I think @nuttun does a good job summarizing a lot of the frustration I have. But regarding their last point, would people consider this card a “weak 10”? Can/should a 10 have multiple holo scratches (>4) and one particularly deep one? I realize a PSA 10 is just an opinion but I’m asking what the probability of this card receiving a 10 should it be submitted mutiple times, independently?
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Except for maybe a slight factory line I don’t think psa 10 cards should have any holo scratching. I get that grading is subjective to some degree but psa has actual standards they are supposed to follow regardless of opinion. I see a lot of bullshit 10s on ebay and it’s a real problem when it comes to buying. A lot of the new gx cards get 10s even though they have horrible centering and that just shouldn’t be happening. But at least I can see that in ebay pictures. Scratches and dents which don’t photo well are a big problem.
Feels like they are just overworked and not putting in the time and effort it takes to actually grade a card properly.
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I don’t know what kind of alternate reality grapefruit juice some people here are drinking, but the entire point of a third party grading service absorbing millions of dollars in fees to grade cards is so you can buy a grade 10 gem mint card without saying “I want a card without holo scratches, dings, dongs, and whitening all over the back”.
I’m still on board the whole “human error happens” narrative, but hol-eee-shit. What is going on in this thread? There really isn’t any point in buying a psa10 if you have to “do the legwork and research” and find the third party grading company completely unreliable. If that’s the case, then its literally what pkm said- may as well just buy a minty raw card that i see no errors on instead of relying on a graded service to validate a cards lack of flaws for me.
Bringing this back to the car collector example SSJC and I were using, imagine hiring a handler to look over a car you want for your collection. You tell that handler you want an authentic car with no mileage and all original parts. Then you pay him $50,000 to meet up with some guy on the other side of the country selling one for $2,000,000. The handler takes his commission, you buy your brand new 1957 bmw 507 roadster series muscle car, and when it gets to you you notice that the engine has been swapped out, the steering wheel is from a different model car, and the rims are custom from 2018. “oh well, you should have done the proper legwork”. No. That’s what you’re paying the handler for. The difference is, you can hold a handler accountable for human error mistakes. Thats why I only look at PSA as a selling point for when you’re ready to part with a card. It’s basically saying “this card sells for this price at market value today, here’s some hq photos of it, what you see is what you get” and less about what the condition actually is for my personal collection. So again, if all someone cares about is owning a super minty card- then it isn’t about the grade is it? Get the 9 for 1/2 to 1/10th the price and be super happy. But yeah, if you buy a 10 as a collector rather than to know your money is safe- that shit sucks when its scratched to hell and back because johnny checked out while daydreaming about the girl that winked at him during his lunch break. Let me ask you all this. Do you guys see Beckett gold label 10s or even regular 10s having holo scratches and whatnot all over them? Every time I see a complaint about 10s, it’s with PSA. With Beckett 10s, you can take that shit to the bank- and I think that’s what PKM is complaining about. Where’s the standards you’re investing your money in as a COLLECTOR? I don’t know the answer to that cause I can honestly say I’d rather buy a psa10 with a ding dong on it than a psa9 that looks spotless while I know for someone like PKM, its probably the opposite.
Another reason why BGS is better with their subgrades, if only they were more consistent with pokemon…
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I’m not sure what this means but here goes.
According to the PSA Grading Standards whereby they describe their parameters for each numerical grade the word “scratch” can’t even be found until you get all the way down at PSA 6. There it states “A very light scratch may be detected only upon close inspection”. Meaning essentially that a prominent scratch theoretically wouldn’t qualify for a 6.
A PSA 10 is a “virtually perfect card”.
A PSA 9 is a "superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off white borders.
www.psacard.com/resources/gradingstandards/#detail
I mean I know PSA was started around vintage sports card grading where corners weren’t rounded and borders were white not blue with white dots and cards were just cardboard without the addition of fancy scratch prone foiling. But it seems Pokemon should have it’s own set of Grading Standards these days.
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Do any sellers actually do that though? That would be crazy IMO.
I mean when I sell a PSA 10 I sell a PSA 10. Not a Gottaketchumall 10. Not a ReinaSierpe 10 nor a PFM 10.
I have a standard copypasta I use now about not being a professional grader and only being able to offer the high quality photos I have provided in the listing along with the third party authentication and grading opinion.
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Couple thoughts.
At 20.00 doesn’t seem like you paid much of a premium over a 9
That picture was so zoomed in it made the scratch look like a valley.
Often 9s can look like 8s to some people and 8s can look like 7s and on and on. For those people I recommend only grade yourself or not buying graded at all.
Pictures are basically useless for surface issues…especially if they’re already encased.
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You’re right, this was a very cheap 10 but this thread is speaking to 9 vs 10s generally using this card (and the 2 other scratched cards I got) as the motivation
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Scratches don’t show up well on camera especially mine, so the only way I can capture it is up close. I can assure you the one scratch is pretty deep and noticeable under regular lighting conditions and there are at least 4 other lighter scratches in addition to it. But again, I’m only using the card as a starting point for the discussion.
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Are you suggesting that I am being too harsh on this 10? Maybe I’m being picky being disappointed to find the majority of the holo on my card was scratched on not only one PSA 10, but three out of 4? (To be fair, one card has minor scratching and a light print line so it may be still deserving of the 10 but it was a little salt in the wound after seeing the other two).
Exactly! A seller is not responsible for PSA’s opinion. Especially actual businesses who don’t have time to microscopically analyze every single card.
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yup which is why you ask for more details
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Except there’s an influx of new people now who crack and resend, crack and resend, and on and on. There’s even an old timer we all know who is subject to resend a dozen times.
This behavior I’ve preached against here for years cause it is unacceptable. It’s dishonest. I could be harsher but Im not riled up yet.
I have heard criticism that I’m only against it cause I don’t need to do it. While that’s true but it wouldn’t matter anyway. If I got a 9 and then regraded it and it got a 10 then I’m cheating you when you buy it. I really don’t see how anybody sees that differently.
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This is very well put. Congratulations lol.
If the seller doesn’t reply, then move on if you wish.
That is very redundant…assuming there’s degrees of redundancy lol.
“Check Gary out. He’s doing English correction now”
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I agree with the value in your perspective, but the idea applied is a slippery slope.
To give some real examples, I’ve had less than reasonable buyers tell me, “the card is ugly”, to critical buyers who say the item isn’t a 9. Both were wrong. For the rare instance of a genuine oversight/misgrade, I usually return/refund. Either way the entire reason third party grading exists is to eliminate the buyer & sellers opinion. If people disagree with PSA’s opinion, complain to them.
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I gotta say it again. I could take a couple dozen pics of pfm’s card and not a single one would show a pack scratch. If it’s important to you then message and ask or, never buy graded.
Dang it. I saw that mistake but didn’t think it was big enough to correct. Nice catch Gary 
Also made a few mistakes in my writing, notably in the last paragraph too 
Just joking around brother. I always like your detailed posts:)
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To the guys who think cracking and resending is dishonest:
Is officially appealing a grade through PSA ethically different from simply cracking it open and resending?
I’ve taken the stance you can get a second opinion, but not a third or more.
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