So I have a BGS graded Card with the Subgrades being:
Corners: 9
Edges: 9
Surface: 9
Centerin: 7
and it only has a total Grade of 7.5
Shouldnt it have at least have an overall Grade of 8 or even 8.5 ?
Its my only BGS graded card in my collection so Im a total amateur but it just seems to me like they made a mistake calculating the Grade ^^
Would you guys say that its a good idea to send such a card to PSA and hope for a 8 or 9?
I could be completely wrong here (as Iām not to familiar with BGS); but I believe the overall grade can only be 0.5 higher than the lowest sub-grade. So, in your case, the overall grade can only be 7.5 (0.5 higher than 7.0) - no matter how good the other sub-grades are.
I see that actually sounds kinda plausible to me.
If thats the case then its crazy to think there might be Cards out there with Subgrades of maybe even 10 and one shitty centering making them 7s or even worse 
This is correct, if you had three 10 subgrades and one 6 your card could only be max 6.5
Iām sure that would be at least a PSA 8
Yeah possibly a PSA 8, but the pics are quite blurry. If this was a valuable card, Iād definiely send it to PSA but in this case Iād keep at is. I think 7.5 is actually a āfairā grade for this. You might add like $20 value if it was PSA 8.
OP, when you buy BGS cards you actually want a lower centering grade. Iāve seen too many examples of cards getting a 9.5-10 centering subgrade and it inflates the final grade quite a bit.
Straight from the source.
"Here is how we do it!
The overall numerical grade is not a simple average of the four report card grades. Beckett Grading Services uses an algorithm which determines the final grade using the 4 sub grades on the front label of the card holder. The lowest overall grade is the first category to observe because it is the most obvious defect, and the lowest grade is the most heavily weighted in determining the overall grade.
Example :
Centering = 9.5
Corners = 9.5
Edges = 9
Surface = 8
Final grade = 8.5
The reason that this card received an 8.5 is that even though the Surface grade was an 8 (the lowest grade overall), the 9.5 grades on Centering and Corners were strong enough to bring it up a full point to reach the 8.5 level.
Another example :
Centering = 9.5
Corners = 9.5
Edges = 8.5
Surface = 9
Final grade = 9
Upon first glance, it may appear that this card shouldāve received a grade different than a 9. The most this card could receive was .5 (or one-half grade) above the lowest sub-grade. The Edges were the lowest in this case, hence, the card received the overall 9 grade. Even though Centering and Corners received grades of 9.5, a key point to remember is that the minimum requirement to receive a grade of Gem Mint is to have at least three grades of 9.5 and the fourth to be no less than a 9.
Also, please note that the final grade rarely, if ever, exceeds two levels above the lowest of the four characteristic grades. For example, if a card has characteristic grades of Centering 10, Corners 6, Edges 10 and Surface 10, the final grade will be a ā7ā (of which is exactly two grading levels above the lowest characteristic grade)."
Donāt understand why people grade with Beckett honestlyā¦ i donāt like the fact that they use subgrades and how they calculate the overall grade makes no sense at allā¦
PSA for the win
The only way I could see grading with BGS is being sure the card would be a 9.5 or 10. A BGS 10 is worth more than a PSA 10, and if a Pokemon card happens to get a Black Label the value will be insane. PSA 10 1st edition base Zards got for like what, $20,000 now. If a Black Label 1st edition base zard even came about it would easily surpass the $100,000 mark. Easily.
Itās all personal favour.
I know some die-hard Magic Alpha/Beta collectors go BGS because of the sub-grades. An Alpha BGS9 will fetch same or more than PSA10. But due to BGS doing subgrades getting a full Gem Mint BGS set of Alpha is impossible e.g. all Bird of Paradise are printed off center, within limits of PSA for a GEM MT10, but not for a BGS.
Itās just about how strict do you want your cards to be, and Pokemon collectors are happy with the PSA GEM MT10, while some still debate that with strong and weak 10āsā¦
