is needed here as there’s no risk of damage. I own around 35 Beckett graded pokemon cards and none are problematic. The cases are very robust compared with PSA (quite a bit thicker too).
My only other main question is about sleeves within a graded card case. I’ve read many don’t like this, but if it helps avoid damage to the card while in the case, isn’t that BETTER than maybe not seeing the card “in its glory” as many say? Im wondering if a Beckett case allows for no movement without the sleeve
Beckett cases are designed to work with an inner sleeve in place (sort of a one-size fits all). PSA cases are precision fit for a wide variety of card sizes and thus don’t require a sleeve.
It’s quite difficult to pick whether to grade psa or Beckett. As for the movement, I must disagree with thinking it won’t cause damage. The card seems it would be safer in a sleeve/toploader than in a psa case. The card hangs all around the plastic case, can’t imagine that is safe. Psa should truly make a case specific for Pokémon
We have a member here who literally affixed their PSA graded Pokemon card to an industrial paint can mixer, ran it for 30 minutes, and it was found not to cause damage. So I’d be curious as to what amount of movement you’re referring to that could cause such damage.
Also, PSA does make cases designed for Pokemon cards that fit perfectly. I mentioned only that the Japanese cards typically have slightly more wiggle room.
I mostly collect Japanese, so I would think that may be the problem. However, my latest card that shakes a lot is an English sky ridge card. They should make a case fit for Japanese Pokémon. Pokémon in general and the japanese market is big, so why not make them fit nicely than shake around
The inner sleeve in a Beckett slab is like a large penny sleeve. They place the card in it and seal it in. The card within the sleeve is then placed into the slab.
As far as I am aware all Pokemon cards get the inner sleeve.
All of the Pokemon cards I have graded with Beckett have the inner sleeve.
I’ll just add Pokemon cards can move around in the inner sleeve within the beckett slab, but it requires some serious shaking and doesn’t damage the card in anyway. The sleeve keeps them well protected.
I’ll add that the BGS inner sleeve is much heavier gauge than penny sleeves. It’s similar to clear Ultra Pro Deck Protectors or Dragon Shields. And the card is very snugly nested in the sleeve – they dont move around much, if at all. The only occasional issue I’ve seen is that cards are sometimes sealed into the sleeve slightly off-center and/or tilted. And it’s pretty much impossible to fix it. Whereas you obviously don’t have that problem with PSA slabs.
Honestly, I think both slabs adequately protect cards. BGS slabs are heavier duty and tougher to crack, and so they may protect the cards better if significant pressure is put on the case. But both slabs are fine for 99.99% of situations.
Can anyone let me know if you’re able to shift the card within the BGS sleeve if it’s tilted? I don’t own any BGS slabs, but am thinking of submitting a few card to BGS which PSA don’t grade.
No; it’s pretty much not possible, and I’ve tried (with a BGS slabbed MTG card, which shouldn’t be any different than with a Pokemon card). It’s not all that common, though, so I wouldn’t let it dissuade you from submitting to them if you otherwise wanted to. Even if it does happen, it only detracts slightly from the appeal of the card (IMO). But if it’s something you think you’d be really bothered by, then PSA/CGC might be better bets (although CGC has centering issues of their own with the grade on the top label lol).
Personally i wouldn’t bother getting it recased. You run the risk of the card being damaged in the process and if it’s japanese as you said, it’s likely to come back in the same state…
As others have said BGS has a large penny sleeve in the case itself. I have only owned one but the slabs are nicer in my opinion.
Having said that many people will swear that movement in PSA cases does not cause damage, but if it bothers you then it bothers you. Another thing to note is that experienced people here have discussed that the sleeves BGS uses can actually damage the cards as they can grab the edges of the card as they slide in. A search of the forum should find you some more info.
I agree the sleeve within the case appears to be thicker and similar to the thickness to deck protector sleeves.
There is a little wiggle room left to right and top to bottom so it is possible for the card to be off centered in the inner sleeve. I haven’t had a card returned tilted but I am guessing it can be possible. I have once lightly tapped one on a table to move the card down to center it.
I also agree both BGS and PSA slabs adequately protect the cards.
Some of my other cards in my collection are PSA and some of them do have a little wiggle room top to bottom but the edges on the top and the bottom of my cards don’t appear to be damaged in any way over the several years of owning them.
Sometimes both PSA and BGS have those “how did this get overlooked in QA” moments but for the most part both PSA and BGS do a great job.
I’m confused, I have two different answers. So with regards to Pokemon cards, are you able to tap the case to shift the card to center it (if there’s wiggle room of course)?
Not reliably. I’m sure it’s possible, but it likely depends on the thickness of the card (since certain cards are very slightly thicker than others) and on the texture. I wouldn’t rely on being able to tap the case to center it. But, in all likelihood, the card will be centered well-enough when you get it that you won’t have to even try.
The issue with cards moving against a case is irrelevant when it involves 1-2mm.
Even tossing the case against a hard object would only allow the card to move that 1-2mm.
The main issue is the card getting pinched in the PSA case, which happens because there is a gap there. Again, i’ve heard stories of someone putting a psa card in a mixer with no damage. I’ve yet to try so I cannot say for sure.
One thing I noticed is that pinching of the card does not happen with CGC cases. And they look beautiful, so you can consider those.
I thought the inner sleeve for Beckett was like a sleeve behind the card? So they actually encapsulate it in a penny sleeve type sleeve? That sounds a lot more safe. I never understood why psa didn’t do this. I know collectors will say it disrupts the view of the card, but how much can a sleeve possibly do I’d rather it be well protected within the case than move around not in a sleeve.
Does Beckett offer cases without a penny sleeve inside? Or are All Beckett cards penny sleeves within the case? someone mentioned it’s more of a thick pennysleeve case, why not use a penny sleeve?
My bad I may be incorrect. I just tested it out lightly tapping one of my BGS graded Detective pikachu cards on the palm of my hand which is centered to see if I could uncenter left to right and it doesn’t move and it stays in place.
The card stays centered left to right. Well my Detective Pikachu card hasn’t moved
Apologies for the confusion.
As for top to bottom there can be a small amount of movement, just tested it by lightly tapping the top of the slab with the palm of my hand:
I have circled the small empty area to show there was a small movement at the top and bottom.
The edges of the card don’t hit the edge of the sleeve/ridge on all four sides.
The card is unharmed and is the same condition as the day I sent it in.
The inside of the beckett sleeve can have jagged edges and you actually have a far higher and more likely risk of your cards getting damaged from that then movement within a PSA case. There have been numerous instances of damaged edges from the beckett sleeve.
Beckett place the card within a sleeve. The sleeved card is then placed into the case/slab and then it is sealed shut within the case/slab.
The card itself doesn’t touch the outer plastic of the case/slab as the card is it is within the sleeve.
The sleeve within the case is clear and you can see the card quite well though the case/slab. It is just like any other clear sleeve.
Does Beckett grade cards without the sleeve? you would have to ask them.
I’d rather it be well protected within the case than move around not in a sleeve.
