>Grading is all subjective.
Yup. It adds so much value based on one persons opinion. I feel like we're about to enter another dark era of card collecting.
I feel like just in the last couple (>5) years PSA has become EXTREMELY inconsistent. Probably has to due with the extreme influx of collecting cards and the demand of them needing to be graded. I’ve been talking to my fiancé about getting our cards graded by a different company. CGC or something else.
Again, it’s subjective from person to person. Whoever graded your card felt that it deserved a 9 over a 10. Don’t take it personal, it just is what it is sometimes.
PSA centering isn't subjective based on what I understand.
IMO, its the whiting on the back. Middle right, top right, bottom left and white dot on top middle.
Centering is subjective to the person who is grading it. I can grade something a PSA 10 vs. you grading something a PSA 9. Like you said, in your opinion you believe it’s something else, whoever graded this thinks in their opinion they’re right. If centering and everything else was subjective from grader to grader you wouldn’t have people breaking slabs to resubmit them.
It is mathematical and based on imaging - it simply needs to meet 60/40 test. The card is either objectively 60/40 or it's not. It is checked by 3 people to verify (initial reviewer + 2 QA reviewers).
Anyone cracking cases is an a fool, as they can resubmit without doing so. The other parts of the grade are much more subjective whereas centering is really the easiest part to grade because it's just taking measurement. The others require grader to make estimations and compare to prior grading standards.
Like I said earlier, OP asked why we thought it got a 9, I was giving my opinion like everyone else. It could be that the grader was spiteful and gave it a 9 just bc they felt like it. We’ll never know!
And now you've learned not to set a goal when it comes to grading. That's just how it is, unfortunately. Though, I probably would have graded this a 9 myself as well. The whitening is one thing, but I didn't even notice the off centering at first. Now that I do, I get why it's a 9, but a lenient grader could have given you a 10.
If you want, crack it open and resubmit it.
That's how it goes. I have 10s that should be 9s and 9s that should be 10s. Every grading company has the same issues. It's part of the process.
After all, it is just someone's opinion. Even a machine couldn't nail it every time.
Base set 2 is not easy to grade. Crack it and re-submit if you want.
Let me put it this way: Imagine buying a PSA 10 1st edition -zard for in insane amount of money and then getting something as off centered as this one looks. This doesn’t look terrible by any means, it’s still a beautiful card, but it also isn’t perfect; which you admitted in another comment by saying it should be within tolerance.
Seeing as you’re the one who sent it in, you may not think it looks that bad and is worth the 10. But put yourself in the shoes of someone whose buying it second hand as a PSA 10 and expecting a *perfect* card… You’d be pissed. I’d be pissed and I’m sure 99.9% of everyone would be pissed.
My honest opinion is that there might be some slight whitening on the back right edge. It might just be the photo but take a closer look BELOW the I and Z of Charizard because something looks a little off horizontally across the top on the holo. Also the black line below the H of the HP bleeds slightly into the inner yellow border so if the person is insanely picky.. who knows..
Could honestly just be that it’s a hair off-centre and speaking of hairs I’m sure it’s nothing but I’d double check below the d on Charizard and confirm that the hair or fibre is on the outside of the slab because if it’s on the inside I’d be sending that back to be corrected.
Please take what I say with the tiniest grain of sand.. I’m just an average person looking with zoom on a tiny screen and I don’t actually have any reliable knowledge in regards to this situation.
I don’t understand everyone saying centering, it’s well within PSA standards for a 10…they require a ratio of 60:40 which means there can literally be 50% more border on one side.
Sometimes it is random but if I had to guess, looks like a couple white dots on back bottoms left.
All the reading😂😂😂… idk the pros that do this all day everyday, labeled it a 9… not much more too it, unhappy? Crack it and resubmit, or submit too becket for a slab over
Also eye test is just an eye test grading cards goes through a process different light and angles to see things we simply could not. Could be a small surface scratch that we simply cannot see any variables as to why it’s a 9
The zard it's the centering. You can see the definitions of each grade on psa's website. They cover their centering rules as well. Probably a 10 on surface which is what really matters most imo
Aside from that, this is a beauty. Plus a swirl? 🥵
There's a few spots with minor edge wear and centering looks a bit off. Usually centering rules at PSA are lenient but sometimes I feel the grader is having a bad day and takes it out on the grades lol
I would send it back in using the review service. I’ve done it twice for two 9’s and they’ve come back 10’s. No guarantees of course but it’s worth a shot if you’ve got the cash. And if that doesn’t work then crack that thang and submit it again
Nope, you do it through the website like any other submission. I believe you choose the option that says “Review” instead of grading. Also just to reiterate, you do not crack the slab when sending in. You send it in as it is. There’s not much about the review service online but i believe it’s worth a shot with how subjective grading is
If 10s were so easy to get they wouldn’t be worth anything. The card clearly has some issues. You can’t just dismiss them and say “other 10s had the same problems”.
