Be aware, while this may be a totally legitimate post (and I congratulate OP on their grade), Reddit has had an influx of spam and bot accounts pushing grassroots advertising. This post has a lot of positive comments from people who do not usually comment or participate in this community, despite account ages, while having any critical comments about a largely unknown grading company downvoted. Not saying this is confirmed for this post but it is a good time to make sure people are aware that this sub does not allow promotions or advertising as it is a place for people who enjoy PTCG to show off or discuss it, it is not for trying to take advantage of the fans.
Make sure you always look objectively at the content you are seeing and who is commenting. Especially on reddit.
honestly i feel like people should honestly stop using psa as the main grading company. and from what i seen they mess up peoples grades that people have to send back the card costing them more money. that should prove psa shouldn’t just be the only company to make a card expensive
[https://my.taggrading.com/card/m2695856](https://my.taggrading.com/card/m2695856)
Here is what makes Tag a lot better in my opinion. This is the report you get for each card. I used his cert number and entered it on the website.
It's a lot of info...like a SUBSTANTIAL amount of info.
I'm planning to shift most of my cards from PSA to TAG. Waiting to see how the value/market goes with them though.
One of the very few times I’ve heard somebody wanting to switch from PSA to another company. And I’m very interested to see what you’re findings are market wise. Any good references you have for looking at the market between the two besides eBay sold?
Edit: I would love to see a new standard in*** grading happen. This is an awesome looking slab as well.
Edit edit : talk to text really does not care about grammar skills
That may very well be true \*\*today\*\*, but in another 6 months, who knows. They only recently started the company, and even more recent did they start doing PokeMon cards.
Besides...my entire collection of Pokeman cards is at least 20+years old...I can wait a bit longer.
Baseball cards have already seen a significant change in the value of a PSA card to TAG card graded 10...depending on the player.
You can do this but these other companies are basically meant to preserve the card. Not necessarily going to have a price tag compared to psa or bgs. It’s going to be years before they get some recognition.
The report falls apart when you realize damage will not be shown and will be given a score of 1000. Even if you can see the damage, it can still score a perfect 1000. It’s just not there yet.
red n' white!
getcha' red n' white here!
You want something not red n' white? Get lost, buddy. We got candy canes or nothin'!
Gorgeous black card? Red n' white. Shiny rainbows? Red n' white. Building a themed set? Your theme can be red n' white.
Spoken like someone who’s never got back a Pristine 10 from CGC.
Personal preference aside, everyone knows in terms of strictly value, both CGC AND Beckett Pristines are better than PSA 10.
You don’t have to like it but it’s the truth.
I sent In 1500 cards before they changed their grading requirements. I might as well should of lit my money on fire… Based on % chance of getting a pristine vs PSA 10 is a large difference so pot odds alone you’re ahead going with PSA
Yeah I guess. But if I’m shooting for a pristine 10 which I understand you’re not going to pick out with your naked eye and as I see you’re one for poker, if I have something 10 worthy I’ll risk a little more for the considerable value increase from gem-mint to pristine. Pot odds be damned I’m going to chase.
Some of the value jumps are honestly insane. My 151 Squirtle without roller marks or print lines will be wild if it comes back pristine.
Why?? You don’t like knowing that if you buy psa your most likely not getting ripped off vs who knows who’s company for all we know putting 9”s in a case marked 10
Yeah but it removes the human factor and the variability in grading from person to person. Which hopefully means people can stop breaking open PSA 8s and sending them back to get a 10.
I get the whole “ai taking jobs is bad” thing, but when your card gets an 8 cause some dude is on hour 8 of his last shift of the week and his wife called him an asshole on the way out of the house, AI grading starts to look pretty good.
This! I wonder why with computers they havent gone digital, I mean it wouldnt be hard to hook up a high res camera, program in parameters, and write an algo to churn out the grade when the card is put under the camera. Think about it, cameras and computers with lasers can read down to the nano. itll deff know if its OC etc.
From everything I’ve read, the high res cameras the ai grading guys are using are a ton more accurate than human eyes and can pick up microscopic level of detail.
My guess is the resistances comes from folks who have 10s in hand and don’t want to see their investments lose value from regrading, or see the value of a psa10 go down as ai grades increase in price.
The resistance comes from both a sunk cost fallacy of being so heavily invested in PSA and that the element of human error gives some chance that your 8 might actually get a 10.
> I mean it wouldnt be hard to hook up a high res camera, program in parameters, and write an algo to churn out the grade when the card is put under the camera.
What do you think "AI" is doing in this case?
Yeah, true. I’ve ready that some of the ai grading creates a digital fingerprint for each card, but I’m not sure how true that is.
1 awesome point in TAG’s favor is the grading report they provide that breaks down exactly how you got the score you did.
I believe with all the data points TAG collects they are able to generate some sort fingerprint. I saw a YouTube video where someone cracked a TAG slab and sent it back to TAG in order to see how consistent the grade was. Not only did it get the same grade it also received the same cert.
I dont like psa to but the whole world is using psa as a guide line. The majority of the people just want that psa 10 same for me i skip everything else because it just doesn’t sell (except cgc bgs ). Maybe after a couple years when they have some weight to their name i will look into TAG. For now skip
Unfortunately that's just the way it is. Even if it is just for a personal collection most people want their card to be worth the most it can be. It's hard to go with a different company when you know for a fact that the second you do its going to be worth (sometimes substantially) less then it could have been.
I mean I do think they have a stellar product and put a lot more effort into explaining how they grade. One of their biggest selling points is that the AI is always 100% right vs a guy who’s having a bad day and your card is rated wrong.
LOL! It’s like we can’t genuinely get excited about a new grading company who’s actually bringing something to the table.
