All these complaints - inconsistency in grading, high prices to get a card graded and even up charges at times, countless other complaints. They are all complaints of consumers in an antiquated market. These complaints are not seriously addressed until the market changes and the consumers obtain more control. Right now all the authority is in the card companies and grading companies. That's why you see these pricing schemes (up charging) that get every last penny they can get. I would imagine in this type of market the 'guarantee' of PSA is pretty meaningless to 99.9% of its customers. And it is. I would pay PSA with a credit card. At least you'll have more recourse than they would ever want you to know. Here's a hint - a month or so ago, PSA had a major announcement on a video by their CEO. And they dress the guy up like a 14 year old. Who is their perceived target market ? It's 14 year olds and adults who think like 14 year olds. That is who they think they are dealing with.
I voted not sure. Half my collection is graded and half isn't. I think it depends on what you are collecting. The pops on the cards I am collecting are so low that I don't think it matters if it's graded or not. I may consider sending what isn't graded to psa to get them in an authentic slab. I am biding on a card tonight, there are two of them, a psa 5 and a psa 9. I bid 250 two years ago for a raw one with paper loss on the back, 280 won it. Figured I would never see it again, a month later a worse looking raw one sold for 375. I will be bidding on the 5 tonight. I expect it to go for over 375, we'll see. I value it between 425 to 600, but I guess it depends on how much someone wants it.
the 1914 Babe Ruth that sold for over 7 million was graded a 3, I think there are like 14 of them. I don't think it matters if it was a 1,2,3,or 4, I think it would of sold for the same money.
The obvious answer is yes. To charge someone multiple x times because they have a high tier card is madness. What your card is worth has nothing to do with a grading company, they are travelling far outside their lane.
I do not know as a true collector that I would use the word scam as much as what they call a racket. It can be easily manipulated at multiple angles to set the market or reset market….remember, money is involved by all parties. Every card should come back to submitter with standard checklist of issues found with card, of course that would probably slow process down further for an already impatient customer base.
Most of the people I see online are excited to get the box of cards they sent in with meticulous checking of the cards they paid a lot of money to have graded, get mostly 7s & 8s while they try to understand what just happen. For me, I am not impressed at all that the people in charge of your grades are also connected to the largest collection's with the highest value that will be protected at all cost. Gate ways are made to control the flow, & this is not different than every other scam that let's special members have the top spots with cash that comes with the position. Sell hope and clean up the cash with what ever excuse is convenient for the day.
I think the down-charge is a non starter because you’re still paying for the speed of service. You can submit a $10 card to express, but you still got the express service. The upcharge, if I understand it properly, has to do with insuring the card for its total value which is higher than you stated.
Another interesting note relating to the "upcharge", psa charges $4000+ more to grade items valued over $250k, vs items valued up to $250k. Yes, it's a small category, but the psa guarantee limits item claims to $250k. On paper, that extra $ needed to grade a high value item, only benefits one side of the process.
@@35auburn I dunno. If you ship me a million dollar card with only 250k worth of insurance on it, and it gets lost in transit… well, I’d be pissed to lose 750k. Would have been worth $4k all day to net me an extra $746,000 in insurance money.
The biggest problem is there is zero accountability, for the price you pay to grade, grader's notes should be available for everyone. The minimum wage part time workers they have grading your cards do not give a crap if your card gets a 5 or 10. They can make up whatever grade they want and you just have to eat it if you don't agree, there's nothing to dispute on the customer's side.
Yes it’s a scam. The very first card PSA graded (Gretzky Wagner) was known to be trimmed but graded as an 8. Why? Because it was important to the company. I have also seen first hand large volume dealers getting higher grades because of the amount of business they provide the company. Anytime it’s subjective, they can do what they want.
@@JunkWaxHero saw it in person at the National many years ago. Very large dealer sold my friend a raw card telling him it will get graded as an 8. When my friend took it to PSA to get it graded, they gave it a 6. My friend then went back to the dealer to complain. The dealer personally took it back to the PSA booth and they put it in an 8 holder. I only deal in raw. Don’t trust them.
Yes, it is a scam. Card sent for grading. Returns as an 8. Removed card from packaging & sent it back in a month later to same grading company. Returns as a 9. Grading appears to be subjective and depends on the individual doing the grading. It is not scientific. Remove card from packaging & sent to different grader. Returns as a 10. Go figure...
1) What keeps PSA graders from telling their "friends" what cards to send in to receive a grade that will make the card inherently worth more money? For example. Say I have (I do) a '68 Topps #5 NL HR Leaders. According to the pop report, there are 31 9's and only 2 10's. My "friend" at PSA gives me a 10. I sell it for big bucks and we split it. Do this with 50-60 cards and you've made a tidy profit. Granted, the card will need to look nice but with the story about a 3.5 that regraded to an 8, who's to question it? 2) I do believe (and have for over 20 years) that major submitters get preferred grades though. 3) Where there's money to be made, there will always be scams, cheats, rackets, etc.
@@in2rock275 these are great questions and points. I still believe that with most cards, if not all, you’re going to have multiple people looking at the card to determine the grade. I’m not saying your first scenario can’t happen and doesn’t, but it’s unlikely
There has also been proven switcheroos. You send in a high grade popular card (let's say a Connor McDavid Young Gun rookie) and get back your graded 8..and you obviously know it is not the card you sent in because the centering was perfect on the one you sent in, and the one you get back in the slab is slightly off...
@@JunkWaxHero Watch the new Hockey Card Gong Show. One of the guys on that show made a comment a few shows back about how he got back a card that was different than what he sent in...the show on Monday is about fake autos authenticated by psa.
@@sportsfix6975 YES! Forgot about that one. EXACTLY why I don't send in my '68 Topps which haven't been touched in over 50 years. If I've got some 8's or 9's, they're going to get swapped. Thanks!
Just start at the beginning. David Hall owned the t206 Wagner. It was trimmed. He owned the company. Its an 8. Then it was favored grades for the early psa authorized dealers. Then came the "friends of Joe" era. Then it was the "preferred" bulk customers guaranteed certain % 10's and only paying $3 a card. Gary Moser The Please Submit Again game. The only value is to authenticate the card. Yes, there was a problem with dealers overgrading and altering cards. Grading replaced that problem with submit until you get an overgraded card and putting numbers on the same altered cards. Might have even increased the incentive to alter cards.
Ive been up-charged 3 times, I called each time and they told me that the value of the card was too high BUT they couldn’t give me how they determine that, and I knew they couldn’t Because I own the entire high population of that card!!
For vintage, grading helps insure that cards are authentic. For non experts, it helps protect buyers against fake/altered cards. I also think PSA grading has helped the signed rookie/card market flourish. It gives buyer reassurance that the autos are real. There are flaws in grading, for sure, but most buyers would prefer buying a card slabbed then unflagged. It also helps in selling cards
Not a scam per se, but really not my thing. I’ve purchased slabbed cards mostly for display of my favorite players, otherwise I collect raw. I’ve never sent a card in for grading, but if or when I do, I’m personally avoiding PSA. Just something about them-I don’t know. I’ll do SGC and really want to try TAG.
