Could strict grading in the April special be linked to the May review special?

MULLINS5

Recently I received status of a submission I sent in for the April special and was extremely disappointed in the outcome. I understand that there are a lot of people who cry foul when they are upset about their results, and I admit that maybe I was wrong on a few grades, but there were too many inconsistencies with my order to put the entire blame on me. For instance, I cracked out four cards and two were graded one point lower than the grade before. I understand that this is a gamble when you play the crack out game, maybe I damaged a card in the process, I am not sure, but what I am sure of is that the other two were graded N8 “Miscut” and were former PSA 8’s that I purchased from an eBay power seller who I will, at this time, like to keep nameless for the sake of not giving them a bad name in the instance that perhaps maybe they are completely innocent. Also, to search further for defects I used a loop to try to detect any creases and damage to the cards that I sent in.

When the May special was posted today I began thinking to myself, “fifty percent off of reviews…” and then I remember all of the good people on these boards who were disappointed as I was when they received their grades. I hate to admit it, but in the back of my head I thought to myself, “could PSA have said something like”, “We will have a lot of cards to grade with this April special, and our upcoming May special will be to offer reviews at fifty percent of the cost. Let’s make sure that we are stricter on these April specials so that we can get more reviews in May.” I mean it makes sense. $4.50 for the April special + 3.50 for the May special = 8.00 for one card to be graded.

So I propose that we do something. Maybe I am completely in the wrong here but it is worth at least a small group experiment. I say that when your cards arrive in the mail from PSA, scan the ones that you are unhappy about, that is, the ones that you would consider sending back into PSA for grading, and lets judge as a community whether or not the card that is posted deserves the grade. You can upload the image to this post if you would like to participate. When my cards arrive I will do the same.

Thank you,

Patrick





edit: title change and poor math on my part picked up on by theskypilot

scoutsout47

I want to believe, Agent Mulder.

mealeworm

theskypilot

Patrick

You could be right, but do the math $4.50 + $3.50 = $8.00 .
Sorry about that hope this scan will make up for the dig.


I'm thinking about sending this in to get reviewed.

SKY

Nugen

The only problem with that hypothesis is that you won't get April submissions back until late June....

MULLINS5

<< <i>Patrick

You could be right, but do the math $4.50 + $3.50 = $8.00 .
Sorry about that hope this scan will make up for the dig.


I'm thinking about sending this in to get reviewed.

SKY >>



wow, nice catch, lol! I have to edit that

SOM

I believe that Patrick's hypothesis has merit. It's certainly a much more well-thought-out observation than most of the rants on this board!

MULLINS5

<< <i>The only problem with that hypothesis is that you won't get April submissions back until late June.... >>



A lot of people are already finding April submissions in their mailbox...mine was shipped out yesterday.

itzagoner

conspiracy theories are like really hot, psychotic girlfriends.....at first, you wanna get in deep, like all the way to the delicious creamy center, but then when you get there, you'll wanna run away fast before it makes you dead.

jswieton

I would really hope that this is not the case. I would think that if people had to start doing this then they would think twice about the next time they sub cards. The cards should be graded right the first time around. I have never had a problem with how PSA grades their cards. I have also not recieved my grades from the April special.

storm888

"...So I propose that we do something. Maybe I am completely in the wrong here but it is worth at least a small group experiment. I say that when your cards arrive in the mail from PSA, scan the ones that you are unhappy about, that is, the ones that you would consider sending back into PSA for grading, and lets judge as a community whether or not the card that is posted deserves the grade. You can upload the image to this post if you would like to participate. When my cards arrive I will do the same..."

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The downside to the experiment - and the thing that makes
it not tell us much - is that "grading by scan," often yields
much different results than "grading in hand."

Also, since grading is "subjective," what we think really does
not matter; the "professional" grader's opinion is what PSA
is selling.

........

On the general "conspiracy" issue: I always assume most
biznez folks are plotting and scheming against me. I simply
don't get that feeling about grading companies.

MULLINS5

<< <i>"...So I propose that we do something. Maybe I am completely in the wrong here but it is worth at least a small group experiment. I say that when your cards arrive in the mail from PSA, scan the ones that you are unhappy about, that is, the ones that you would consider sending back into PSA for grading, and lets judge as a community whether or not the card that is posted deserves the grade. You can upload the image to this post if you would like to participate. When my cards arrive I will do the same..."

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

The downside to the experiment - and the thing that makes
it not tell us much - is that "grading by scan," often yields
much different results than "grading in hand."

Also, since grading is "subjective," what we think really does
not matter; the "professional" grader's opinion is what PSA
is selling.

........

On the general "conspiracy" issue: I always assume most
biznez folks are plotting and scheming against me. I simply
don't get that feeling about grading companies. >>





Listen, you are right, grading by hand is better than a scan but it is at least worth an experiment here. Also, I do not understand why people are saying “conspiracy theory” – this is not a conspiracy theory but instead a valid point and deserves to be at least discussed because they ARE professional graders, so let's just talk about it

And on the note of hand grading, I’ll mail some of these cards out to board members as long as they forward them to the next member to examine in person, and so on…

lsutigers1973

<< <i>And on the note of hand grading, I’ll mail some of these cards out to board members as long as they forward them to the next member to examine in person, and so on… >>



Chuck called. He said he already has a copyright on that experiment.

jivan

Hi, am not a big submitter myself, but do buy psa and sgc primarily thru ebay and do get my subs at sgc... think they are more consistant, but not perfect... nevertheless, so many complaints and having to resub cards all the time seems a bit ludicrus from all these stories in you guys posts....I mean as an example an evidence of trimming then coming back an 8 and vice versa.. these tpg are selling a product..a consistant grade from an "expert" eye and knowledge of product, correct??? If you went to kentucky fried chicken and they served you two cheeseburgers, wouldn't you think something is wrong?? a graded card should be what we all want.. a third party saying the card is as graded, not all these hit and miss cards.....their personnel is lacking in true grading skills.. re-subs should not be more than a .5 grade diff at any point......OK, you guys can hate me now.....

hammered

You're all wrong. The suggestion of the OP is moronic. He got a bad sub. I've had bad subs. I've had outstanding subs. Grading is an inexact science and always will be ONLY the opinion of two to three graders on a given day. Opinions differ, and therefore grades differ. Send in your reviews - you'll get a few bumps, same thing you'd get in a month with no review special.

storm888

"...If you went to kentucky fried chicken and they served you two cheeseburgers, wouldn't you think something is wrong?? ..."

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I would either call 911, or assault the manager.

I get my crispy-breasts or they can carry me out in cuffs.