What constitutes a "good eye"?

nnpopp

I'm a relative newcomer to submitting cards, and recently I submitted a batch of 137 (mostly 1978 football, with some 1980 baseball). I figure that submitting my own is wise for the sets I'm working on (1970 baseball and 1972 and '78 football -- the 1980s are for resale). The problem is, I think I have a really bad eye for the condition of cards.

My big submission (invoice #8010362, if anyone is interested) came back 42% PSA 9, 45% PSA 8, 10% PSA 7 and 3% lower. I had hopes (unrealistic hopes?) that about 90% of them would be PSA 9s. I use a 10x loup and have looked at tens of thousands of cards over my time in the hobby; yet all my borderline PSA 9s seem to come back 8s, and borderline 8s come back 7s. Besides practice, and scrutinizing all of the 8s and 7s that come back for "hidden" flaws, is there anything else I can do? Part of me wants to give up on submissions and only buy already slabbed cards -- but for some sets, there isn't much out there.

It may sound like I'm whining, but I'm just excited about completing sets and want to maximize my grades. Any advice?

Vargha

Your results would definitely constitute a "good eye". Based upon the many PSA 8's and 9's that I own, it sometimes seems like a crapshoot as to what card gets what grade at that level. The differences are often miniscule or even non-existent.

Mantlefan

My experience is very similar to yours. After careful high power, UV light scrutiny the equation is: My Grade MINUS 1 = PSA Grade. Grading can be very frustrating since it's so subjective. I have several cards in both PSA 8 and 9 and in many cases, the "8" is the better looking card. Submitting cards is expensive. I'm more inclined to buy cards that are already graded and I try to get cards which are true to their grade. I'd rather buy a sharp "8" than a weak "9".

zardoz51

42% are 9's on vintage! ...and he's concerned!

I think that I would be more concerned about losing my skill that trying to improve on it.


Congratulations on a great submission!

bobcat

bobcat

Vargha, I couldn't agree with you more when you say grades are a crapshoot and that the differences are miniscule or even non-existent. I have submitted cards that I belived to be a lock for a 9 and it comes back an 8 and vice versa.

nnpopp, you say all your borderline PSA 9's come back 8's and your borderline PSA 8's come back a 7. If the cards you are submitting are "borderline" for the grade you want perhaps you do have high expectations, just like the rest of us. If I send in a high end 7 thinking it could possibly be an 8 but really knowing it is only near mint, that is what it usually comes back as. You do get lucky every so often though.

Sorry about the blank post, its been a while.

nnpopp

Bobcat, I think you are right that my expectations were a little high. I could have done better, but I could have done much worse. I guess I'll scour my vending boxes to see if there are any cards I passed over that are submittable . . .

1970s cards seem to be all over the board on quality. We all know about the tough years: (1) 1971 baseball (natch); (2) 1975 baseball; (3) 1977 baseball (terrible card stock). 1978 football seems to be one of the easiest years to find high quality cards. I've opened hundreds of packs and 4 vending boxes and for the most part, cards are centered and corners are relatively sharp. They're no Upper Deck, but all-in-all they are pretty easy to find in nice shape. I'm going to put them up on the set registry this weekend; that's now three sets I'm working on. This is getting addictive . . .

Fabfrank

I think as collectors we tend to favor cards that we own condition wise, and are more objective when we buy cards from someone else. When it comes to submitting cards I'm always looking for a 9, at least an 8 on pre-1980 material. To be more objective in my submissions, I chose the cards I want to submit. Place them in penny sleeves and than into cardsavers. I than but the cards aside for 1-2 weeks. I'll than revisit that potential submission batch and look at them again with a fresh eye. I find I'm tighter on my grading the second time around, and can eliminate some of the borderline cards thus saving some money.

mikeschmidt

I think that your eye is great. There are few that get such good grades on vintage material. I have traditionally regarded Dan Markel as the resident master on pre-submission grading -- and I believe he would admit that 87% PSA 8 or better is an exceptional return for a PSA submission.

riccaboni

Yeah, I find myself doing what Frank does. Easier to sort out the hits from the misses. Although during the 70's Special, I almost did not send in a Paul Schaal for my '74 set, but my mom said to send in an even 50 so I did. I thought the Schaal was going to be a 7. It came back a 9.

Fabfrank

Fabfrank

Riccaboni- Getting a 9 when you're expecting a 7 is better than opening a pack and finding some game jersey card. I guess when the price is right (grading fee special), it's worth the gamble

dude

mikeschmidt,

Thank you for your kind words. I'll only add that having a good eye helps preventing getting a 7, 6 or 5 when one is shooting for 8's, 9's or 10's. Getting what percenting of high grades depends on what you have to work with. If it's straight out of opened material, then the grades should be high. If you buy a set that someone built over a long period of time with a mixture of cards, then that's a bigger challenge to separate the good from the bad.