PSA Grading really reliable?

[perezfan]

Thanks for documenting that PSA is a complete joke and the hobby's biggest scam. Perhaps when the sheeple stop feeding them huge sums of money, they'll finally be displaced by something else.

Hope it happens in my lifetime.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by perezfan

Thanks for documenting that PSA is a complete joke and the hobby's biggest scam. Perhaps when the sheeple stop feeding them huge sums of money, they'll finally be displaced by something else.

Hope it happens in my lifetime.

Unlikely, Mark. Twelfth of Never event IMO. They grow stronger and stronger every year.

[bnorth]

They have been very reliable for me. Besides one complete debacle that after 3 tries they still mislabeled my card every time while charging me every BLEEPING time they screwed up. Seriously they have given me better grades on almost every card I have ever sent in than they deserved. They have turned many a $20 card into one that sold for several hundred to a few thousand. I have just been extremely lucky as I have only sent in cards through group submissions or had friends let me add a few cards to their PSA submissions.

[gunboat82]

Originally Posted by bnorth

They have been very reliable for me...

Originally Posted by bnorth

Seriously they have given me better grades on almost every card I have ever sent in than they deserved. They have turned many a $20 card into one that sold for several hundred to a few thousand...

I'm not sure this is a ringing endorsement of their reliability.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by bnorth

They have been very reliable for me. Besides one complete debacle that after 3 tries they still mislabeled my card every time while charging me every BLEEPING time they screwed up. Seriously they have given me better grades on almost every card I have ever sent in than they deserved. They have turned many a $20 card into one that sold for several hundred to a few thousand. I have just been extremely lucky as I have only sent in cards through group submissions or had friends let me add a few cards to their PSA submissions.

You should also probably state the fact that you have only sent cards in for grading with PSA a handful of times at most in recent years. Because there is simply no chance whatsoever that you could hold this opinion otherwise.

[Zach Wheat]

These stories don't really surprise me. IMHO, it seems after their "new" standards came out, cards were consistently undergraded. More recent submissions have been more in line with what I anticipated, but still more strict than the "old" standards. Again, JMHO.

[Snowman]

Unfortunately, PSA has recently started giving high-end submissions to at least two of their newbie bulk vintage graders that have no idea what they're looking at. We're all used to 4s being graded as 2s by the bulk graders who stare at modern cards all day, but rarely did the high-end stuff come back with that much of a delta before. Saddle up folks!

[Kutcher55]

I would argue that PSA’s struggles with consistency is actually a good thing for the knowledgeable collector because it contributes to market inefficiency, which is the best friend of any discerning investor.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Unfortunately, PSA has recently started giving high-end submissions to at least two of their newbie bulk vintage graders that have no idea what they're looking at. We're all used to 4s being graded as 2s by the bulk graders who stare at modern cards all day, but rarely did the high-end stuff come back with that much of a delta before. Saddle up folks!

I find it irresponsible that PSA would allow newbie graders anywhere near high value pre-war cards, which suggests, given current grading results, they are applying the same grading criteria to pre-war as modern. I am glad I no longer have the frustration that currently arises by their unprofessionalism, as I simply refuse to deal with them. And now that SGC is part of Fanatics, I worry about them going the way of PSA.

[Leon]

LOL...

But to the first question, are PSA reliable graders? PSA isn't a grader; some unknown person is. So, they might be reliable and might not be. Grades are only an opinion at that moment of that grader's mind. It could be a half a grade either way, almost every time. And many times, more than a half grade difference, on the same card (*and maybe by the same grader at a different time.) "Reliable" is sort of subjective.

Originally Posted by Snowman

You should also probably state the fact that you have only sent cards in for grading with PSA a handful of times at most in recent years. Because there is simply no chance whatsoever that you could hold this opinion otherwise.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Leon

LOL...

But to the first question, are PSA reliable graders? PSA isn't a grader; some unknown person is. So, they might be reliable and might not be. Grades are only an opinion at that moment of that grader's mind. It could be a half a grade either way, almost every time. And many times, more than a half grade difference, on the same card (*and maybe by the same grader at a different time.) "Reliable" is sort of subjective.

Oh, they're reliable alright. Reliably inconsistent. Resubmitting the same card 4 different times and getting it back in 4 different grades is... let's go with "informative".

[gregndodgers]

Vintage cards that were once graded near mint 7 by PSA are now 5.5s and 6. Terrible. Consistency is the main problem.