I attended the Burbank Show in September and decided to submit a few cards to each of the third party grading companies set up at the show. I submitted the most with PSA (a few have been show in previous posts) because I have a few sets I'm working on in their set registry. The Steve Garvey Master Set has been my main focus. It only includes cards issued during his playing career (1969-1988) though there are no 1969 and 1970 issues for him.
For cards that I collect of Steve Garvey that fall outside of his playing career (1989 to present) as well as cards of other players that I like, I decided to give TAG Grading a try.
Below is a recap of the entire submission after it arrived back to me.
The box the cards are packaged in.
The inside of the box with the graded cards sealed in packs of their own, a TAG wristband and instructions on how to submit cards in the future.
Here's another shot of the wristband and instructions.
I submitted three cards to get graded. Two did get grades. A third was rejected due to size restrictions.
The card that had size issues and couldn't be graded was a Charles White 2013 Upper Deck 1995 SP Design Autograph. Charles was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. Sadly, he's no longer with us.
The first graded pack I opened included a 2006 Upper Deck Legends - Legendary Signatures Charles White #72.
It came back with a Gem Mint 10 grade (978/1000). According to TAG's website, this is a pretty strong grade and not far from a Pristine 10 grade (990/1000 or higher).
Here's a picture of the final pack I got back. I like the idea of putting the cards you submit for grading in an unopened pack. It adds to the suspense when you get the cards back in the mail.
It's a 2021 Topps Stadium Club Signatures Steve Garvey Autograph #SCBA-SGA. This time I received a lower grade on this card. It was a Mint 9 (904/1000).
I can see myself using TAG Grading again for my personal collection because I like their use of technology to eliminate the human portion of grading. I also like the quality of their holder, the way the grading results are etched in it and the packaging of the cards themselves.
I got a couple more items graded at the show including one that I submitted with Beckett that I'm still waiting to get back. I'll include them in future posts.