I would like it if PSA , SGC, etc would introduce us to WHO is doing the grading & what experience do they have. How are they trained, how many cards a day does each grader grade during a shift? Is it just one opinion that decides the grade? I got lots of questions! Why should cards be up charged based on value of the card, ridiculous! A card is a card is a card! Will we ever get answers!
The reason why PSA slabs are expensive is because of the upcharges. Those who submit to them have to find a way to recoup the costs for paying more than what was advertised. Overall, PSA is a very dishonest company. They do not have standards. Being in the news for the wrong reasons (coupled with low scores across the customer service, turnaround times and quality arena) cost them their #1 ranking as they fell to #3. Now they are engaging in false advertising claiming faster turnaround times. But of course don't say that to their owned shops, the dealers and influencers just in it for the money because they will call you a hater and don't know what you are talking about. Those people have no standards as well.
I really resent what it's done to the value of "raw" cards. If your card isn't graded, it's like you're the poor kid in middle school wearing off-brand sneakers, subjecting you to ridicule from the cool kids. I also resent the fact that these are self-appointed experts who don't exactly undergo years of rigorous training to become a grader. Anyone can hang out their shingle.
I believe that grading is a scam, but would argue that authentication is not. Regardless of how well-trained a grader is, there will always be too much subjectivity (and too many variables) in grading. Authentication, on the other hand, is objective. Either a card is authentic, or it is not. Cataloged authentication as a byproduct of grading is the sole reason I still submit cards (primarily to CGC because the slab is way nicer imo). I'd love for there to be a successful, viable mainstream option for exclusively authenticating and slabbing cards. No grades. Just clean, well-made slabs from a reputable authority and no b.s. upcharging or shadiness.
It is difficult to say the entire grading process is a scam, but there are well documented examples of grading scams. Easy to start with PSA 00000001, and there's far too many examples of known trimmed/altered cards getting authenticated, preferential grading, uncorrected issues, to say the grading isn't a scam.
Since i buy most of my cards off eBay, i love slabs for authentication and encapsulation. However i do think grading is a scam simply because companies like PSA can create manufactured scarcity. This inflates prices that would be impossible when we were buying cards raw in the 80’s/90’s. I will give you an example: I remember buying a raw 1984 Topps Dan Marino rookie in 1997. The Beckett Guide had it listed between $70-$140. The dealer i bought it off at the time had 4 of them that were way off centered to very well centered. The way off centered was $70 and the very well centered was $140. A PSA 10 Marino Rookie today goes for $4,000-$5,000. If that dealer would have priced the very well centered Marino in 1997 for thousands of dollars then, he would have been laughed by every buyer. Nobody would have payed that price because it’s subjective as $140 was the max Beckett price. But because the slab in 2024 says PSA 10 and it is considered a low pop, it goes for thousands of dollars. Yet if PSA graded it at PSA 9 (and most people can’t tell the difference between a 9 and 10, the 9 goes for $350 (which is roughly the rate of inflation as to what it was worth in 1997). This is how PSA grading creates an inflated market that is pure subjective and i say it’s a scam.
It’s a scam because there is no difference between a PSA 9 and 10. You can submit that card tomorrow and get a 9, submit again and get a 10. They have created 2 markets (Mint and GemMint) for the same type of card! That is Bernie Madoff level madness! Lol
If PSA grading was more lenient 15+ years ago, and we value those grades less today, then what is to say that the same thing won't happen 15 years from now? Will your PSA 9 be looked at as "closer to a 6" in the future as grading practices and technology evolves?
PSA has forgotten that their name includes the word Professional. Upcharges seem to make it more likely to get a better grade from the company, because they pay more for the same service. A $1 Million card goes into the same type of slab as a $100 card, so why are they paying more? You shouldn't need to make more money for your guarantee, if you are the premier card graders you claim to be. No fake cards certified as real, means you never have to worry about paying out for a fake card getting certified by you. The "Scam" is them claiming to be Professional.
I worked for a grading company for a year. I don't think it's a scam overall but there are things that some companies do that imo are scammy. Upcharging and pop control software are both very scammy (psa). Giving better grades to friends of the company is super scammy (bgs). I have no scam criticism of the companies i use, sgc and dsg, which is a big reason i use them.
It’s not a scam, but it’s inconsistent and frustrating. There is no accountability for the grader, and that is its greatest flaw. I, personally, don’t have a problem with the up charge. You are going to make more money, and they want to make more money. Whatever. It’s annoying but, it is what it is, and I get that. I am just so sick of watching videos where cards look amazing but get a three, and a similar looking card gets a nine or 10. Makes no sense. We need grader notes!
The whole idea of them (PSA and others) making the customer assign a value to the card before grading is kinda crazy, and then they come back and say the value of your card is worth more, we need more money from if you want this graded lol! That’s all pretty crazy. No grader notes is kinda crazy too! PSA has damaged a few of my cards as well. Oh ya … one more big one!… PSA will only give half grades now to high end customers like Ken Golden wtf!!?! Cheers man 🤙🏻
@@JunkWaxHero hmm I must be wrong! I thought they had stopped giving halfs and that the 8.5 curry on the Netflix show was a special thing they had allowed going against their new policy or something. I even talked with a Golden employee about it because I had something I was considering auctioning w them and she was excited they allowed a half grade and that it was a rare exception! Or maybe it’s certain years or sets aren’t given half’s anymore? I ll have to do more research. 🤙🏻
I don't think it's a scam. It's a service that generally serves it's purpose. It's far from perfect, and there are things they can do to make it un-scammy (like grader notes, more info on upcharges), but there are no guarantees in grades. You are paying those companies for their opinions and then render them. They authenticate the cards for you, and then provide an opinion as to what condition it is in. The real goal of the grading is to even the playing field in terms of buyer and seller. Instead of every seller thinking their card is gem mint, its provides a jumping-off point for prices and sales.
I wouldn't say grading itself is a scam. But I think the values that come from it have corrupted the hobby because now it's about the money. I've always said that the cash value of a gem mint 10 card should be exactly the same as the high Book value of the raw card. Because the idea is that the company is just certifying that the card is in the condition that it's in. I don't see why the certification process makes it several times more valuable. Population reports are irrelevant. I've been meaning to write about this in full detail on my blog (The Collective Mind).
The principles of grading aren’t a scam but the companies who run it and have bastardised it in to a complete numbers game could well be called scam artists.
I am extremely skeptical of the whole process. I will buy a graded card, mostly vintage, on ebay on occasion. Besides that, i refuse to pay and go through the hassle myself. I rather have the cash invested in good solid ungraded cards most often bought in bulk. I guess ill be in the camp who doesn't trust the big players and never will.
