I only collect T206s and have submitted a few hundred to SGC in the past 18 months. I am pretty good about being able to determine what grade a card is going to get. I'd say 70-80% accurate to the grade given, and 98 percentish on being within one grade. That said, I typically submit cards that will yield a grade of 30-60.
Anyway, since I've been following this thread I decided to go back and look at SGCs grading scale (
http://sgccard.com/grading_scale.htm). Based on the guidelines for each grade as listed on the page, I tend to agree that they are grading very harshly. Specifically, I'll point out:
- It is possible for a card with pinholes AND writing to get a 30. When was the last time you saw a 30 with EITHER of those characteristics?
- It is possible for a card with a light hairline crease or a light TEAR to get a 50. I have NUMEROUS crease-free 40s in my collection.
- It is possible for a card with ONE very light surface crease (one side only) to get a 60.
While I've been able to accurately predict my grades, I'm now very confused as to whether or not the graders are actually using these guidelines when evaluating cards. I know in my last submission that I had two cards knocked down from 40 to 30 between the initial grading and shipment. One was this Delehanty that I recently sold. No pinhole, no writing... heck, no creases, but it's a 30. Sure, rounded corners, a little scratching on the front and perhaps some back staining. I admit it's not a 60... but is it really a 30 according to SGCs own scale?
