Anybody submit to PSA lately?

[Drew3000]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Are you talking about vintage? Which pop reports are they protecting?

Probably the same ones they always protect

1980 Henderson, 1989 UD Griffey

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Drew3000

Probably the same ones they always protect

1980 Henderson, 1989 UD Griffey

The person I was responding to said Modern. Either way, I think “pop control” is a conspiracy theory people use to cope when their cards don’t get 10’s.

[Badgers0821]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

The person I was responding to said Modern. Either way, I think “pop control” is a conspiracy theory people use to come to cope when their cards don’t get 10’s.

I’ve been seeing a lot of “Pop Report Conspiracy Grade PSA 9” on EBay listings lately.

[bloodwings19]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

The person I was responding to said Modern. Either way, I think “pop control” is a conspiracy theory people use to come to cope when their cards don’t get 10’s.

Pop control is real and legitimate. 1987-88 Fleer Michael Jordan, I submitted it with absolutely no flaw and at worst 55-45 top and bottom, it got a PSA 9 before the base card explosion. Looking at the card again, I can't believe it is a PSA 9. The only way it will get a PSA 10 is I submitted with a big PSA submitter. If you submit a non-household name player, it likely will get a 10.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by bloodwings19

Pop control is real and legitimate. 1987-88 Fleer Michael Jordan, I submitted it with absolutely no flaw and at worst 55-45 top and bottom, it got a PSA 9 before the base card explosion. Looking at the card again, I can't believe it is a PSA 9. The only way it will get a PSA 10 is I submitted with a big PSA submitter. If you submit a non-household name player, it likely will get a 10.

Your initial “no flaw, trust me” opinion of your card isn’t really something that proves pop control for me. It really shouldn’t prove anything to anyone. More than anything, it just helps prove my theory that people use the pop control conspiracy to cope with not getting the grade they thought they should get.

Speaking of opinions, I do think grading is just that: the opinion of the grader that day. I do believe that if you submit the same card 10 times there’s a chance you’ll see some different grades. But I don’t believe there’s some company wide conspiracy to take cards that grade a 10, and lower than down a grade to keep the pop counts low.

[Grave252]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Your initial “no flaw, trust me” opinion of your card isn’t really something that proves pop control for me. It really shouldn’t prove anything to anyone. More than anything, it just helps prove my theory that people use the pop control conspiracy to cope with not getting the grade they thought they should get.

Speaking of opinions, I do think grading is just that: the opinion of the grader that day. I do believe that if you submit the same card 10 times there’s a chance you’ll see some different grades. But I don’t believe there’s some company wide conspiracy to take cards that grade a 10, and lower than down a grade to keep the pop counts low.

Exactly!

People are paying PSA for an opinion, and then are upset when the opinion of the grade doesn't align with what they thought. If you are fearful of anything less than a 10, it's best to not grade at all, it is a subjective matter afterall.

[BambinoShuffle]

Originally Posted by Grave252

Exactly!

People are paying PSA for an opinion, and then are upset when the opinion of the grade doesn't align with what they thought. If you are fearful of anything less than a 10, it's best to not grade at all, it is a subjective matter afterall.

I do think there is room for improvement. Accountability of the grading personnel would be greatly appreciated in terms of transparency. It shouldn’t be too hard to track, and with most of the information available via the serial number of the card, it should be too difficult to track and maintain a db. Very little would change really, just another datapoint associated to the entry, and this would allow collectors to understand… hey this was graded by so and so who tends to be a more hash critic. Also reasoning via subgrades can be track on this db while not overwhelming the iconic bare bones label..

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by BambinoShuffle

I do think there is room for improvement. Accountability of the grading personnel would be greatly appreciated in terms of transparency. It shouldn’t be too hard to track, and with most of the information available via the serial number of the card, it should be too difficult to track and maintain a db. Very little would change really, just another datapoint associated to the entry, and this would allow collectors to understand… hey this was graded by so and so who tends to be a more hash critic. Also reasoning via subgrades can be track on this db while not overwhelming the iconic bare bones label..