Scam? No. In need of major innovation yes. When these companies started popping up in the 90’s having a group of experts with ways to magnify and really pick apart the cards for the grade was what could be provided and what was sufficient for the time. Now the companies are scaled up and there is so much money in the space that cards are seen as a potential investment. We have the technology to grade cards with computers. Also the ability to be transparent and as objective as possible. I’ve seen that company that uses AI and I have personally graded a couple low dollar cards with TAG. I had a great experience with TAG and I get why they’re gaining a niche following. With how much money people will pay for a 10 vs a 7-9 that would look similar for much less money, the margin for error on this is too high and should be standardized and the best way to do so I see is through technology and transparency.
Upcharge doesn’t make sense because the guarantee is not available to the person who submitted the card. Autos are also not part of the guarantee. I’d like some transparency on guarantee payouts, I’d guess lower end cards are being upcharged but guarantee is only being used on bigger cards. The fact that multiple graders look at a card makes the inconsistency worse. Tag needs to be refined, I don’t want the grade impacted by flaws you can’t see with the naked eye or don’t impact eye appeal.
It’d be interesting to run some sales data comparisons on the same card + grade, but across older vs. newer PSA slabs. Just to see if the newer slabs truly command any premium. It’s always interesting when I see listings promoting “new slab” or “freshly slabbed” - is that really a factor? Is it more the consumer mindset of just wanting the newest thing or more about tougher grading standards = better quality card? Maybe it’s both.
Idk, on one hand, i feel if you can't grade your own cards you're in the wrong hobby. On the other hand, it can be helpful if buying cards online/not in person. So i can see a need for grading. A better question would be "is PSA a scam?" To which, the answer is YES!
I don't understand why TAG grading hasn't taken off more since you get a breakdown of why the card graded as it did. Yes, PSA turnaround times would increase if they offered a breakdown but I'd wait a few more days to see why my 3 didn't get an 8. However, PSA won't need to adopt this policy as long as people keep sending them cards. Until they do though, they really don't have to explain themselves.
TAG grading is like maijuana (for medicinal purposes). If collectors find out TAG's AI grading is right on the money, those top grading companies would be out of business since they rely on human judgement.
I can go either way on this. I’ve only submitted to PSA once. On one hand, I got a 9 on a rare Jordan which is currently a pop 1 with none higher, making it a very valuable card. In that same submission, my Jeter RC, which I thought looked perfect, got a random 5 out of nowhere. So I think it really comes down to consistency. That’s what people are looking for. And paying for.
@@JunkWaxHero Exactly. With no explanation, it’s very easy to simply say it’s a scam. Especially when you were expecting a completely different result.
I don’t think that it is a scam, but I absolutely feel like the system is flawed and is open to lots of corruption. I have a lot of experience in the world of jewelry. The most prestigious and respected grader and certification on loose diamonds and colored stones is the GIA (geological institute of America). They are a non-profit institution and the grading fees cover the costs of their campuses where they do the grading, and where they train new gemologists. They charge based on stone size and not stone value (diamonds under 1 carat are one price), diamonds 1-2.0 carat are another price, …etc. They do this so that they are not incentivized to give better grades for financial gain. All of the GIA laboratories around the world are set up with the exact same lighting and graders are randomly tested to maximize consistency in grading standards. PSA and the grading companies can learn from some of these practices.
I dont think grading is a a scam but... Beyond the inconsistency in grading everyone seems to complain about (psa on their website say a gem card can be 60/40 to 55/45 centered - wth?), what i dont agree with is that they are not impartial on value - meaning they should just grade and not try to value cards. Nor should they be involved with a transactional service. There is definitely a grey area there for me.
I don't think it's a scam. I'm returning to the hobby after 33 years. Have yet to send anything to be graded. I have two graded cards I received as gifts. Think they look great. Love the protection slabs offer. I am a very low budget collector. Love that I can get raw or non 10 cards for a good price. Long story short, I think it's slightly over hyped, but glad it benefits my budget. If the market deems a slabbed PSA more valuable than a slab from a different company, that isn't on the grading companies.
The reason why a slabbed PSA card is valuable is because the upcharge costs. As for you being a collector......they go to SGC. PSA is only those just in it for the money. I wouldn't want to do business with PSA or any of their owned shops. Buy the slabs but don't do the business
I graded a few hundred slabs in 2023, mostly Kobe and MJ from 90s. It was the only way to monetize the somewhat valuable cards I held properly. Even at today's prices 96 Kobe is valuable. I let PSA membership expire and I will never grade anything again. Ultra modern cards are a huge scam. Only flippers and scammers can sustain all those worthless cards. Someone will buy the junk if it is flashy and marketed well.
Its more of a con than a scam the difference is a con requires a mark who doesnt realize he is being conned and in the perfect con the mark is happy and the conman is happy
Bottom line Ai scan/grading! I like having my collection “protected” ….Rickey Henderson has some legs on the grading but 1980 was a crap year for quality cardboard
Psa guarantee doesn't guarantee price though. You grade today and that card is worth 100k but go to sell a year later, that same card could be 5 k. So using the psa guarantee isn't even a logical reason.
The Rickey Henderson rookie card has been impossible to 10 since well before Nat T's takeover of PSA... and there really should be an independent group that audits the grading companies... love the idea of using TAG as a second opinion grader... otherwise we're a bunch of self interested individuals complaining about low grades...
@@JunkWaxHero audit has to be as transparent as possible but opaque enough so that the grading companies can't sniff it out... 100 cards from all eras, variety of conditions... send them to PSA and record the results, crack em' and send them to SGC, etc... ideally there would be a few groups doing this, so 2-300 cards total... the grading cos. would of course b*tch and moan but we could all point to a few years of multiple attempts to grade the same cards and see how inconsistent the results really are... and TAG is the 'safety check' because their strength is the amount of detailed data they provide on every card which would help to insure that the condition of any individual card doesn't change over the course of several years of cracking and resubmitting...
As with any business there's always opportunity for exploits. I believe there are some aspects of the general industry that are borderline. I also believe it gives life to a Hobby that can get over produced by Topps and Panini by at least creating value to a "perfect" card that may be saturated in the market otherwise.
I will never grade a card. However I will buy grades cards as they are pennies on the dollar and in many instances not much more than raw from 8 & below. Yet the card is protected in a slab! What a scameroo..... Perception makes card grading more of a GRIFT... I have used the word Scam because it has elements of Both Grifts and the Con. This a Scam!
The grading of cards , combined with no announced number of cards , is the sketchy part. Not everyone gets cards graded , but psa uncharge tell me they have inside info as to the print run.
When you say OSA looks at cards differently.....if something cannot be seen with the naked eye .....wtf! Do we as a hobby take out magnifiers to enjoy our cards?! WTF! Absolutely ridiculous. Millions have partaken of the Kool Aid!
