My turn to complain about PSA - Davidson T206

[Ludington1]

I posted this raw card back in early March, bought it, then sent to PSA. I would have just sent it to SGC but it’s my 5-card run of the T-206 Indianapolis team and I wanted them all to be in the same slabs.

Yesterday I get the big reveal email and go check the grade, I expected it to be a 4-5, but never imagined a 2!?!?! I know nothing can be done about it, just wanted my 5 minutes to vent, thanks for listening.


Darren

[raulus]

Nice looking card!

Hard to say for sure what they saw that gave them heartburn, but looking at the images at PSA's website, it looks like there's something going on with the right edge of the green background, just above his shoulder. Not sure if that's paper loss or a stain or some scratches or wrinkles or just a relic of the printing process, but along that edge, the green is more like yellow in spots. *Maybe* that's what they saw that made them drop the grade?

Even so, it seems awfully small to get so excited about, unless it's something like scratches or creases.

[Ima Pseudonym]

I'm experiencing something similar with a T206 Nap Rucker that *clearly* looks like a 5+, but was in a PSA-2 slab when I bought it. I sent it to SGC for crossover, with a minimum SGC-3 requirement -- and, of course, they called it a 3 just so they could put it in their own holder.

In retrospect, I probably should have just cracked it and submitted it as raw. I'm certain that seeing it arrive in a holder that said "2" on it was bound to influence the SGC grader's opinion of the card. If nothing else, they wouldn't want to risk grading it a 5 and possible "missing" something that the PSA grader certainly must have seen, right? So they played it safe and increased by 1 grade, because that's defensible.

On your particular card, it's always tough to see in photos, but is there a small surface wrinkle in the upper right?

[ALBB]

Yes, 2 it is

[Ima Pseudonym]

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

[Bigdaddy]

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

[Ima Pseudonym]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

That's kind of my feeling as well.

[YankeeCollector]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

+1

[balltrash]

Any chance that card was soaked off a backing? Color variations on the back may be some residue.

Originally Posted by Ima Pseudonym

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

[Ima Pseudonym]

Originally Posted by balltrash

Any chance that card was soaked off a backing? Color variations on the back may be some residue.

Maybe. I've considered that possibility based on the lighter area below the word "subjects" where it might have been glued/putty'd to a page or something. There's no visible residue under magnification, just a slight discoloration.

But, again, it's presumption. Discoloration is typical for every 115 year old card.

Here's a 3 that I recently bought... now *that* is back staining!

[sacentaur]

Originally Posted by Ima Pseudonym

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

Great looking card (I’ll take it

[Ludington1]

Thanks everyone for commiserating with me, I (kinda) feel better. The card does have the slight color shift or bleed along that top-right edge, but definitely no creases or other surface damage at all. I’m really disappointed with this one.

Darren

[Ima Pseudonym]

Originally Posted by Ludington1

Thanks everyone for commiserating with me, I (kinda) feel better. The card does have the slight color shift or bleed along that top-right edge, but definitely no creases or other surface damage at all. I’m really disappointed with this one.

Darren

If there's no wrinkle, then I don't understand the grade at all. The mildly sloppy registration issue should take it down a little bit, but not all the way down to a 2. I see worse 4's every single day, in both major grading slabs.

[Gorditadogg]

Yeah, it is frustrating when you can't figure out why PSA or SGC gave your card a low grade.

Sometimes, there are stains, sometimes little scuffs. I had one card that was wavy and probably was over-soaked. I couldn't even tell when it was raw, but when I got it back in the holder, I could see the waves looking from the side.

Then again, maybe they are just f*ing with you.

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