Thoughts about Qualifier Graded cards

DMasci

I tried to find a discussion on this and nothing popped up. I'm curious as to the reasoning behind cards with the "OC" or "MC" etc designations. Being new to PSA coming from another grading service I'm not sure I get this. For example, if a card is graded PSA 9 with (OC) designation, well isn't centering one of the criteria used to come up with the overall grade of 9?

I noticed this when viewing the average price for a given card in the price guide and saw it quite a bit lower than going price for this card. I scanned down the recently purchased cards and there were a couple that were OC which sold for a fraction of the other cards which of course would bring down the average.

Just wondering why the even do this rather than just giving the card a lower grade.

Thanks

Dpeck100

Quick answer is you deduct two points. PSA 9 OC when you ask for no qualifiers you generally get a PSA 7.

On the MC qualifier they will add that even if you ask for no qualifiers.

burghman

Take a look here if you haven't already - it explains a little about the criteria and what each qualifier means: https://www.psacard.com/Resources/gradingstandards#cards

My understanding is that the qualifiers essentially say "the card is otherwise a 9 - corners, edges, surface, etc. are perfect - but the centering is outside of the requirements for a straight 9". In general, folks tend to view a qualifier as a 2 grade deduction when it comes to price - a 9OC is often priced around a straight 7. The Set Registry also treats them as 2 grades lower. There are also different opinions on whether to get qualifiers or not (when you submit, you can declare that you don't want qualifiers, in which case you'd theoretically get a PSA 7 instead of a 9OC) - some folks hate qualifiers on their slabs while others don't mind them so much.

DeutscherGeist

What is MC?

bobbyw8469

Think of cards with qualifiers like this. IF the card wasn't OC, it has all the attributes of a '9'. IF the card is a PSA 7 (MK) it has all the attributes of a 7, except for the mark on the card.

burghman

@DeutscherGeist said:
What is MC?

Miscut

Dpeck100

@DeutscherGeist said:
What is MC?

Miscut

Heenan got one.

burghman

How'd that Heenan get an MC? Typically, they're much worse than that - parts of the card missing, other cards showing, etc. Is it slightly skewed/diamond cut/whatever you call it? Maybe it's the angle, but it looks exactly like the Orndorff to me.

sjjs28

Could be on the reverse

DeutscherGeist

Depeck100,

Thanks for explaining. Good to run into you again! However, that Bobby Heenan card barely looks MisCut, more like off center if anything.

DMasci

Thanks for the explanations, it sure seems odd to me to grade that way.

Dpeck100

PSA has graded lots of the cards that run down the center of the sheet with a straight grade. Recently I have seen them use the MC qualifier on them. They make the rules and we just have to accept them.