It’s not a scam but it’s not right. If they all used an automated scanning system from the same manufacturer with A.I. then all the grading would be consistent. Take the human element out of the process.
The inverse to the comment that those who claim scam are those who got bad grades .......Those who will not admit the shady BS that goes on with grading is a classic example of Cognitive Dissonance.
Not a scam but my thing is Ive had a fe cards damaged at PSA and I know they did and they graded card lower because of damage during assembly process card is smashed and they regrade to reflect damage they cause
I believe its a scam for up charging and what if the grader is having a bad day baseball collector Mike did a video on how many cards psa said where trimmed or altered and sent them off to sgc and they all got a grade non came back trimmed or altered understand its different standards but come on now psa
No, grading is not a scam. It does seem like the companies (CGC and SGC) having the lesser 10 multiplier are more consistent in their grading. At the same time, grading companies priding themselves (i.e., PSA and BGS) on their highest multiplier appear more subjective in their grading determinations. With all of this said, card brands (particularly Fanatics) and card graders are doing really well at selling hype, and that's why, I think, that there is so much head-scratching going on with card-grading, particularly in perceived grades versus realized grades wherever the cards are submitted.
That's why SGC and CGC are your #1 and #2 grading companies overall. Grading the most number of cards (the argument the PSA fanboys, their owned shops/dealers use) doesn't matter.
Grading is not a scam, it is a necessary evil (perhaps). Bottom line, if you want to sell a card that is not graded, you are extremely limited! Most sites won’t touch cards unless they’re graded
I should give Greg Morris, a call, and tell them their selling raw vintage business model isn't working. Hopefully, they can do better, and I'll be able to save more money for the next time.
@@ACD1994 I actually have- they are EXTREMELY picky on what they will accept raw and they say 5k minimum but you BETTER demonstrate more or you’ll be rebuffed. And by the way, they sell on eBay just like everyone else. I’m talking about selling cards on other platforms!! Goldin, Pwcc (fanatics), REA, on and on. They want graded cards for ease of sale, period
They are either fanboys, are backed and endorsed by PSA, or just "in it for the money" It makes me so sick may stop watching those channels altogether.
The comments here (most of which I agree with) indicate way more than 19% of viewers believe grading is a scam. It does not come close to matching the percentages you quoted in the video.
@@JunkWaxHero hahahahaha.....not my video. Responding to your video. I do not have such newsletter. ;)now I have an even 10 .....you should thank me .....making your RUclips algorithm go up! :)
It's a scam all day long and how I arrived at that conclusion let's start at the not so obvious at the lower levels ie., A unassuming RUclipsr starts a hobby channel purely for the love of sharing their collection and their audience grows to that of an "influencer" status now add that to other YT's in the same said hobby circle sharing their love of the hobby with others only to graduate to a unofficial YT club of schmoozing each other with gift packages to one another then over time this elevates to voting for each other into the YT hobby hall of fame in the offing the card companies take notice and woo the hobby 'influencers' with an image of their own card and other incentives. Soon these same hobby influencers are singing the praises of the newest and latest releases of the card manufacturers. Conflict of interest much? Now back to the highest levels of scam involvement that is PSA's once cozy love affair with one-time PWCC monthly showing of emblazoned full-page ads in the SMR periodicals that is before the FBI showed up. Whoops where did PWCC go with those full color ads? If card grading Co's had one job it was to grade cards only NOT to control the market values is ongoing racket of looking out for their hobby friends in high places so only the select few hobby friends have 10's for high-end cards is unfair and unjust!
When you say PSA looks at cards differently.....if something cannot be seen with the naked eye .....wtf! Do we as a hobby take out magnifiers to enjoy our cards?! WTF! Absolutely ridiculous. Millions have partaken of the Kool Aid!
Is grading a scam?
All these complaints - inconsistency in grading, high prices to get a card graded and even up charges at times, countless other complaints. They are all complaints of consumers in an antiquated market. These complaints are not seriously addressed until the market changes and the consumers obtain more control. Right now all the authority is in the card companies and grading companies. That's why you see these pricing schemes (up charging) that get every last penny they can get. I would imagine in this type of market the 'guarantee' of PSA is pretty meaningless to 99.9% of its customers. And it is. I would pay PSA with a credit card. At least you'll have more recourse than they would ever want you to know.
Here's a hint - a month or so ago, PSA had a major announcement on a video by their CEO. And they dress the guy up like a 14 year old. Who is their perceived target market ? It's 14 year olds and adults who think like 14 year olds. That is who they think they are dealing with.
I voted not sure. Half my collection is graded and half isn't. I think it depends on what you are collecting. The pops on the cards I am collecting are so low that I don't think it matters if it's graded or not. I may consider sending what isn't graded to psa to get them in an authentic slab. I am biding on a card tonight, there are two of them, a psa 5 and a psa 9. I bid 250 two years ago for a raw one with paper loss on the back, 280 won it. Figured I would never see it again, a month later a worse looking raw one sold for 375. I will be bidding on the 5 tonight. I expect it to go for over 375, we'll see. I value it between 425 to 600, but I guess it depends on how much someone wants it.
@@joeschmoe2011 good comment
@@bryanhogamier3039 good luck!
the 1914 Babe Ruth that sold for over 7 million was graded a 3, I think there are like 14 of them. I don't think it matters if it was a 1,2,3,or 4, I think it would of sold for the same money.
Pop count control is exactly why I call grading a scam. Also, how can you say charging more to grade a card because it is worth more? Huge scam
The obvious answer is yes. To charge someone multiple x times because they have a high tier card is madness. What your card is worth has nothing to do with a grading company, they are travelling far outside their lane.
I do not know as a true collector that I would use the word scam as much as what they call a racket. It can be easily manipulated at multiple angles to set the market or reset market….remember, money is involved by all parties. Every card should come back to submitter with standard checklist of issues found with card, of course that would probably slow process down further for an already impatient customer base.
Most of the people I see online are excited to get the box of cards they sent in with meticulous checking of the cards they paid a lot of money to have graded, get mostly 7s & 8s while they try to understand what just happen. For me, I am not impressed at all that the people in charge of your grades are also connected to the largest collection's with the highest value that will be protected at all cost. Gate ways are made to control the flow, & this is not different than every other scam that let's special members have the top spots with cash that comes with the position. Sell hope and clean up the cash with what ever excuse is convenient for the day.
To me, one thing that makes upcharging seem like a scam is the fact that PSA doesn't "downcharge" when the value of the card is less than expected.
Ha good one
I think the down-charge is a non starter because you’re still paying for the speed of service. You can submit a $10 card to express, but you still got the express service. The upcharge, if I understand it properly, has to do with insuring the card for its total value which is higher than you stated.
Another interesting note relating to the "upcharge", psa charges $4000+ more to grade items valued over $250k, vs items valued up to $250k.
Yes, it's a small category, but the psa guarantee limits item claims to $250k.