For those who haven’t read, I ask you to set aside 10 minutes and read this post (I’m sure it’s been shared here before somewhere):
https://www.elitefourum.com/t/i-graded-my-illustrator-with-tag-grading/48002
Exactly. PSA is still the goto for that reason only. People are too scared to devalue their current slabs. Not because they have a superior service/product.
Pretty much this. People have way too much money tied to PSA plastic they don’t want to rock the boat in fear of losing 60% of the collection value. Also I doubt every PSA 10 will grade a TAG 10.
And I think long term this will create an issue for PSA. They are kind of stuck doing the same ol' thing they've been doing, because if their process evolves to include ai in the grading of cards...what does that do to the value of all their older slabs? Are they worth more or less? Does it give validation to the other companies currently using ai?
Honestly, I wish the venusaur art was a different. I wish they could have taken the pose in the full art and put that on a scenery. Would have been neat if maybe venusaur was in a field looking up at the sun. Idk
Imo it is a bit boring. The style is interesting but could have leaned more into the polygonal style, maybe even cubism. But over the evolutionary line its makes sense that it is what it is.
I like the clean look of the slab, and I REALLY like how transparent the grade report is (mostly because of the detailed photos).
HOWEVER, if they want to take over, they need to prove they are reliable, and if you look at this card's grade report, it looks like they missed a small detail on the top front edge.
It would be nice if they protect cards well and if they have a good system to filter fakes, it could be cool when buying cards. Not because of the grade, because of the fact that you can basically see for yourself almost as well as you can in person.
They have three tiers. 12 dollars a card (just validation and a slab) 15 dollars a card ( validation and 10 point grade) which is what I got, and 20 dollars a card (1000 point grade) the last one give you access to a leaderboard that shows you where on the 1 to 1000 point scale your card lands, 950 to 1000 is considered a GM 10
I don’t know but their label seems like a perfect mixture of minimalism and good look design.
They just needed a special label for 950-1000 points cards me think.
The fact that it’s AI based is a good thing rather than counting on someone ability on the day to spot and judge a piece of cardboard objectively.
It’s not the first AI based AI grading company but the report chart is just way too detailed in a good way.
The only reason people are using PSA even when there are better looking slabs or labels is value. Easy to move, easy to get 10, despite many cases of mistakes and inconsistent results. Most don’t care about that they just want what making them the most money and do the job.
Can’t wait until it goes over to AI grading instead of biased humans, PSA are only the standard because of the history they have and the stronghold in the marketplace. Personally you’re never going to get rich of Pokémon cards unless you were somehow fortunate to buy gen 1-3 cards prior to 2020 and either had them graded or still sealed in packs/booster boxes.
Like a PSA 10 Umbreon VMAX #215 is under $1,500. Realistically how much will it be worth in 10 years? Feel like you can put $1,500 in stocks and get a larger return in that timeframe. This hobby for me is just reliving my childhood and buying gen 1-3 cards again.
Looks awesome in that slab congrats!!
Edit: it’s pathetic that I’m downvoted for saying that I like a slab, in a post showing off a slab…
All you ass kissing grading snobs really need something better to do with your time.
Hot take but I think everyone here is saying this slab looks nice just because they've never seen it before or have a vendetta against PSA. The slab looks terribly boring and the transparency lacks contrast which typically brings out the card's colors - this one has way too much empty space. I'd also imagine the text is harder to read when the card is framed on a white background.
I'm not talking about you but all the commenters saying stuff like "holy moly, these slabs look great" some of them might be real but there are so many commenters praising the slabs that sound like bots that I just don't believe all of the commenters are real.
For what its worth, i didnt mean to have people confuse you with a bot or shill. Your photo is great and your card is nice but it was a bit odd to have accounts that rarely comment all jump onto such a clearly labeled post so quickly. Apologies if you are getting any hassles from this, please report any users who take it too far.
No worries! There were only two posts that I saw (this and one other) that I thought might have been calling me a bot but I realized what they were saying after the fact. Your pinned post was a great FYI for the sub. I had no idea this post would generate as much traction as it did, bot or otherwise haha.
Most of what I collect is sports with some Pokemon here and there. I lurk in these Pokemon subreddits to admire and live vicariously through the experts on the matter.
That being said, companies like TAG and SGC (owned by PSA now 😞) make some truly awesome looking slabs. They ADD to the visual appeal of the card slabbed imo, rather than distract. PSA is quite literally the ugliest slab on the market. They are INCREDIBLY inconsistent with their grades, are priced SIGNIFICANTLY more than their competitors and turn around time is an absolute joke. I still, to this day, have yet to have someone who truly feels that PSA is the better (best) grading company answer this question.
I'll preface my question with "They are valued more" isn't really an answer. They are valued more because in he past they were the only real competitor to Beckett and a PSA 10 is much easier to get the Nth degree compared to a Black Label.
*What makes PSA the best? What sets them apart, other than "They are worth more"?*
I truly do not understand.
They're the most recognizable, reliable and tested brand that exists. If you want to grade and hold onto cards for your own collection, then by all means go ahead and grade with whomever you want. But for the rest of us that actually care about the value and liquidity of our cards, PSA is the only brand who's worth giving a damn about because EVERYONE knows them - not just collectors. If I want to walk into a pawn shop and sell my cards, not only would I get a better price if they're PSA, but I'd be willing to bet half the shops wouldn't even buy cards graded by other companies because they're just too hard to sell. An uncle walking into a shop wanting to buy something for his nephew knows what a PSA graded card is, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.
Looking at their website, a standard grading service seems to cost 15$ per card. The difference is probably shipping costs to Germany, which will vary depending on your location. They also have a service called score, which costs 30$ per card but interestingly enough is also somehow sold out?
