You’re* and lets agree to disagree 
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PSA isn’t intentionally stopping high grades lol. They have no direct plan to not grade cards high bc they are vintage. This whole PSA intentionally under grades my cards is ridiculous. There’s zero evidence and makes zero logically sense on PSA’s part to pop control
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I’ve graded a pop 2 PSA 10 card this year. There are zero available on the open market. This was graded January 27th 2025. I have also graded 2 PSA 10 1st ed neo genesis cards. PSA isn’t intentionally stopping gems lol. Even in 2025
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Just got a sub back.
I’m by no means an expert but I pre-grade my submissions and when I’m off it’s usually been me under grading cards. This submission was the first one I over graded.
I was spot on with the modern but for the vintage ones it felt as though PSA adjusted the dial just a tad.
Most notably in the 6-7 range. When I compare the sixes and sevens I received from this submission to my previous ones it’s difficult for me to reconcile how they have the same grade.
I also submitted multiple copies of the same card in relatively similar condition and it’s also difficult for me to reconcile the difference in grades when I compare them.
As I mentioned I’m not an expert but here are pictures for reference.
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Nobody is saying PSA is perfectly consistent, but over a large enough sample size they are. The people who are upset with their grades tend to be the most vocal in sharing photos or their experiences, so you can’t take what you see online as the full unbiased picture.
There is definitely variation across graders, and likely over time too, but that doesn’t mean the standards have significantly changed. Some variation is to be expected, and you’ll find it at any grading company. I don’t know enough about machine learning grading companies like TAG, and they’re too new to realistically make any sort of conclusion of how they’ll fare over time imo.
If you don’t like the product, grade elsewhere like you are. Not going to get into the old vs. new cert thing, it’s not worth it.
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I mean a guy got a psa9 and looked at the grading notes and it said it was because of centering
He measured the centering and tweeted out to Nat Turner with a picture of the centering tool showing the card was 60/40
And he got his grade adjusted to a psa10
Now on their website they changed the guidelines to 55/45
How can you see something like this… which is in public view… and not be able to admit:
PSA is changing
They have tightened
The centering guidelines published did change wording at some point in the past, here’s some messages from Nat that Liao.Cards shared earlier this year:
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My understanding is that it is a PSA 10 until they find imperfections to dock. So 2 ‘defects’ on the card is an auto 8, with the exception of dents
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I mean this in the nicest way possible, because I want you to have an enjoyable time collecting and a fulfilling collection.
It appears like you just joined the hobby in the last couple years. A majority of your posts here have been complaining about PSA grades or trying to rationalize why your card didn’t get the 10 you believe it deserved. It does not appear like you have graded many cards with PSA to get a firsthand understanding of their standards, and instead base your opinions off what people on instagram say about PSA and the cherrypicked instances which support these narratives, You nitpick over what are essentially subjective differences in grading. You think a 9 should be a 10, an 8 should be a 9, a 5 should be a 7, etc. I don’t understand why you are still grading with PSA when you have been posting anti-PSA opinions on this forum for nearly a year. There’s nothing wrong with not grading with PSA if you don’t like them.
The reason why the so-called “army of PSA defenders” are skeptical of your anecdotal and cherrypicked reasoning is because (a) it is logically flawed and (b) we’ve heard this argument for nine years straight. Meanwhile, the people who have been grading with PSA in large volume and for decades rarely share your opinions. PSA will never be “consistent” with grading because grading is done subjectively by humans. Some graders may be harsher, some may be easier. I myself have frequently resubmitted cards to PSA and have received upgrades, downgrades, and grades staying the same. The difference between us is that instead of making a thread on the forum for every card I think PSA was “too harsh” on, I just send it back in and see if it gets a different grade, because grading is subjective.
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This is how Ive always looked at it.
I could be wrong but my understanding is that you can always reholder to the new case with the same grade (I’ve never done it). Did you crack it and resubmit?
