I’ve graded about 200 cards and have only gotten 3 PSA 8s, all of which I considered 9s when I sent them in. How much variation do 8s have typically in appearance? I came across a few 8s today that just seem wretched to me compared to ones I have gotten back. Not sure if I am being too harsh on cards when I send them in and should send more in I would consider 7 at best… If the front is flawless is this back still within the realm of an 8?
Looks like a PSA 8 to me. If the front is flawless it’s a solid 8.
Guess I better start sending in a lot more cards I had stocked away then…
The lower the grade, the higher the variability in that grade typically.
There are only so many imperfections a card can have to achieve a 9 and especially a 10, so the total ways in which cards can have that amount of damage is low. When you get down to PSA 8 and below you can get 2 points worth of deductions in so many ways. Remember all cards are started as PSA 10’s when grading and drop from there for any deduction. A single edge ding can bring an otherwise 10 all the way to a 6. Look at the masaki promos. There are cards that are 99% gem mint and 1% bent so they get a 6. Then there are loads of base 1st 6’s that just have fairly uniform wear all over. Be it scratches, edge wear etc. So many more ways to find multiple points of deductions.
Assuming no surface wear and decent centering, the difference between an 8 and a 9 I’ve found is whether there are one or two small white edging marks or multiple. The pics you show have corner wear on more than one corner and whitening in multiple places.
I tend to be really tough on my cards too, I have a stack of cards that are almost sure to get 8s, but PSA 8 1st edition base commons aren’t cards I’m scrambling to grade. I will one day, because PSA 8 1st edition base non-holos are going to be the next big thing in the next few years.
Man, if that is an 8… Then I’m probably too harsh on grading, but that’s not a bad thing. In my (minty) eyes the back condition of that card is just horrible, compared to mint.
If the back is a 7, but the front a 9, it’s still a 8 overall. 
Agreed. My PSA 8 Shadowless Charizard has a similar back(slightly better) and I’m very happy with it.
You can find 8s with better backs but scratches on holo, silvering, way off centered, etc… So to answer the OP, there’s a LOT of variations and this is why I didn’t go for a raw copy of that specific card where you just don’t know for sure if it comes back a 6-7-8 unless you hold the card in your hands and can do a proper inspection.
I can understand why many think that it’s too damaged to be NM-Mint given the current balance of strong 8s vs weak 8s. There are significantly more “strong” 8s on the market because the majority of collectors that grade their cards generally favor conditions that border along Mint 9 across most sets. From a sales figures alone (at least in the current graded Pokemon card climate…) maybe 30-40% of collectors would be satisfied with a PSA 8 condition card in their colection, and about 80-90% of people would be happy with at least a Mint 9.
I suppose I am too focused on the back borders nowadays because I’m often searching for raw cards to grade. I know that holo scratches and silvering are generally harder to spot, so I focus on the centering being very good and no obvious white spots on the corners to offset the unknowns.
Though grading-wise I do hope that all cards will rise substantially in value such that I can have more fun grading between PSA 5 and PSA 9 for example, as opposed to always needing to hit a PSA 10 and only being allowed a PSA 9 at lowest.
Wow…great comment. You guys are getting smarter and smarter;)
Yeah I don’t mind 8s for $200+ cards, but this particular 8 would be unacceptable for me. If I’m going to be spending the money I want to be on the “Mint” end of NM-Mint 8…
That’s a good 8 in my book. Much rather have that edgewear instead of a jacked up holofoil like I see with some 8s.
In my experience over time you will find that most cards sell for almost exactly what they’re worth, and buyers as a whole pay equally as close an attention the detail of the card as they do to the grade. I’ve sold the same card in ungraded NM-Mint, 9, high 9 and 10 in the past (more recently a very high quality 9) and I can tell you that in those cases the amount payed was based moreso on the card and not the grade. For instance the high 9 sold for 40% above the current market average at the time. That’s a substantial difference in value, but that’s the market of PSA graded cards for you, though. No two cards are alike.
Lots more people are collecting 8s now… so if I was selling that card now I would most likely ask the price of a regular 8, whatever the amount is these days 
Short answer: There can be a wide variation in appearance for PSA 8 cards. Certain aspects can be very weak while others can be strong bringing the overall grade up.
Each card is unique and fits different collectors. Most of us are very picky but as evidenced by this thread some prefer a flawless front or back. It’s really subjective and PSA can’t just grade one side of the card.
I’m in the market for PSA 9 shadowless holos and I recently had to pass on a Charizard as it didn’t fit my expectations. It was a very close call, but I ended up buying a PSA 8 instead for $800 less. I’m not saying it’s 9 worthy but if I was to judge both cards I’d give them PSA 8.5(BGS 9)each so it was a no brainer value wise.
I trust PSA, but in the end we buy what we like. Hell, I’m sure some of you have even passed on 10s before even if it was in your price range… This is something y’all thought me. Buy the card not the grade. Thank you.