Hi cart talk! It's been quite some time since I was last here...haven't had a lot of funds in a while for card collecting. But I had a craving to open something, so I recently treated myself to a box of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince cards off of eBay for fun.

The box yielded a Rupert Grint auto, so first of all, I'm a bit in shock. But my concern is that the card has some damage, most noticeable a bend at the top. Not a full fold, at least, but still pretty noticeable. Is there a way anyone here might recommend to smooth it out a bit? I'd like to hang on to the card for my collection, but I'm afraid of causing further damage. :\

Thanks!

Congratulations, that's a nice card to pull. At least the autograph is in good shape,even if the card is a bit damaged.

Unfortunately I don't know if there is very much you can do about it. If the surface of the card is not creased, you can try putting it under a heavy object for a time and see if that will press it down. You might even try a bit of ironing as long as you don't use a hot iron.

Modern cards don't usually bend, so I'm thinking it might have gotten wet or perhaps the crimping of the pack edge did it. Anyway, an actual fold or crease would look worse than a slight bend, so be careful that any attempt to fix it doesn't damage the surface any further. Good luck, although you had that already.

Awhile back, I was bidding on a Sean Pence sketch from Breygent's Sci-Fi & Horror Series 1 set. Not many people were paying attention to the auction because I ended up winning it for a song.
Sure enough, though, the guy sends it to me in a bubble envelope between two thin pieces of shirt cardboard. Naturally, there was a slight crease in the back of the card where the envelope got stuffed in the mailbox.

But, the front of the sketch was perfectly fine so I just put it in the correct-sized toploader (like the seller should have before mailing it) and I display it that way on my shelf.

Bottom line is, visible or not, the best thing to do is protect it from any further damage. Place the card in a sleeve and a toploader, and enjoy it the way it is.

Thank you both for the tips! I will definitely enjoy the card no matter its condition...it was such a surprise! I got the box fully expecting to pull only redemptions, if I pulled anything at all. Still can't believe how lucky I was! I'll try putting it into a sleeve and pressing it between a couple heavy books, just to see if it flattens a bit, and then it's going straight into a toploader to keep it safe.

Thanks again!