I’ve been thinking about submitting for PSA for some time and got a lot of factors (sharpness, centering, borders, edge wear, whitening) down and I understand them and their impact on the grade somewhat.
However there’s one thing I don’t quite understand yet: Scratches. In my mind I can divide them roughly into three classes: Visible without special lighting, clearly visible under special lighting and barely visible under special lighting.
I wonder if anyone knows the effect of scratches on their grades from experience? And I’m particularly interested in those scratches that you only see very lightly when looking at the card from a certain angle under very specific lighting conditions.
Scratches on the holo? Card stock? You can score as high as a 10 with both if very very minimal and that is the only flaw with the card, or can knock it down to an 8 all depends on the card in question it is never a cut and dry “this many scratches = PSA 10 etc.”
Okay, thanks, it’s good to finally hear something about it It’s pretty hard to find with no hands-on experience yet.
I thought I read somewhere that a scratch would always bring it down to a 6, but maybe that’s only for really noticeable scratches? I’m talking mainly about scratches on the holo though, of WOTC cards.
Dents/impressions/creases bring cards down to 6s not scratches. To be honest mate the only way to get a proper feel for how cards grade is to submit some yourself.
It’s pretty hard to find with no hands-on experience yet.