The Hobby Boards

This is a 2 part interview Sports Card Madness Podcast did with a former BGS grader. Definitely worth the listen IMO.

Part 1:


Part 2:


I don't grade cards myself, however, I always find it interesting to hear about grading practices and what goes on behind the scenes. People put some much emphasis on grades nowadays it's a bit shocking to see how loose some of the standards (or lack thereof) are when it comes to grading practices.

While the information provided here can't be proven true or false, and some of it is obviously hearsay on the graders side, it does seem to confirm some of the suspicions that a lot of us have had over the years. Preferential treatment for certain submitters, quota's too large to accurately grade everything properly, graders grading their own or friends cards, potential bribes for better grades, etc..

Man I can't wait to check this out. Just from reading your preview, no surprise lol, but this is why I will ONLY grade when selling.

Although for my PC at some point I might end up getting stuff graded with TAG, I love their slabs and there is no human bias...unless someone is feeding the machine b.s. on behalf of a major submitter lol.

I remember reading that long Blowout thread about Eagle Eye Joe and Brian Gray. Very interesting and damning, and none of it was surprising.

So many unscrupulous and/or incompetent people involved in grading - I hate it.

AbraCalabro wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 4:26 pm Man I can't wait to check this out. Just from reading your preview, no surprise lol, but this is why I will ONLY grade when selling.

Although for my PC at some point I might end up getting stuff graded with TAG, I love their slabs and there is no human bias...unless someone is feeding the machine b.s. on behalf of a major submitter lol.

I remember seeing some stuff about TAG. As long as it's not too expensive I don't see much downside to encasing with something that you like the look of. I personally prefer one touches over slabs so I can still take the cards out if I ever wanted, however, there are specific scenarios where I do prefer slabs. Mainly if the card/set is highly faked, having it graded helps for peace of mind. The other scenario is die cut cards. I've never found a good way to store higher end die cuts besides in a Z-folio binder or something like that. If they aren't going in a binder I do prefer BGS slabs for those as it keeps them from sliding around in the case with the inner sleeve they use.

kingofsnake wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 9:49 pm I remember reading that long Blowout thread about Eagle Eye Joe and Brian Gray. Very interesting and damning, and none of it was surprising.

So many unscrupulous and/or incompetent people involved in grading - I hate it.

Yep the good old Joe Clemons scandal. I'm still surprised that guy wasn't outed from the hobby for giving himself all those black labels. Goes to show how buddy buddy the industry is when guys like him get a pass after being exposed as scammer.

Here's the segment of the interview that goes over that specifically.


Below is a good write up about the situation from Sports Card Radio with a link to the BO thread as well.
https://www.sportscardradio.com/former- ... ding-scam/

Regarding high end / die cuts

9899_Hoops_Prime Twine_8_x500 Shawn Kemp

Haven’t gotten around to the videos, but I’ll never forget the eagle eye joe coverage on Blowout. So comical.

Also, that prime twine almost looks foil with the way your scanner captured it. Beautiful set, ive been meaning to pick up someone from it for years but balked on more affordable options like mcdyess a couple times.

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:14 pm Haven’t gotten around to the videos, but I’ll never forget the eagle eye joe coverage on Blowout. So comical.

Also, that prime twine almost looks foil with the way your scanner captured it. Beautiful set, ive been meaning to pick up someone from it for years but balked on more affordable options like mcdyess a couple times.

Off topic, but darz, I think I saw on my IG feed that you had two Monta Ellis Superfractors? That's great! I was a Monta fan.

kingofsnake wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 9:39 pm

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:14 pm Haven’t gotten around to the videos, but I’ll never forget the eagle eye joe coverage on Blowout. So comical.

Also, that prime twine almost looks foil with the way your scanner captured it. Beautiful set, ive been meaning to pick up someone from it for years but balked on more affordable options like mcdyess a couple times.

Off topic, but darz, I think I saw on my IG feed that you had two Monta Ellis Superfractors? That's great! I was a Monta fan.

Oh you’re thinking of darscards35kd, dude that works for Alt/Leore Avidar (talk about amusing BO coverage )

Occasionally I get dms from people thinking I have 5 figure+ cards and I have to tell them they found the poverty Darz.

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2024 7:07 am
Oh you’re thinking of darscards35kd, dude that works for Alt/Leore Avidar (talk about amusing BO coverage )

Occasionally I get dms from people thinking I have 5 figure+ cards and I have to tell them they found the poverty Darz.

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2024 7:07 am

kingofsnake wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 9:39 pm

darz90scardz wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:14 pm Haven’t gotten around to the videos, but I’ll never forget the eagle eye joe coverage on Blowout. So comical.

Also, that prime twine almost looks foil with the way your scanner captured it. Beautiful set, ive been meaning to pick up someone from it for years but balked on more affordable options like mcdyess a couple times.

Off topic, but darz, I think I saw on my IG feed that you had two Monta Ellis Superfractors? That's great! I was a Monta fan.

Oh you’re thinking of darscards35kd, dude that works for Alt/Leore Avidar (talk about amusing BO coverage )

Occasionally I get dms from people thinking I have 5 figure+ cards and I have to tell them they found the poverty Darz.

Ah sorry, Darz - the names were a bit confusing for my simple mind.

I thought it was an interesting interview and there is likely some truth (a lot?) in the videos, but heavy on speculation for someone on the inside.
Regarding the black label "rumor", they even claimed it occurred after they left and referenced the blowout thread as a source. Would have helped established credibility, if they referenced a similar occurrence while employed.

I know something was happening (self grading is certainly a possibility), but as one of the individuals who spent a lot of time investigating, I don't recall any 180 BL orders. Not sure where that number came from.

If anyone was curious, here's a few direct links to some posts I thought were interesting in this thread.

auburn35 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2024 6:41 pm If anyone was curious, here's a few direct links to some posts I thought were interesting in this thread.

Thanks for sharing those links auburn. The BO link with the BGS 10 experiment is super interesting. It shows how truly subjective grading really is.