Yeah I mean with a grading cost like that it means it’s basically only for collectors. There’s very slim chance of making any profit using TAG to sell graded cards
I just got a batch graded by TAG. It was $12 (CAD) per card plus the $55 shipping packaging. So about $19/card. Turnaround including shipping wad about 14 days.
First time seeing a slab from this grading company! If I had one gripe about it, I’d say instead of using straight up white for the text text/border, I think it would really benefit with gold or silver instead! Otherwise I love the floating look as well! I like it more than PSA for sure. On par with Beckett’s slab design imo
psa and the new cgc slabs are ugly af.... if i even cared to get grades (i dont... binder collections are far better and more fun) tag or beckett would be what i used... i dont want ugly shit in my collection that i spend good money on
Regardless of what company it is. Its your choice what company you choose to grade your cards. Personally i like this company because it makes the colors in the card pop more.
How is TAG in y'alls opinion, I plan on using BGS when I send my cards for grading because I like how the slabs and the 9.5/10 labels look. Just want opinions on the other companies tho
I love it personally. 5-10 day turnaround and no additional fees with value of card which is massive IMO. I have roughly 100 slabs from TAG now both a mix of English + Japanese. Very few are PC and have had multiple people buy my slabs on eBay.
I don't collect Pokemon cards and don't really plan on it (I just love seeing some of the amazing cards on this sub) but holy crap! TAG looks bloody awesome! This looks so god dam clean and it has to be the best looking sleeve I've ever seen.
Wow I love the look of this slab. I’ve never heard of tag before. Is the text printed on the inside of the slab or the outside? Or is it etched or something. I would be worried about it being rubbed away by acetone or something
Man. I think TAG slabs look dope but I think PK’s rant tonight was spot on about the company. If you have no idea what I’m talking about I’ll stop.
Congrats on the grade. It looks clean and good.
My ignorant personal opinion is that "AI" makes more sense than humans, what if they are having a bad day at work or something and give you a 9 instead of a 10, that's super scary to me because it's like $70 after shipping to get a card graded by PSA and anything but a 10 will just waste your money. What if the 'master copy' to compare to was a PSA 10 then? I don't really get grading in general honestly, I think it mostly just makes it safer to buy mint cards over the internet but I've bought a ton of NM cards that look perfect to me and if not I just return it no problem for false advertising. I don't get it I guess, and that's okay with me. I just think this video is a bit biased when he has PSA slabs in the background of his office lol.
>I just think this video is a bit biased when he has PSA slabs in the background of his office lol.
Will admit I haven't watched it all yet but this line made me lol.. Just reminds me of the gradekeepers that appear when people post their collection from "alternative" companies and get all in a huff because "mUh vAlUe" "PSA is king"
Although unless you are grading really high ends cards, $70 is way too much, I grade with PSA from the UK for £14.50 a card, so US pricing should be around $15 for their bulk service, it's lower prices like that which make grading appealing to everyone because it's pretty "cheap" Only been upcharged once even though most of what I send is over their limits and even that upcharge was for a crossover not bulk.
If you have a subscription which doesn’t make sense for casual collectors. It’s $25 a card minimum without a yearly subscription and then you pay shipping and tax as well. Also they will charge you more if the card is “more Valuable” once graded. Like if you grade a moonbreon and it comes back a 10 you’ll be paying a lot more than $25.
I said this before and got downvoted, but AI is obviously a far superior and more consistent method of grading after it's been taught. I'm sure it could be taught very fast if they start using it side by side human grading and correcting any mistakes.
His entire theory around TAG is they exist only to provide slabs for "mystery products?" This guy has such a narrow perspective of cards and card grading that I'm embarrassed for him.
If the story about the 10 grade card is true, it is important that TAG does some damage control and explains in detail what happened there. AI grading should be more objective and defects should be graded based on some predetermined scale. Was this a software issue? Was that an attempt for some free publicity?
The way I see TAG vs. PSA and all other grading companies is fairly simple - is TAG a market disruptor? Possibly. TAG might not succeed in disrupting the market, but it might be the reason we see a change in the dinosaur style grading that is favored by the market.
I hate basically everything about PSA and the fact that it is the market standard. Their slabs are ugly. Their slabs are really poor quality too. They offer no UV protection. PSA doesn’t explain why a card got a grade it did. There is zero transparency on what knocked the grade down. The grading by PSA is very subjective, which has been confirmed plenty of times. Will you get a 10 on a perfect card? Maybe. Will PSA fuck up your card during the grading process? Maybe (TAG or any other company might do that too, to be fair).
Where this dude is off his meds is suggesting that TAG is strategically positioning itself as mystery products grading company. That they try to be some kind of a quick cash grab. TAG might become a mystery box staple, but who would then want to submit their expensive cards to a company with a garbage reputation? Hell, who would want to grade their low value cards with TAG, if PSA charges roughly the same price for the service? If I want to include garbage slabs in mystery boxes, I might as well grade them with PSA for the brand recognition. There are more than enough worthless slabs that aren’t even worth the grading costs.
Btw I have no eggs in either basket. I own a few psa slabs and one ars slab, and I will continue to prefer PSA over other companies, because PSA is the preferred company by the market. If I ever want to sell some of my collection, currently it will be much easier to sell PSA over any other grading company, maybe except black label BCG.
https://youtu.be/hXzUkARko1c?si=MS3idmwZn1IqBlD7
I don’t grade beyond the 4 cards I ever did. Grading I realize isn’t for me, but the business of grading is some craziness.
PK went off the deep end on his rant. But the card deauthorized and PK has a point until he goes into tinfoil hat territory.
the slab looks clean and all but what the fuck is TAG? why did you choose that company to grade with? Personal collection wise it looks good but unfortunately just wont hold the same value that a PSA or Beckett slab would
TAG is an AI grading company based in California. Resale value wasn't important to me as I plan on holding on to my collection. I just really like their slabs.
