Customer Reviews
of our Magic collection selling service
Josh
Review left Nov 11 2023
Grading is tricky - fell flat for me
Review
I spent a long time collecting cards before I decided to sell a large chunk of them to Card Conduit. When buying, I always purchased cards in “Near Mint” or “like new” condition from sellers, just as a personal default - only rarely dipping into “lightly played” territory or trading ‘played’ cards with friends. So when the *majority* of my cards were graded as “moderately played” by Card Conduit, that was a pretty crushing blow. These were what I thought had been my “valuable” cards and this (obviously) significantly affected what I was payed, especially compared to the “value calculator” on the site. Clearly, there was a disconnect somewhere - maybe all those other sellers had lied to me over the years? I was later told that Card Conduit’s grading scale is extremely strict because it has to be and puts often-unseen things like “micro-abrasions” in the moderately-played category - I was assured these would often be invisible to the naked eye or invisible behind things like protective sleeves. The pictures provided of these flaws were frustratingly unconvincing. Many other sites offer visual grading scales with clear examples, and “moderately played” is usually very clear. Not so here. I think a clear visual guide with potentially surprising nitpicks and/or a warning of “our grading is very zealous, so most of your cards will probably be considered moderately played regardless of how they look” would help overall. Big picture, I appreciate the money Card Conduit did pay me, but it wasn’t a great experience, and I should have gone to my LGS instead. Won’t be using again.
Card Conduit Team
Replied Nov 11 2023
We can understand and sympathize with customers who have certain expectations regarding grades, only to find out that they didn’t have a full understanding of how grading works in the industry. We do our best to offer photographic evidence to educate and explain the grading process; as is cited here, a very clear example was provided, though the customer declined to see any further examples when offered. The fact that the pictures show clear wear supporting the grade, but it was “unconvincing” certainly does indicate a disconnect, and unfortunately that is a difficult bridge to gap.
“Micro-abrasions” are not unseen – they are visible, but small – and the more there are, the more it factors into the grade. “Micro” does not mean you need a microscope to see them. The explanation provided to this customer, with contrasting supporting pictures, was that sleeves in particular can hide (and also cause) wear that exists on a card. Cards must be inspected outside of sleeves with proper lighting to make an accurate assessment, and pictures were provided to show how much wear can be hidden by sleeves.
The grade you purchase a card at is not determinative of that grade. Similarly, opening a card and double sleeving it and putting it in a binder does not necessarily mean that card is near mint. Cards should be inspected prior to sending in to understand the condition they are in, rather than relying on a condition those cards may have been in several years ago. We must grade the cards in the condition they are received, and that was what was done here.
Vendors do have different criteria for grading, and our system is unique because it factors in criteria from many vendors – and our job is to maximize the value, not maximize the grade. When you go to an LGS, often you may not even get a grade – you just get a price, which is reflective of the grade – and it can be easy to ignore the fact that your payouts from our service are vastly superior to the typical LGS even if the grade itself is disappointing you.
Grading can be subjective, and that can be difficult to grapple with especially when dealing with large amounts of cards. For anyone who has concerns about grading, we always recommend requesting a hold for review on the shipment, which will allow us to provide documentation of wear on any cards in the shipment and give us the opportunity to get on the same page prior to finalizing your experience with us.
“Micro-abrasions” are not unseen – they are visible, but small – and the more there are, the more it factors into the grade. “Micro” does not mean you need a microscope to see them. The explanation provided to this customer, with contrasting supporting pictures, was that sleeves in particular can hide (and also cause) wear that exists on a card. Cards must be inspected outside of sleeves with proper lighting to make an accurate assessment, and pictures were provided to show how much wear can be hidden by sleeves.
The grade you purchase a card at is not determinative of that grade. Similarly, opening a card and double sleeving it and putting it in a binder does not necessarily mean that card is near mint. Cards should be inspected prior to sending in to understand the condition they are in, rather than relying on a condition those cards may have been in several years ago. We must grade the cards in the condition they are received, and that was what was done here.
Vendors do have different criteria for grading, and our system is unique because it factors in criteria from many vendors – and our job is to maximize the value, not maximize the grade. When you go to an LGS, often you may not even get a grade – you just get a price, which is reflective of the grade – and it can be easy to ignore the fact that your payouts from our service are vastly superior to the typical LGS even if the grade itself is disappointing you.
Grading can be subjective, and that can be difficult to grapple with especially when dealing with large amounts of cards. For anyone who has concerns about grading, we always recommend requesting a hold for review on the shipment, which will allow us to provide documentation of wear on any cards in the shipment and give us the opportunity to get on the same page prior to finalizing your experience with us.
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