1952 Bowman Football Grading Question ?!?

mojorob

I recently had a submission of approx. 60-70 1952 Bowman Football Small's that came back all most all PSA 6's.
Not a PSA 7 in the bunch. I was very surprised as I have submitted close to 500 cards in the past couple months and have agreed with 95% of the grades received.
However, on this lot...............by and large I feel like I got a grader that was having a really bad day!!
I got a couple of runs of 10-15 in a row of all PSA 6's.
I have looked at some other PSA 6's on ebay scans of the same cards I have and I can't believe my eyes that these cards could recieve the same grades as mine.
Now, I have heard the phrase that if the grade doesn't fit....you must submitt, but I disagree with just about all of them.
I spent 600-700 at 10.00 a pop for the initial grades.
Can anyone give me some sound advice on how to handle this??
There are many cards in this lot that deserve much higher grades.
If it was just a few, I certainly wouldn't worry about it.........but I get the feeling something was up with the grader on this one.
Has anyone else every run into anything like this??
Thanks!!

Mojorob

Fuzz

Rob,
It has happened to most of us at least once I would guess. I have been lucky enough to have it happen twice. It is very frustrating and financially unrewarding.
In may case, I have a big pile of these cards in the corner. I did not mix them with my regular cards. I thought I would deal with it later (that was about 18 months ago -- about 150 cards of 1966 BB). I have looked at these a couple of times since and have found that in some cases I have begun to agree with the grade, still however in many cases they are one to two grades to low.
Here's what I think is the most rational plan.
1) Complain. I would write to Joe and let him know that you think you have an undergraded lot with the submission # and the like.
2) Gather Data. Select a sample, carck out and resubmit maybe 10 cards or so. Based on the grades that you receive the second time around. You may be able to make a case for a "bad day". If they are all one to two grades higher. Press to have them redo the rest at their cost. If they come back with a small percentage up one grade, you'll have no case.

This has been the path I have planned to pursue but have not ever bothered. Mistakes happen. If you appraoch calmly and reasonably with some data that is compelling, they should be reasonable back. Grading is subjective. If it is a total of .25 to .50 difference for the lot average, it may be to close to get much financial relief, if it is more, why not ask? Fortunately, I haven't collected 66 BB for some time so it has not been bothersome other than the waste of money and a stack of unwanted cards.
Good Luck. I would love to hear how it turns out.
Fuzz

murcerfan

mojorob

Not that this post created a lot of responses, but I feel I should set the record straight.
I looked again at the 1952 Bowman small football lot very closely last evening and I noticed many of the cards on the reverse had a very small paper wrinkle, almost undistinguishable to the naked eye, but no doubt present.
This would help explain why many of the cards that I thought were strong PSA 8 & 7's came back PSA 6.
Wow, paper wrinkles are hit hard, but if those are the rules of the grading game......so be it.
So really, I was the one having the bad day, and not the grader.
My mistake.

Mojorob

blacklab

I thought that I was the one who wrote your message since the same thing happened to me last Nov. I sent in an entire set (which I got raw in Nrmt condition from a reputable nat'l dealer). 85% came back PSA 6.
I couldn't believe it! I called Joe & sent 20 back for review. Same result. I had noticed on close inspection that on many of these cards there is a small nick, almost dig type mark, on one of the side borders (primarily side-not top). I had not noticed this before. I closely looked at the cards after they were graded. Unfortunately, I understand this is not uncommon for '52 B FB (small) cards. I also discussed this with another major nat'l dealer who confirmed this problem. In fact, he said it's very difficult to get a 7 on a Bowman small. No argument from me. Lastly, another friend of mine is a nat'l dealer, but he only happened to have one '52 Bowman small on his table. It looked great until I gave it a closer inspection knowing what I was looking for. Guess what-the infamous small nick on the side border! Take a look at your cards w/ this in mind. I hope this makes you feel a little better. I know reading your message gave me a little relief since I spent approx. $950 on having the set graded!
Doug

murcerfan

carew4me

Mojo,
I need the following Smalls:

#09 Joe Spencer
#21 Bill Howton
#90 Tom Johnson
#98 Bobby Dillon
#106 Ray Pelfrey
#113 Will. Reichardt
#130 Dom Moselle
#135 Gene Ronzani

mojorob

Doug,
Nice post.
I had almost forgotten I had written that one.

Carew4me I no longer have this set.
I ended up selling it at the beginning of the year.
Sorry, I can't help you out with your wants.

Yea, that was another dissappointment.
I thought I had a rather solid PSA 7 set with a few 8's mixed in.
It came back almost straight PSA 6.

What a tremendeous waste of 500.00 in grading fees.
Live and learn I guess.
I sure seem to do a lot of learning.

Mojorob