Does submission size affect grades?

hammered

I've had some interesting results over the years on my PSA subs and one thing I came to notice is that I receive notably better grades on my larger subs.
For a very long time, I wrote it off as coincidence, and it very well could be just that.
But this weekend I decided to compile my personal sub data over the past five years and calculate average grades based on sub size.
I found that on my subs of 50 cards or fewer, my average grade is PSA 8.18
On subs of 50 cards or more, my average grade is 8.79

It should be noted that the years and brands I sub are the same in both size groups.

WinPitcher

I don't think so, I think condition affects grades.


Steve

OAKESY25

I have been disappointed by smaller subs as well...

csmtampa

My drunken statement really made no sense once I read it this morning.

Cheers

hammered

So let me add that I realize there could be absolutely nothing to this.

That being said, I also have theories about why there could be a correlation between smaller subs and lower grades.
If a grader knows the sub size is small, perhaps he (or she?) examines each card closer, or can spend more time with each one, thereby identifying smaller flaws.
If a grader sees that he has 150 cards (or more) to make his way through, maybe he gives them a quicker examination, as to move more quickly through the large sub, and might miss some nit-picky things about the cards?

I'm sure PSA would say this is hogwash

SDavid

Did your smaller subs have higher dollar cards? If so, your target grades may have been lower.

I've been butchered on some small subs that were exclusively 50's and 60's HOF cards, but I always attributed the conservative grading to the faces in the pictures, not the sub size. Hard to know for sure.

hammered

<< <i>Did your smaller subs have higher dollar cards? If so, your target grades may have been lower.

I've been butchered on some small subs that were exclusively 50's and 60's HOF cards, but I always attributed the conservative grading to the faces in the pictures, not the sub size. Hard to know for sure. >>




No, the values, conditions, eras, and # of star cards were generally the same

I'll also add that my very worst results have occurred on super-small subs, like 10 or fewer.

grote15

I have found the opposite to be true for the most part--my membership subs (6 cards) have been among my very best subs with a 1/2 PSA 10 1975 mini S. Alomar and a PSA 9 1975 mini Aaron the last two years. Maybe I scrutinize them more because there's only a few cards going in at one time. I don't think there's any real correlation except for card condition.

Menko

I believe is you send in some bad condition cards along with great conditon cards from the same set, that it would give the better cards a good chance at a 10 Gem Mint. Its like a professor trying to figure out the student's grades, if you have the top student in the class thats not doing so well but everybody else is doing badly then that top student has a great chance at an A grade in the class even though if that person would be in a class with a bunch of geeks then he would probably get a B or C grade
So, send in a bunch of bas condition, with some medium and some great looking cards all together from the same set...
Just my opinion.

otwcards

So size DOES matter?

hammered

<< <i>So size DOES matter? >>




For me it does

divecchia

I don't think it does, but you never know...

Donato

Garabaldi

I had never had a problem with cards being graded until recently. With so many cards on Ebay, you can see too much variation on cards with the same grade. You pay such a premium on cards with a high grade, that you have to be very careful on what you are buying.

Beck6

I just do not have a good enough eye to distinguish between a 9 and a 10 and sometimes even an 8. My larger subs tend to have more variety and thus a larger margin for error in both directions. If I send in 10 cards and I do not understand how that type of card is graded (which is usually the case) then I am more likely to get "hammered"

It sounds like you are subbing the same cards, so maybe you just have to write it off to larger numbers causing more variance in your grades (fortunately for the better)

itzagoner

i've sent in bulk and i've sent in small groups and i've yet to detect much of a variance when the majority of the cards come back pretty much as expected.....like hammered, i've been sending in generally the same cards from the same sets and eras, but there is a little something different i've noticed lately and i will apply in the future....there have been times when i've taken a smaller group of cards and broken them into sample groups, and my example here will be results from submissions of 1958 Topps Football cards:

the first time i sent in a group, i received an 8, a few 7s, and several 6s.....the next time i sent in a similar group w/similar features i received all 7s except for one card, which came back a 6.

from having done this, i formulated the opinion that had i sent in all of the cards together, perhaps some of the 7s from the second sub would have wound up as 6s in the first.

hope this all made sense.

lsutigers1973

For me, the smaller subs were usually higher valued cards and the grades are never what I expected them to be. On large subs, I always tend to get higher grades. Some cards I even feel like I got one or two past PSA.

billwaltonsbeard

So Bill, you're saying that size DOES matter?

lsutigers1973

<< <i>So Bill, you're saying that size DOES matter? >>



In this case, yes. Go back and look at some of the group sub threads. If you read a lot of the responses after grades popped, most people felt their grades were either right on or higher than exepcted with the exception of the miscuts and EOTs.

My 3 largest personal subs have had the best results. Quite a few 10's when expecting 9's and 9's when expecting 8's.

billwaltonsbeard

I was actually just making an immature johnson joke, but your point about the group subs is an interesting one.

lsutigers1973

<< <i>I was actually just making an immature johnson joke >>



I know but Scott beat you to it.

No pun intended on the beating and johnson in the same reply.

billwaltonsbeard

ahh...damn him

MULLINS5

I've found that sending multiples of one card works well...not because PSA is passing a freebie my way, but instead because the odds are in my favor.

JHS5120

Somone should do an experiment:

Take 5 cards and sub them by themselves and then crack them out and sub the same 5 cards in a group sub and share the results.
just an opinion
Jason