Grading Secret Revealed! why grades are not what you expect sometimes..

fandango

all this talk about grading disappointments got me thinking....what are submitters doind wrong....

after months of experiments and think tanking, i have the answer!!!

it comes down to this.....What type of LIGHTING are you using to view your cards before you send them in?

i discovered that my basement lighting (highhats with triangle shaped flood lights) shows EVERY FLAW with the card...when i bring these cards upstairs with regular lighting (sunlight) the flaws disappear!

it can be as small as a smudge or fingerprint that PSA sees and knocks the card grade down.....

apparently PSA uses the light i have in my basement when grading cards....they see things that dont show up with sunlight....mainly surface irregularites...

now before i send in any cards, i bring them to my basement and VOILA! i see the smudges and finger prints that are easily wiped off with a q-tip....also small scratches become visible..

so when you get that PSA 7 back you though was a PSA 9 or 10, look under some better lighting, i bet you will find some surface irregularities that PSA saw and you didnt!

i ill post the exact lighting details when i get back home, thanks and have a good day

dizzle

Hmm not sure what you revealed. It's obvious different lighting will have a different effect on on various things. It took months of research for you to figure out different types of lighting will show certain flaws better than some huh. Thanks for doing this extensive research for the boards lol.

cohocorp

<< <i>Hmm not sure what you revealed. It's obvious different lighting will have a different effect on on various things. It took months of research for you to figure out different types of lighting will show certain flaws better than some huh. Thanks for doing this extensive research for the boards lol. >>




scott was just trying to make a positive contribution to the boards. i think there was value in the op.

envoy98

Using a $10 halogen desk lamp should be on everyones list of "grading tools". Along with a 6x / 10x loupe, a finite measuring tool and if you buy old vintage stuff, a small black light wouldn't hurt either.

Once you've got the tools in hand, you need tools in your head. Read and know the PSA grading standards. In general, even in "lax grading times and tougher grading times" I still hit 75-80% of my expected grades. I end up with an equal amount over and below. I rarely have a 2 grade differential from my expectations.

CDsNuts

I actually use a 15x loupe. Helps me really weed out the touched corners.

11235813

I tend to think it has less to do with lighting and more to do with the fact the graders are human beings and therefore just as inconsistent as the rest of us (despite what TPG's would have you believe).

dizzle

<< <i>

<< <i>Hmm not sure what you revealed. It's obvious different lighting will have a different effect on on various things. It took months of research for you to figure out different types of lighting will show certain flaws better than some huh. Thanks for doing this extensive research for the boards lol. >>




scott was just trying to make a positive contribution to the boards. i think there was value in the op. >>



Cohocorp, Yes I realize this. BUT the guy follows me around like a lost puppy half the time saying rude remarks towards myself. I just thought it was fitting I return the favor for once.

fandango

<< <i>I actually use a 15x loupe. Helps me really weed out the touched corners. >>



True Lee, a loupe is great, but i was focusing on less obvious things like corners and edges....i think we as collectors overlook SURFACE sometime but PSA doesnt miss surface problems (even a fingerprint brings down the grade)

jrinck

Or you could just be retarded, like me. I bought a raw '57T Kluszewski on Ebay, based on the scan. I received it and it looked good. I was thinking maybe a 7. It came back a two. Tilting it while held up to light showed a bunch of small surface creases on the front.

So all the good lighting in the world won't help you if you are pre-biased by a certain amount of mental retardation.

tombo

PSA doesnt miss surface problems (even a fingerprint brings down the grade)

PSA misses things, for better and for worse, on a regular basis. It is not because they don't have enough magnification or the correct halogen/black lighting or the correct measuring tool for centering. It is as was previously stated, the graders are human and therefore not perfect.