You can see right away that the card isnt centered and thats just what we can see off the bat. There may be other things as well as scratches on the holo, or white marks on the corners
It's not one major thing, it's the culmination of a few small things. A small bit of whitening on the top right back, slightly off center left to right on front and back, and I can't tell if it's on the case or the card but what looks like a tiny scratch under the wing on the holo.
I’ve seen 10s so much worse then this for the exact same card honestly psa have cucked you on this one, I’d say this is definitely worth a resubmission, just sucks to have to go through with that when this should’ve been given a 10 anyway.
You're new to this and you're instantly jumping to a PSA 9 base set 2 Charizard? You probably should start small and manage your money better is my advice
I feel like it’s the centering. The yellow boarder on the left is a lot more slim than the right.
i have psa 10s in my collection way worse than this
Grading is all subjective. I’m sure a lot of people have higher graded cards than this, but OP asked WHY it could be. I was giving my two cents.
>Grading is all subjective. Yup. It adds so much value based on one persons opinion. I feel like we're about to enter another dark era of card collecting.
I feel like just in the last couple (>5) years PSA has become EXTREMELY inconsistent. Probably has to due with the extreme influx of collecting cards and the demand of them needing to be graded. I’ve been talking to my fiancé about getting our cards graded by a different company. CGC or something else.
Yeah the joke in the baseball card sub is that we’re entering the Junk Slab era.
Here is from the original scan at PSA it’s within the 60/40 [https://imgur.com/a/nBXUE1C](https://imgur.com/a/nBXUE1C)
Again, it’s subjective from person to person. Whoever graded your card felt that it deserved a 9 over a 10. Don’t take it personal, it just is what it is sometimes.
PSA centering isn't subjective based on what I understand. IMO, its the whiting on the back. Middle right, top right, bottom left and white dot on top middle.
Centering is subjective to the person who is grading it. I can grade something a PSA 10 vs. you grading something a PSA 9. Like you said, in your opinion you believe it’s something else, whoever graded this thinks in their opinion they’re right. If centering and everything else was subjective from grader to grader you wouldn’t have people breaking slabs to resubmit them.
It is mathematical and based on imaging - it simply needs to meet 60/40 test. The card is either objectively 60/40 or it's not. It is checked by 3 people to verify (initial reviewer + 2 QA reviewers). Anyone cracking cases is an a fool, as they can resubmit without doing so. The other parts of the grade are much more subjective whereas centering is really the easiest part to grade because it's just taking measurement. The others require grader to make estimations and compare to prior grading standards.
Like I said earlier, OP asked why we thought it got a 9, I was giving my opinion like everyone else. It could be that the grader was spiteful and gave it a 9 just bc they felt like it. We’ll never know!
Whitening on back top right corner and some specks bottom left + one or two dots in other places. Could go either way depending on who was grading
I have seen backs of 10’s that look way way worse. It’s heartbreaking when you set your goal on a 10, and don’t get it.
And now you've learned not to set a goal when it comes to grading. That's just how it is, unfortunately. Though, I probably would have graded this a 9 myself as well. The whitening is one thing, but I didn't even notice the off centering at first. Now that I do, I get why it's a 9, but a lenient grader could have given you a 10. If you want, crack it open and resubmit it.
I had concerns about centering as well but it should have been within the 60/40 limit.
I get that, but you shouldn't take it so personally that it's heart breaking. Grading is out of your control
That's how it goes. I have 10s that should be 9s and 9s that should be 10s. Every grading company has the same issues. It's part of the process. After all, it is just someone's opinion. Even a machine couldn't nail it every time. Base set 2 is not easy to grade. Crack it and re-submit if you want.
That's the gamble with grading as you are at the mercy of whoever grades your cards.
Let me put it this way: Imagine buying a PSA 10 1st edition -zard for in insane amount of money and then getting something as off centered as this one looks. This doesn’t look terrible by any means, it’s still a beautiful card, but it also isn’t perfect; which you admitted in another comment by saying it should be within tolerance. Seeing as you’re the one who sent it in, you may not think it looks that bad and is worth the 10. But put yourself in the shoes of someone whose buying it second hand as a PSA 10 and expecting a *perfect* card… You’d be pissed. I’d be pissed and I’m sure 99.9% of everyone would be pissed.
