i bought a loupe....now what?
1976ToppsCollector
Posts: 76
looking at the corners is oblivious and easy, but am i being too hard on my cards? i work mostly with modern era (1981-presence) looking for 10's. i am finding little dings on corners that are imperciptible, at least to my naked eye. is that being too critical? or will the psa grders find those same flaws?
how about surface and edges? what should i be looking for that would knock a card out of a 10?
how about surface and edges? what should i be looking for that would knock a card out of a 10?
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<< <i>if you think it's a 10 with the loupe, then count on an 8. Start there. LOL!! >>
the discouraging thing is that my pile of PSA 10's is quickly becoming my pile of $1 eBay cards now that i can see them up close.
<< <i>looking at the corners is oblivious and easy, but am i being too hard on my cards? i work mostly with modern era (1981-presence) looking for 10's. i am finding little dings on corners that are imperciptible, at least to my naked eye. is that being too critical? or will the psa grders find those same flaws?
how about surface and edges? what should i be looking for that would knock a card out of a 10? >>
IMO the surface is the one area of grading that most collectors have the most difficult time in analyzing correctly. Primarily because many of the issues aren't apparent in a scan on a computer. And then collectors get frustrated when their grades come back and a card only gets an 8 when they think it should have gotten a 10.
Grading is all about everything. All of the attributes matter, not just the ones that show up well on a computer screen.
So, centering, corners, registration, size and clarity are all pretty easy to see. Surface issues, on the other hand, require more effort to see and to remember. The best graders I know have all said the same thing, use a single light source and hold a card at different angles. If you see any bumps (pimples), ridges or wrinkles (veins) or dents then those are an issue. The quantity and severity of these issues need to be considered also when setting expectations.
I've been reading this forum for years now, and there's almost always a thread where someone is complaining about how their card was undergraded ... never complaining about it being overgraded of course ... they only complain about that when it's someone else's card HAHA. The point here, though, is that ultimately, grading is an opinion and is subjective. So not every grader will see the same issues, and not every grader will weigh them the same. That said, in general, there's a lot of consistency in the process.
If you're shooting for 10s, if a card is otherwise perfect then a slight surface issue is allowable. But generally speaking, if there is a wrinkle over an 1/8th of an inch, or more than 1 tiny bump, I won't send the card in and I've done better with my subs (for 10s at least) than most that I see posting their grades on this forum.
A tiny corner ding is allowable for 10s also. There's no such thing as a "perfect" card. It's all about the total package, the combination of all things good vs all things bad.
If you really need a card for your set, or it's a high value item, then I definitely recommend sending it in regardless of any minor defect as you simply never know and grading is not an exact science.
i guess this is why we see so many psa cards going for under five bucks. people like myself send in too many flawed cards and wait too long before we really learn the process.
I truly think the "naked eye" is the best tool! Of course this does take time/experience and even money.
Loupes aren't really necessary, imo~graders don't use them, and if you have plentiful light, you should be able to determine if a card is submittable or not.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Sit in a chair with a lamp right next to you as bright as it gets and look your cards over. Tilt them every direction and you should be able to see any issues that are present.
Some swear by them but I threw mine away and just stuck with the basics.
I'm thinking. What if I sent cards in to be graded and just kept them in the mailing box? Let's say I thought they were all 10s. Isn't that like Schrödinger's cat?
That way I may never be disappointed again.
<< <i>Examine your d*ck with it... >>
Like the OP said, "the discouraging thing is that my pile of PSA 10's is quickly becoming my pile of $1 eBay cards now that i can see them up close."
If you can see those flaws under magnification, PSA will too.
Since I bought a loupe my 89 Hockey PSA 10 set is coming along much better than before I owned one.
<< <i>Examine your d*ck with it... >>
i didn't realize that 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm was "White Trash Hour".
I have also noticed on my submissions, that PSA seems to give out higher grades to the white bordered cards, perhaps they should use a loupe?
<< <i>I find that a loupe can be of help when checking cards, especially to see how much damage is on corners of white bordered cards.
I have also noticed on my submissions, that PSA seems to give out higher grades to the white bordered cards, perhaps they should use a loupe? >>
I'm pretty confident that PSA uses something, if not a loupe, to detect flaws in cards.
When I place most of my PSA 9 1989 Hockey cards next to a PSA 10 example the 9s appear to be 10s. Once I look at them with a loupe, I see what PSA saw and it makes sense. This is why I believe that they have to be using something to check edges.
Also, a couple of my PSA 10s appear to have a dinged corner but when under a loupe it's more like a hanging chad, foreign to the card.
i didn't realize that 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm was "White Trash Hour". >>
I took it to mean he has experimented at home himself and is therefore experienced in such matters
Bowman Baseball -1948-1955
Fleer Baseball-1923, 1959-2007
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