A Pokemon TCG YouTuber, known as Shiny Vert, has found themselves in trouble with grading company CGC after conducting an experiment to test their credibility. Shiny Vert manually cut some cards and sent them to CGC for grading. Surprisingly, the cards received a near-flawless grade, leading Shiny Vert to question the company’s quality control.
The Pokemon TCG collector community includes a niche group interested in factory errors that can significantly increase the value of cards. Errors like misprints or miscuts caused machine misalignment are highly sought after and need to be graded for their authenticity. Shiny Vert decided to test CGC’s ability to detect factory errors sending them manually cut cards.
After receiving the graded cards, Shiny Vert shared the results on their YouTube channel and criticized CGC for certifying the cards as factory errors. To their surprise, CGC banned Shiny Vert from future grading and sent them threatening legal documents.
In a follow-up video, Shiny Vert clarified that it was CGC who certified the cards as errors, not themselves. They highlighted that CGC placed their logo, label, and encased the cards before sending them back. Shiny Vert believed that the tampering with the cards should have been evident to any professional grader.
Shiny Vert raised concerns about the quality of CGC’s grading, suggesting that other people may also be impacted substandard grading practices. They warned others to be cautious when dealing with CGC and labeled them as “the worst company” in their experience.
CGC’s response to Shiny Vert’s experiment and subsequent video has been hostile, threatening legal action to silence them. Shiny Vert’s intention was never to profit from the experiment but to shed light on potential issues with CGC’s grading system. They believe that CGC should be embarrassed their failure to properly grade the cards.
