The best qualifier???

mrichards

Here is another great debate. I love hearing everyone's opinion of this topic. PSA has 6 different qualifiers. They are (for all of the people out there who do not know).

OC (Off Center)
ST (Staining)
PD (Print Defects)
OF (Out of Focus)
MK (Marks)
MC (Miscut)

These are all the kiss of death when it comes to collecting and selling cards. I had a 52 Bowman Alex Kellner on Ebay which was a 9 OC (The pop is 1 straight 9 (newly graded), 1 9 OC (my card), 4 8's and that's about it. A real low pop card. I finally found an 8 and put my 9 OC up on Ebay and got $30.00 for it???

Out of all of the qualifiers listed above, if you had to make a choice, what would be the best one to buy a card in?

Is a PSA 9 OC 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle more desirable than a well-centered 7?

Is my 1954 Red Heart Spahn PSA 8 MC (Up on Ebay right now - little plug!) nicer than a straight 6? What would you choose? What is the lesser of all evils?

You know, I have always said, "it's not the card's fault it was cut that way".

I originally thought it was OC, but the Spahn I have is dead centered in the front and printed way off in the back. What would you buy?

I was thinking of starting a cool experiment that I know would not cost me alot of money. Find a vintage set with not that many cards (like a 54 Red Heart set) and build the whole entire thing in PSA 8 or better cards with qualifiers. If the set should ever get finished, I bet it winds up in the top 10 in the set registry and it would still be a beauty?

What is your opinion???

Thanks,
Mike

anjcollection

ST

usually only affects the back of the card.
the front is what i display anyways.

AlanAllen

PD, imho. It's usually just some snow or ink bubbles, which don't detract much from the eye appeal of the card.

Joe

brucemo

I would rather have a straight FIVE than an 8(MC). I'm not sure the market feels the same way, but this is stuff with very poor eye appeal.

Sometimes PD means nothing, sometimes ST means nothing. OC isn't vomit. OF and MC are.

bruce

RayBShotz

mrichards
I would say OC with Top to Bottom off centering. Often the eye appeal of this type of qualifier is quite nice.
RayB69Topps

zardoz51

PD all day long!!!!

Some of these are SO minor as to not detract from the card.

O/C, M/C absolute kiss of death

jaxxr

I agree with RayBShotz, If it's top to bottom, not l-r. that is usually fine and priced so much more economically. A PD or a ST can also be on a card that is overall quite pleasing.

As to the 52 Mantle query, per the vertical Topps issue ( Any horizontal cards such as a 51 Bowman Mantle are not quite as definite in my view ), if the centering flaw was top to bottom, I belive I would rather have a 9 OC with its corresponding gloss , sharp corners, and other "mint 9" features, instead of a 7 with typical NM qualities and a possible 70-30 centering.

mikeschmidt

My preference is an o/c qualified card that is 50/50 both ways on the front, with a major centering issue on the reverse.....

toppsgun

I met a collector once who had some 15 or 20 complete sets of 1964 Topps baseball. One set was his Miscut set. Everycard had to be miscut either front or back. Another was his Creased set. Neither one was probably worth much, but I bet he paid even less. He said many dealers just GAVE him cards they couldn't sell.

Personally, I like ST cards. If it's on the front, it's a crack-out-regrade candidate. If it's on the back, NBD.

PD cards aren't bad. They get to go on a short vacation to SGC and always come back in much better shape.

OF, MC & MK, in reverse order, are the worst to me.

An o/c card can still have great eye appeal. Corners are most important, followed closely by focus/color/gloss. A 80/20 card with razor corners and an untouched surface is one well-kept specimen.

murcerfan

PD's are known to go away on resubmission.
Often an oc card can be "talked into" the next straight grade down.
I also think that PSA slides the grade up on occasion when adding a qualifier.
8oc's that really don't have the crispness of an 8.

Wilson Franks are an exception in terms of OC and ST values.
My friend Levi is working towards an "all-qualified set" I believe there will be a special award plaque involved. Like it's said, buy the card not the holder.

Philabuster

I love the (st) qualifier. If the stain is on the back the front is still beautiful and you can pick them up fairly cheap. Anyone have any they want to sell?

downgoesfrazier

PD or ST.

Based on some of the straight 9's (and even 10's) I've been seeing of late, just how bad would a card need to be to get the OF qualifier? I've got a card over here that I can't tell if it's Burt Hooton or Doug Rau. The focus (lack of) is unreal...NQ??? I've got a bunch of these that I've bought unseen only to be shocked when looking at them. They'd be downright humerous if they weren't so expensive. This HAS to be the most missed of all the Q's. Sometimes I wonder if they even look at the image or just evaluate the stock.

Murcerfan, well put. PD's do tend to "go away" don't they. Great post.

Wayne8348

"mint" is my favorite qualifier.

Wayne

KING KELLOGG

PD's are OK.


OC...You're right...Kiss from the devil himself...Break the card out and sell it raw!!..Take the loss!!



KING KELLOGG

gemint

The best is ST on the front

The next best is PD if it's light. I have a few that are very difficult to detect.

missinglink

PD Without question..sometimes you can hardly tell they have a print defect.

murcerfan is absolutley right...they do tend to go away upon resubmission.

I have 54 Red Heart 8PD that is so faint I can hardly tell.....I think I will resubmit. Thanks Dave for reminding me.

mrichards

Wow. Great responses. Well, I guess MC is the kiss of death, even if it is the back of the card. My PSA 8 MC 1954 Red Heart Spahn went for crap on Ebay (which I figured). I think any qualifier is cool with me except OF as long as it is on the back of the card and not the front .

Mike