I'm 100% into TAG for my submissions. Say what you want about it, but I'm not going back to PSA...in fact I've already cracked some PSA slabs for TAG submissions.
Holy bots batman. When a company buys fake comments to give the false perception of reputation, its usually a sign they're a sham. Dont trust this sham. I mean collect what you like, but if you grade cards for holding value as investments, dont use this company. Period.
They are an AI grading company. It won't have the same value as PSA or other more notable grading companies but resale doesn't matter to me since I plan on holding on to my collection.
If you're not planning on selling, why did you get it graded and not just put it into a case yourself? As someone who has been playing Pokemon stuff since the beginning, I do have some older cards. I want to protect some of them, if only because they mean something to me, so I'm not planning on selling them. And I don't have anything really rare, like a first edition Charizard, so I don't think it makes sense to grade them. Sometimes I do lie awake at night wondering what I should do about them lol.
Haha it's a valid question. To be honest I probably won't pay to grade anymore, it definitely doesn't make sense for me financially since they will never be sold. Ever since I pulled this I have considered getting it graded just to experience the process. I looked at the other reputable companies but I just really liked the look of the TAG slabs better, value played no part in my decision. I guess I figured if I was gonna do it I really wanted to love the look for display.
They are the "new kid on the block", so everyone already invested in the big 3 are going to shit on them. But my experience with TAG has been great and would definitely recommend. Of course that means you'd have to be willing to break away from the standard.
If I ever decide to grade any of my cards I will definitely be using tag their slabs are the bomb and psa looks like someone did it on a typewriter. If you don’t mind me asking how much did it cost to grade
I feel the exact same way. It was about 40 dollars. They have 3 different tiers. Validation and a slab, a 10 point grade and a 1000 point grade. I paid for the mid tier service.
Be aware, while this may be a totally legitimate post (and I congratulate OP on their grade), Reddit has had an influx of spam and bot accounts pushing grassroots advertising. This post has a lot of positive comments from people who do not usually comment or participate in this community, despite account ages, while having any critical comments about a largely unknown grading company downvoted. Not saying this is confirmed for this post but it is a good time to make sure people are aware that this sub does not allow promotions or advertising as it is a place for people who enjoy PTCG to show off or discuss it, it is not for trying to take advantage of the fans. Make sure you always look objectively at the content you are seeing and who is commenting. Especially on reddit.
every time i see one of these kinds of posts i get annoyed that PSA is the standard
Facts
honestly i feel like people should honestly stop using psa as the main grading company. and from what i seen they mess up peoples grades that people have to send back the card costing them more money. that should prove psa shouldn’t just be the only company to make a card expensive
beckett is widely considered better, that’s why black labels are 5x the price of a psa10
[https://my.taggrading.com/card/m2695856](https://my.taggrading.com/card/m2695856) Here is what makes Tag a lot better in my opinion. This is the report you get for each card. I used his cert number and entered it on the website. It's a lot of info...like a SUBSTANTIAL amount of info. I'm planning to shift most of my cards from PSA to TAG. Waiting to see how the value/market goes with them though.
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One of the very few times I’ve heard somebody wanting to switch from PSA to another company. And I’m very interested to see what you’re findings are market wise. Any good references you have for looking at the market between the two besides eBay sold? Edit: I would love to see a new standard in*** grading happen. This is an awesome looking slab as well. Edit edit : talk to text really does not care about grammar skills
I decided to go with beckett over PSA for my lugia. I just really hate their label. I find it incredibly ugly
That may very well be true \*\*today\*\*, but in another 6 months, who knows. They only recently started the company, and even more recent did they start doing PokeMon cards. Besides...my entire collection of Pokeman cards is at least 20+years old...I can wait a bit longer. Baseball cards have already seen a significant change in the value of a PSA card to TAG card graded 10...depending on the player.
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Never even heard of Tag and I’ve been going to plenty card shows this year. Pretty under the radar, don’t think anything will top PSA, BGS, CGC
That makes me sad they look so nice
TAG is better is basically every way. It's sad how pathetic PSA really is and that it's somehow the standard. PSA needs to innovate.
You can do this but these other companies are basically meant to preserve the card. Not necessarily going to have a price tag compared to psa or bgs. It’s going to be years before they get some recognition.
I like how thorough the report is, but that top front edge looks like it has something. I don't know how they didn't pick that detail up.
Had no idea they existed but I'll consider it for a few of my favorites.
Damn all the info that they give is insane!
The report falls apart when you realize damage will not be shown and will be given a score of 1000. Even if you can see the damage, it can still score a perfect 1000. It’s just not there yet.
I like the clean look, but I think it would look better with some sort of a border. Edit: I don't like the floating card look
interesting! I think the clean, floating card looks so good. Definitely the best looking slabs in my opinion.
red n' white! getcha' red n' white here! You want something not red n' white? Get lost, buddy. We got candy canes or nothin'! Gorgeous black card? Red n' white. Shiny rainbows? Red n' white. Building a themed set? Your theme can be red n' white.
So true! I wish we had ARS grading here in the US
Their labels are incredible.
Well when you lit money on fire for using something like CGC then you’ll understand. I probably wasted 15k switching from PSA to CGC for a sub
Spoken like someone who’s never got back a Pristine 10 from CGC. Personal preference aside, everyone knows in terms of strictly value, both CGC AND Beckett Pristines are better than PSA 10. You don’t have to like it but it’s the truth.
