The onus is not on the seller to describe the card’s condition, that is why it was graded in the first place. If you disagree with the grade, it is your job to contact PSA.
Just so you know, those who grade with PSA cannot then invoke the “grade guarantee” which would allow PSA to “correct” the grade and give you a refund for the difference. That can only be given to a buyer who had not graded the card themselves.
I would recommend reading this thread.
Yeah sorry I’m going to base it off of the publicly available documentation that outlines what to expect about the program. Also 99% of graded card listings don’t even have descriptions, because again, the whole point is that the card is graded and that’s supposed to speak for itself.
The purpose of the graded card authentication is to be authentication. You paid for a 10 you got a 10, the certs match, and it’s not a fake slab. Not “you paid for a 10 and it was listed as a 10 but there’s a scratch on the card that wasn’t clear in the picture”. That completely undermines the entire point of it being graded in the first place. The authenticator is not grading it again.
Who said anything about regrading? Or exclusively 10s? What documentation states it’s only for raw cards?
Authentication program doesn’t give you a pass to just lie or BS in your auction description.
So someone could sell a PSA 8 and state they aren’t sure why it got an 8 because it’s flawless except for centering and the holo is completely scratch free. Then you get the card and it has surface damage?
There are a few reasons why people here look negatively on returning a graded card due to a disagreement over the assigned grade.
First and foremost, you received exactly what you purchased. The seller advertised a graded PSA 10 card, and you received it. I assume that the seller did not make any additional representations to the card condition beyond stating it was PSA 10. So your argument isn’t with the seller (who delivered what you purchased), it’s with PSA, who graded the card incorrectly (in your view).
Second, let’s imagine that we went with your view, that buyers can return graded cards to sellers if they disagree with the grade assigned. This would set a dangerous precedent. In cases where the misgrade is blatant, it’s easier to justify doing this. But what about the cases where it isn’t so clear? Even in this case, it’s not 100% clear whether the “damage” on your card is in fact damage or actually a replicable printing error. If it’s a printing error, it’s well-established that cards with minor printing errors can still receive PSA 10s. What about the buyer who purchases a 10 but then pulls out their jewelers loupe and finds a tiny speck of factory whitening? Is that return justified? Or the buyer who purchases a PSA 9, but believes the card has too much edgewear to be a “real 9.”
As @Dyl points out, the whole job of PSA is to resolve condition conflicts between buyer and seller and provide a standardized evaluation. Many graded card sellers simply don’t have the time to inspect all their graded cards for small imperfections, and indeed they should not have to, because they hired PSA to do that part for them and back up their grade with a financial guarantee.
In cases like this, the best option is always to contact the seller and talk to them first, before opening a dispute. Some sellers may accept a return just to keep you happy. But I don’t think they are obligated to do so, and eBay will likely close your case in the seller’s favor if they do not agree to a return.
Obviously, I don’t WANT them to look like they’re 8-9s, but I assumed the mature group in here knew that 
Most sellers I see just state that the card is graded by PSA. They sell an opinion of the company. Not many sellers are going to list their card as a weak or strong grade.
But there are 10s that are like that. That was the point. I assumed the mature people of this esteemed forum would know what I was getting at. Kissingemoji hashtagfriends
Yeah that’s what they should do. I never put a description on a listing for a graded card.
From their page about authentication I linked above:
Ungraded cards go through a multi-point inspection process performed by CGC or CSG. Cards will not be graded. For graded cards, a PSA authenticator will verify that the case and label are authentic to the grade and check for any tampering and verify that the case and label are authentic to the grader. Cards will not be regraded.
They specifically separate the two out in their explanations of what to expect from the service. Your graded card is not “going through a multi-point inspection process” like a raw card. They’re checking to be sure you got the card that was listed. You bought an 8 with that cert? You get an 8 with that cert.
How is it scamming to list a PSA whatever and someone receives that exact card? Again, it’s literally being sent to get graded so that the grader can decide which grade it gets. You are buying the card graded because some part of you trusts that that grade means something. It doesn’t matter what the seller says in the listing, it matters that you’re buying a graded card of a certain grade and receiving that card.
Yes, it sucks buying a 9 that should have been a 6 because there’s a missed crease. My point is, that’s not the seller’s problem and it’s clearly not eBay Authenticity’s problem either, which I think is clearly outlined by their description of the service.
I’m talking about in regards to the Final Sale condition placed on authenticated cards. If you go to the return options in a new listing right now it specifically states the description must match the product to not accept returns.
Also from my gal Katie in the Authentication Guarantee department.
This was a graded card she’s referring to.
I’m obviously talking about a scenario where a seller lies about a card. Like she’s been stated if there is no description the buyer is never getting a return.
That just looks like the normal return wording they use for all returns for normal listings. As far as I’m aware, there’s no way to return a card after authenticity guarantee has said it’s good. It’s considered a final sale. There is no return process; either the authenticator approves it or they don’t and your get your money back.
Before purchasing, check the seller’s return policy. If the seller doesn’t accept returns, the sale is considered final.
I don’t know why the employee would tell you that. If they are actually supposed to be doing that, then great. But no part of “ a PSA authenticator will verify that the case and label are authentic to the grade and check for any tampering and verify that the case and label are authentic to the grader” claims that they will actually be doing that.
She is directly contradicting what they’re advertising the service as. It literally says that their job is to authenticate the slab and label.
I never at any point said anything about them confirming the condition of the card matches the grade though. I’m talking about if they state something false about the product. We are taking about two different things.
If the listing says it’s a PSA 9 and that’s it. And it comes in and it’s authentic, that’s it.
Really this is just a callback to the thread where a mass of people here complained about buyers asking for more photos. And it feels like this thread is proving my point I had in that thread lol.
You’re asking them to verify the condition of the card inside of the slab itself compared to the listing. They’re advertising the service as verifying the slab itself is legit.
eBay authenticity does not review and reassess the condition of a graded card.
Because that’s tied to the no return policy. This is why it goes through eBay first who then directs it to the authentication department.
If you prove to eBay support that the item didn’t match the description they will pass it in to the authentication team. If the authentication team agrees they will ask you to send the card back to them so they can check over the card again. They then take control of the claim and can open a return case.
This is an actual thing that can and has happened. The odds of it happening are slim to none though.
I don’t know what to tell you then. Ask them to update their documentation and advertisement of the service that directly contradicts what you just said then. They very clearly say that that’s not the case, at least publicly.
I think these threads always tend to lack a bit of empathy. The principles are pretty clear. It’s PSA’s fault and not on the seller’s responsibility to do the job they paid PSA to do. Still though, as the buyer you are stuck with the problem and minimal recourse options for something that was entirely not your fault. Fortunately, these types of issues rarely affect the actual card price so often the only realistic option is to sell and try to buy another one if it really bothers you
I mean I got my refund, so I wasn’t going to ask them to do anything lol.
I completely agree that it sucks to have happen to you, and as a seller I can’t bring myself to sell things that horribly contradict the grade they got for that exact reason. That said, it’s still not on eBay to fix as part of the Authenticity Guarantee.
Maybe this should go to the unpopular opinions thread, but I just had someone return a slab for a similar reason. I happily accepted the return and just re-sold the slab. The same guys that say it’s the buyer’s problem are the same guys that are annoyed when buyers ask for additional photos trying to avoid this exact situation.
