Is a PSA 10 just a number for rich people with mega egos?

packCollector

I will admit that I have never bought a psa 10, there is no way I could ever justify the premium over a psa 9 but I do look at them when they show up for the players I collect. I came across this card today , not an expensive card but still graded a 10 . shouldn't a 10 be a superior card? look at the print quality , there is nothing superior about this card, the colors are not that crisp and the card is not well struck. centering is nice and there are no print spots but if I am going to pay an insane multiple that a 9 would sell for , I want the card to be superior. I pulled my 9 out and it is struck better than this card. how can a card with such week printing get a 10 ? oh well , someone elses money I guess.

helionaut

The Yaz is better centered than the Ryan, which carries a lot of weight. And the Ryan looks like it has a couple tiny flakes on the bottom edge. The print quality of neither card is razor sharp. At least on my monitor, the dark areas of both look sort of fuzzy and snowy, and the day/night contrast makes it difficult to judge the relative merits. Also, the actual photographic quality needs to be takin into account. The Ryan could be a shot where the photographer zoomed in, so the actual image is shown on the card. The Yaz might've been a wider shot blown up and cropped, so there is a slight loss of resolution there. If you have a slightly grainy image and give it perfect reproduction, you end up with a slightly grainy reproduction. But in the end, a 10 just means it meets the standards for a 10. It doesn't necessarilly mean it's a perfectly flawless card. If PSA's scale went to 15, the Yaz might still be "only" a 10. But anyway, the 1980 set would not be mistaken for a Stadium Club set in terms of photographic sharpness. Many of the shots from any distance like the 2 examples have a little softness around the edges.

RepublicaninMass

centering only I woud say, does look like some chips too!

CON40

Duncan;

You're right about the Yaz. The colors are drab. That red looks very weak. Sure, the centering and sharpeness appear to be there. But I think the print quality has to be superior to most cards in the set to be a 10. After all, the color and image are things we look at first fro eye appeal before taking loupes to the corners and edges.

ajmoeller81

I only like to buy 10s when I don't have to pay much of a premium over a 9. While this really doesn't happen very often, I have picked up several cards where a 9 would have been only about $5 cheaper. If I can get a 9 for around $10 but a 10 is $100+ I will definitely stick with the 9.

boggs301012

The first thing I noticed was on the Ryan card what is that below the G in the word Angels? A buble or a small crease?


James

wallst32

I think the color is a little "off" in those scans; just look at the red border in the PSA flip, looks a little on the dull side.

Anyways, a PSA 10 doesn't mean the card is absolutely perfect in every aspect. And this is most evident with the centering on the Ryan. The grader may have felt every other attribute of the card was 10 quality, and this would give the card an overall grade of 10. Now this card would probably sell for less than a 50/50 centered 10, but if all qualities outside of centering were near flawless, it wouldn't be fair to knock it down to a 9 grade.

Using scans and photos, you can only make a true judgment on the centering. The color, corners, edges, surface have to been seen in person. A minute piece of dust on the scanner glass could turn out to look like a major flaw when viewing the scan output. 4-5 years ago I used to buy and open packs from the mid to late 70s (something I can't do anymore because the prices have gone up so much!). Sometimes the condition of the cards weren't all that great; probably been banged around a bit, and subject to humidity thus softening the card. Then there would be some that were probably stored in some climate controlled area that would look and feel like they were printed yesterday; pack fresh! I got a bunch of PSA 9s from the latter type, but anyways, the point I'm trying to make is scan the former and the latter to compare, and would you be able to "see" the difference. I say probably not; whereas it's obvious when in hand.

TMc

I purchase PSA 10s for one reason. To resell. With so many large production runs on cards from the 80s and 90s, rare is a thing of the past. By purchasing only PSA 10s, at least the pop reports on the cards give some credibility to the "rare" label. It seems to work for me, done very well buying, holding for a ueear or two and then reselling. The Clemens rooks were a great example. I'm not sure that the psa 8s or 9s would have appreciated as much. I guess some of it depends on wallet thickness and the ability to hold on to your investment for a given time.

