If you have old cards, send them to the experts for identification!
 

PSA - Pathetically Sad Authenticators.

They missed that Brown Old Mill, now this embarrassment!

unless they typo'd W504 into W575-1

3rd party grading is a joke!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1922-W575-1-...item3a84572a6c

c'mon Dan...cut them some slack...who can keep all of those weird W cards straight anyways?!?!:D

Ironically, whenever I make a mistake, I'm told it was "a pre-planned coordinated conspiracy".......However, when PSA makes a mistake it's simply, "Oh sorry, we made a honest mistake"...

Yea they deserve some slack, they grade hundreds of thousands of cards. But how about hiring ONE GUY that knows what the cards are????? There are 50+ people on this forum that can identify 98% of the cards they get. Hire 1, send him pictures when in doubt, game over, product better and accurate.


oh no, that means more money and grading is all about money, not the hobby or getting it right!

Dan Mckee

I don't think you understand Dan; in this instance PSA didn't even make an "honest mistake" with this card, it was simply a "typographical error"...(Although, there's a possibility it may have been just a "clerical error"...)

3rd party graders
 

I was thinking about sending some old cards to Vanilla Ice for him to grade. I heard he is looking for stuff to do.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2873/9...fd84082f_z.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/9...33355af9_z.jpg

WRT the Old Mill
 

They didn't miss that it's brown rather than black; they don't break them down by color (nor any other back that can be found in multiple colors). They also don't break down Factory designations or series (which can mean the difference between a common Sweet Caporal and a very rare one).

Hey Dan,
I like your suggestion, but you are making the huge assumption that PSA knows enough to recognize when it has a "when in doubt" situation! :D
Best,
Val

Sometimes they do.

http://i.imgur.com/MhPGzfj.jpg

I think that the actual grador should be listed on the card they grade. Weather if its their name , initials or even a personal ID number

Would providing that information (identity of the grader) to the public create an avenue for the less scrupulous submitter to route cards to the people more likely to give them higher grades? PSA already (hopefully) knows who their best, most accurate graders are. Problem is, there may not be enough high-quality graders to meet demand. If you were a big submitter and you knew, through tracking of recent past submissions and the publicly-available grader identity that you propose, that Grader A was abnormally generous with grades, there might be a way to influence the routing of you next big submission. For all we know, that might already be a possibility.

According to the PSA website, there is never a single grader. In fact, it's anywhere between two and six graders that review each card:

Grading

The cards are now ready for grading. Each order is distributed to graders based on their particular skill and expertise. For example, a 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle would not be distributed to one of our modern card specialists. While the graders are generally trained to handle cards from virtually all eras, they are assigned cards based on their strengths.

In addition, the sheer number of graders assigned to each card can vary depending on the type of card submitted. In all cases, at minimum, two graders are assigned to every card.

Here's an example – if you were to submit a 1965 Topps Willie Mays – this is how the grading process would work:

Each grader receives the order and they will enter the order number into the computer. Once that is done, the contents of that order will appear on the PSA grading screen. Grader #1 will then enter his grade for the card in question (and for each card within the order until the order is completed if there is more than one card) and close the order on his screen. Once that is done and after redistribution of the order, Grader #2 will do the same – not knowing the opinion of the first grader on any of the cards within that order.

If their grades match in the computer, the card would then eventually reach a 3rd grader for verification of the grade. If the opinion of the first two graders does not match, that card will be assigned to a 3rd grader whose opinion is required to break the tie, so to speak. As with the first example, the card would still be assigned to another grader for verification (a 4th grader in the process) to make sure the grade is accurate and consistent with our standards.

Verification Stage (1)

After the cards have been sealed in the PSA holders, they are then sent to the Grading Verification stage. As mentioned earlier, this is where another grader will check the orders for accuracy and consistency in relation to PSA standards. If the cards appear to meet PSA's guidelines, the order is then sent on to the next step in the process. If any of the cards do not appear to meet the standards, the card is then removed from the holder and re-evaluated by our staff.

Verification Stage (2)

Once our grading staff has finalized the grades through the verification process, the orders are then sent to the final verification stage. This stage is PSA's final quality control checkpoint. Here, the order is then reunited with the original submission form and each card is matched against the paperwork.

The cards and holders are examined for defects that may have been overlooked in prior stages such as scratched cases or improper information on the PSA label. Once this is checked and verified, a PSA packing slip is printed so our shipping department is aware of the method of delivery you have selected. Upon completion, the grades are posted and an e-mail confirmation is sent to the customer with the grading results.

BTW, it looks like PSA heard you: Link

''between two and six graders that review each card''
 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/204295...ENBERG_NEW.JPG

....GRADED WITHIN MINUTES OF EACH OTHER......short term memory loss ??

So they're employing 3rd and 4th graders. It's all starting to make sense.