On paper, that extra $ needed to grade a high value item, only benefits one side of the process.
@@35auburn very interesting!
@@35auburn I dunno. If you ship me a million dollar card with only 250k worth of insurance on it, and it gets lost in transit… well, I’d be pissed to lose 750k. Would have been worth $4k all day to net me an extra $746,000 in insurance money.
The biggest problem is there is zero accountability, for the price you pay to grade, grader's notes should be available for everyone. The minimum wage part time workers they have grading your cards do not give a crap if your card gets a 5 or 10. They can make up whatever grade they want and you just have to eat it if you don't agree, there's nothing to dispute on the customer's side.
Remember, It was common knowledge back in the day that the T206 Honus Wagner was trimmed. Yet it was graded PSA NM/MT 8
Yes it’s a scam. The very first card PSA graded (Gretzky Wagner) was known to be trimmed but graded as an 8. Why? Because it was important to the company. I have also seen first hand large volume dealers getting higher grades because of the amount of business they provide the company. Anytime it’s subjective, they can do what they want.
@@mrcubman14 valid criticisms. How do you know the large volume dealers got better grades though?
Truth is it wasn't even the first card graded. Psa saved that serial number for an important card. Mike baker talks about it in an interview
@@richardbianco9674 interesting!
@@JunkWaxHero saw it in person at the National many years ago. Very large dealer sold my friend a raw card telling him it will get graded as an 8. When my friend took it to PSA to get it graded, they gave it a 6. My friend then went back to the dealer to complain. The dealer personally took it back to the PSA booth and they put it in an 8 holder. I only deal in raw. Don’t trust them.
@@mrcubman14 N = 1 = Anecdotal.
Yes, it is a scam. Card sent for grading. Returns as an 8. Removed card from packaging & sent it back in a month later to same grading company. Returns as a 9. Grading appears to be subjective and depends on the individual doing the grading. It is not scientific. Remove card from packaging & sent to different grader. Returns as a 10. Go figure...
Sounds like flaws and inconsistency. Where’s the scam?
for what they charge in grading fees especially vs SGC or CGC, PSA should supply grader's notes at certain service levels
Agreed
1) What keeps PSA graders from telling their "friends" what cards to send in to receive a grade that will make the card inherently worth more money? For example. Say I have (I do) a '68 Topps #5 NL HR Leaders. According to the pop report, there are 31 9's and only 2 10's. My "friend" at PSA gives me a 10. I sell it for big bucks and we split it. Do this with 50-60 cards and you've made a tidy profit. Granted, the card will need to look nice but with the story about a 3.5 that regraded to an 8, who's to question it?
2) I do believe (and have for over 20 years) that major submitters get preferred grades though.
3) Where there's money to be made, there will always be scams, cheats, rackets, etc.
@@in2rock275 these are great questions and points. I still believe that with most cards, if not all, you’re going to have multiple people looking at the card to determine the grade. I’m not saying your first scenario can’t happen and doesn’t, but it’s unlikely
There has also been proven switcheroos. You send in a high grade popular card (let's say a Connor McDavid Young Gun rookie) and get back your graded 8..and you obviously know it is not the card you sent in because the centering was perfect on the one you sent in, and the one you get back in the slab is slightly off...
@@sportsfix6975 proven how?
@@JunkWaxHero Watch the new Hockey Card Gong Show. One of the guys on that show made a comment a few shows back about how he got back a card that was different than what he sent in...the show on Monday is about fake autos authenticated by psa.
@@sportsfix6975 YES! Forgot about that one. EXACTLY why I don't send in my '68 Topps which haven't been touched in over 50 years. If I've got some 8's or 9's, they're going to get swapped. Thanks!
Just start at the beginning. David Hall owned the t206 Wagner. It was trimmed. He owned the company. Its an 8.
Then it was favored grades for the early psa authorized dealers.
Then came the "friends of Joe" era.
Then it was the "preferred" bulk customers guaranteed certain % 10's and only paying $3 a card.
Gary Moser
The Please Submit Again game.
The only value is to authenticate the card.
Yes, there was a problem with dealers overgrading and altering cards. Grading replaced that problem with submit until you get an overgraded card and putting numbers on the same altered cards. Might have even increased the incentive to alter cards.
Ive been up-charged 3 times, I called each time and they told me that the value of the card was too high BUT they couldn’t give me how they determine that, and I knew they couldn’t Because I own the entire high population of that card!!
Now this is interesting
For vintage, grading helps insure that cards are authentic. For non experts, it helps protect buyers against fake/altered cards. I also think PSA grading has helped the signed rookie/card market flourish. It gives buyer reassurance that the autos are real. There are flaws in grading, for sure, but most buyers would prefer buying a card slabbed then unflagged. It also helps in selling cards
Not a scam per se, but really not my thing. I’ve purchased slabbed cards mostly for display of my favorite players, otherwise I collect raw. I’ve never sent a card in for grading, but if or when I do, I’m personally avoiding PSA. Just something about them-I don’t know. I’ll do SGC and really want to try TAG.
I would like it if PSA , SGC, etc would introduce us to WHO is doing the grading & what experience do they have. How are they trained, how many cards a day does each grader grade during a shift? Is it just one opinion that decides the grade? I got lots of questions! Why should cards be up charged based on value of the card, ridiculous! A card is a card is a card! Will we ever get answers!
It's kind of in the neutral, in my opinion 🤣🤣 Grading is not perfect, but nothing is perfect 🤷♂️ I just want to know if the card is AUTHENTIC😁
Saying grading is "deeply flawed" is like saying Lizzo is "big boned!" Grading is a scam, period.
Of course it’s a scam! No accountability. . . How can you “re-submit “ a card and get A DIFFERENT GRADE?! Is it “that grade” or isn’t it!
The reason why PSA slabs are expensive is because of the upcharges. Those who submit to them have to find a way to recoup the costs for paying more than what was advertised.
Overall, PSA is a very dishonest company. They do not have standards. Being in the news for the wrong reasons (coupled with low scores across the customer service, turnaround times and quality arena) cost them their #1 ranking as they fell to #3. Now they are engaging in false advertising claiming faster turnaround times.
But of course don't say that to their owned shops, the dealers and influencers just in it for the money because they will call you a hater and don't know what you are talking about. Those people have no standards as well.
I really resent what it's done to the value of "raw" cards. If your card isn't graded, it's like you're the poor kid in middle school wearing off-brand sneakers, subjecting you to ridicule from the cool kids. I also resent the fact that these are self-appointed experts who don't exactly undergo years of rigorous training to become a grader. Anyone can hang out their shingle.
I believe that grading is a scam, but would argue that authentication is not. Regardless of how well-trained a grader is, there will always be too much subjectivity (and too many variables) in grading. Authentication, on the other hand, is objective. Either a card is authentic, or it is not. Cataloged authentication as a byproduct of grading is the sole reason I still submit cards (primarily to CGC because the slab is way nicer imo).
