How much does a small dimple or indent affect the cards condition?

[chandman]

I purchased a card a few months back. I have no intentions of grading the card as I truly believe you buy the card not the grade. I believe I paid nm/mt comps for the card.

After inspection I’m happy with the front surface. Clean of any scratches. Corners and edges are sharp. Centering is definitely off. But most importantly the image is sharp and hasn’t greened.

But there is a small surface dimple or indent on the back surface. How much does this count against the condition.

Here is the best image I can take with my phone that shows the defect.

I battle with this in cards. I personally feel the front of the card carries more weight and eye appeal dictate what I collect.

And try not to get caught in the trap of grading or slabbing cards. Does anyone else have an opinion on this.

[KhalDrogo]

Image isn’t showing up.

Depends on a few things. Size, whether it projects, and how the grader is feeling that day.

[chandman]

Sorry I'm trying to post an image, its not letting me through the uploads.

[FT35]

My guess would be:

Noticeable bubble (surface smooth still)=2-grade defect. Card would top out at an 8.
Noticeable dimple (as in dent)=3 grade defect, the card would top out at a 7--and would be lower depending on the size of the dent.

[chandman]

Here is the largest photo I can upload, the dimple is just above Hardaway.

[theleica]

Originally Posted by chandman

I purchased a card a few months back. I have no intentions of grading the card as I truly believe you buy the card not the grade. I believe I paid nm/mt comps for the card.

After inspection I’m happy with the front surface. Clean of any scratches. Corners and edges are sharp. Centering is definitely off. But most importantly the image is sharp and hasn’t greened.

But there is a small surface dimple or indent on the back surface. How much does this count against the condition.

Here is the best image I can take with my phone that shows the defect.

I battle with this in cards. I personally feel the front of the card carries more weight and eye appeal dictate what I collect.

And try not to get caught in the trap of grading or slabbing cards. Does anyone else have an opinion on this.

You bought the card a few months back, have no intentions of grading, and paid nm/mt comps.

If you have no intentions of grading it, the small surface dimple doesn't count against the condition at all considering you paid market value for it.

Are you curious about the grading process? Are you trying to sell the card now? Are you looking for a reason to return it?

[theleica]

Originally Posted by chandman

Here is the largest photo I can upload, the dimple is just above Hardaway.

Thats a nice 1993 Finest. Refractor?

A lot of the ones on eBay that are graded have low surface grades.

[chandman]

No I don't have the intentions of grading, I just want to confirm such an issue doesn't drop the condition of the card below Nm/mt. So considering it was just pretty oc I was saying it was nm/mt, but that defect was not visible from the posted pictures or in the description. So my concern would be if the defect would drop the card to near mint or excellint/mint?

[theleica]

Originally Posted by chandman

No I don't have the intentions of grading, I just want to confirm such an issue doesn't drop the condition of the card below Nm/mt.

Tough to say with the small picture and no overall of the card.

Like others said the surface could get a 7, so you can technically end up with a final grade of an 8 (Near Mint-Mint), if (1) the drastically lower subgrade is either the edges or surface; and (2) the aggregate of the other three subgrades compared to the surface subgrade must be greater than 4.

A final grade of 7 is Near Mint and 7.5 Near Mint +

[chandman]

Originally Posted by theleica

Thats a nice 1993 Finest. Refractor?

A lot of the ones on eBay that are graded have low surface grades.

yes its a 1993 refractor.

I'm assuming that alot of poor surface grades come from greening images, or refractor lines.

This card is ok there, just is poorly centered (common) and has that dimple (I'm assuming from the factory).

[theleica]

Originally Posted by chandman

No I don't have the intentions of grading, I just want to confirm such an issue doesn't drop the condition of the card below Nm/mt. So considering it was just pretty oc I was saying it was nm/mt, but that defect was not visible from the posted pictures or in the description. So my concern would be if the defect would drop the card to near mint or excellint/mint?

It could be near mint. Maybe excellent/mint. It's tough to say without better pictures. Are you just noticing it now or did you notice it a few months ago when you bought it?

[chandman]

Originally Posted by theleica

It could be near mint. Maybe excellent/mint. It's tough to say without better pictures. Are you just noticing it now or did you notice it a few months ago when you bought it?

I don't have any intention of returning it, Its a nice looking card on the front. I'm mainly curious to see everyone's thoughts on how a dimple on the back of a card affects a cards condition.

I personally feel that back in the 90's this card would be nm/mint without question. Because when I was a kid, if a card was flawless it was Mint. (Gem Mint was a made up term by the Grading Companies to make a new industry). Then a card without anything major was nm/mt.

I'm not as familiar with these cards, was it normal to get a random dimple in manufacturing?

[packerfan4200]

Originally Posted by chandman

I purchased a card a few months back. I have no intentions of grading the card as I truly believe you buy the card not the grade. I believe I paid nm/mt comps for the card.

After inspection I’m happy with the front surface. Clean of any scratches. Corners and edges are sharp. Centering is definitely off. But most importantly the image is sharp and hasn’t greened.

But there is a small surface dimple or indent on the back surface. How much does this count against the condition.

Here is the best image I can take with my phone that shows the defect.

I battle with this in cards. I personally feel the front of the card carries more weight and eye appeal dictate what I collect.

And try not to get caught in the trap of grading or slabbing cards. Does anyone else have an opinion on this.

I agree with you about the front carrying more weight than the back.

I can give you an example that comes to mind. I bought a Aaron Rodgers chrome black refractor /100 in raw form. From the listing photos, the centering was slightly off but noticeable. Everything else looked great as far as I could see. When I got the card I inspected it closely and noticed that it had an indent on the back of the card, near one of the bottom corners and right on the edge of card. I was able to determine that the indent was caused by the card being damaged by BGS at one point while they were “crimping” the card sleeve that they use inside their slabs. The dent was definitely noticeable.

So at some point, someone graded it, BGS damaged it, they didn’t get the grade they wanted and cracked it, then I won it in raw form in a probstein auction. I never bothered to send it in for grading because of the issues I mentioned. Eventually I moved on from the card and sold it to a fellow packer guy whom I’ve done several deals with. He sent the card to PSA and it came back a 9 mint lol. Grading is done on a whim, that’s my belief anyway because there seems to be no consistency at all.