Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz.

GETTING EVEN BETTER?
The Card: Victor Wembanyama 2023-24 Panini Haunted Hoops -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I'm basically casually ripping at best when it comes to NBA these days -- just can't collect it all at today's prices (and might not want to with that) -- but the holiday-flavored version of Hoops got me to bite a few times since it's got a good volume of stuff in a box and a pair of Wemby RCs on the checklist. Is this a big card in the big scheme of things? Nah, but the printing and cutting here was so clean I knew I needed to grade it. Why?
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Because this should be the result more often than not as long as the centering is there ... and the stats here show that to be the case roughly half the time. The phenom seems to be getting better with time and once the wax dries up for even stuff like this there could be interesting trends that buck the idea that stuff is overproduced these days -- it is ... but not when there's increased demand for a popular player. I need to scout singles more for this guy and cards I like ... I think there's more potential here over time than people might think based on soft prices for raw cards. (Even if boatloads of his cards are already graded.)

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

Continue reading →

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

BETTER THAN LAST TIME ...
The Card: Ja Morant 2019-20 Panini Chronicles Luminance #165 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Somewhere in a past item in this series there's a Pink parallel of this cool card buried in a post as it was one of only a few bummers I've had with a low mark -- one that was too low for my taste as I had apparently missed a rough edge. This time? Well, this was the one I didn't send in back then and that's because I thought it had an edge spot that I thought might nix a top grade ... but I was wrong again. With this card having an iconic photo -- one that makes it easily his best RC to me (I'm merely a casual NBA ripper) -- I threw it in a bulk sub to see how I'd do. It's an absolutely epic photo ... even though it was a missed dunk.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: This is a card with a pretty big volume graded -- and a good chunk of those checking in lower than mine. All in all, it's a win that takes away the sting from last time.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

Continue reading →

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ... 

HE'S BACK!
The Card: Tiger Woods 2001 Upper Deck No. 1 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: Not that long ago I unearthed my stash of these heavily produced but in-demand RCs and sent off a couple to be graded. Since that time Woods returned at The Masters and fared relatively well considering where he was little over a year ago. While he's got plenty of high-dollar cards -- and stuff that pre-dates this with non-traditional distribution -- this one is the propellant that brought back golf cards to the masses and it has been slabbed thousands of times between all of the grading companies. I amassed a number of them because I used to rip this on the cheap whether it was repacks, hobby boxes, retail boxes or whatever. This wax was cheap for a long time and had a few formats -- for example, I opened a case of this one for somewhere between $75 and $125 (I want to say it was the lower number) probably 15 years ago ... and did better than I expected for hits (that's why I was ripping). Now? A single box would cost more than what I paid.
The Grade: CSG 9.5

Reality Check: Even this newcomer to grading has taken on a ton of Tiger RCs with only a dozen grading higher than this -- and with their new slabs/scale, this copy would be a CSG 10 now. (Gem Mint is now a 10 with Pristine 10s nixed and Perfect 10s still in play.) I may send off a few more from my stash to see how the new top end of the scale looks on my others. (All of my submissions came back just before the change.)

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

Continue reading →

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary ... a super-sized edition with 20 cards to open 2020.

--

SO CLOSE TO PERFECTION ...
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Chrome #193 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: This one looked very clean to my eye and I figured getting some of my past Acuña pulls slabbed was a good move considering his almost-40/40 showing last year. Some of his cards are heavily graded to the point where they can be had for not much more than a typical cost to slab if not in top grades. Meanwhile, others aren't as plentiful and some can typically grade very well. I went with this one since it's not as heavily graded and it does tend to grade well. Plus, I just liked the photo here compared to others -- and those I already own slabbed.
The Grade: BGS 10

Reality Check: This one surprised me a bit -- just one half-subgrade away from a BGS Black. Only 14 cards have gotten the perfect mark and this one is among an also-small population. Most cards here check in at 9.5s -- a solid mark and a perfect card to bat lead-off for this first MTG of the year. I expect big things from Acuña this year and I'll be slabbing him often.

Keep reading for more.

Continue reading →

One of golf's greatest players is back on the links and in contention once again -- and that means there should be renewed interest in his cards and his autographs.

Tiger Woods finished in a tie for second place at the Valspar Championship on Sunday just one stroke behind winner Paul Casey. Woods, 42, hasn't won a tournament since 2013 and he's had multiple issues that have prevented him from re-capturing his past successes on the links.

But you wouldn't know that from the headlines.

"Nothing like we've seen in several years" read one, "Tiger Woods gave us a moment" read another. "Doubt him no more: Tiger Woods is going to win again" said another. "Tiger Woods leaves fans wanting more" and on and on ...

Here's a reminder of his golfing greatness -- his next PGA Tour victory will be his 80th and only Sam Snead has more. Meanwhile, his 14 Major wins are second to only Jack Nicklaus' 18 -- so there should be no doubting his place in golf history.

When it comes to today's golf cards? Woods is still a clear No. 1 -- though his struggles, combined with the continued availability of wax boxes from 2001 when he helped bring golf cards back to the masses, mean there could be bargains to be found.

Continue reading →