give mi PLx
That ass hole that was giving 8.5s and 9s for psa 10. What’s the story with him? Where is he/she now?
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Which company or option is more consistent?
Consistent doesn’t mean perfect. No company or person is perfect. Also, keep in mind this discussion pertains to a small minority of the hobby.
The distinction Gary made is very seasoned and specific. A grader overlooking damage in a single submission, vs a submitter trying to fool a grader are 2 different scenarios. The former is mostly negligible, where the latter is more problematic. There is an element of manipulation. Also, most of the “weaker” grades are from re-grading becoming more popular. 5 years ago this was not as prevalent.
hopedully they fired the hell out of that butt plug lol
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the 8.5 grade should die. at bgs and psa. 
Wrong…and telling. Is this a practice you partake in?
Pumping up PSA 10 populations affects the market so it’s not the same. It screws honest collectors/trades.
A professional grader can overlook a defect and give the card a 10 simply by mistake. A professional grader must see a defect to give it a 9.
A cracker is intentionally submitting a cracked card hoping that a professional grader overlooks the defect that caused the card to get a 9 in the first place. This is an unconscionable practice and though we know many crackers and like them, you have to take that into account when dealing with them.
Something everybody need to realize, crackers weren’t born today. This has been going on for decades and it’s always had the same affect. It hurts people who put their trust in you. In Pokemon it is newer though.
By the way @garyis2000 I don’t agree with regrading cards either, and don’t do this.
Does it change anything if a card received a lower grade than it honestly deserves?
I’ve just never been a believer that any of the professional graders see things that aren’t there which is what it would take for a card to be undergraded. Either that or a misinterpretation of the parameters or a typo. The graders are all long term employees so that cancels out one of the possibilities.
Now it’s much easier to understand a faulty 10 cause it could mean making a mistake by not seeing something that’s there. But to see something that’s not there? Unlikely wouldn’t you think?
What if they were grading @pokemonsyndicate’s card and they said “I hate @pokemonsyndicate and tired all of his PSA 10’s. Screw him, he is getting a PSA 9.”
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Continuing on this…I think your distinctions are a bit unhelpful Gary. I agree with you 90%, regrading is a serious issue and in most cases shouldn’t be done. But there are some larger issues here.
I have a couple cards that I’ve sent in expecting 9s (cards have noticeable flaws that in my opinion make the card unworthy of a 10) that received the Gem Mint 10 grade. I’ve only sent them in once so I’m certainly not trying to pull wool over the eyes of the grader. As has been said earlier, am I a bad person for not immediately contacting PSA to have them reduce the grade? I don’t think so. Would I be a bad person if I sold the card (with clear scans of front and back of course) even though I think it’s a weak 10? Again, I don’t think so. I’m selling a third-party opinion, not my own.
I don’t think regrading as a whole creates a population of “weak” 10s. The simpler explanation is that there is some variance in grades, and regraders are trying to strike that lower quality 10 range that already exists. They’re increasing that population, not creating it from scratch, and the degree to which it’s being increased can be debated.
I think it’s not productive to say you won’t buy any regraded card or buy from anyone who regrades cards. I bet if I showed you one of my weaker 10s that was graded once, a 10 that was regraded from a 9, and a 10 graded once, you wouldn’t be able to pick them all correctly. I understand your point that graders must see something to reduce a card’s grade, but as we’ve established earlier there is variance. Something one grader thinks is worthy of reducing a card’s grade may not carry over to another grader.
The best way to go about buying graded cards is simple: request high-quality scans of the front and back of the card BEFORE purchasing. If the card’s condition fits with what you expect from the assigned grade, buy it. If not, don’t.
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maybe if PSA had a SOP during grading, this kind of problem wouldn’t occur? or even if they provide reasons for their grades?
To err is human.
Well put @smpratte but I did already understand what you said.
For now yes, PSA takes it. Maybe it’s time for a more consistent option though.
Maybe an option that stares hypnotic manipulation attempts in the face and says “Sorry, we’re too damn good for your mind games.” is needed.
I don’t want a bunch of Clefairy’s grading my cards.
Maybe I’ll just start my own grading service 
Just like @pokemonsyndicate stated above, I have stacks of cards that are 10’s that simply shouldn’t be based on the guidelines. They are from multiple sources, some graded by me, most graded by others. The cards have a vast set range and most can be traced to the submitter who I know did not submit the same card twice. I want to be sure that when I buy a PSA 10 it retains its value based on condition, otherwise, I’d collect raw cards for nothing more than their aesthetics and nostalgia. I do think PSA does a decent job and if they didn’t I would stop using their services. When we are talking about a difference of $xxxx or in some cases more for the value of a card, I expect perfection or at least something close. This is why they are supposed to have two people look over each item. It helps weed out an imperfect performance or in better terms, an overlooked mistake.
