How and Why a Sports Card Grading is done

Is it really necessary to grade your sports card? Until last year I was not aware about how a grading is done and most importantly why it is done. I am fond of collecting but I never intended to auction any of them. I stuffed in my entire sports card in a wooden cupboard which was lying unused since ages. I did not even store those in an organized manner. I know I should have been better organized while storing but the excitement of boasting my new collection ends after a month of purchasing and then just throw inside the cupboard. That was until last year August when my brother insisted me to show all my collections. My brother was really annoyed by the way I stuffed all those in a cupboard. And it was a real pain to sort out and organize properly.

After we are through with organizing my collections, he showed me a baseball card price guide book published by Beckett Media. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I collect only baseball cards. I went ahead with vintage section first since I inherited two Mickey Mantle cards from my granny and was curious to know the value. But I was shattered to see the bad condition. That's all because I didn't store them properly. That incident opened my eyes to grading. We have had enough of storytelling about my experiences. Now let's talk about the topic which I am supposed to be sharing with you all.

Grading not only protects your collectible from possible physical damages but also increases value. So, if you want to maximize the value then you should definitely grade your collectibles. Grading involves authenticating and identifying the condition of your valuable. The grading expert verifies the authenticity and examines the condition of the cards by using various tactics and then provides a numerical grading depending on the condition.

But, before sending it to any of the grading authority, you must understand their criteria. This will definitely save your time and also make easier to decide which card to be sent. For your record, you may even self grade and maintain the records and then send it for grading to third parties. Self grading will give you a common idea of the condition and estimated grade you might receive. But I must say examining card is not easy as we think. You need to have a penetrating eye and focus. You may compare your own grading with the result of the final grading done by grading companies and check how close your estimation is to the final value. You never know your estimation may turn out to the exact value.