I agree with the voided part 100%. It would slow down grading times, but I would be okay with it.

As far as knowing the specific grader, that gets tricky, because then you’ll basically be having a different grading company for each grader.

“Oh, that’s a Tom Smith 10, he’s tough on ultra modern!”

“Bill Jones gave me a 9, but he’s easy on cards from the 80’s, so it’s really an 8.”

You’ll also begin to see people request specific graders, or ask for “Anybody, but Nick Nelson! He never grades me well.” I just don't think that would be a good thing in general.

Either way, while I don’t prescribe to pop control, that doesn’t mean I don’t think things could be better, or more consistent. There’s always room for improvement, and your idea for grader notes would be a step in the right direction.

[ThoseBackPages]

things can ALWAYS "be better". there is no need for subgrades

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

things can ALWAYS "be better". there is no need for subgrades

I’m not necessarily pro or anti sub-grades, but I like the idea of grader notes.

What is your wishlist for ways to improve grading?

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

I’m not necessarily pro or anti sub-grades, but I like the idea of grader notes.

What is your wishlist for ways to improve grading?

i usually only get stuff graded at the show, as i do not trust the mail system.

My wishlist would be

- lower prices
- banning of all baggies
- universal registry (all slabs, one registry)

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i usually only get stuff graded at the show, as i do not trust the mail system.

My wishlist would be

- lower prices
- banning of all baggies
- universal registry (all slabs, one registry)

I love that last idea.

[Rooftop]

People are realizing that grading is a scam.

All TPG are begging for business..

[larry25]

Originally Posted by Rooftop

People are realizing that grading is a scam.

All TPG are begging for business..

LOL. 1.2 million cards to PSA last month at historically very high rates = begging? Get a grip.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by Rooftop

People are realizing that grading is a scam.

All TPG are begging for business..

couldnt be more wrong.

[VinnyH]

Originally Posted by fenwaykid

Be careful, grades coming out right now are horrific. They are back to protecting Pop reports and not giving out 10’s.

I had 11 cards in shabagel's recent bulk new submission and they are already in his hands. I was surprised to get 10 out of 11 10s and the one 8 was an afterthought that I didn't give the tough going over to.
My last 2 orders about a year ago with about 20 cards each had the percentage plummet to hardly 50% 10s.
He shipped on 11/29 and I joked that I guess I can bug him in February.
Sometimes I think PSA is just winging it,
Vinny

[bub838]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Your initial “no flaw, trust me” opinion of your card isn’t really something that proves pop control for me. It really shouldn’t prove anything to anyone. More than anything, it just helps prove my theory that people use the pop control conspiracy to cope with not getting the grade they thought they should get.

Speaking of opinions, I do think grading is just that: the opinion of the grader that day. I do believe that if you submit the same card 10 times there’s a chance you’ll see some different grades. But I don’t believe there’s some company wide conspiracy to take cards that grade a 10, and lower than down a grade to keep the pop counts low.

“No flaw, trust me”. I like that.

These pop control conspiracy theories are always anecdotal. It’s all guesses and theories.

My theory is more experienced graders grade more valuable and harder to grade cards, which means more scrutiny. The kid who just finished training doesn’t give a #@#@#@#@ how many PSA 10 Brock Purdy base cards there are and is likely just more lenient.

[88horsepower]

I have two orders that were sent on the same day, same special (80s/90s Special).

One order was 24 cards and was literally completed and already shipped to my house.
One order is 105 cards and is still in the ID & Research phase.

Again, both were sent out by me to PSA and received by PSA on the exact same day.
One order is already back in my hands, the other hasn't even entered grading yet.

Originally Posted by bub838

“No flaw, trust me”. I like that.

These pop control conspiracy theories are always anecdotal. It’s all guesses and theories.

My theory is more experienced graders grade more valuable and harder to grade cards, which means more scrutiny. The kid who just finished training doesn’t give a #@#@#@#@ how many PSA 10 Brock Purdy base cards there are and is likely just more lenient.

