Guide to value increase

The phenomenon of expensive cards

With the increase of the card's base value there is a phenomenon because of which collectors give a percentage value which is much more unstable with high grades. In practice it becomes more difficult to do an average of the value added by the grades, as we did in the previous tables. This happens for several reasons, one of which is that the standard certification evaluates the quality through an "optical" procedure, ie it does not go beyond a "standard" level of accuracy and the grade tends to lose "strength" when one has to distinguish a high grade as 8, 9 or 10.

We therefore propose some tables highlighting, however, that these are indications susceptible to a great variability. We will then find out the reason why digital grading responds well to this problem of instability for high grades.

High value cards

Let's assume that a card has an approximate market value of €250 and that it has been graded with standard grading. Here is a table showing an example of a variation of the value of a high value card, conceived with "downward" percentages, that is estimating variations to a minimum.

Base value of the card: €250

Finally, we give an example evaluation for all the cards of an even higher value, such as a card of the value of €500. The example is conceived with "upward" percentages, that is estimating high variations of added value.

Base value of the card: €500

An important consideration

Our projections have been developed considering the long experience that our team has in the field, therefore they are empirical, based not so much on market "rules" but on many concrete examples. As mentioned, it is not easy to set a "rule" that is valid for several games. In some cases this increase is greater, in others it is less. We therefore showed the two examples, one downwards and one upwards, to try to highlight this potential variation.

But the market mechanism which we're interested in representing with these tables is that, with the increase of the value of the card, the added value determined by a high grade (8, 9 or 10) can increase greatly.

Examples for digital grading

GRAAD's bonus

The grade of digital grading is an additional quality bonus, which affects the final sale value of the card, if this card is of high standard quality (it has a grade between 8 and 10). In fact, digital grading includes the standard grade, but through GRAAD's bonus it adds an evaluation that reveals more subtle secrets and details. Digital grading therefore represents a step forward in the qualitative assessment of a card.

Clearly this is an expensive grading process, which is convenient for high value cards in good conservation status, namely cards for which you can expect a grade of 8, 9 or 10. Cards with a minor standard grade could not be able to earn an interesting added value, like the one proposed in the following tables.

The limits of standard grading and the value of digital grading

The following tables try to show the limits of standard grading and the value of digital grading. A proper clarification is about the fact that digital grading is innovative and, like anything new, there are no actual estimates or examples that allow us to propose percentages statistically well-founded. Only the market will tell us if the percentages proposed by us are right.

In any case the proposed percentages are the result of a long discussion and reasoning developed by GRAAD's team, composed of expert collectors with 20 years of experience in the sector and with transversal knowledge on different games. In this sense, therefore they express a hypothetical, but weighted and "average" evaluation.

NB: in the total sale value of the following tables we also included the cost of digital grading.

Digital grading for high value cards

The following table is built on the example of the table for cards worth 250 euros. Imagine that a copy of a card has received a grade of 9 on the standard scale and therefore could be evaluated at around €450

Base value of the card: €250

It then receives a standard grade of 9, it earns +80% of the value, so the starting value becomes €450.

Let's explain the table a little. Let's assume to have a card that is graded 9 on a standard scale because it is in almost perfect conditions but it has not received the maximum (a grade of 10) due to a single scratch on the back surface of the card.

Through digital grading the characteristics not visible to an optical scan, such as chromatic parameters and print sharpness, the level of cleanliness with a luminescent lamp, traces of wear detectable only through the analysis of a high resolution scan (for more details read the page dedicated to digital grading) are then investigated. For this reason, even if at the optical level its grade is 9, at the digital level this grade can receive a more or less high bonus, depending on how many the parameters that respond to the condition for which a bonus is attributed are.

Returning to the example, it is not certain that the scratch (already considered in the standard grade of 9) prevents the card from getting all the digital bonuses, except obviously the one on the perfection of the surface on the back and getting at the end a Graad bonus of +9 (grade 9 + 9).

Vice versa a second copy of the same card, graded 9 at standard level as well, could instead reveal many micro imperfections not detected on the standard scale, and so get 9 at an optical level (you can always only see a scratch on the back) and a +5 bonus because the luminescent lamp reveals saliva stains on the front and the back, the chromatic parameters are not perfect, for example the contrast of red is too low, the edges reveal some knurling perceptible only with a scan....

The value of the first copy (9+9) increases: €250 is the base value on the market, which becomes €450 for the standard grade of 9, plus a further 40% (GRAAD bonus of + 9), €180, plus the cost of digital grading for a total of €680. The second one will instead be evaluated by returning to the simple standard value of €450 and maybe it will also be granted the value of the digital grading, for a total of €500.

Digital grading for very high value cards

Finally, the following table shows how digital grading can clearly distinguish a card with a standard grade of 10 from a card with a digital grade of 10, depending on the bonus that the card receives. The table is built on the example of the table for the very high value cards: let's assume to have a card with a base value of about 500 euros that has received a grade of 10 and therefore, on the standard scale, could also be evaluated at €2000.

Base value of the card: €500

It then receives a standard grade of 10, it earns +300% of the value, so the starting value becomes €2000

A card's copy with a standard grade of 10 is identical to another copy with a standard grade of 10... but if one of the two also has a +9 bonus, and maybe this card is the only one which has such a high bonus, we're in front of a unique card whose market value, generally, increases a lot compared to the same card graded 10 on the standard scale only.