Buying cards graded by a reputable grading company has several advantages for the buyer. Not only are you assured of the grade of the card, you are protected from counterfeits, restoration and alteration. Graded cards provide the buyer and seller an opportunity to sell cards sight unseen.

When buying graded cards on eBay, a great way to check the validity of the card is to do a graded card look up. Companies such as Beckett (BGS grading) offer a free look up service by typing in the graded cards serial number: Always get more information about the grading and encapsulation of a card from the seller by using the Ask Seller a Question under the seller's profile on eBay. Beware of cards rejected by grading companies being sold as graded. When a card is rejected for grading because of questionable authenticity or alteration, the card can be sent back with a label stating the reason for rejection. If a card is not ultrasonically sealed in the original grading case, the card is not graded. Again, to check the validity of a card, utilize graded card look up systems offered by the grading company.

When checking on the price of graded cards, closed auctions are a great source. Another source is the accepted "book" for pricing. Beckett Media's Monthly Price Guides offer pricing for cards in all major sports, both graded and ungraded (or raw). The price of a card is dependent on the grade and the scarcity. Check to see how other similar cards of similar quality have sold on eBay. Were they able to get "book" value for them?

Utilize population reports. These reports tell you how many cards have been graded at a certain grade. Cards that are condition sensitive are more difficult to obtain in higher grade and are therefore scarce in comparison to lesser-graded cards. Some grading companies offer on-line population reports for free while some companies charge you to use the service or require a fee-based membership.

Why buy cards already graded?

Like items of value such as coins, artworks and jewelry, trading cards suffer from similar problems. Trading cards are counterfeited, restored and altered, all to fool the buyer into thinking he or she is getting an original and valuable card. Several of the problems faced are:

• Trimming: This is the practice of cutting the edges of a card to improve the grade. By cutting or trimming off an edge, the corners can appear to be in better condition. Surface chipping on the edges is also removed. Trimming can be very difficult to detect by anyone other than a trained professional.
• Re-coloring: This is the practice of adding color to an area of a card where the original color ink has either worn off or chipped and flaked off. A great example is the 1971 Topps baseball set. These cards feature black borders. The edges and corners chip easily exposing the white cardboard stock underneath. It is fairly common to find a 1971 Topps card that someone has used a black marker to "touch up" a corner or edge.
• Pressing: This is where a card is actually flattened out under pressure. Pressing is used to remove creases and wrinkles in the card's surface. Pressing can also be used to repair corners. This could mean you buy a card stated to be near-mint that actually had a crease. Pressing can be difficult to detect by someone other than a trained professional.
• Bleaching, cleaning or soaking: All of these are methods of cleaning a card. If a card has a stain or mark, the card can be cleaned or soaked in water or chemicals to remove the stain or mark. Chemicals such as bleach can be used to brighten and clean the card.
• Counterfeit: With today's technology, counterfeiting trading cards is becoming easier. It used to be that the cost to produce a fake card meant that only key high-dollar cards were counterfeited. Now, with color laser printers and printing equipment now affordable, most any card can be counterfeited. From 1915 Babe Ruth cards to 1987 Topps Barry Bonds cards and everything in-between. Experience in printing technology, card stock and trading card history and printing are the main deterrents used for catching counterfeit cards.

If a collector wanted to be sure he or she didn't buy a card with one of the above problems, years of handling cards and research was needed to gain the knowledge needed to detect such problems. Today, the professional third party grading services handle this for you. The highly trained professional graders spend hours in training and research on the latest counterfeits and restoration and alteration methods. Grading offers the buyer piece of mind.

Beckett Grading Service (BGS) is a division of Beckett Media LP, a well recognized authority on sports cards. It uses a 10-point scale with half grades, with a 9.5 Gem Mint and 10 Pristine as the top grades. BGS provides subgrades for corners, edges, centering and surface, and also offers a protective inner sleeve, distinctive foil labels, a free online Population report and Registry, and a money-back guarantee on turnaround times. Beckett Media also launched BVG, or Beckett Vintage Grading, in 2001. It is the only grading service dedicated exclusively to vintage cards, while still offering the a leader in grading vintage cards. Many people believe that BGS and BVG grade more strictly than their competitors, but this results in higher average resale values on Beckett graded cards. eBay also teamed with Beckett to develop a "Value Guide" for sports cards, available at Beckett's Web site.

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