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Judge DredI always thought that the whole idea behind PSA qualifiers was to grade a card on appearance. It's kind of like curb appeal to a potential home buyer except the qualifier will let you know that the house has termites, a cracked foundation or a hardwood floor with urine stains.
I would guess that the qualifier makes the card look a bit more attractive. I have been given several "rules of thumb" regarding qualifiers. Basically I've been told to knock off between 1 to 2 grade levels for a qualifier.
SGC is pretty much to the letter with respect to their grading but I've seen PSA shoot down nice condition cards with holes to a PSA1 where SGC has given like cards grades of SGC20 and 30. Not much difference but PSA did downgrade it further. I don't think that PSA has a qualifier for paper loss or holes.
In any case SGC holders are nicer looking. I used to like SGC but anymore the reputable grading companies have all become the same to me. It wouldn't be fair to group PSA and SGC in with AAA or Pro.