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This is correct, assuming the original case is not damaged
With respect
Ive only made 2 topics on this subject out of all my posts so i think your mistaken
They probably stand out to you because you dont like the position i have
Secondly, i have graded a tremendous amount of cards with psa
if i make a post, its because its especially egregious or i want an opinion on whats going on. I know psa couldn’t possibly nail it 100% of the time, and 99.9% of the time i accept the grades good or bad and move on
Finally
I dont mean to stroke old cert vs new cert
But
If you cracked your collection to resub the cards and you were forced under a lie detector to admit how you think it will go for you…. You can see where im going with this
There is no way you truly would believe in your heart the grades will be the same or higher
But i get you. Many collectors here collecting many iterations of cards for many years. I fully expect this response. Call it a conflict of interest… i understand
In the end Im just a random with an opinion. My posts are not going to shift the market so let them be
I have many certs as well, and im not speaking out against them
But something is brewing in 2025 and it doesnt feel right
Also, there is gem mint data and the data suggests that last month the gem rate has fallen to the LOWEST.
So what does that mean
Either Pokemon and Sports have released absolutely terrible QC sets recently
Or
Psa is grading rough
With the exception of a single month period in 2022…. The first 2 months of 2025 have been the lowest gem rate % for cards since ppl have been tracking the data
This is Objective
I doubt we will have a constructive conversation, but I do need to respond to this. This argument never makes sense to me. Mint cards were so much easier to find pre-2020. I would buy old ex cards from people that pack-pulled them and sent them to PSA. Hell, I pack-pulled old ex series cards myself and graded them in the 2 certs, 4 certs, and beyond! I bought cards from untouched master set collections where 40% of the old English ex cards got 10s (this is an insane rate for the uninitiated). Grading wasn’t a thing in Japan so buying cards on Yahoo to grade 10s was relatively easy so long as you knew what you were looking for.
I’ve sold off bad PSA 10s and kept strong PSA 9s and PSA 10s. Especially now with price rises, my collection goals are much more focused on card quality regardless of grade than PSA 10 or bust. I’m sure if I cracked and resubbed all my old cards some would go down in grade because grading is subjective, but I am extremely confident in the overall quality of my collection.
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Got my first sub and got a 4 on a mint ex era card I was really excited about. It’s disappointing but got to learn to take the L.
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Its a psa problem tho sending in a card a getting a grade 2 tiers different. Doesnt matter higher or lower just that its consistent
If this was Tag the grade would at least be the same everytime
Just sayin….
Anyways ill leave this thread idle until i get a new grade. I am excited to get a second opinion and ill update then
Feel free to enjoy more discussion in this thread tho but ill be back in a few weeks
Reholdering within their service only replaces the slab, and there is no reassessment. The service available youre referring to where they look at the card again is their “review” service as per their website. Also Im not trying to join in on the PSA bandwagon, but I crack alot of 9’s for my binder and like to look at why they think it isnt a 10 for fun (because grading is pretty flawed). Ive come to find that using a jewelers loupe, and a blacklight will show signs of why things dont add up amongst the usual. I dont know if you do/dont use tools, but again at the end of the day the person looking at your card may care more/less than you do.
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I subbed with PSA in the fall and the results were complete trash. I cracked over 50 cards that they gave 8s and 9s. 70% were grade-bumped when I submitted to Beckett with subgrades.
At some point I’ll resub with PSA but for now I’m taking a break from them. In my opinion they’ve been getting ridiculously harsh, but my last sub ended up in NJ and I’ve heard they grade tougher there.
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They shouldn’t be reassessing the card unless the case itself is damaged.
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Youve got me curious now on what happens if the card itself DOES become damaged, but you ONLY want a card reholdered, and not reviewed. I want to say theyd follow through and just reholder it with the exact same grade, but if the damage is so obvious they might not agree to reholder it without contacting you, and mentioning that it would need to go through a review service, or it will get shipped back. Id like to hear others thoughts though.
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