@Juke, I also have small hands and I still find it difficult to slide the card directly in.

@SciFi Cards, This is one of those issues that can go unthought about. It's similar to how people use a public bathroom, turn on the faucet to wash their hands, then right after washing their hands touch the faucet again that they and several others have touched right after urinating and defecating. That's a real design flaw, yet most people don't even consider it.

Similar to penny sleeves, most people are just jamming their cards in these things not really considering what exactly is happening. And obviously a lot of people have had an issue with it because Ultra-Pro did make an entirely new product to address this problem.

As for grading, well I see a lot cards with sub 10 grades, maybe some of their grades got subtracted because of soft corners. Do we have statistics on all the cards that have ever been graded and why they got the grades they got? Perhaps if we did have those statistics it would show a disproportionate amount of corner wear on the bottom corners.

quote:

Originally posted by ewok7:
As for grading, well I see a lot cards with sub 10 grades, maybe some of their grades got subtracted because of soft corners. Do we have statistics on all the cards that have ever been graded and why they got the grades they got? Perhaps if we did have those statistics it would show a disproportionate amount of corner wear on the bottom corners.

Beckett Grading does provide statistics on specific cards they have graded and you can search through their data, but they rate a small percentage of non-sport cards as compared to sports cards. PSA is the other big one and they have to be keeping tabs too.

In any event, 10s are not handed out with anywhere near the regularity you seem to think they deserve by any of the grading companies. Cards taken straight out of packs that are basically untouched by human hands usually get a 9.5 or less, even when they are essentially perfect. The 10 is pristine and they don't want to give that out easily, so any minor thing that is invisible to a reasonable person may be considered an imperfection to a grading service.

While card condition is an issue, the whole grading business never became as important with non-sports card collectors as it was with sports card collectors at one time. Now grading has also fallen off with the sports card crowd too.

Grades also mean very little unless you are looking to sell cards, and not average cards either. They have to be valuable enough to warrant the expense of grading and the added premium you would have to attach to the price of the card to make up for it.

It is your right to apply any condition standard you want on the cards you collect, but a 10 is not the bar, it is the exception.

quote:

Originally posted by juke:


Do they fit?? Aren't they a little smaller than the standard collectible card size?

They fit but it's a tight fit.

I've also noticed that for some thicker cards that I get these micro stubs when inserted them into sleeves. I just tried something a bit different that seemed to work. It may not work for some of the really, really thick cards. The process takes a bit longer but may be worth the extra effort.

I took two low value thin cards that I care nothing about and stacked them one on top of the other. Then inserted the two cards about one third of the way down into the penny sleeve. With the part that is still outside of the penny sleeve, separate the two thin cards and insert the thick card between the two thin cards. Slide the thick card down into the penny sleeve and pull the two thin cards out.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggerhouse:
I've also noticed that for some thicker cards that I get these micro stubs when inserted them into sleeves. I just tried something a bit different that seemed to work. It may not work for some of the really, really thick cards. The process takes a bit longer but may be worth the extra effort.

I took two low value thin cards that I care nothing about and stacked them one on top of the other. Then inserted the two cards about one third of the way down into the penny sleeve. With the part that is still outside of the penny sleeve, separate the two thin cards and insert the thick card between the two thin cards. Slide the thick card down into the penny sleeve and pull the two thin cards out.

That is brilliant Tiggerhouse! thank you for sharing that tip.

I just had this problem too not long ago trying to get a GotG auto in a sleeve and because they are a bit thicker than the usual a had such trouble getting it in without catching the corner.
I got so frustrated in the end that I kind of stretched the opening of the sleeve first which helped, but I like your method waaay better.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggerhouse:
I've also noticed that for some thicker cards that I get these micro stubs when inserted them into sleeves. I just tried something a bit different that seemed to work. It may not work for some of the really, really thick cards. The process takes a bit longer but may be worth the extra effort.

I took two low value thin cards that I care nothing about and stacked them one on top of the other. Then inserted the two cards about one third of the way down into the penny sleeve. With the part that is still outside of the penny sleeve, separate the two thin cards and insert the thick card between the two thin cards. Slide the thick card down into the penny sleeve and pull the two thin cards out.

This method works well. You can also cut the corner off or cut a small slit on the side of a penny sleeve which makes the opening bigger. I did this for some of the Star Wars cards.