How exactly does one become a card grader

[Fred]

Erik,

As someone figured out there are a few of us that really don't care for PSA. I don't think any of us posted negative things with the intentions of sabotaging this thread.

I apologize if you feel I ruined your thread, that was not my intent. In any case, I know in the early days they used a few hobby veterans at PSA but when the volume increased I'm sure the hiring requirements got pretty lienient. I honestly don't know how they pick graders these days.

[barrysloate]

Erik- let me try to answer your question since nobody else did. Of course all graders have to get some training. I believe most of them are pretty young and have excellent eyesight. If you can't see too well, not a good field to go into. If you are thinking about becoming a grader I'm sure you could call the company and inquire. I know from my own experience cataloguing collections over the years, it's very tedious work. As pointed out, most cards are not exciting and not vintage. The bulk of submissions are post-war, and many will be modern. I'm also going to guess the attrition rate is high. Only a handful will make a career of it; I'm sure many leave after a short period of time. And I'm certain all the graders are working quickly and with a deadline to get stuff out ASAP, which explains the large number of errors made. Probably not a glamour job, but somebody's got to do it.

[Fred]

This is actually a pretty interesting topic, it makes me wonder a few things:

• How much do they pay graders?
• Is hobby experience a requirement or is it something that only enhances the resume?
• How do they assess (evaluate) a grader?
• Is there a "career path" (seriously, for retention)?
• What is the actual process for grading a card? I've heard that a card is passed to a few different graders for evaluation.
• Are they supposed to grade a certain number of cards in a predetermined amount of time?

The last question is something I'm really curious about. I'm sure that time is money to the grading companies so it benefits the grading companies to have as many cards graded as possible in an effor to maintain profitibility. This has a direct relationship to the value provided to the customer/consumer.

I've heard (must be an urban legend amongst hobby consumers) that a card is passed around to a few graders to determine the grade of a card. I find that hard to believe because if that's being done then I don't understand how paperloss and other defects get by the graders. I believe that it would be a good idea to pass a card to a few different graders without letting the other graders know the "grade/evaluation" assigned by the other graders. This would allow the grading company to determine if there was a large variance in the grade but that probably wouldn't be econimcally feasible.

[steve B]

I would think they'd be better off with someone with no hobby experience for most tasks. Sometimes it's better to start with a blank slate then someone who has already developed biases based on experience or bad information. That way they could be trained purely on the technical merits of a printed object and its state of preservation.

For stuff like determining if a card is real or reprint experience would help, and determining trimmed or not would take more knowledge of the sets and how they were produced, a bit more technical than the grading.

So maybe the three graders are one group that looks at authenticity, a second that looks for alterations, and the third are actually assigning the numerical grade?

I'm thinking that's how I'd set it up if there was enough volume.

[Exhibitman]

Smoke two joints in the morning
Smoke two joints at night
Smoke two joints in the grading room
It makes me feel all right

[xanderthegreat35]

Found this video on youtube, it might be outdated but its an inside look on the operations that take place at PSA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXid6VPJz6k

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Smoke two joints in the morning
Smoke two joints at night
Smoke two joints in the grading room
It makes me feel all right

You may be on to something.

[Zach Wheat]

Alex,

Thanks for the link to PSA Grading posted on Youtube. Answers a lot of things I had not realized about PSA. It is a more involved process than I first imagined.

Z Wheat

[buymycards]

Ken,
Please PayPal me $100. I will have your authentic "graders certification kit" in the mail right away. The kit includes a diploma, a blindfold, darts, and a dartboard.

Good luck with your new career!

Rick

(Just want to say that I don't have any problems with any grading company. I just enjoy being a smart ass).

And I thought I was the only one that dislikes PSA.

To answer the OP question I would think IMO that you would have to know your cards and issues. Know the correct grading scale(not PSA's), be able to identify alterations. If applying to PSA just forget all that and only know your cards. If you can't identify them I am sure they have SGC's # on speed dial for help

[Exhibitman]

I suspect the interview process goes something like this:

Joe Orlando: Okay, before we get started, I have one question, has anyone here graded cards before?

Man: (raises his hand) I have experience grading cards.

Joe: Good for you. You can get up too.

Man: What? Why?

Joe: We don't hire graders here, we train new ones. That's it Skippy - pack your $***, let's go. (the man leaves)

Okay, here's the deal, I'm not here to waste your time. Okay, I certainly hope you're not here to waste mine, so I'm gonna keep this short. Become an employee of this grading firm, you will misgrade your first million cards within 3 years. Okay, I'm gonna repeat that, you will misgrade a million cards, within three years of your first day of employment at PSA.

Now you all look sloppyand out of shape, and that's good. Anybody who tells you that third party grading is the root of all evil, doesn't f***ing have any good cards. They say slabbed cards can't buy happiness. Look at the f***ng smile on my face! Ear to ear baby! You want details, fine. I drive a Hyundai. What's up? (he slides his keys across the long boardroom table) I have a ridiculous studio apartment in Anaheim. I have every G.I. Joe toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all, I am liquid to five figures.

So now you know what's possible, let me tell you what's required. You are required to work your F****** A** off at this firm. We want graders here, not pikers. A piker worries about getting every grade right. A piker asks how come there's so much variance between the same grades depending on who is looking at them. Concerns? People come to work at this firm for one reason, to grade cards as fast as we can, that's it. We're not here to get the grades right the first time, we're not saving the f***ing manatees here guys. You want to be consistent graders who care about every grade, go teach third grade at a public school.

Okay, first three months at the firm are as a trainee, you'll make 150 dollars a week. After you've done training, you misgrade some cards, you become a junior misgrader and you're misgrading cards for your team leader. You misgrade forty dozen cards you start working for yourself, the sky's the limit. A word or two about being a trainee, your friends, parents, other graders, they're gonna give you $*** about it, it's true, a 150 a week, that's not a lot of money. Pay them no mind. You need to learn this business and this is the time to to do it.

Once you misgrade enough cards, none of that's gonna matter. Your friends are sh** You tell em you misgraded 25,000 cards last month they're not gonna believe you. F*** them! F** 'em! Parents don't like the life you lead. F** your mom and dad.

Now go home and think about it. Think about whether or not this is really for you. If you decide that it isn't, listen, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Misgrading cards the PSA way is not for everyone. But if you really want this, you call me on Monday and we'll talk. Just don't waste my f***ing time......Okay, that's it.

[drc]

Much of grading involves authenticating, so I would think quality experience as a dealer, auctioneer or working for an auction house will be relevant. Being a quality card seller on eBay might help.

[Fred]

Adam,

I won't even ask you the process for hiring someone that does the order entry...

The interviewer holds up a picture of a very desirable T206 (won't mention which one) and asks the applicant if they know what it is....of course the interviewee knows what it is, but they deny it anyhow....


In all honesty, I wish there was a board member that is a current grader or former grader so that we could ask them quesitons about their job... I'd really be interested in hearing from people that graded 10+ years ago and within the past 2 years.