Increase in low grade cards being graded

[Eric72]

Another possible reason there are more low-grade cards in slabs:

People overestimating the condition of the card(s) they're submitting.

[Rich Falvo]

I have to buy most of my cards remotely, so I prefer graded cards even in low grades or for inexpensive cards.

[Mike D.]

Lots of good points made so far. I'll add that perhaps newer or modern collectors aren't as comfortable grading cards that are in lower grade and look to an "expert opinion".

Maybe they can tell the difference between a 9 and a 10 ultra modern card (I can't, so good for them!) but don't feel comfortable judging the difference between a 1 and a 2, or a fair vs. poor (for the record, I'm bad at that too).

[puckpaul]

I think the biggest reason is the quality of low grade cards is way higher than it used to be. I see many 1-3s that look really nice and would have graded 4-5 years ago.

Originally Posted by Eric72

Another possible reason there are more low-grade cards in slabs:

People overestimating the condition of the card(s) they're submitting.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Another possible reason there are more low-grade cards in slabs:

People overestimating the condition of the card(s) they're submitting.

Psa UNDER estimating

[Johnny630]

People love the excitement of grading. I think the reason for the increase in grading numbers across all companies is due to the large amount of raw cards being sold at shows. I would guess many more sell at shows that are not graded than are graded.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Another possible reason there are more low-grade cards in slabs:

People overestimating the condition of the card(s) they're submitting.

Is that a new phenomenon?

[JollyElm]

Not sure if it's been mentioned...

At shows, the lower-grade slabbed card growth has been unrelenting. With so many of them being in SGC slabs, my conclusion is that dealers keep sending off the dregs of their (star player) inventories to get them cheaply and extremely quickly into holders and make them that much easier to sell at their tables.