Why PSA?

[towerymt]

Some of us only paid $8/card for our lessons. Some even less.

Paying $19/card for this is painful.

[marinolr]

What is the consensus on buying graded cards other than PSA, SGC, or Beckett? For example would you buy a BCCG(Beckett) 10 Mint, 2020 Bowman Heritage Prospects #BHP-25 Bobby Witt Jr OR
Emerald Jade Evaluations, Gem Mt 10, 2009 Hot Shot Prospects RC Stephen Curry?

[Skipscards]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Neither of you guys like grading anyways though, right?

CGC has tweaked their grading over the years for comics. We all got through it.

I’m not against grading, I’m just not obsessed with it. I’ve even submitted a little here and there over the years. But the few submissions I do in the future will start going elsewhere; especially after the Backyard Breaks partnership.

[Skipscards]

Originally Posted by marinolr

What is the consensus on buying graded cards other than PSA, SGC, or Beckett? For example would you buy a BCCG(Beckett) 10 Mint, 2020 Bowman Heritage Prospects #BHP-25 Bobby Witt Jr OR
Emerald Jade Evaluations, Gem Mt 10, 2009 Hot Shot Prospects RC Stephen Curry?

I buy whatever catches my eye for a good price, graded or not. If the card looks good, who cares what slab it’s in?

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Skipscards

I’m not against grading, I’m just not obsessed with it. I’ve even submitted a little here and there over the years. But the few submissions I do in the future will start going elsewhere; especially after the Backyard Breaks partnership.

I fully supporting people speaking with their wallet. Especially when it’s for protesting such a bad decision like their BYB partnership.

[oddstuff]

Originally Posted by towerymt

Some of us only paid $8/card for our lessons. Some even less.

Paying $19/card for this is painful.

For sure about this...it's an easy way to lose quite a bit of money/be very salty about grading as a new submitter at today's pricing (made most of my newbie mistakes at $6-8).

[oddstuff]

Originally Posted by marinolr

What is the consensus on buying graded cards other than PSA, SGC, or Beckett? For example would you buy a BCCG(Beckett) 10 Mint, 2020 Bowman Heritage Prospects #BHP-25 Bobby Witt Jr OR
Emerald Jade Evaluations, Gem Mt 10, 2009 Hot Shot Prospects RC Stephen Curry?

BCCG 10 is mint or worse...in terms of value, it's closer to a PSA 8. If you're buying for collectible value, there's no getting around PSA graded cards. It really depends on your collecting budget (some are perfectly happy with a PSA 9 over paying a premium for the same card in a PSA 10 slab). Buy what you can afford...as it is now, long term value goes to PSA until someone is able to come along and dethrone them.

[rudan007]

Originally Posted by towerymt

Some of us only paid $8/card for our lessons. Some even less.

Paying $19/card for this is painful.

$19 adds up fast, over $400 for a 20-card submission with shipping. Hopefully collectors slow on submissions, and they are forced to lower the "bulk" price. They are pricing out lots of collectors that just like to slab their "good" cards.

The price should be around $12 but obviously people are getting 1000s of cards slabbed each day so doubtful they will ever lower their prices....

[Allen Ginter 99]

Like others have said I buy what I like. I haven’t graded before and 98 percent of my collection is raw.

I’ve had buddies of mine work for PSA before as entry level graders granted this was 10 plus years ago. But after seeing their entry level pay and requirements no way they are attracting experts.

While I am sure PSA hires some card enthusiasts who take the process seriously,I never understood why people would send their cards in that a potential teenager angry over an ex / breakup or acne breakout grading their card subjectively compared to AI like Tag.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by rudan007

$19 adds up fast, over $400 for a 20-card submission with shipping. Hopefully collectors slow on submissions, and they are forced to lower the "bulk" price. They are pricing out lots of collectors that just like to slab their "good" cards.



The price should be around $12 but obviously people are getting 1000s of cards slabbed each day so doubtful they will ever lower their prices....

It's not that bad when you're grading cards that are worthy to be graded. The problem lies with the fact that 99% of cards submitted have no business being graded. If you even have to do a calculation to see if you'll get your grading fees back in value added, that card should never be considered. Grading fees should be a tiny fraction of the card's value or it shouldn't be graded.

[Mister2Bits]

Originally Posted by marinolr

Mister2Bits. Thanks, do you have the time to explain to me how you scan the cards to put on the forum. I guess I can just put down the cert # for those to see the card.

