Lowering Expectations – Submitting Cards to PSA

[Kzoo]

I posted a similar message on a thread last year about PSA and these were my thoughts at the time... and I still feel the same way now.

"...it looks like they're pretty accurate on the modern 'shiny' stuff and I believe they get the Poor to Good (1-2 range) stuff graded correctly, but the 4-8 range stuff is really off.

I have an order of 1950's to 70's mid to higher grade cards on their way back to me right now from PSA and every single card is at least 1 grade lower (a couple are 2+ grades lower) than I've been accustomed to over the past 22 years. It seems to me that they take an even harsher grading approach to a card that is even slightly off-center. These new graders are so used to seeing perfectly centered new cards, that 40/60 off center vintage cards are getting hammered.....and it seems that they don't realize vintage cards were manufactured with rougher non-perfect cuts, as compared to modern. It would be great to see different graders for only modern OR only vintage."

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

I posted a similar message on a thread last year about PSA and these were my thoughts at the time... and I still feel the same way now.

"...it looks like they're pretty accurate on the modern 'shiny' stuff and I believe they get the Poor to Good (1-2 range) stuff graded correctly, but the 4-8 range stuff is really off.

I have an order of 1950's to 70's mid to higher grade cards on their way back to me right now from PSA and every single card is at least 1 grade lower (a couple are 2+ grades lower) than I've been accustomed to over the past 22 years. It seems to me that they take an even harsher grading approach to a card that is even slightly off-center. These new graders are so used to seeing perfectly centered new cards, that 40/60 off center vintage cards are getting hammered.....and it seems that they don't realize vintage cards were manufactured with rougher non-perfect cuts, as compared to modern. It would be great to see different graders for only modern OR only vintage."

I generally agree with these sentiments.

Some opportunistic collectors are targeting recently graded cards as an opportunity to pick them up for cheap since they are undergraded.

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by raulus

Some opportunistic collectors are targeting recently graded cards as an opportunity to pick them up for cheap since they are undergraded.

SHHH!! Not so loud...
LoL

[bbcard1]

I don't know why you guys do this to yourselves....

[Johnny630]

When I now submit Cards, and this is been for the past couple of years I no longer have any expectations. I feel it’s a fool-hearted contemplation.

[ALBB]

I think its crazy to get cards in the VG EX ..or lower range graded, unless its an extremely rare or expensive card..I don't see the point

Seems like a waste of time and money

[JollyElm]

There has been an incredibly marked increase in the number of 'lower' graded cards on display and up for sale at the shows I've been to recently. The vast majority of the PSA cards fit into the 'Frontsixer' category, where they were graded very recently (as seen by cert numbers beginning with a 6). Harshness definitely abounds!!


745. “Four is the New Seven” (adage)
As old cards are regularly being hammered by the new brutality of the TPGs, lower slab numbers are not only the order of the day, but are now more acceptable to collectors than ever before.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by Kzoo

...it looks like they're pretty accurate on the modern 'shiny' stuff and I believe they get the Poor to Good (1-2 range) stuff graded correctly, but the 4-8 range stuff is really off.

I have an order of 1950's to 70's mid to higher grade cards on their way back to me right now from PSA and every single card is at least 1 grade lower (a couple are 2+ grades lower) than I've been accustomed to over the past 22 years. It seems to me that they take an even harsher grading approach to a card that is even slightly off-center.

Agree. Although I am new to grading, Modern cards I have had graded (2010-2022) are close to what I anticipated. Pre-war is generally 1-1.5 grades lower than expected.

Guess I am just a poor guesstimator at grades.

[Brian Van Horn]

I would still like to know how PSA arrived at the following grade on this trimmed card.