I'd love for there to be a successful, viable mainstream option for exclusively authenticating and slabbing cards. No grades. Just clean, well-made slabs from a reputable authority and no b.s. upcharging or shadiness.
That's a great idea. You could start this business and make a bundle. Many of us would consider that service.
It is difficult to say the entire grading process is a scam, but there are well documented examples of grading scams.
Easy to start with PSA 00000001, and there's far too many examples of known trimmed/altered cards getting authenticated, preferential grading, uncorrected issues, to say the grading isn't a scam.
Yes, there are definitely scams and very questionable things in the industry. And obvious “mistakes” like the Wagner 1.
@@35auburn fake autos that get authenticated is a huge problem as well
Since i buy most of my cards off eBay, i love slabs for authentication and encapsulation. However i do think grading is a scam simply because companies like PSA can create manufactured scarcity. This inflates prices that would be impossible when we were buying cards raw in the 80’s/90’s. I will give you an example:
I remember buying a raw 1984 Topps Dan Marino rookie in 1997. The Beckett Guide had it listed between $70-$140. The dealer i bought it off at the time had 4 of them that were way off centered to very well centered. The way off centered was $70 and the very well centered was $140. A PSA 10 Marino Rookie today goes for $4,000-$5,000. If that dealer would have priced the very well centered Marino in 1997 for thousands of dollars then, he would have been laughed by every buyer. Nobody would have payed that price because it’s subjective as $140 was the max Beckett price. But because the slab in 2024 says PSA 10 and it is considered a low pop, it goes for thousands of dollars. Yet if PSA graded it at PSA 9 (and most people can’t tell the difference between a 9 and 10, the 9 goes for $350 (which is roughly the rate of inflation as to what it was worth in 1997). This is how PSA grading creates an inflated market that is pure subjective and i say it’s a scam.
This is a very thoughtful answer, Chris, but I still don’t see how it makes it a scam. Maybe a racket?
It’s a scam because there is no difference between a PSA 9 and 10. You can submit that card tomorrow and get a 9, submit again and get a 10. They have created 2 markets (Mint and GemMint) for the same type of card! That is Bernie Madoff level madness! Lol
@@chrisolivo6591 lol I always enjoy your comments, even when I disagree, and that’s a great accomplishment.
If PSA grading was more lenient 15+ years ago, and we value those grades less today, then what is to say that the same thing won't happen 15 years from now? Will your PSA 9 be looked at as "closer to a 6" in the future as grading practices and technology evolves?
@@skymall9681 right!
PSA has forgotten that their name includes the word Professional. Upcharges seem to make it more likely to get a better grade from the company, because they pay more for the same service. A $1 Million card goes into the same type of slab as a $100 card, so why are they paying more? You shouldn't need to make more money for your guarantee, if you are the premier card graders you claim to be. No fake cards certified as real, means you never have to worry about paying out for a fake card getting certified by you. The "Scam" is them claiming to be Professional.
I worked for a grading company for a year. I don't think it's a scam overall but there are things that some companies do that imo are scammy. Upcharging and pop control software are both very scammy (psa). Giving better grades to friends of the company is super scammy (bgs). I have no scam criticism of the companies i use, sgc and dsg, which is a big reason i use them.
It’s not a scam, but it’s inconsistent and frustrating. There is no accountability for the grader, and that is its greatest flaw.
I, personally, don’t have a problem with the up charge. You are going to make more money, and they want to make more money. Whatever. It’s annoying but, it is what it is, and I get that.
I am just so sick of watching videos where cards look amazing but get a three, and a similar looking card gets a nine or 10. Makes no sense. We need grader notes!
Good comment
The whole idea of them (PSA and others) making the customer assign a value to the card before grading is kinda crazy, and then they come back and say the value of your card is worth more, we need more money from if you want this graded lol! That’s all pretty crazy. No grader notes is kinda crazy too! PSA has damaged a few of my cards as well. Oh ya … one more big one!… PSA will only give half grades now to high end customers like Ken Golden wtf!!?!
Cheers man 🤙🏻
I’m not a high end customer and I got a half grade in a recent order. I’ve sent them maybe 30 cards this year?
@@JunkWaxHero hmm I must be wrong! I thought they had stopped giving halfs and that the 8.5 curry on the Netflix show was a special thing they had allowed going against their new policy or something. I even talked with a Golden employee about it because I had something I was considering auctioning w them and she was excited they allowed a half grade and that it was a rare exception! Or maybe it’s certain years or sets aren’t given half’s anymore? I ll have to do more research. 🤙🏻
@@sidezskateshop1556 they don’t do a lot of half grades for sure, but there are some
I don't think it's a scam. It's a service that generally serves it's purpose. It's far from perfect, and there are things they can do to make it un-scammy (like grader notes, more info on upcharges), but there are no guarantees in grades. You are paying those companies for their opinions and then render them. They authenticate the cards for you, and then provide an opinion as to what condition it is in. The real goal of the grading is to even the playing field in terms of buyer and seller. Instead of every seller thinking their card is gem mint, its provides a jumping-off point for prices and sales.
Good comment, Allon
I wouldn't say grading itself is a scam. But I think the values that come from it have corrupted the hobby because now it's about the money.
I've always said that the cash value of a gem mint 10 card should be exactly the same as the high Book value of the raw card. Because the idea is that the company is just certifying that the card is in the condition that it's in. I don't see why the certification process makes it several times more valuable. Population reports are irrelevant.
I've been meaning to write about this in full detail on my blog (The Collective Mind).
Please send me the link when you do!
@@JunkWaxHero thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/2024/08/why-i-am-not-into-grading.html
@@JunkWaxHero thecollectivemind.blogspot.com/2024/08/why-i-am-not-into-grading.html
I understand people who use psa saying that because of the inconsistency. Ive never heard an SGC fan feel the same way .
The principles of grading aren’t a scam but the companies who run it and have bastardised it in to a complete numbers game could well be called scam artists.
I am extremely skeptical of the whole process. I will buy a graded card, mostly vintage, on ebay on occasion. Besides that, i refuse to pay and go through the hassle myself. I rather have the cash invested in good solid ungraded cards most often bought in bulk. I guess ill be in the camp who doesn't trust the big players and never will.
Scam? No. In need of major innovation yes. When these companies started popping up in the 90’s having a group of experts with ways to magnify and really pick apart the cards for the grade was what could be provided and what was sufficient for the time. Now the companies are scaled up and there is so much money in the space that cards are seen as a potential investment. We have the technology to grade cards with computers. Also the ability to be transparent and as objective as possible. I’ve seen that company that uses AI and I have personally graded a couple low dollar cards with TAG. I had a great experience with TAG and I get why they’re gaining a niche following. With how much money people will pay for a 10 vs a 7-9 that would look similar for much less money, the margin for error on this is too high and should be standardized and the best way to do so I see is through technology and transparency.
