Not sure how to ask this question really so I’m just going to make it simple. How can this be the same grade as this? I know they’re from very different sets but the difference in quality is very clear. The corners of the Clefariy look like they’re about to fall off and the Charizard looks like it just has some general wear and tear 
I’ve been trying to get an idea of what a card should look like at each grade but the more I look into it the more confused I get, and I know some cards have defects that you may not be able to see from an image; but in extreme cases like this, I find it very hard to believe that something on that Charizard makes it the same grade as that Clefairy.
I ask this because I want to start collecting more seriously and maybe get my own cards graded in the near future. So does anyone know if there are any guides or references I can use? Maybe there is somewhere where people share their cards and predict grades together too?
Any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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It’s just a picture so it’s difficult to accurately compare. Clearly that zard has some major flaws that you cannot see in the picture, I can’t anyways. Some people on here will chime in with details for the PSA comparison. It’s pretty clear once you get more experienced.
-Matthew
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Honestly anything under a 6 is just a bunch of random flaws IMO. Any bend or crease drops it to a 6 instantly, so its easy to say that Zard has a crease. Then they subtract more points for things such as scratching, centering, edges, other damage. While the Clefairy clearly looks worse, they ended up with the same point deductions. Just like any other grade, some look better than others, hence the strong/weak of grades.
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Pictures show some types of flaws and not others.
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It seems everyone agrees that there’s just some things you can’t see from photos alone. I guess I’ll send off a few cards at first to get a feel for it and hopefully I’ll get better at judging my cards with time/experience. Thanks for all your advice!
The variance isn’t as big if we’re talking PSA 7-10.
When it comes to lower grades a beautiful looking card can receive a low grade because it has a couple dents or creases.
On the other hand, you can have a very ugly looking card that has damage all over the place but no creasing recieve the same exact grade.
Even the most savvy collectors couldn’t accurately help you pregrade some of these cards.
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