Really disappointed in the grade since I pulled it on my own from a shadowless pack a few months back. The corners and edges are maybe the best I have seen…unfortunately I feel the centering is maybe what threw the grade off from a 10 to a 9 It is a shame because the edges and corners are GEM on both sides!..now my question is:
What do you guys think of the centering? Is it bad enough for it to never get a 10?
Would you try cracking the case and resubbing?
If answered yes to #2, would you consider sending to BGS or doing a BGS Raw ard review before resubbing to PSA? (In hopes of a BGS 9.5 as it may be more attainable than a PSA 10?)
One of the most difficult concepts to accept is that a “pack fresh” card does not guarantee a Gem Mint grade.
If it makes you feel any better, almost everyone here has had the exact experience of pulling a card and not earning a 10. With that said, it is entirely up to you if you want to re-grade the card.
I understand your concept of pack fresh, and have graded many, many sports cards before, as well as some Pokemon. Most grades I could understand, but this I cannot as it is a GEM aside from the possible centering issue. I have had cards come from packs from sealed in much worse shape than this as this is flawless…and this is coming from someone who owns a PSA 10 1st Base Venusaur as well as a ton of other goodies.
My question is the centering if it could achieve a 10 or is it too far off-centered (because like I said everything is absolutely flawless)
The centering looks like it’s what brought it down from a 10 to a 9. There is clearly more border on the top than on the bottom.
It looks like a 9 to me, which can stink when everything else on the card is perfect. This is sometimes the case with Japanese cards where the quality is much better. It can look perfect, but PSA will knock the grade down if it doesn’t fit perfectly within the centering specifications (55/45) for a 10.
Do not try to crack the case. There’s a high chance of damaging the card. If you’re dead set on getting a 10 of this card, you could try resubmitting it to PSA in the holder.
BGS 9.5s are nice, but do not sell for as much as PSA 10s. And PSA is the most widely-accepted grading service in the Pokemon hobby. My advice? Submit to PSA once or twice more in the case (‘review’ service), and if you still get 9s, cut your losses and stop there. A PSA 9 is still a very respectable grade on a card that rare and definitely worthy of a spot in anyone’s collection.
Yeah a crying shame because there is ZERO whitening/chipping on the back corners/edges as well…so nobody would recommend trying to crack get a BGS 9.5? I would almost guarantee it would hit a 9.5 by BGS…which brings the questions is BGS 9.5 more valuable than a PSA 9?
More valuable? Not in Pokemon, PSA reigns supreme I can’t imagine that changing ever (unless PSA cards flood the market so much sellers turn to BGS… but the real collectors would stick with PSA)
Are BGS grades more accurate? Depends who you ask, almost a moot point though in this hobby really.
OC is obvious and very easy to pick up. No point cracking it open and resubmitting as the likelihood of getting the same grade is very high. The card is solid 9 in this instance. My opinion only.
I’ve seen a lot of people saying (not just you) that “Oh, the back looks perfect, flawless, no whitening, edgewear, nicks, dings etc., guaranteed PSA 10!” No. PSA is not like BGS where they evaluate a card based off of specific attributes and then average them all together for a grade. They look at all the stuff BGS does, of course, but PSA has limits for each grade. While the edges and corners may be PSA 10 worthy, the centering is not, so you don’t get a PSA 10. If the centering was bang-on, but you had slight edgewear, you’d get a 9.
PSA hand out wrong grades all the time, especially on high end cards, (my theory is its so as not to mess up their POP reports, devaluing their service over time) They’re not the most reliable. Grades jump from 8 to 10 on regrades, which is absurd.
Crack it open and regrade it. Put minimum grade of 10 if you don’t fancy repeatedly cracking it out. I don’t know how they package raw cards though - so might be better to have it slabbed as whatever and crack it again. Make sure to crack the corners - there’s a youtube video by Charizard authority. They pop open so easily, just be careful.
Wow, some amazing insight here…the other question about bgs is interesting though…as a bgs 9.5 1st edition charizard sold for over $4,000 and other bgs 9.5s are just below the PSA 10 price and are almost always much higher than PSA 9s…well an idea for discussion on this needs its own topic
I’d sure hate to pay a PSA 10 price for a card with that centering. It’s the main reason I don’t crack cases cause customers, or me, would get stuck with strong 9s in 10 cases;)
I’m no professional grader by any means so take this with a grain of salt but you can clearly see there is a lot more border on the top than the bottom. If that’s a no no for PSA you might as well not bother - it won’t grade any better next time since it’s so obvious.
I don’t really get this. Would you personally be happy with a card graded PSA10 knowing fully well that it is OC and a 9 at best? Similarly, would you knowingly sell a card graded PSA10 with the full knowledge that it was graded in error without telling the buyer? This almost fanatical fascination with PSA10 is one of the reasons card prices are going crazy. I just think this is not helping the hobby at all.
Absolutely. The first grader found a problem that dropped it within 9 parameters. I don’t want to be the poor sap who gets it later as a 10 at a 10 price.
Ask yourselves…“How would I feel if I paid 1500.00 for this same card in a 10 then either saw this thread or got the card and saw the centering?”
About your question regarding BGS; BGS is not very popular in the Pokemon hobby but in my opinion is a nice alternative. When it comes to other card hobbies, there are many differing opinions about PSA, BGS and raw. Pricewise, it tends to go PSA 9 < BGS 9.5 < PSA 10 < BGS 10