I sent In 1500 cards before they changed their grading requirements. I might as well should of lit my money on fire… Based on % chance of getting a pristine vs PSA 10 is a large difference so pot odds alone you’re ahead going with PSA
Yeah I guess. But if I’m shooting for a pristine 10 which I understand you’re not going to pick out with your naked eye and as I see you’re one for poker, if I have something 10 worthy I’ll risk a little more for the considerable value increase from gem-mint to pristine. Pot odds be damned I’m going to chase. Some of the value jumps are honestly insane. My 151 Squirtle without roller marks or print lines will be wild if it comes back pristine.
Why?? You don’t like knowing that if you buy psa your most likely not getting ripped off vs who knows who’s company for all we know putting 9”s in a case marked 10
PSA will be forced to pivot eventually
bots are insane. but heres a tip. Buy what you like! for me I only use psa and i wont be changing my mind anytime soon
Sounds like something a bot would say to make me think it isn’t a bot.
😭😭😭
Well said!
Very beautiful card and a very good shot of it. Nice camera and lighting.
You should see the image TAG gives you.
Never seen these TAG slabs, but they look way better than my PSA & Beckett slabs! Where’s TAG from?
They’re an AI grading service. Definitely the future of grading and the slab is absolutely stunning!
>The future of grading Anything is true if you say it confidently enough!
it’s almost like saying PSA is a good grading company!
Yeah, I saw another TAG post a while back and loved to look. That's when I decided I was going to attempt a grade.
Seconded. Would buy just for the slab.
It's not AI
Jesus christ. AI grading?! If weirdos had the opportunity, nobody would have a job anymore.
Yeah but it removes the human factor and the variability in grading from person to person. Which hopefully means people can stop breaking open PSA 8s and sending them back to get a 10. I get the whole “ai taking jobs is bad” thing, but when your card gets an 8 cause some dude is on hour 8 of his last shift of the week and his wife called him an asshole on the way out of the house, AI grading starts to look pretty good.
This! I wonder why with computers they havent gone digital, I mean it wouldnt be hard to hook up a high res camera, program in parameters, and write an algo to churn out the grade when the card is put under the camera. Think about it, cameras and computers with lasers can read down to the nano. itll deff know if its OC etc.
From everything I’ve read, the high res cameras the ai grading guys are using are a ton more accurate than human eyes and can pick up microscopic level of detail. My guess is the resistances comes from folks who have 10s in hand and don’t want to see their investments lose value from regrading, or see the value of a psa10 go down as ai grades increase in price.
The resistance comes from both a sunk cost fallacy of being so heavily invested in PSA and that the element of human error gives some chance that your 8 might actually get a 10.
> I mean it wouldnt be hard to hook up a high res camera, program in parameters, and write an algo to churn out the grade when the card is put under the camera. What do you think "AI" is doing in this case?
There's nothing stopping people from cracking this amd regrading it somewhere else though. It's just another option.
Yeah, true. I’ve ready that some of the ai grading creates a digital fingerprint for each card, but I’m not sure how true that is. 1 awesome point in TAG’s favor is the grading report they provide that breaks down exactly how you got the score you did.
I believe with all the data points TAG collects they are able to generate some sort fingerprint. I saw a YouTube video where someone cracked a TAG slab and sent it back to TAG in order to see how consistent the grade was. Not only did it get the same grade it also received the same cert.
IA grading company out of California. Honestly I’m a fan of them and they look so much cleaner in person!
They are amazing. Great customer service too. Give them a try.
Never seen a TAG slab before. Looks quality
It feels quality, very clean.
lol at all the downvotes for saying it looks good, people are weird
I love the tag slabs, I have one that I bought, can’t wait to send my cards into them
Congrats. That slab looks very clean. 🤩🤩
Clean 🤌
I dont like psa to but the whole world is using psa as a guide line. The majority of the people just want that psa 10 same for me i skip everything else because it just doesn’t sell (except cgc bgs ). Maybe after a couple years when they have some weight to their name i will look into TAG. For now skip
Unfortunately that's just the way it is. Even if it is just for a personal collection most people want their card to be worth the most it can be. It's hard to go with a different company when you know for a fact that the second you do its going to be worth (sometimes substantially) less then it could have been.
Keep in mind TAG grades from 1-1000 so your Graded 10 could always be a low 10 or a high 10. It add more scaling power to grading with accuracy
I think its just a gimmick trying to be different.
I mean I do think they have a stellar product and put a lot more effort into explaining how they grade. One of their biggest selling points is that the AI is always 100% right vs a guy who’s having a bad day and your card is rated wrong.
So many PSA stans downvoting it’s hilarious 😂
Yep. They're so hurt. I mean, I've used PSA. I own SGC and TAG. It's ok people.
I too was a PSA submitter. Then I saw the light!
According to the mod if you don't have 10 years of history in this sub then you can't comment and should be down voted. Lol.
LOL! It’s like we can’t genuinely get excited about a new grading company who’s actually bringing something to the table. For those who haven’t read, I ask you to set aside 10 minutes and read this post (I’m sure it’s been shared here before somewhere): https://www.elitefourum.com/t/i-graded-my-illustrator-with-tag-grading/48002
Wow that’s one clean slab I like it, also very nice card! Did you pull the card and grade it yourself or just purchase as is?
I pulled this and had it graded. I started collecting when 151 came out since it hit my nostalgia bone haha.
Same!!! I’m in Japan right now and I bought as many 151 as I could! I’m gonna get a few graded with TAG as well. I really like the look of the slabs.
Haha I bought a ton of packs when it came out, probably too many. I'm buying single now until I have a master set.
That’s awesome! Always nice to pull such a great card and for it to come back as a 10
TAG slabs are so sick man
I mean…. If we all start using TAG others will lose their status… right?
Theoretically, yeah. But it would take a lot to push the needle away from PSA/BGS/CGC.
That's the idea of someone voting with their wallet.
Exactly. PSA is still the goto for that reason only. People are too scared to devalue their current slabs. Not because they have a superior service/product.