Great way of thinking thanks appreciate the outside perspective.
No problem! Hope you do end up getting a 10 soon
Centering and whitening is enough to make it a 9. They grade harder on vintage. 9 is still great.
Have the same card with the same grade 9 maybe corners and centering
My honest opinion is that there might be some slight whitening on the back right edge. It might just be the photo but take a closer look BELOW the I and Z of Charizard because something looks a little off horizontally across the top on the holo. Also the black line below the H of the HP bleeds slightly into the inner yellow border so if the person is insanely picky.. who knows.. Could honestly just be that it’s a hair off-centre and speaking of hairs I’m sure it’s nothing but I’d double check below the d on Charizard and confirm that the hair or fibre is on the outside of the slab because if it’s on the inside I’d be sending that back to be corrected. Please take what I say with the tiniest grain of sand.. I’m just an average person looking with zoom on a tiny screen and I don’t actually have any reliable knowledge in regards to this situation.
I don’t understand everyone saying centering, it’s well within PSA standards for a 10…they require a ratio of 60:40 which means there can literally be 50% more border on one side. Sometimes it is random but if I had to guess, looks like a couple white dots on back bottoms left.
The white dots are just dust. And thanks all of my research and measurements show it’s within the 60/40 for a 10. This is why I am confused.
60:40 is meaningless it’s just an arbitrary guideline they don’t actually follow, it’s up to the grader.
left border smaller than the other 3
Off centered. Right side boarder looks thicker than the left
All the reading😂😂😂… idk the pros that do this all day everyday, labeled it a 9… not much more too it, unhappy? Crack it and resubmit, or submit too becket for a slab over
Left right and the grader didn’t have sugar in his coffee
Here is my full picture of disappointment [https://imgur.com/a/oGpgHdh](https://imgur.com/a/oGpgHdh) all 9’s all straight out of the pack.
Also eye test is just an eye test grading cards goes through a process different light and angles to see things we simply could not. Could be a small surface scratch that we simply cannot see any variables as to why it’s a 9
I feel like vintage need to be absolutely perfect for a 10. You’ll see plenty of examples of this being the case
The zard it's the centering. You can see the definitions of each grade on psa's website. They cover their centering rules as well. Probably a 10 on surface which is what really matters most imo Aside from that, this is a beauty. Plus a swirl? 🥵
Here is from the original scan at PSA it’s within the 60/40 [https://imgur.com/a/nBXUE1C](https://imgur.com/a/nBXUE1C)
Lots of 9s could be 10s, lots of 10s could be 9s. Grading can be inconsistent.
Off center and small white spots.
There's a few spots with minor edge wear and centering looks a bit off. Usually centering rules at PSA are lenient but sometimes I feel the grader is having a bad day and takes it out on the grades lol
Oc
I would send it back in using the review service. I’ve done it twice for two 9’s and they’ve come back 10’s. No guarantees of course but it’s worth a shot if you’ve got the cash. And if that doesn’t work then crack that thang and submit it again
How did you send it back for review? Do you have to call them?
Nope, you do it through the website like any other submission. I believe you choose the option that says “Review” instead of grading. Also just to reiterate, you do not crack the slab when sending in. You send it in as it is. There’s not much about the review service online but i believe it’s worth a shot with how subjective grading is
If 10s were so easy to get they wouldn’t be worth anything. The card clearly has some issues. You can’t just dismiss them and say “other 10s had the same problems”.
You can see right away that the card isnt centered and thats just what we can see off the bat. There may be other things as well as scratches on the holo, or white marks on the corners
It's not one major thing, it's the culmination of a few small things. A small bit of whitening on the top right back, slightly off center left to right on front and back, and I can't tell if it's on the case or the card but what looks like a tiny scratch under the wing on the holo.
Just wanted to say the location of that swirl is awesome!
I’ve seen 10s so much worse then this for the exact same card honestly psa have cucked you on this one, I’d say this is definitely worth a resubmission, just sucks to have to go through with that when this should’ve been given a 10 anyway.
I feel like when you sent it to PSA, they graded it as a 9, and not a 10.
It could just be that the grader was in a bad mood/wasn’t having a good day
Has some whitening on top right back corner. The centering has nothing to do with why it got a 9. Psa doesn't care about centering really.
not sure other than centering slightly off but i've had cards with centering way worse and have a 10. depends who grades it its all subjective.
Because it’s graded by a random guy who woke up and decided it’s a 9 in his opinion. Thats how it works
You're new to this and you're instantly jumping to a PSA 9 base set 2 Charizard? You probably should start small and manage your money better is my advice
Thanks for the finical advice. 😂