As far as slight surface imperfections always hurting a grade, I found what appeared to be an absolute perfect Olympic McGwire back in September of 1998 (at the height of the craze). The centering was 50/50 all around, the gloss was perfect and the corners were 100% pointed under 10x magnification. I bought the card and only later did I notice a good sized surface bubble (1/8" - 1/4") on McGwire's neck. I was relatively new to grading and did not realize how that flaw would affect my grade. I received it back as a PSA 9 no qualifier. 10 years later, I believe that would be caught and noted by a grader resulting in a grade lower than 9, 98 times out of 100.

mcolney1

Also remember the cost/timeuality equation. PSA must make money for it's shareholders. Graders must see a lot of cards per day to stay profitable and cost competitive. If graders spent more time on a card grades could go up or down (more time to find flaws), but consistency should be better, but the cost of grading will go up. If the cost becomes too high then business is lost and shareholders upset. Remember, we Americans will gladly give up quality if the price goes down - see Beta vs VHS or Apple vs PC.

A very good light and magnification are essential, but realizing the conditions a grader works under can help us better understand the process.

fandango

I GUESS THE POINT I was trying to make was that if you are not looking at your cards under the correct light, YOUR SCREWED

i know there are a lot of other factors, but lets face it, if you miss something on your card, most Probably the experts (using the proper light and optimal condition) will pick it up......

when was the last time your read a thread " wow WAY BETTER GRADES THAN I EXPECTED, i had NO IDEA IT WOULD GET A 10"----NEVER

jrinck

<< <i>
when was the last time your read a thread " wow WAY BETTER GRADES THAN I EXPECTED, i had NO IDEA IT WOULD GET A 10"----NEVER >>



I once got an 8 that I felt would be a longshot for a 7. It was a '55 Bowman #196 Russ Meyer. When I re-examined it, I agreed with the grade. I was just being too pessimistic.

I also once got a 9 on an '82D Ripken that I had been lugging around since the day in 1982 that I pulled it from a pack. I was thinking 8 on it.

These successes pale in comparison to my failures, though.

cohocorp

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Hmm not sure what you revealed. It's obvious different lighting will have a different effect on on various things. It took months of research for you to figure out different types of lighting will show certain flaws better than some huh. Thanks for doing this extensive research for the boards lol. >>




scott was just trying to make a positive contribution to the boards. i think there was value in the op. >>



Cohocorp, Yes I realize this. BUT the guy follows me around like a lost puppy half the time saying rude remarks towards myself. I just thought it was fitting I return the favor for once. >>



gotcha. didnt realize you guys had something going.

Steviedoobie

<< <i>when was the last time your read a thread " wow WAY BETTER GRADES THAN I EXPECTED, i had NO IDEA IT WOULD GET A 10"----NEVER >>






//////////////////////////////////////////////


you're wrong.....I sent in a couple of cards that I were certain would not get a 10........I was shocked when I got a 10. from one of them. Look on my new thread...."guess the grade".

nam812

<< <i>when was the last time your read a thread " wow WAY BETTER GRADES THAN I EXPECTED, i had NO IDEA IT WOULD GET A 10"----NEVER >>



Are you going to alert the bank guard that he just dropped a bag of money out of the brinks truck? No, but you'll be screaming at the 15 yr old kid at burger king when he shorts you a quarter on your change. It's just how most humans are.

hofautos

My take, for what it's worth.

It should be obvious that even the same grader may grade the same card differently on different days of the week, or even a different hour of the same day. Whether he/she has already looked at a hundred cards a day, or whether it is the first card they looked at in the day. Whether they have been on vacation, or whether they are new, or whether they have been with the company for years.

It should be obvious, that there are MANY factors involved.

It should also be obvious, that you are paying for a service, that you have professionals, that do this for a living, and that you are more likely to get consistency and accuracy as best as "humanly possible" given the circumstances.

Of course there will be mistakes. One would hope that the grade you recieve is "relatively accurate", and where gross errors do come into play, that those issues may be pointed out and corrected where appropriate.

IMHO, you are given a great service for the costs involved.

PS - I would say the same thing for all of the "big 3" (SGC,PSA, and Beckett), despite the what the "haters" say.

GOOD JOB and THANKS for the professional services all of you provide.

nightcrawler

My Mom gave me a lamp made by these guys OTT-LITE.

I like it, works good.

CARPENTERROB

I look at cards the way psa does from watching their video. In a dark room with one light over the cards. I use an office light that has a magnified 3 inch lens that works great.