Fabfrank

Duncan, repeat after me "Buy the card, not the holder". It oversimplfies the issue, but it's a fact. Also, on some modern cards, the premium of a 10 over a 9 is not that great and actually justifies the price. You really have to look at it o a case-by-case basis.

packCollector

thanks Frank, I took up that motto many moons ago. I just have a hard time distinguishing any 9 from a 10. don't know about modern cards but in vintage , I am sure that for ever psa 10 you find , you can find 10 psa 9's of the same card that are of equal or better quality. I guess that is what makes the hobby fun , everyone has a different perogative.

Fuzz

Duncan,
For vintage 10's, the SMR use to list 3X to 5X the price of a 9 as a guideline. Seems to work pretty well when the market is "normal". If you can pick up vintage 10's at 3X a 9's price, then you should do pretty well. If you chase them, then serious toastage can occur.
In one vintage set I am familiar with, 61 Nu Card Football, 10's would go for about $100. Then a buy at any price guy showed up and put together an incredible set. He often had to pay over $300 each to get the same cards. Now he has most of what he wants and is out of the way and they have returned to about $100.
Most of the high price cards that we have heard about on these boards "crashing" in price were in the neighborhood of 20X the price of a 9. Now many are still high but are down in the single digits for a multiple. If you stick to the 3 to 3.5X guideline you can venture out without great risk.
For many sets as well, to be competitve for the set award, you will need an arsenal of 10's. As the set builders spend more time on their specialties the winners GPA has crept up. Most all the vintage FB are over 8 now where 7.5 won many an award a couple of years ago. I suspect in a few years, 8.5+ will be required to win about anything.
If you can live without the Gold star after your name you should save the money. Otherwise, the original guidelines that were printed several years ago are standing the test of time well.
Besides, you just have to have one to impress your friends and neighbors.
Fuzz

softparade

<< <i>thanks Frank, I took up that motto many moons ago. I just have a hard time distinguishing any 9 from a 10. don't know about modern cards but in vintage , I am sure that for ever psa 10 you find , you can find 10 psa 9's of the same card that are of equal or better quality. I guess that is what makes the hobby fun , everyone has a different perogative. >>



great post! I said in another thread that baseball umpires get hell for calling wide, high, and low strikes. Might not look like a strike, we all may know its not a strike, but in the end...... its a strike. I want to see a thread dedicated to those who crack the bad 10's and re-submit them in hopes of 9's .... all for the good of the hobby

TheNatural

I used to think that it was impossible to tell the difference between PSA 8s, 9s, and 10s. And they pretty much are, with the naked eye. And then, I spent $100 on a high end 15X loupe. Now, I have never seen a 9 that I thought should be a 10. I now sort my cards before I submit them, and most cards I submit receive 9s or 10s (if that is what I am shooting for). I basically just submit cards that I think have a chance at a 10. I occasionally miss something that PSA catches. I submitted a gorgeous 1989 Upper Deck Griffey a month ago and got a PSA 6. I have heard about small surface wrinkles on the back of this cards, and I would guess that I missed it (or something like it), because otherwise it looks great. I strongly recommend buying an expensive loupe (cheap ones do not correct spherical or chromatic aberration). If anyone needs help picking one out, I would be more than happy to explain what you need to look for.

bobbybakeriv

TheNatural,

Where can I purchase such a loupe? Also, are there any specific brands/characteristics that I should look for? Finally, how much $$$ are we talking here? Thanks so much. Bobby

phreakydancin

<< <i>I strongly recommend buying an expensive loupe (cheap ones do not correct spherical or chromatic aberration). >>

What a fascinating statement!
For those of us who did not major in physics, could you please explain "spherical or chromatic aberration" and why they need to be corrected in order to look for flaws on trading cards?

Inquiring minds want to know

aloof1003

link to horizon loupes



scott