PSA giving straight grades from Qualifiers

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by aloondilana

I got a card that is a PSA 8 oc. What is a realistic grade I should receive asking for a straight #?

It may depend on the centering.

[Fred]

I don't get the concept of removing qualifiers in lieu of a lower numeric grade UNLESS they follow the grading criteria for the lower grade. As indicated, the lower grade doesn't make it more centered. Lowering the grade to remove a qualifier brings up the actual grading criteria for the grade to be assigned (without the qualifier). According to PSA, an "8" has the following centering criteria:

Centering must be approximately 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse. DOES APPROXIMATELY MEAN IF YOU'RE A HUGE SUBMITTER YOU GET THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT?


In my book, if a card exhibits ALL qualities of an 8 but has poor centering then you can have a card that actually drops 3 full grades if it doesn't meet the grading criteria for a 5:

Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back. NOTE THAT THEY ACTUALLY INDICATE (OR BETTER) FOR THIS GRADE. WHY USE "APPROXIMATELY" INSTEAD OF "OR BETTER" WHEN CENTERING IS CONSIDERED FOR ANY GRADE?

So, what if a card has worse than 90/10 (front or back) centering? It appears that card would grade a max of "1" according to the PSA grading criteria. However they have given themselves some wiggle room with the following statement: The centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back.


The following is PSAs OC qualifier definition:

OC (Off Center):
When the centering of the card falls below the minimum standard for that grade will be designated "OC." PSA determines centering by comparing the measurements of the borders from left to right and top to bottom. The centering is designated as the percent of difference at the most off-center part of the card. A 5% leeway is given to the front centering minimum standards for cards which grade NM 7 or better. For example, a card that meets all of the other requirements for PSA MINT 9 and measures 60/40 off-center on the front automatically meets the PSA front centering standards for MINT 9. If a card meets all of the other requirements for PSA MINT 9 and measures 65/35 off-center on the front, it may be deemed to meet the PSA front centering standards for MINT 9 if the eye appeal of the card is good.

What they are saying is that they are subjective to the point of being the best judge of whether or not they are feeling generous that day.

It's all busslhit to me.....

[Griffins]

I was told if the card is an 8oc, for example, and has the centering for a grade lower they will give it the lower straight grade, but if the centering is at the standards of 2 grades or lower they will give it the higher grade with a qualifier.
The 2 grade drop is only for registry purposes, as Peter said removing the qualifier will result in the grade based on the centering, which could be more than 2 grades.
The only time I"ve seen the grade not being equal to the centering on an unqualified card is if there is a tilt- then they seem to decide if the eye appeal is worthy of a higher grade or a lower one, given the centering point.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Right, if your 8 oc is 95 5 it isn't or shouldn't be going into a 6 holder. And I've seen some 8 ocs that looked for all the world to me like they could get a straight 7.

[begsu1013]

if it's a lower grade, it only drops one.

[Jobu]

At the other end of the spectrum, I was told that lower grades do not all have the option of getting a straight grade. For example, you cannot request that a PSA 1 MK just get a 1 because you can't drop the grade to make up for the lack of a qualifier.

[insidethewrapper]

If a certain criteria is required for a certain grade then the card should have to meet that criteria. I don't believe in qualifiers such as (OC). For example, if it doesn't meet the standard center grading for an (8), then it isn't an (8).

[xplainer]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

If a certain criteria is required for a certain grade then the card should have to meet that criteria. I don't believe in qualifiers such as (OC). For example, if it doesn't meet the standard center grading for an (8), then it isn't an (8).

Exactly, it's a 7. Anyway, that is how I see it.
Not that it really matters.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

If a certain criteria is required for a certain grade then the card should have to meet that criteria. I don't believe in qualifiers such as (OC). For example, if it doesn't meet the standard center grading for an (8), then it isn't an (8).

I guess the argument against that is you could have a really pristine card that just happened to be cut off center and it shouldn't be grouped in with a card downgraded for wear. In this day and age of high res scans it seems less important anyhow.

[glynparson]

It only drops 2 grades 1 for lower in weighting for the set registry. For an actual grade on the flip it will lower to the standards reflected by the severity of the qualifier.