Send me a PM. I'll walk you through it

[bojesphob]

Originally Posted by Mister2Bits

My thoughts after looking at the cert verification pictures:

The first thing I notice that they all have black marks between the Topps name and Emmitt and the word Running. All of the 10s I just looked at in the cert verification do not have that. These all have what looks like extremely rough edges - some of them it's only visible on the back, but you can see what I mean on the front of at least the 5 as well. Speaking of the 5, there is some visible flaking on the edges of the designs that touch them. The top and bottom left corners also appear to be not sharp (not exactly rounded, but definitely not square). The right back edge also seems particularly rough, even in comparison to your others, as does the top, which is visible from the front as well... although the right front looks rough from the front, which is odd because that edge looks smooth on the back, so it's only rough on one side. The 7 has some flaking on the bottom edge, and the top right corner seems to be not as sharp as the other corners.

So, they were all knocked down a grade by the centering, so you started off with a 9 to begin with. Then, the edges being rough and the black marks on the front drop them to an 8. The 7 has a spot of flaking, which is minor, but enough, and a soft corner, so an additional grade there. The 5 has all sorts of issues above and beyond the others.

[bub838]

Here's what I see from the PSA 5 in 10 seconds of looking at the scan and there's likely more the grader saw in person. This isn't stuff you need a loupe to see. Lessons learned for next time.

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by bojesphob

So, they were all knocked down a grade by the centering, so you started off with a 9 to begin with. Then, the edges being rough and the black marks on the front drop them to an 8. The 7 has a spot of flaking, which is minor, but enough, and a soft corner, so an additional grade there. The 5 has all sorts of issues above and beyond the others.

Grading does not work like this. They don't subtract for each flaw. Grading goes by a rubric and the biggest flaw is the reason it got the grade.

The five most likely has a small crease in it or a surface wrinkle. Rough cuts won't knock it down that much.

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by rudan007

$19 adds up fast, over $400 for a 20-card submission with shipping. Hopefully collectors slow on submissions, and they are forced to lower the "bulk" price. They are pricing out lots of collectors that just like to slab their "good" cards.

The price should be around $12 but obviously people are getting 1000s of cards slabbed each day so doubtful they will ever lower their prices....

This does not appear to be happening. Monthly slab rates have doubled since 2022 and not far from triple output in early 2021. This is also appears at card shows that were once havens for digging through boxes, stack, and binders that have turned into showcase slabfests. The general picture likely isn't changing this year. All I can do is play along.

At this point, we might be better off with INCREASED demand which would potentially force PSA into adding another office somewhere. They could probably add a hub in the central US where the pay would stretch out better than either coast.

[bojesphob]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

Grading does not work like this. They don't subtract for each flaw. Grading goes by a rubric and the biggest flaw is the reason it got the grade.

The five most likely has a small crease in it or a surface wrinkle. Rough cuts won't knock it down that much.

We can't really see if there are any from the scans provided by PSA. Although, I will say that the back does seem easier to see flaws like creases or wrinkles, and it doesn't appear to be any on that card, but that's not definitive one way or another. An actual picture at an angle through the case on both sides would help with determining if that was the case (I was not going off of hypotheticals, just what is visible in the scans). My point wasn't that they were compounding issues, just that there were some pretty obvious issues with it that prevented it from getting even a 9. I personally wouldn't have subbed that card specifically because of the issues I mentioned, and they were factors in the grade that it got, whether they were the main reason for it getting the 5 or not.

[boxbuster7]

psa has no standards

I will never understand people that pay the premium for 10s

[CorndogWasp]

I make centering one of the most important things because it’s the first thing the Grader sees, and once they lay eyes on a card they start grading consciously or subconsciously. First impression thing. Don’t let them see iffy centering ever.

[Dereth]

There is absolutely nothing about those cards coming straight out of the boxes that guarantees you good grades on them.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

psa has no standards

I will never understand people that pay the premium for 10s

You’re always so rude

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by Dereth

There is absolutely nothing about those cards coming straight out of the boxes that guarantees you good grades on them.

Wait… seriously? This can’t be true

My entire BBCE collection is screwed

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Sounds like OP has some Jerry Rice RCs that he’s positive will get 10’s.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Sounds like OP has some Jerry Rice RCs that he’s positive will get 10’s.

Nice call back!

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

Nice call back!

You always remember the greats…

[salsdali]

The entry level graders at PSA in CA literally get paid the exact same as the guy at McDonalds asking if you want frys with your order.

Think about that for a moment. lol