bumps
 

The value of an 8.5 is worth what someone will pay - some will pay big premium because of their registry set. I have no registry set (more a type collector) so I won't pay big premium for the 8.5

If you kinda think of it logically, there should be a whole lot more +1/2's, but from the bump stat percentages I hear, I figure more should be bumped and are not. This leads me to believe it is more of a marketing ploy by PSA.

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I think it's driven far more by percentages than merit, although i agree to be considered a card has to be better centered than the outer tolerance for an 8.

furthermore...
 

I like graded cards - helluva lot better for the hobby.

However, I don't like the how the grading companies keep the "reasons" secret. If they would just tell you what they find - I would be way more inclined to submit.

For instance -
A) little too much corner wear on bottom left for the 8 grade. OR, B)edge ding on top edge, thus only 7 grade. OR C) hairline crease back bottom thus grade 6. OR D) too many print dots for the 8 grade. You get the point.

They would be telling you, in one or two simple sentances, why the grade.

My son has some modern day graded cards from BVG and right on the front it lists why the card is graded as such (4 subs: corners, edges, surface and centering). Each of the 4 is assigned a grade and then the final is an average of the 4. Kind of neat to see it spelled out right in front of you.

When I first started collecting vintage a few years ago, BVG still did this. They have since stopped putting the subgrades on the BVG holders yet continue this service for modern BGS holders. It did give you an idea of what to look for when 3 of the subgrades were high, then all of a sudden one subgrade was much lower, so you could spot the flaw in the card quickly (if it wasn't already apparent from looking at a picture of it).