What bugs you the most in PSA 8/9 grades?

General
1

What is your biggest turnoff in a psa 8/9?

  • Whitening on the back
  • White chips on the back
  • Silvering on the edges
  • Holo Scratches
  • Print lines
  • Surface wear
  • Off center

Just to name a few…

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2

For me, centering and holo scratches are what bother me the most. I can look past a little whitening or a factory print line. Good topic!

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3

Same exact answer as my boy Zach. For PSA 8, I don’t mind the centering though. I like my 9s as Mint as possible. I pass on good deals all the time as I’m probably too picky. :grin:

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4

9s really are 10s with just a small blemish or 2 that should not be noticeable off first glance so I cant really complain about 9s in general. 8s for me would have to be anything that shows on the front of the card. Ill take a a flawless front any day over a flawless back in a 8. The biggest faults that I don’t like in general are Holo Scratches and surface wear. I am fine with a little whitening on edges and corners. Ill even take a OC 9 anyday as well, its unique and there are collectors that have interest in them.

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worst <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< okaysilvering < delta species/LC print lines < holo scratches < edge chip/wear < off center < light print lines < corner chips

6

I’m okay with most factory errors like silvering in Base-Fossil or semi-perfect centering. I don’t mind one or two tiny white spots on the back either. A clean front is an absolute necessity tho.

7

If I’m buying a 9 I note the front centering first. Can’t stand it when a card is mint but has some ugly 40/60 centering. Just burn it please. thank you. Silvering and print lines really grind my gears too.

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8

I think of it that way: If I could’ve pulled it from a booster in that condition, it’s good enough for me.

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9

Holo scatches for sure, they really show when you are trying to display them. Whitening in the back is a given but when you want a beautiful card, I think it should look at least nice in the front.

10

Scratches and Print lines. Whitening doesn’t matter me much since the cards are always facing me when I have them displayed.

11

CENTERING

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I’m interested in seeing peoples’ opinions on this subject.

Silvering is probably what I dislike the most, I think in part because it is practically impossible to evaluate in pictures, and in part because it seems like PSA values it a lot less than I do. Centering is also very important. But I think I am probably bothered by holo scratches less than most.

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13

Display appeal is my biggest thing. As for what that means…I have a PSA 3 1st ed. Rayquaza gold str with serious whitening on the back, a small crease, and other issues but it still looks fantastic from the front.

If I’m talking PSA 8/9, stuff like obvious print lines, centering, obvious holo scratches are issues for me. I don’t mind whitening on the back, nicks/dings etc, silvering, or anything that I can’t see without really trying to find a flaw in the card.

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14

I guess I’m in the minority here, but a few scratches on the holo are no biggie to me - especially since they are hard to see once encapsulated (sometimes).

I don’t mind corner chips (fact of life), but I hate whitening on the back. It shows so prominently, and hugely detracts from the card’s eye appeal.

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15

I personally hate whitening on the edges/corners. I try to look for clean backs and don’t mind a few holo scratches as long as they aren’t deep. Print line are annoying but I deal with them

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16

Holo scratches and silvering on the front edges! I don’t mind a bit if edgewear on the back but front edgewear just really downgrades the look of the card in my eyes.

17

I think scratches bother me the most. I usually don’t grade scratched cards myself because of that. Also imperfections on the back side don’t bother me as much as the front side.

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Good idea Tim. I think this is a first, yet a category that is very interesting and important.

I guess we’re addressing primarily English cards cause all Japanese cards are 10s;)

A card straight out of a pack has a clean, crisp, and fresh look. I prefer overlooking most anything that happened during the process prior to pack opening. Things like pack scratches, centering, etc don’t bother me in the least with an 8 or 9.
Now if a card is knocked down to an 8/9 for damage that occurred AFTER the pack was open then I’m not as pleased with it.

In other words, handling damage like edge wear and tiny text scratches etc. are the worst to me.

5 Likes
19

definitely centering and scratches on the actual card (not particularly on the holo because these are hard to see - at least when they are not that prominent) I recently discovered a small scratch on one of my PSA 9 shadowless magnetons and now it really bugs me xD

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Scratches on the holo kill it for me. What’s the point of protecting it if the most crucial part has damage?