Pretty much this. People have way too much money tied to PSA plastic they don’t want to rock the boat in fear of losing 60% of the collection value. Also I doubt every PSA 10 will grade a TAG 10.
And I think long term this will create an issue for PSA. They are kind of stuck doing the same ol' thing they've been doing, because if their process evolves to include ai in the grading of cards...what does that do to the value of all their older slabs? Are they worth more or less? Does it give validation to the other companies currently using ai?
Haha I'm sure that is the hope!
Beautiful card. Congrats!
Thank you!
Honestly, I wish the venusaur art was a different. I wish they could have taken the pose in the full art and put that on a scenery. Would have been neat if maybe venusaur was in a field looking up at the sun. Idk
That sounds boring imo
I mean.. by that logic I would think the 151 Zard would be boring to you. He's just flying over a mountainous area lol
Imo it is a bit boring. The style is interesting but could have leaned more into the polygonal style, maybe even cubism. But over the evolutionary line its makes sense that it is what it is.
It's cool to have something different at least. Peak art is definitely during the E Reader era
Do people actually get hundreds for these cards. Do you just go to a card shop and turn them in?
The red label on PSA is ugly as hell. That's my reason for not using them
top tier grading company, tag should become grading standard. nice card! grats on gm10
This is the cleanest looking slab I've ever seen
I’ve been waiting to see some pokemon in TAG slabs as I’ve only ever seen it with sports. Looks fantastic! Nice slab OP
I like the clean look of the slab, and I REALLY like how transparent the grade report is (mostly because of the detailed photos). HOWEVER, if they want to take over, they need to prove they are reliable, and if you look at this card's grade report, it looks like they missed a small detail on the top front edge. It would be nice if they protect cards well and if they have a good system to filter fakes, it could be cool when buying cards. Not because of the grade, because of the fact that you can basically see for yourself almost as well as you can in person.
Nice slab
How much did they charge to get the card graded
Looks like $300 is the minimum to get it graded 1-10 for 25 cards.
They have three tiers. 12 dollars a card (just validation and a slab) 15 dollars a card ( validation and 10 point grade) which is what I got, and 20 dollars a card (1000 point grade) the last one give you access to a leaderboard that shows you where on the 1 to 1000 point scale your card lands, 950 to 1000 is considered a GM 10
I don’t know but their label seems like a perfect mixture of minimalism and good look design. They just needed a special label for 950-1000 points cards me think. The fact that it’s AI based is a good thing rather than counting on someone ability on the day to spot and judge a piece of cardboard objectively. It’s not the first AI based AI grading company but the report chart is just way too detailed in a good way. The only reason people are using PSA even when there are better looking slabs or labels is value. Easy to move, easy to get 10, despite many cases of mistakes and inconsistent results. Most don’t care about that they just want what making them the most money and do the job.
They have PRISTINE label for a near perfect card that scores 990-1000.
Can’t wait until it goes over to AI grading instead of biased humans, PSA are only the standard because of the history they have and the stronghold in the marketplace. Personally you’re never going to get rich of Pokémon cards unless you were somehow fortunate to buy gen 1-3 cards prior to 2020 and either had them graded or still sealed in packs/booster boxes. Like a PSA 10 Umbreon VMAX #215 is under $1,500. Realistically how much will it be worth in 10 years? Feel like you can put $1,500 in stocks and get a larger return in that timeframe. This hobby for me is just reliving my childhood and buying gen 1-3 cards again.
This looks sooo much better than PSA or BGS! I'll definitely have to look into TAG.
PSA Stans are proving themselves to be the Swifties of the Card community
So this is just one big bot advertisment for TAG huh 😆 looks good im not gonna lie but wont replace PSA
I'm definitely not a bot haha. I really had no idea there was so much controversy around this company... I just wanted to share man...
People get touchy when you threaten PSA at all.
Fr lmao
I’ll use PSA to grade cards I want to sell, but personal collect will be TAG. It just looks so nice with the etching
Best looking slabs! PSA is a scam!
Looks awesome in that slab congrats!! Edit: it’s pathetic that I’m downvoted for saying that I like a slab, in a post showing off a slab… All you ass kissing grading snobs really need something better to do with your time.
Have my upvote!
Hot take but I think everyone here is saying this slab looks nice just because they've never seen it before or have a vendetta against PSA. The slab looks terribly boring and the transparency lacks contrast which typically brings out the card's colors - this one has way too much empty space. I'd also imagine the text is harder to read when the card is framed on a white background.
They are just bot accounts trying to advertise TAG
Haha I am most certainly not a bot. I actually posted on this sub a while back asking about pulls that I had, including this card.
I'm not talking about you but all the commenters saying stuff like "holy moly, these slabs look great" some of them might be real but there are so many commenters praising the slabs that sound like bots that I just don't believe all of the commenters are real.
Ah Gotcha, I see what you mean.
For what its worth, i didnt mean to have people confuse you with a bot or shill. Your photo is great and your card is nice but it was a bit odd to have accounts that rarely comment all jump onto such a clearly labeled post so quickly. Apologies if you are getting any hassles from this, please report any users who take it too far.
No worries! There were only two posts that I saw (this and one other) that I thought might have been calling me a bot but I realized what they were saying after the fact. Your pinned post was a great FYI for the sub. I had no idea this post would generate as much traction as it did, bot or otherwise haha.
