Grading Has Clouded Our Minds...

Dandor · #1 10-18-2022, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campyfan39

grading sucks

Grading is really great IMO for vintage grades 1 through 5 for giving a decent opinion of the serious flaws of a card. Once the grades get above 7, it really gets hard to tell the difference between most cards if the centering is similar. I use CSG to grade my vintage player runs these days for $10.80 a card. They grade similar to BVG, well exactly like BVG since Andy Broome is in charge, but the holders are really nice. I have realistic expectations with grading and buying graded cards. I think the biggest issue are the people new to vintage who trust PSA's grade as the truth and are buying the number on the slab and not the card inside.

JollyElm · #2 10-27-2022, 04:12 PM

Let's call today's episode Aaron't You Glad You Bought Me???...

(These cards were randomly placed in two rows, so there is no underlying rhyme or reason to the layout. As always...no cheating!!)

This time, it's really about showing how the desire to get straight grades (versus ones with qualifiers) could cost you big-time. Presented here are six 1976 Topps #550 Hank Aaron cards. They are all very similar to each other with the obligatory slight tilt of the picture, coupled with at least one edge getting pretty close to tickling a side. Top-to-bottom centering differs a bit across the group. Each and every one of them has been graded a straight PSA 8, except for one - and only one - that is a PSA 9 OC.

Here's the math: three of the PSA 8s sold for $255 apiece, one was $240 and the other $270, for an average of $255. I happily jumped on the career-capping PSA 9 OC Aaron for a C-note, $100. Think about that. For cards that look comparably identical, one of them cost a mere 39% of the price of the others, because(?) of the 'dreaded' OC qualifier.

Given what you now know, which one of these guys deserves to be priced so cheaply when compared to the others, and why?

1976aaron550a.jpg

stlcardsfan · #3 10-27-2022, 06:09 PM

I�ll say #4 due to the tilt.

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