This is a flawed theory. I send in a lot of Zero and Low Pop cards and sadly, lately, I've received horrible grades from them on those cards while some of the more prominent cards I've sent have received 9's and 10's.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by bub838

“No flaw, trust me”. I like that.

These pop control conspiracy theories are always anecdotal. It’s all guesses and theories.

My theory is more experienced graders grade more valuable and harder to grade cards, which means more scrutiny. The kid who just finished training doesn’t give a #@#@#@#@ how many PSA 10 Brock Purdy base cards there are and is likely just more lenient.

I’ve heard others say that before, and I do think there’s some solid logic behind that. I would just say that I don’t think it’s a matter of caring how many Brock Purdy 10’s there are, it’s just that the newbie grader is never going to sniff a Rickey that looks gem-ish. And the experienced grader who gets the Rickey to evaluate, will do so with a more knowledgeable eye… not because he’s under some company mandate to take a 10 and give it a 9 for unclear reasons.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

I have two orders that were sent on the same day, same special (80s/90s Special).

One order was 24 cards and was literally completed and already shipped to my house.
One order is 105 cards and is still in the ID & Research phase.

Again, both were sent out by me to PSA and received by PSA on the exact same day.
One order is already back in my hands, the other hasn't even entered grading yet.



This is a flawed theory. I send in a lot of Zero and Low Pop cards and sadly, lately, I've received horrible grades from them on those cards while some of the more prominent cards I've sent have received 9's and 10's.

Do you think it has anything to do with the condition of the cards?

[bub838]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

I’ve heard others say that before, and I do think there’s some solid logic behind that. I would just say that I don’t think it’s a matter of caring how many Brock Purdy 10’s there are, it’s just that the newbie grader is never going to sniff a Rickey that looks gem-ish. And the experienced grader who gets the Rickey to evaluate, will do so with a more knowledgeable eye… not because he’s under some company mandate to take a 10 and give it a 9 for unclear reasons.

Haha, agreed. That Purdy base card line was more directed at fenwaykids comments earlier.

[bub838]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

I have two orders that were sent on the same day, same special (80s/90s Special).

One order was 24 cards and was literally completed and already shipped to my house.
One order is 105 cards and is still in the ID & Research phase.

Again, both were sent out by me to PSA and received by PSA on the exact same day.
One order is already back in my hands, the other hasn't even entered grading yet.



This is a flawed theory. I send in a lot of Zero and Low Pop cards and sadly, lately, I've received horrible grades from them on those cards while some of the more prominent cards I've sent have received 9's and 10's.

How does that make it a flawed theory? Thank you for the anecdote, though.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

I have two orders that were sent on the same day, same special (80s/90s Special).

One order was 24 cards and was literally completed and already shipped to my house.
One order is 105 cards and is still in the ID & Research phase.

Again, both were sent out by me to PSA and received by PSA on the exact same day.
One order is already back in my hands, the other hasn't even entered grading yet.



This is a flawed theory. I send in a lot of Zero and Low Pop cards and sadly, lately, I've received horrible grades from them on those cards while some of the more prominent cards I've sent have received 9's and 10's.

why were the orders separated?

[88horsepower]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

Do you think it has anything to do with the condition of the cards?

I definitely don't think it has anything to do with population control, I can tell you that. I plan to crack out one of the lower graded slabs from my last order to find out what the issue is.

I will say this, without question, my grades have never been lower than in the last eight months, and I scrutinize my cards even more today than I did six years ago when I used to get almost all 10s and 9s. Something is up, but I can't understand what it is.

Are PSA graders harsher because they're being instructed to do so due to increased standards?

Are PSA graders lacking in experience giving out poor grades due to that lack of experience?

Is the volume they are receiving causing issues with handling and/or grading on their end?

Or am I, despite scrutinizing my cards more and having a strong prior grading experience with 10s and 9s, suddenly losing my touch?

[SleeperCards]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

Or am I, despite scrutinizing my cards more and having a strong prior grading experience with 10s and 9s, suddenly losing my touch?

You're losing it old man!