Upcharge doesn’t make sense because the guarantee is not available to the person who submitted the card. Autos are also not part of the guarantee. I’d like some transparency on guarantee payouts, I’d guess lower end cards are being upcharged but guarantee is only being used on bigger cards.
The fact that multiple graders look at a card makes the inconsistency worse.
Tag needs to be refined, I don’t want the grade impacted by flaws you can’t see with the naked eye or don’t impact eye appeal.
Good comment
It’d be interesting to run some sales data comparisons on the same card + grade, but across older vs. newer PSA slabs. Just to see if the newer slabs truly command any premium. It’s always interesting when I see listings promoting “new slab” or “freshly slabbed” - is that really a factor? Is it more the consumer mindset of just wanting the newest thing or more about tougher grading standards = better quality card? Maybe it’s both.
Probably both
Great stuff. Grading is a necessary evil in this hobby.
Yeah and while it’s deeply flawed, the big companies generally aren’t scams, imo
Idk, on one hand, i feel if you can't grade your own cards you're in the wrong hobby. On the other hand, it can be helpful if buying cards online/not in person. So i can see a need for grading. A better question would be "is PSA a scam?" To which, the answer is YES!
Scam? No....but got far too detailed over the years. It shouldn't be as simple as a pass/fail but 5 or 6 categories would be more than enough.
It’s not a scam, but it’s a subjective practice.
Yes
I don't understand why TAG grading hasn't taken off more since you get a breakdown of why the card graded as it did. Yes, PSA turnaround times would increase if they offered a breakdown but I'd wait a few more days to see why my 3 didn't get an 8. However, PSA won't need to adopt this policy as long as people keep sending them cards. Until they do though, they really don't have to explain themselves.
@@in2rock275 yep, great comment
TAG grading is like maijuana (for medicinal purposes). If collectors find out TAG's AI grading is right on the money, those top grading companies would be out of business since they rely on human judgement.
I can go either way on this. I’ve only submitted to PSA once. On one hand, I got a 9 on a rare Jordan which is currently a pop 1 with none higher, making it a very valuable card. In that same submission, my Jeter RC, which I thought looked perfect, got a random 5 out of nowhere. So I think it really comes down to consistency. That’s what people are looking for. And paying for.
@@michaelfranke21 and understanding why it got a 5
@@JunkWaxHero Exactly. With no explanation, it’s very easy to simply say it’s a scam. Especially when you were expecting a completely different result.
@@michaelfranke21 yes
I do think its an issue. Im considering never grading a card again but within reason
No it’s definitely not a scam, that’s an insane claim. Are there moral or ethical things wrong with grading? Probably
I don’t think that it is a scam, but I absolutely feel like the system is flawed and is open to lots of corruption. I have a lot of experience in the world of jewelry. The most prestigious and respected grader and certification on loose diamonds and colored stones is the GIA (geological institute of America). They are a non-profit institution and the grading fees cover the costs of their campuses where they do the grading, and where they train new gemologists. They charge based on stone size and not stone value (diamonds under 1 carat are one price), diamonds 1-2.0 carat are another price, …etc. They do this so that they are not incentivized to give better grades for financial gain. All of the GIA laboratories around the world are set up with the exact same lighting and graders are randomly tested to maximize consistency in grading standards. PSA and the grading companies can learn from some of these practices.
Great comment!
I dont think grading is a a scam but... Beyond the inconsistency in grading everyone seems to complain about (psa on their website say a gem card can be 60/40 to 55/45 centered - wth?), what i dont agree with is that they are not impartial on value - meaning they should just grade and not try to value cards. Nor should they be involved with a transactional service. There is definitely a grey area there for me.
Yeah the centering on gem cards is strange to me too
They are up charging because they know the big value of the card and they know you are going to make big money on it. They just want their cut!!!
Something funky about the newsletter delivery. Some weeks I get it, others I don't. The last one I received was 8/12.
Is it hitting your spam?
@@JunkWaxHero No, I checked.
@@cryptonite8495 can you email me and I’ll check on it once I know your email address?
I don't think it's a scam. I'm returning to the hobby after 33 years. Have yet to send anything to be graded. I have two graded cards I received as gifts. Think they look great. Love the protection slabs offer. I am a very low budget collector. Love that I can get raw or non 10 cards for a good price. Long story short, I think it's slightly over hyped, but glad it benefits my budget. If the market deems a slabbed PSA more valuable than a slab from a different company, that isn't on the grading companies.
@@wax_nostalgic well said. And welcome back to the hobby!
The reason why a slabbed PSA card is valuable is because the upcharge costs.
As for you being a collector......they go to SGC. PSA is only those just in it for the money.
I wouldn't want to do business with PSA or any of their owned shops. Buy the slabs but don't do the business
I graded a few hundred slabs in 2023, mostly Kobe and MJ from 90s. It was the only way to monetize the somewhat valuable cards I held properly. Even at today's prices 96 Kobe is valuable. I let PSA membership expire and I will never grade anything again. Ultra modern cards are a huge scam. Only flippers and scammers can sustain all those worthless cards. Someone will buy the junk if it is flashy and marketed well.
Crack slabs and resend the same card to PSA over and over to expose their inconsistencies. A good video of that will put other companies back on top.
Its more of a con than a scam the difference is a con requires a mark who doesnt realize he is being conned and in the perfect con the mark is happy and the conman is happy
ive been saying they are scammers since the day grading card companies got started made many comments on this as you well know mike
Yep!
Same plastic slab.. same time viewing the card.. same label et all... one card $15.99... next card $3,000....
Upcharging doesn't have anything to do with their grade guarantee. Its about insurance for shipping
@@Rebel_Scum1 okay, then they don’t do a good job of explaining that either lol
Bottom line Ai scan/grading! I like having my collection “protected” ….Rickey Henderson has some legs on the grading but 1980 was a crap year for quality cardboard
Psa guarantee doesn't guarantee price though. You grade today and that card is worth 100k but go to sell a year later, that same card could be 5 k. So using the psa guarantee isn't even a logical reason.
Good point
The Rickey Henderson rookie card has been impossible to 10 since well before Nat T's takeover of PSA... and there really should be an independent group that audits the grading companies... love the idea of using TAG as a second opinion grader... otherwise we're a bunch of self interested individuals complaining about low grades...
Independent audits would be good but they would inevitably come under scrutiny by people who don’t trust them
@@JunkWaxHero audit has to be as transparent as possible but opaque enough so that the grading companies can't sniff it out... 100 cards from all eras, variety of conditions... send them to PSA and record the results, crack em' and send them to SGC, etc... ideally there would be a few groups doing this, so 2-300 cards total... the grading cos. would of course b*tch and moan but we could all point to a few years of multiple attempts to grade the same cards and see how inconsistent the results really are... and TAG is the 'safety check' because their strength is the amount of detailed data they provide on every card which would help to insure that the condition of any individual card doesn't change over the course of several years of cracking and resubmitting...
