Had purchased a mint ungraded 1st edition base set charizard. Back was perfect one tiny hairline scratch that honestly was really hard to find on the holo. sent it in as a 2 day sub with hopes of getting a 10 but came back a 9. meanwhile I had a 10 day sub with some cards that for sure were 9s come back 10s…and they weren’t cheap cards either. are they just overall very very strict on the Zard? anyone have any luck on this card?
I’d assume they have special peeps grading those zards and they’re super stingy about giving out the 10s. Population control + they know what it means as far as a spike in value. Can you post it now that you have it back?
For what reason would PSA want to “control” the population as opposed to just grade without bias like any other card? (It seems that from a financial perspective they’d have the opposite incentive, if any incentive, anyway.)
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Maybe it’s just emotion talking? Because as someone looking for a psa 10 1st ed zard I wouldn’t be happy with paying 25k usd and getting a hairline scratch on the holo
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I think that this is just the standard variation that you get with grading in general. If you really think that a grade is incorrect you can always send it back. You could do some statistical analysis to figure out if in general higher value cards are discriminated against, however, that would be a difficult exercise.
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This is nonsense. I am very sorry the OP’s Charizard did not get the 10. That sucks. But A PSA 10 should not have a"very hard to find hairline scratch" anywhere. And PSA does not do “population control.” PSA is not Ingen circa Jurassic Park initializing the lysine contingency. PSA is under water backed up with their card grading orders. They don’t care what your card grades. Respectfully, it would be wise to get that out of your head.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gSQg1i_q2g
All anyone can do is speculate. It’s a pretty subjective topic so I offered a lil conjecture. I’ve seen too many videos of people cracking cases for regrade (and getting the grades they want) than to believe there’s any sort of firm BTS information on what gets the 10 vs 9. Basically just a couple dudes browsing through cards and coming up with a number.
I have had plenty of Psa 10s come back with a very minimal scratch as Im sure everyone has.
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there is no way I would have resold it if it got a 10 haha that card would mean too much to me
Well good! I am very happy you are satisfied with a PSA 10 card having scratches on the holofoil. To each his own.
I’m sure he’d be more satisfied than having a PSA 9 card with a hairline scratch on the holofoil. 
Not every PSA 10 has a 10 in Centering, Corners, Edges, AND Surface. Not even half. Would be fun to see the card we’re talking about though. Can you show us Chris?
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If a 10 ounce glass has 5 ounces of water in it you’ll get some people that’ll say it’s half full and some will say half empty. Just like if you send graders a card that’s a 9.5 some will give it a 10 and others will give it a 9.
It’s a pretty far stretch to take that and say their ‘controlling’ the population. I’m going to need something more substantial to believe your conspiracy theory.
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Substantial? Pfft all I have is urban legends and conspiracy theories for ya. Some people will swear up and down if you take earlier graded PSA 9’s they’ll grade as 10s now because the grading is more lax. Other people will swear up and down they’re bigger dicks on certain cards that would skyrocket by thousands of dollars because of population control. I certainly have no answers. I don’t think anyone here has anything more than that good ol fashioned guesswork.
its still at Psa lol
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yeah as cullers said its really going to be the graders opinions that are grading your card. some will think 9 some will think 10 if its that close its worth another shot at a send off
You don’t know, so no-one else can possibly know? That is quite an argument 
Pokemon card grading is actually a ton less subjective than most other newer sports cards… So much of the conjecture you’re referring to (which I’ve heard within other collectible arenas) doesn’t really apply to Pokemon grading. The OP stated the card had visible damage which is most likely the reason it received a 9.
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I thought I read on the PSA website that two independent people grade each card. Both have to agree on the grade. If they don’t a third independent person will grade the card. This eliminates errors in judgment and any bias to a card.
I’ve examined all my PSA 10 1st Charizard’s and none have scratched foils.
I’m with the fellow who said they wouldn’t be very happy spending over 20k for a card with a scratched front.
I’d just accept the 9 and if the rest of the card is great you could call it a strong 9;)
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Thanks for the input Gary!
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I think it received a fair grade. Scratching is still damage. I mean I have cards that look flawless and they’re graded 8 because of 1 or 2 factory lines on the holo. Unless you think every subgrade is 10 worthy, it’s fair. Please show us the card when it’s shipped back to you. 
Also while they won’t admit it, I’m pretty sure they’re more strict on high end cards from any hobby, especially if you don’t send them through bulk submission. It makes sense too, they’re probably not spending much time examining a $20 card as they would a 5 figures+ card.
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