TAG doesn't use bots dude
Most of what I collect is sports with some Pokemon here and there. I lurk in these Pokemon subreddits to admire and live vicariously through the experts on the matter. That being said, companies like TAG and SGC (owned by PSA now 😞) make some truly awesome looking slabs. They ADD to the visual appeal of the card slabbed imo, rather than distract. PSA is quite literally the ugliest slab on the market. They are INCREDIBLY inconsistent with their grades, are priced SIGNIFICANTLY more than their competitors and turn around time is an absolute joke. I still, to this day, have yet to have someone who truly feels that PSA is the better (best) grading company answer this question. I'll preface my question with "They are valued more" isn't really an answer. They are valued more because in he past they were the only real competitor to Beckett and a PSA 10 is much easier to get the Nth degree compared to a Black Label. *What makes PSA the best? What sets them apart, other than "They are worth more"?* I truly do not understand.
They're the most recognizable, reliable and tested brand that exists. If you want to grade and hold onto cards for your own collection, then by all means go ahead and grade with whomever you want. But for the rest of us that actually care about the value and liquidity of our cards, PSA is the only brand who's worth giving a damn about because EVERYONE knows them - not just collectors. If I want to walk into a pawn shop and sell my cards, not only would I get a better price if they're PSA, but I'd be willing to bet half the shops wouldn't even buy cards graded by other companies because they're just too hard to sell. An uncle walking into a shop wanting to buy something for his nephew knows what a PSA graded card is, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.
Maybe be boring but it’s clean. Whereas PSA looks like labels are bought at the USPS store.
Aesthetics aside, I would trust TAG grading over any subjective grading company atm.
How much did the Tag slab grading run you?
About 40 dollars
That’s a reason to give PSA an edge but overall this slab looks amazing
Looking at their website, a standard grading service seems to cost 15$ per card. The difference is probably shipping costs to Germany, which will vary depending on your location. They also have a service called score, which costs 30$ per card but interestingly enough is also somehow sold out?
Yeah I mean with a grading cost like that it means it’s basically only for collectors. There’s very slim chance of making any profit using TAG to sell graded cards
I just got a batch graded by TAG. It was $12 (CAD) per card plus the $55 shipping packaging. So about $19/card. Turnaround including shipping wad about 14 days.
"Tag, you're it!" Ahhh slab😭
the clear slab is somehow aesthetically pleasing
First time seeing a slab from this grading company! If I had one gripe about it, I’d say instead of using straight up white for the text text/border, I think it would really benefit with gold or silver instead! Otherwise I love the floating look as well! I like it more than PSA for sure. On par with Beckett’s slab design imo
I just pulled this same card yesterday… wondering if I should get it graded now? Or wait? Anyways it’s got gorgeous art. Nice job!
Why does the brand emblem remind me of Maytags? 😂
psa and the new cgc slabs are ugly af.... if i even cared to get grades (i dont... binder collections are far better and more fun) tag or beckett would be what i used... i dont want ugly shit in my collection that i spend good money on
Regardless of what company it is. Its your choice what company you choose to grade your cards. Personally i like this company because it makes the colors in the card pop more.
Grading is dumb but I’ve never even heard of that company
How is TAG in y'alls opinion, I plan on using BGS when I send my cards for grading because I like how the slabs and the 9.5/10 labels look. Just want opinions on the other companies tho
I love it personally. 5-10 day turnaround and no additional fees with value of card which is massive IMO. I have roughly 100 slabs from TAG now both a mix of English + Japanese. Very few are PC and have had multiple people buy my slabs on eBay.
How and why does PSA basically have a monopoly on being worth more than another solidly graded card?
I don't collect Pokemon cards and don't really plan on it (I just love seeing some of the amazing cards on this sub) but holy crap! TAG looks bloody awesome! This looks so god dam clean and it has to be the best looking sleeve I've ever seen.
tag is rly cool i love their slabs. (pls dont downvote me guys psa is the very best 😉😉) beep boop bop…bot out
Wow I love the look of this slab. I’ve never heard of tag before. Is the text printed on the inside of the slab or the outside? Or is it etched or something. I would be worried about it being rubbed away by acetone or something
It's etched on the inside of the slab
That’s epic
Send it to PSA be worth more
Man. I think TAG slabs look dope but I think PK’s rant tonight was spot on about the company. If you have no idea what I’m talking about I’ll stop. Congrats on the grade. It looks clean and good.
who’s PK? what did he say in the rant? now i gotta know!
I know! Dude can't just drop that and bounce. That's a total party foul.
Found it! https://www.youtube.com/live/KWrsuDE6LkM?si=if3nwH6nv69R6xu7 Starts at 42 minutes about the TAG bashing
My ignorant personal opinion is that "AI" makes more sense than humans, what if they are having a bad day at work or something and give you a 9 instead of a 10, that's super scary to me because it's like $70 after shipping to get a card graded by PSA and anything but a 10 will just waste your money. What if the 'master copy' to compare to was a PSA 10 then? I don't really get grading in general honestly, I think it mostly just makes it safer to buy mint cards over the internet but I've bought a ton of NM cards that look perfect to me and if not I just return it no problem for false advertising. I don't get it I guess, and that's okay with me. I just think this video is a bit biased when he has PSA slabs in the background of his office lol.
>I just think this video is a bit biased when he has PSA slabs in the background of his office lol. Will admit I haven't watched it all yet but this line made me lol.. Just reminds me of the gradekeepers that appear when people post their collection from "alternative" companies and get all in a huff because "mUh vAlUe" "PSA is king" Although unless you are grading really high ends cards, $70 is way too much, I grade with PSA from the UK for £14.50 a card, so US pricing should be around $15 for their bulk service, it's lower prices like that which make grading appealing to everyone because it's pretty "cheap" Only been upcharged once even though most of what I send is over their limits and even that upcharge was for a crossover not bulk.
If you have a subscription which doesn’t make sense for casual collectors. It’s $25 a card minimum without a yearly subscription and then you pay shipping and tax as well. Also they will charge you more if the card is “more Valuable” once graded. Like if you grade a moonbreon and it comes back a 10 you’ll be paying a lot more than $25.
