Tags model is hypersensitive.
You could find cards rated 975 with “8 defects”
Usually these are invisible to the eye or something we wont think too much about like valleys and troughs we account to simple card texture
This is also why tag cards have been selling for a premium to bgs and cgc. Many times at parity with psa
The market values transparency
Ppl want to know what their getting and ppl trust tag to tell them everything in detail, irrespective of what the grade on the label is. Ppl value the report
Naw most people want whatever results in the most value increase.
Regardless, there are multiple very obvious examples of TAG missing or downplaying surface issues because their AI system isn’t super great at picking it up. It’s all hype (not just pokemon, but also from AI hype-beasts as well) leading to higher sale prices for people trying to “get in on the next big thing”.
Something i found checking your PSA o TAG crossover is that sometimes you can verify better the condition of the card in the scan of PSA than in the TAG scans, for example in the case of the dark charizar you can clearly see the condition of the surface in the PSA scan but in the TAG one it seems to be flawless. I dont know why, even more cause one of the positive points of TAG is supposed to be their technology in which you can perfectly see the condition of a card.
With psa i often feel in the dark. Two of the same cards, both in a psa7 but look wildly different. I want the story of the cards
Even basic information. Okay, the card has 52 48 centering.. perfect, thank you tag for the info.
A lot of times people will slide an off-center card to one side of a rail and take new pictures and it gives the illusion of much better centering. I often have to lookup psa certs to see original scans but u cant do this with old certs
Right now there is a psa5 charizard gold star on auction. I cant for the life of me decipher why it received a 5. Just from scans it looks better than most 7s and some 8s honestly. If it was a misgrade then surely the seller would re grade it. So whats the hidden secret here
Is an edge lifted and i cant see because it’s hidden by the rail? Is there a big crease that isnt showing in scans but once i receive it i will be shaking my head? If i angle the card will it reveal a ton of holo scratches that i cant see from scans?
If this same card was grade by tag with a 5, i would understand why its a 5. I would get the whole story. I want the report
At least with beckett i would see which subscore tanked and could make a better guess of whats wrong
But psa your just shooting blind
But with tag and the report there is more confidence in understanding the card im actually buying, and for that reason i would feel more comfortable spending more money. So no, im not surprised by all the reports of Tag cards getting high premiums.
I dont think the entire industry is trying to pay extra money “just to get into the next big thing” like you said. That doesnt even make sense if ur a real buyer. you will pay a premium to a lessor known, less respected company only because they are newish? On top of being significantly less liquid as well.
Honestly a lot of your are too much in hater mode of tag to view any of this objectively
There are real buyers that respect understanding the card they are buying.
Wow just read the thread I don’t think indents and the such would show up as clear in a scan and pictures is this why the cards got such high grades? Does TAG have problems with depth?
I do think the current model struggles with depth. It has to make a decision between what is a dent and whats normalized peaks and troughs
Im not sure if they need to train it with hundreds of thousands of examples pertaining to this issue to make a better model.. and how much would this cost?
I do think they will eventually resolve this but im not one of their engineers so its all speculation
Honestly with these type of things going on with TAG, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns to PSA pricing if not more. If they had enough returning customers and even went up the rankings in cards graded, they could easily charge a massive premium and no one would bat an eye.
We’re seeing an age where PSA is losing it’s spot as a premier grading services, and I have to say, TAG is doing better than I thought.
I’ve been seeing signs of a switch everywhere (not just for the sake of tag either). YouTube, Tiktok, etc. Besides grading for reselling and market purposes, PSA is not #1 when it comes to grading ONLY for collecting. CGC is my preferred choice for that. Even when your buying slabs for your collection PSA is not the best option, as there are better options (again, CGC)
This seems like more of a personal opinion than an objective fact. PSA still maintains a large majority of the graded card market and I don’t believe that has shown any signs of slipping (someone please correct me if I’m wrong, using graded card data). CGC and TAG are both good about advertising themselves and making themselves seem bigger than they are (in comparison to PSA).
Each grading company has pros and cons, and each of us are able to have our own opinions on which grading company is the best fit for ourselves, but that doesn’t change firm datapoints.
this just indicates a marketing campaign and hype, not necessarily people switching over in mass droves. According to their pop report, TAG has graded 260k TCG cards all-time. PSA did 950k in April 2025 alone.
Yes, I can say that it’s pretty much more objective.
PSA kinda reminds me of america right now (not talking about political either, I’m referencing the foreign nations part. Everyone gets stuff from the US, but if countries wanted to completely stop using all US products, they couldn’t because of how much impact the US truly has. PSA kinda has the same effect, only we’re the foreign nation.)
Thanks @Jons_pokestop for the information. Its actually really cool to see the comparisons since i see so many people trying to badmouth both companies regularly on reddit.
I can see that my opinion is not being well received rn and frankly being stomped on . I’m not giving up on it however. I truly think that PSA is dropping off as a top contender in the pokemon scene, and I will continue to say it no matter how long it takes. I’ll continue to use my own preference when it comes to grading cards myself.
For now, I’ll just stop talking. Always getting stomped when having a unpopular opinion isn’t really fun.
