All,
I recently looked over one of my slabs (graded 10) & it has a small indent on the front. I have disclosed this on the listing so the potential buyer is aware but I’m curious if buyers are still willing to pay a premium for a 10 that really shouldn’t have gotten the grade.
I’m guessing it may not be as big of a deal for a lower value item but this is a 1st Ed Shining Magikarp.
Just curious if any of you have gone through this before.
Thanks!
There are no misgrades. The grader’s judgment is absolute. Doubt is heresy, and heathens will be burned.
@ripguyfawkes - uhhhh wut
I think @thecharizardauthorty had a skyridge gengar with the same issue, maybe he can help
Although it is preached here to “buy the card, not the grade”. There are still a lot of people who don’t live with that saying. If you have disclosed it in your listing with pictures and people still want to pay a premium, that means they are happy to purchase the card or they are stupid. If it sold for a premium good for you that you got a little bit of extra change. I would not worry to much, I would say you did enough!
I recently sold an PSA 8 that was in like PSA 5 condition. I took very clear pics of the damages and even specifically stated the issues the buyer has to be aware of in the description. Sold within a day for the usual PSA 8 price (maybe on the lower end) without any complaints by the buyer.
Just be as honest as possible and you should be fine.
@thymeee - I hear ya. My concern is that this is an expensive item so potential buyers will care more about the card than just the label itself. Oh well, time will tell.
Frustrating phrase. The whole point of grading is to simplify transactions by having a third-party confirm the card condition to a high degree PRE-transaction. If the third-party’s grading system is inconsistent then grading is pointless.
Question though, if eBay told buyers they need to take up any disagreements on grade with the grading company, not the seller, would we still advise to buy the card, not the grade?
@mewtuw, my point is, grading exists for a reason. It universally categorizes cards in terms of quality so that we don’t (have to). It’s specifically so that you don’t have to deal with sellers praising their cards as mint based on their subjective opinion. By starting to deem graded cards as misgraded, we are taking away the purpose of grading as a whole, because if your card is misgraded, who’s to say that mine isn’t either? It would come down to personal opinion again. Sure, not every psa 10 has exactly the same quality, but a 10 is a 10 is a 10. What you should do is to offer the card for sale as usual and provide plenty of pictures - not because you deem the card misgraded but because it’s good business practice in general. And by doing so, you give the potential buyer the chance to judge for themselves if the card holds up to their personal quality standard.
Gotcha! But that may be because I dont like graded cards at all 
As for the third party grading, they grade cards but they are still human so they make mistakes. It happens, most people as OP add first party grades as well. If the buyer still decides they want the card for the particular price, I would say go for it!
This PSA 10 Masters Scroll looks like it came out of a Burning Shadows pack and still sold for twice as much as a PSA 9 Masters Scroll in the same PWCC auction block. Disclose the indent, but some people really do just like seeing a 10 on the label even if the card doesn’t deserve it.
@jonbo - Very good data point, especially considering the price.
Ive had a similar case with a PSA 10 1st Dark charizard that was poorly graded, I asked for other peoples advice like you and got a bunch of somewhat confusing mixed some sarcastic responses.
I worked out to do what I felt best rather than try to fit in with the community’s standard as whatever the outcome would likely be wrong to someone. TCA did have a card in the same position, and I think anyones opinion on what should be done might not be what they’d actually do if they had a card in that situation. Ive seen some well known youtubers skip over a psa 10 quickly with whitening on the back without mentioning it that they wish to sell, then show a strong 10 for a considerable time longer.
In my case I pictured it well, making sure not to hide the falter. There will be buyers that just want a case saying psa 10, and then there will be buyers wanting the card condition and they will look further into the pictures and ‘buy the card not the grade’. In the current market you will probably have more people buying it for the label. How bad is the indent? I would say its been graded a 10 by PSA but does contain a possible mark and show it in the images. Then its the buyers choice to pay whatever you list it for. I would also start like 5% under market or a fair price and if someone chooses to buy it then youve done your part.
Always be open minded to the possibility of returns, someone can buy the best graded 10 and still claim its fake or non authentic.
As a final thought, would someone like PWCC judge the quality of psa’s grade, or would they just take a picture of the front and back and list it?
@justmatt - I have disclosed the issue in the listing to be transparent.
Here is the link for reference regarding the indent:
It is shown in the last picture. Very small but still there nonetheless.
I always buy the grade, not the card. I’d take the dented psa 10 over a pristine psa 9 every day of the week. But I’d obv not pay a normal psa 10 price for a derpy psa 10 with a blatant dent. I’d just pay more than I would for a 9.
Seems a fairly significant indent but you’ve mentioned it and its encapsulated now. In my opinion I would remove the line about the no returns for disagreement in grade as a buyer can return basically anything if they want with a SNAD case. Ebay will not look into for you and mentioning it as you have to me could encourage someone to do so and also can give a bad taste with an ebay agent. I did hear something about them having something to do with buyers not being able to question a 3rd party graded item, but that maybe just for authenticity.
I also personally use a descriptive line under the title to say please read the description as so many people do not, mainly mobile users in my experience
theres a new ebay policy that people have to honor the grade of the third party service. smpratte talked about it in a post a while back.