Greg Morris Cards - Grading

[ASF123]

I was just looking at some Greg Morris listings and saw a bunch of them with descriptions like “VG-EX (crease).” How does that work? Seems to me that that can’t possibly be accurate - VG-EX is incompatible with a crease.

[Tere1071]

Originally Posted by ASF123

I was just looking at some Greg Morris listings and saw a bunch of them with descriptions like “VG-EX (crease).” How does that work? Seems to me that that can’t possibly be accurate - VG-EX is incompatible with a crease.

I agree with you, but it seems that VG-EX has a wide space for interpretation, both raw and slabbed. I've seen and owned cards graded in VG-EX where they had a paper crease/wrinkle on the reverse that didn't show through the front. My 53 Bowman Snider is a PSA VG-EX due to lightly touched corners at the bottom and a moderate wax stain on the reverse. I also have a really nice SGC 4.5 (new label) Musial that has a dinged corner at the bottom left. On the other hand, I've seen VG-EX cards that have all four corners rounded, stained, a light crease, and toning on earlier cards.

I've purchased quite a few cards from Greg (100+) and for the most part, I've been satisfied. On several occasions, I've sent a card back to him that was graded as EX-MT, but I felt the corner wear was too much for the grade. With that said, I will use Greg's grading as a reference to others when I describe the condition of the cards I collect. I will also continue to purchase from Greg as I upgrade my sets.

Phil aka Tere1071
1953 Bowman Color set
1971, 1972, and 1975 Topps Baseball sets
working on a 1970 Topps Baseball set

[swarmee]

VG-EX cards can have creases. EX is where you shouldn't have creases.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ASF123

I was just looking at some Greg Morris listings and saw a bunch of them with descriptions like “VG-EX (crease).” How does that work? Seems to me that that can’t possibly be accurate - VG-EX is incompatible with a crease.

What John said. VG-EX can have a crease, but anymore two decades into the 21st century, it probably needs to be more of a wrinkle. But I would agree that "EX" or PSA 5 is where you should draw the line to have no creases / wrinkles whatsoever. I have seen exceptions to this rule even from PSA, but it's pretty rare.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

What John said. VG-EX can have a crease, but anymore two decades into the 21st century, it probably needs to be more of a wrinkle. But I would agree that "EX" or PSA 5 is where you should draw the line to have no creases / wrinkles whatsoever. I have seen exceptions to this rule even from PSA, but it's pretty rare.

How odd that apparently VG-EX can be so bad as to have a crease, and then I see PSA 4s that look like they’re EX-NM.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ASF123

How odd that apparently VG-EX can be so bad as to have a crease, and then I see PSA 4s that look like they’re EX-NM.

Not odd at all. This is why professional grading in many cases is more or less a scam. All grading is related to eye appeal, and therefore subjective. You can have a 4 with a difficult to spot wrinkle, and sharp corners that is more aesthetically appealing than a 6 with noticeable corner touches or centering problems. Happens all the time. The subjectivity and “difficult to pin down” nature of grading as a discipline is at least partially why it’s so profitable.


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[ASF123]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Not odd at all. This is why professional grading in many cases is more or less a scam. All grading is related to eye appeal, and therefore subjective. You can have a 4 with a difficult to spot wrinkle, and sharp corners that is more aesthetically appealing than a 6 with noticeable corner touches or centering problems. Happens all the time. The subjectivity and “difficult to pin down” nature of grading as a discipline is at least partially why it’s so profitable.


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Oh, I know - I was being facetious. Completely agree with you that grading is a lot of BS.

[egri]

I've bought from Greg in the past, and have been pleased with my orders. Nothing else to add about him that hasn't already been said.

No comment on Dean's pricing, but I couldn't make heads or tails of this listing, for a 1971 Topps Boston Red Sox team set (emphasis added):

This almost complete set contains 28 cards out of the possible 28 cards. This is not a complete set.
"The following cards have been omitted, in order to keep the cost of the set reasonable, and can be purchased separately."#692 AL Rookies - Pitchers - Wayne Twitchell / Rogelio Moret / Hal Haydel and #65 AL HR Leaders - Frank Howard / Harmon Killebrew / Carl Yastrzemski This set does not include the following cards:
The cards ranked by Value:
1971 Topps #176 - Doug Griffin / Bob Montgomery Red Sox Rookies: PSA 8 - NM/MT
1971 Topps #577 Jim Lonborg : PSA 6 - EX/MT
1971 Topps #530 Carl Yastrzemski : 6 - EX/MT
1971 Topps #386 Red Sox Team: 8 - NM/MT
1971 Topps #305 Reggie Smith : 7 - NM
1971 Topps #61 - Alex Johnson / Tony Oliva / Carl Yastrzemski AL Batting Leaders : 6 - EX/MT
1971 Topps #498 John Kennedy : 7 - NM
1971 Topps #512 - Mike Garman / Dick Mills Red Sox Rookies: 8 - NM/MT
1971 Topps #63 - Tony Conigliaro / Frank Howard / Boog Powell AL RBI Leaders : 6 - EX/MT
1971 Topps #89 Ken Brett : 7 - NM
1971 Topps #446 Bobby Bolin : 7 - NM
1971 Topps #114 Billy Conigliaro : 6 - EX/MT

So is it a complete set or not? If not, and the list of cards are the ones excluded, that's almost half the set, including all the stars and rookies.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by egri

I've bought from Greg in the past, and have been pleased with my orders. Nothing else to add about him that hasn't already been said.

No comment on Dean's pricing, but I couldn't make heads or tails of this listing, for a 1971 Topps Boston Red Sox team set (emphasis added):



So is it a complete set or not? If not, and the list of cards are the ones excluded, that's almost half the set, including all the stars and rookies.

Well yeah, he has to leave those cards out so he can keep the price at only $400!

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by ASF123

Oh, I know - I was being facetious. Completely agree with you that grading is a lot of BS.

Sorry. I can be tone deaf even to the sarcasm anymore, because so many people it seems still don't understand grading, or just want to pretend it's something it's not. As a collector I still love a properly graded card in a nice slab, but since the pandemic - the hoops and expense around getting your own raw cards graded combined with the borderline fraud that has always existed just became too much for me. Right now I'm trying to enjoy my remaining raw cards for what they are - with the notion that eye appeal and a technical grade don't necessarily have to coexist within a slab...

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by ASF123

I was just looking at some Greg Morris listings and saw a bunch of them with descriptions like “VG-EX (crease).” How does that work? Seems to me that that can’t possibly be accurate - VG-EX is incompatible with a crease.

Just FYI, Greg Morris doesn't have any "VG-EX" listings. They are all "VG to VG-EX".

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[mortimer brewster]

Also his listing on Friday nights tend to be for the collectors who collect low grade items.