@garyis2000 Let me explain what I tried shortening into a two line reply. I think we are on the same side and I know this has been elaborated on already many times int he past. If PSA gives a card a 10 the first time you submit it and the card has clear signs of wear or other imperfections that would typically earn a 9 grade, does that not affect the population of 10’s and in turn the market value since there is now more 10’s available? The person cracking and regrading a card multiple times has the same impact on the 10 market. Yes, there are other consequences besides the increase in the population of 10’s but I’m focusing on the 9 vs 10 comparison and I should have been clearer about that.
If that’s a tell to you, maybe I’m hard to read. We should play some heads up poker but use Pokemon cards instead of chips, haha. Apparently I give off deceptive tells without trying. What incentive would I have for backing up a cracker when 430 of the 433 cards I’ve graded have remained in their cases? I think my actions speak much louder than my words. I wouldn’t be spending 4 figure sums on 10’s if I was a dishonest cracker.
My entire point is that by missing defects on cards and still giving out the 10 grade, the market for the 10 price is still affected the same way. The 10 pops are inflated with low quality cards in both scenarios. Unfortunately, most people will blindly buy a 10 because it says 10 instead of looking at the card first. I’m on the same side of everyone who collects valuable cards. I only wish to protect our investments and ensure the premium is a premium for the right reasons. I wish PSA could be perfect.
Below are the only three cards I’ve ever cracked and resubmitted. They received 10’s in the next submission they were in. They are not for sale nor will they be any time soon. They were a part of my first return of 97 cards. If PSA is overlooking 3.1% of every submission I’d say that’s too much. Maybe I’ll make a guide to PSA 10’s for new collectors to consider when shopping for a GEM MINT copy of a card they want.
I think @fourthstartcg has articulated this whole thing much better than I could. I had already typed everything above before reading his post but he spells it out quite well. My words aren’t always the clearest.
You’re not a bad person for not reporting an over grade but I’d feel sorry for your customer who bought it after paying a 10 price.
You might not like it but I’m very suspicious of crackers. If they will do that then they don’t care about me or their other customers. If you disagree with that just ask this question, “I had a PSA 9 gold star. I cracked it open and resubmitted it and it got a 10 this time. Will you pay me the full 10 price for it?” My answer would be the same as I’d tell the used car dealership after I found out the car had been in a flood, which they didn’t inform me of. Hell no!
Now I understand people can see things differently. What appears cut and dried to me, isn’t necessarily so to everyone else.
One thing I do know, nobody will ever feel uncomfortable buying/trading with me and I feel ill come out ahead in the long run by not cracking and throwing over grades in the box.
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“Not Zelda Gilroy Let me explain…If PSA gives a card a 10 the first time you submit it and the card has clear signs of wear or other imperfections that would typically earn a 9 grade, does that not affect the population of 10’s and in turn the market value since there is now more 10’s available”
Yes, those mistake over grades do what you say but the pop report is still inflated by crackers over and above those accidental over grades.
Oh, and you wouldn’t want to play poker against me. In a previous life I ran poker rooms at the Dunes and Sahara hotels in Las Vegas. Plus I ran the Asian games high limit section (The Dragon Room) at the Bicycle Club Casino in Bell Gardens California.
Come to think of it though, maybe I wasn’t that good a player cause I kept having to work lol.
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well put as well. and as for how many 9s deserving 10s percentage sounds about right. i get anywhere from 0-2 as i feel misgraded cards. i have quite a few in my personal collection that are regraded and they were well deserved grades when they came back as 10s. i must be a terrible person for regrading my cards that deserved 10s huh?? or maybe im taking everyone too literal?
A card being regraded once I don’t see an issue with and I don’t think many others do either, psa occasionally make mistakes, that’s just life. What I do have an issue with is people regrading cards over and over until they get a 10… If you have had to grade a card 5 times then it doesn’t deserve a 10 simple.
here’s a fun side question/topic. if you sent a 10 in for a review that you felt was incredibly weak, and there was a huge price disparity between a 9 and a 10, I have a hunch they would basically never lower the grade anyway. they’d have to doll out quite a bit of cash if they did