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Card collecting and grading go hand in hand. Collectors ensure they buy genuine cards. The hobby starts as a niche interest into a global phenomenon.
It started with sports cards and has expanded to One Piece and other manga cards. This makes it easy to find graded one piece cards online and trade them quickly.
Understanding card grading
Card grading is a process of evaluating a trading card for:
● authenticity
● quality
● condition
The goal of grading a card is to provide a reliable, objective assessment to determine:
● market value
● collector credibility
A graded card is encapsulated in a sealed, tamper-proof case to guarantee its certified state for the next few years to come.
Card grading process
The card sent to a grading company goes through several steps:
● Authentication. The process of confirming a card is genuine.
● Condition evaluation. There are four elements to inspect, namely:
● Corners. The corners are checked for cleanliness and sharpness.
● Edges. The edges are checked for potential:
● chips
● frays
● whitening
● Centering. The image on the card is checked to see if it is perfectly aligned with the borders.
● Surface. The surface is checked to see potential:
● scratches
● print lines
● stains
● Scoring. Each factor gets a numeric grade to get the overall score of a 1 to 10 scale.
● Encapsulation. The card is sealed in a tamper-proof case with a label. The label has a list of the following:
● grade
● company
● serial number for verification
Grading One Piece cards
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written by Eiichiro Oda. The manga series has been running since 1997. It features the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy. He is a boy with rubber properties. It comes from the Devil Fruit it has eaten without realizing it
Luffy created a crew called "Straw Hat Pirates". They explored the Grand Line, searching for the treasure of the Pirate King called "One Piece".
Trading Card Game One Piece
The trading card game for One Piece was first announced in late 2022. It was released in Japan in July 2022. The collectors are looking for several ways to protect their trading cards due to the One Piece trading card game.
Where to grade One Piece cards?
Many companies are grading One Piece cards. They offer unique characteristics in grading cards. A compact slab design uses acrylic to offer optimal clarity for cards through the slabs.
The grading scale used is unique. It favors the most essential part of the card, such as:
● front surface
● back surface
They provide a free card report with a pop report on their websites. It states there that your One Piece cards were graded by them. Plus, you can get a metal certificate that can replace the graded card in the binder slot, including
● grade
● subgrade
Detailed guide to a well-graded card
Understanding card grading criteria prevents cards from returning at PSA 7-8 instead of PSA 10, which is a net loss. PSA means Professional Sports Authenticator.
Centering
The common reason for a card rejection for PSA 10 is the centering. PSA requires the center of the card to be no worse than 60/40 on a 10 score.
How to check:
Hold the card at eye level under bright light. The border on each side must be of approximately equal width. A wider border on one side means a centering problem. Cards with obvious centering problems gain a PSA 8 grade.
Corners and edges
PSA 9 grade is given on a card with whitening or chipping at the corner tips. Cards from sealed packs rarely have corner issues, unless they are mishandled. You must check all four corners of the card using a magnifying glass before submitting.
Edges
A One Piece trading card has a thin line around the edge of the frame. Any roughness or nicks on the card edges dock the grade.
Surface
Surface issues can lessen its grade, such as:
● scratches
● print lines
● fingerprints
● ink specks
Surface issues are the second most common PSA 10 rejection cause for the One Piece Trading Card Game.
Print lines
You will see faint parallel lines visible at the angles of the card due to the printing process. These are manufacturing defects that any collector cannot fix. Cards with visible print lines get a grade of PSA 9.
Holo scratches
Any scratches in the holo foil result in PSA 8 or lower.
FAQs
What does card grading mean?
Card grading is a process of submitting your cards to a professional third-party service for:
● authentication
● condition assessment
What happens to the cards after being graded?
The cards are placed in a sealed plastic slab with their grades. The graded cards sell at premium prices because buyers trust the condition without inspecting them personally.
Why is card grading important?
Card grading is important because it provides professional evaluation. This is important in trading sports cards and assessing their physical condition and authenticity.
Is a PSA 8 grade in OPTCG worth it for modern cards?
A PSA 8 grade in OPTCG is not worth it because the resale value of an 8 cannot cover the cost of grading.