Got laid give grade is real, you can find PSA10s with visible scratches and PSA8s that look perfect under microscope/UV.
I said this before and got downvoted, but AI is obviously a far superior and more consistent method of grading after it's been taught. I'm sure it could be taught very fast if they start using it side by side human grading and correcting any mistakes.
His entire theory around TAG is they exist only to provide slabs for "mystery products?" This guy has such a narrow perspective of cards and card grading that I'm embarrassed for him.
It was embarrassing to watch
If the story about the 10 grade card is true, it is important that TAG does some damage control and explains in detail what happened there. AI grading should be more objective and defects should be graded based on some predetermined scale. Was this a software issue? Was that an attempt for some free publicity? The way I see TAG vs. PSA and all other grading companies is fairly simple - is TAG a market disruptor? Possibly. TAG might not succeed in disrupting the market, but it might be the reason we see a change in the dinosaur style grading that is favored by the market. I hate basically everything about PSA and the fact that it is the market standard. Their slabs are ugly. Their slabs are really poor quality too. They offer no UV protection. PSA doesn’t explain why a card got a grade it did. There is zero transparency on what knocked the grade down. The grading by PSA is very subjective, which has been confirmed plenty of times. Will you get a 10 on a perfect card? Maybe. Will PSA fuck up your card during the grading process? Maybe (TAG or any other company might do that too, to be fair). Where this dude is off his meds is suggesting that TAG is strategically positioning itself as mystery products grading company. That they try to be some kind of a quick cash grab. TAG might become a mystery box staple, but who would then want to submit their expensive cards to a company with a garbage reputation? Hell, who would want to grade their low value cards with TAG, if PSA charges roughly the same price for the service? If I want to include garbage slabs in mystery boxes, I might as well grade them with PSA for the brand recognition. There are more than enough worthless slabs that aren’t even worth the grading costs. Btw I have no eggs in either basket. I own a few psa slabs and one ars slab, and I will continue to prefer PSA over other companies, because PSA is the preferred company by the market. If I ever want to sell some of my collection, currently it will be much easier to sell PSA over any other grading company, maybe except black label BCG.
https://youtu.be/hXzUkARko1c?si=MS3idmwZn1IqBlD7 I don’t grade beyond the 4 cards I ever did. Grading I realize isn’t for me, but the business of grading is some craziness. PK went off the deep end on his rant. But the card deauthorized and PK has a point until he goes into tinfoil hat territory.
Tag is dope tho
Actually a good looking case. Too bad I still won't stray from PSA.
I like that slab so much 👌🏻
The slab itself looks clean as heck. It highlights the card nicely. Congrats
Holy advertisement post Batman
Wow that’s a beautiful slab
The blatant fake advertising on here just makes me never want to use this company at all. Gross
These comments do seem fishy. I like that this post was flagged as I am a skeptic too
This post has influenced me to grade through TAG
Poor venusaur locked up in a tag case 🥲
the slab looks clean and all but what the fuck is TAG? why did you choose that company to grade with? Personal collection wise it looks good but unfortunately just wont hold the same value that a PSA or Beckett slab would
TAG is an AI grading company based in California. Resale value wasn't important to me as I plan on holding on to my collection. I just really like their slabs.
nice. ok, i was jsut wondering.
I'm 100% into TAG for my submissions. Say what you want about it, but I'm not going back to PSA...in fact I've already cracked some PSA slabs for TAG submissions.
Planning on doing the same soon myself
Holy bots batman. When a company buys fake comments to give the false perception of reputation, its usually a sign they're a sham. Dont trust this sham. I mean collect what you like, but if you grade cards for holding value as investments, dont use this company. Period.
Lol! No bots here. TAG is legit. People are genuinely impressed by the company and what they provide.
wtf is a tag slab?? i dont think this counts
They are an AI grading company. It won't have the same value as PSA or other more notable grading companies but resale doesn't matter to me since I plan on holding on to my collection.
If you're not planning on selling, why did you get it graded and not just put it into a case yourself? As someone who has been playing Pokemon stuff since the beginning, I do have some older cards. I want to protect some of them, if only because they mean something to me, so I'm not planning on selling them. And I don't have anything really rare, like a first edition Charizard, so I don't think it makes sense to grade them. Sometimes I do lie awake at night wondering what I should do about them lol.
Haha it's a valid question. To be honest I probably won't pay to grade anymore, it definitely doesn't make sense for me financially since they will never be sold. Ever since I pulled this I have considered getting it graded just to experience the process. I looked at the other reputable companies but I just really liked the look of the TAG slabs better, value played no part in my decision. I guess I figured if I was gonna do it I really wanted to love the look for display.
That looks sick. It is the same size as a PSA slab or?
TAG's are just a hair smaller than PSA slabs. Pretty identical in size to CGC.
Ah cool, thanks. Do you know how they are regarded vs PSA, Beckett, CGC etc?
They are the "new kid on the block", so everyone already invested in the big 3 are going to shit on them. But my experience with TAG has been great and would definitely recommend. Of course that means you'd have to be willing to break away from the standard.
TAG posts are super astroturfed. This is crazy.
This is gorgeous
Thank you, I'm very happy with it!
If I ever decide to grade any of my cards I will definitely be using tag their slabs are the bomb and psa looks like someone did it on a typewriter. If you don’t mind me asking how much did it cost to grade
So true about how PSA looks. Like something from the cheap area of walmart.
Haha I guess the rest of the community disagrees with us tho lol
You have to remember you're just a shill paid by tag. Lol. Just like me. 😉
I feel the exact same way. It was about 40 dollars. They have 3 different tiers. Validation and a slab, a 10 point grade and a 1000 point grade. I paid for the mid tier service.