Looking for Advice on Submitting 8's looking for 8.5's

bleacherbum

I recently got back to working on my 1971 set (currently no. 6) which I assembled before PSA starting using half grades. I noticed in their FAQ's that centering is a key consideration for what qualifies as an upgrade from an 8 to an 8.5. Does anyone have any additional advice they can provide that might improve my chances of getting the 1/2 point upgrade?

bking

<< <i>I recently got back to working on my 1971 set (currently no. 6) which I assembled before PSA starting using half grades. I noticed in their FAQ's that centering is a key consideration for what qualifies as an upgrade from an 8 to an 8.5. Does anyone have any additional advice they can provide that might improve my chances of getting the 1/2 point upgrade? >>



I'm told centering is a prime consideration, so I personally wouldn't consider anything that isn't dead-nuts centered. Aside from that, if it just makes you say "Wow!! why isn't that a nine?" or if it is in an old flip, then it's possible. Just keep in mind that the success rates on a bump without cracking are pretty low.

blacklab

Centering is by far your most critical issue. Then you're looking at gloss and overall card visual appeal. By now, you should be beyond any corner issues. I have found that you're looking at about a 13% bump rate (and that is what I ended up w/ when I sent in what I thought were my best 24 8's from a vintage fb set). The great news, however, was that one of the cards I submitted was a star card and it ended up getting a 9! Good luck w/ your submissions. Doug

Justus

Doug, did you crack them or send them for review?

blacklab

Sent them in for review. I always leave PSA cards in the holder, but always crack out any card from another grading service.

MCMLVTopps

The half-point review is a total craps shoot. I sent in my entire 1955 Topps set (almost a straight 8 set) and must say I was pleased to get back 15 bumps, one card actually went from an 8 to a 9. Centering appears to be the key issue and I believe before a card will bump, it must meet the standards of a 9. I was very fortunate to get a couple of star cards to bump, which returned a very nice sale price. One was a Berra. The turn time was 2 weeks.

Must say that I looked at my cards with a magnifying glass and have no clue why some cards didn't bump up, while a couple that did appeared to fall short to me. It's all subjective, thus my craps shoot comment.

I had planned to sell my set, so I didn't want to leave any money on the table. The bumps saved my bottom line, but I am not a fan of the bump. The market appears to still be willing to pay top dollar for half-point cards (assuming you're in the selling mode), but I have no clue how long this will last.

I wouldn't send cards in to just hope to move up in the Registry, but I would certainly send in cards for the simple reason of enhancing their value. Wouldn't send in cards graded after the half point was established...those cards whose numeric is below the alphabetic grade.

GL

bleacherbum

Thanks for all the advice. I'm not looking to sell right now, but I was thinking of resubbing some stars and low pop cards if it was worthwhile. I guess I'll look through my cards and see they are well centered and go from there.

NYY Collector

Good advice from fellow board members. I cracked out numerous 1959 SGC 88/92 cards in the past and was pleasantly surprised at the results from PSA . Of course I made sure the centering was decent because SGC is more forgiving on the centering. I recently sent in a group of 1966 Topps PSA 8 cards for "review"that should pop soon, so I'll let you know the results. I went through a group of over 200 1966 Topps PSA 8 cards and picked out the best 10(great corners and centering), and went by my gut feel. I'm not a big fan of spending money on reviews, but there are a lot of under graded cards(as well as over graded) that just scream out to be re-graded and sometimes you should take a chance on a small submission. I wouldn't send in the whole set, but only those that you feel really have a shot at an upgrade, because as mentioned in a prior post it is very subjective.