@@kenrogers1948 start it up, Ken!
Grading parameters of different heading companies = How much market share do the grading Co.'s want and their Net Profits.
Grading is important, but the difference between a 9 and 10 makes in price is a scam
As with any business there's always opportunity for exploits. I believe there are some aspects of the general industry that are borderline. I also believe it gives life to a Hobby that can get over produced by Topps and Panini by at least creating value to a "perfect" card that may be saturated in the market otherwise.
Well said
I will never grade a card. However I will buy grades cards as they are pennies on the dollar and in many instances not much more than raw from 8 & below. Yet the card is protected in a slab! What a scameroo..... Perception makes card grading more of a GRIFT... I have used the word Scam because it has elements of Both Grifts and the Con. This a Scam!
I'm not a fan, completely encased is not my cup of tea
@@adambalboa1209 I get it!
The grading of cards , combined with no announced number of cards , is the sketchy part. Not everyone gets cards graded , but psa uncharge tell me they have inside info as to the print run.
@@DannyMccallum-s6c the upcharge is based on market value.
When you say OSA looks at cards differently.....if something cannot be seen with the naked eye .....wtf!
Do we as a hobby take out magnifiers to enjoy our cards?! WTF! Absolutely ridiculous. Millions have partaken of the Kool Aid!
It’s not a scam but it’s not right. If they all used an automated scanning system from the same manufacturer with A.I. then all the grading would be consistent. Take the human element out of the process.
Even the brand name means (P)lease (S)ubmit (A)gain 🤣🛠💸💸💸
The inverse to the comment that those who claim scam are those who got bad grades .......Those who will not admit the shady BS that goes on with grading is a classic example of Cognitive Dissonance.
Not a scam but my thing is Ive had a fe cards damaged at PSA and I know they did and they graded card lower because of damage during assembly process card is smashed and they regrade to reflect damage they cause
By definition, no if grades are issued accurately.
I believe its a scam for up charging and what if the grader is having a bad day baseball collector Mike did a video on how many cards psa said where trimmed or altered and sent them off to sgc and they all got a grade non came back trimmed or altered understand its different standards but come on now psa
I don’t think grading is a scam, but sometimes maybe 🙈?
lol
Yes
We don't need no stinking sports card grading!!!!!!!
What is grading exactly?… subjective tiers of perfection?
Sham WOW. Can we use that in place of Kurt's Card Care?
No, grading is not a scam. It does seem like the companies (CGC and SGC) having the lesser 10 multiplier are more consistent in their grading. At the same time, grading companies priding themselves (i.e., PSA and BGS) on their highest multiplier appear more subjective in their grading determinations. With all of this said, card brands (particularly Fanatics) and card graders are doing really well at selling hype, and that's why, I think, that there is so much head-scratching going on with card-grading, particularly in perceived grades versus realized grades wherever the cards are submitted.
If not for hype, I do not think card-graders would be as subjective in their grading and apply their grading standards more objectively.
That's why SGC and CGC are your #1 and #2 grading companies overall.
Grading the most number of cards (the argument the PSA fanboys, their owned shops/dealers use) doesn't matter.
Mike, have you seen "The Ring"?
20 years ago and I enjoyed it
Good listen, interesting topic
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@JunkWaxHero Would you be interested in going live with me on the 4 Collectors channel?
@@pepinoman9271 when and what topic?
@@JunkWaxHero Sept 4th, 6 Cali time.
@@pepinoman9271 too late for me. I’m sound asleep by then 😂 I’d start as late as 5 your time
Grading is not a scam, it is a necessary evil (perhaps). Bottom line, if you want to sell a card that is not graded, you are extremely limited! Most sites won’t touch cards unless they’re graded
I should give Greg Morris, a call, and tell them their selling raw vintage business model isn't working. Hopefully, they can do better, and I'll be able to save more money for the next time.
@@ACD1994 I actually have- they are EXTREMELY picky on what they will accept raw and they say 5k minimum but you BETTER demonstrate more or you’ll be rebuffed. And by the way, they sell on eBay just like everyone else. I’m talking about selling cards on other platforms!! Goldin, Pwcc (fanatics), REA, on and on. They want graded cards for ease of sale, period
yes it is......all the guys I watch talk about cards now just talk about psa........it's not about the cards ....it's about psa.......lol
They are either fanboys, are backed and endorsed by PSA, or just "in it for the money"
It makes me so sick may stop watching those channels altogether.
But they are no longer guaranteeing their grades
It’s still on their website
Grading is a scam!!!! I’ve been saying it from day one!!!!!
The comments here (most of which I agree with) indicate way more than 19% of viewers believe grading is a scam. It does not come close to matching the percentages you quoted in the video.
You misunderstood. Those percentages were from my newsletter.
Define Scam vs. GRIFT.
Hey Mike. I raw dog it all the time in my videos
lol Warren
The problem with this episode is you never defined Scam. That would go a long way in defining the differences between scam/grift/shady/ etc.
Paul, I defined scam in the newsletter. You have 9 comments on here (so far) and have not yet defined scam yourself. Feel free to!
@@JunkWaxHero hahahahaha.....not my video. Responding to your video. I do not have such newsletter. ;)now I have an even 10 .....you should thank me .....making your RUclips algorithm go up! :)
It's a scam all day long and how I arrived at that conclusion let's start at the not so obvious at the lower levels ie., A unassuming RUclipsr starts a hobby channel purely for the love of sharing their collection and their audience grows to that of an "influencer" status now add that to other YT's in the same said hobby circle sharing their love of the hobby with others only to graduate to a unofficial YT club of schmoozing each other with gift packages to one another then over time this elevates to voting for each other into the YT hobby hall of fame in the offing the card companies take notice and woo the hobby 'influencers' with an image of their own card and other incentives. Soon these same hobby influencers are singing the praises of the newest and latest releases of the card manufacturers. Conflict of interest much? Now back to the highest levels of scam involvement that is PSA's once cozy love affair with one-time PWCC monthly showing of emblazoned full-page ads in the SMR periodicals that is before the FBI showed up. Whoops where did PWCC go with those full color ads? If card grading Co's had one job it was to grade cards only NOT to control the market values is ongoing racket of looking out for their hobby friends in high places so only the select few hobby friends have 10's for high-end cards is unfair and unjust!
We love bgs get your beckett
Mistakes and inconsistencies, yes, when they're grading a million Pokemon and ultra-modern cards every month. Conspiracy theories, no.
Agreed
Please stop being so naive PSA guarantee? Bwahahahahahhahaa what BS!
When you say PSA looks at cards differently.....if something cannot be seen with the naked eye .....wtf!
Do we as a hobby take out magnifiers to enjoy our cards?! WTF! Absolutely ridiculous. Millions have partaken of the Kool Aid!
Yes