Ok - right off the bat...PSA is AWFUL. DO NOT USE THEM. Their graders are all over the place and have NO CLUE.
Secondly, does anyone know what "evidence of recolorization" means? I pulled a card from a 2003 Upper Deck pack and sent it to PSA for grading. They will not grade it because there is "evidence of recolorization"...I do not even understand what that means.
Also, I sent in some Beckett (BVG) cards to have crossed over for a PSA registry. They would not grade because of "evidence of trimming"...IT WAS A BVG 7 card...a HIGH GRADE. I hope that PSA did not remove it from the container...they are TERRIBLE.
DO NOT USE PSA
I use PSA and yes they are a tough grade - but better than BCCG if you ask me. I think PSA cards go through 3-4 different graders but I can't be sure. beckett grading is nice cause they tell you how the card scored on centering, surface, corners etc.
I have had the same issues you are having - I sent in a '54 Mantle and it came back with a minimum size requirement - I guess someone tried to trim the edge to make the centering more appealing. THe card itself does not look like it. Also, I bought a '53 Jackie Robinson off ebay that came back with questionable authenticity.
Although that happened, PSA gave me free grading coupons for my next batch.
I use PSA because some I like the slimmer slabs. I think becketts slabs are too bulky/square/ unattractive. Also, I have personally seen more PSA graded cards at shows and shops.
""evidence of recolorization" usually means that a card with say, a black border, has been recolored using a sharpie, or something along those lines
Jacoby is right. I have heard of this happening alot with the 93 SP Jeter rookie on the ONE blue corner, lower left.
The fact that they are extra careful before grading a card makes me want to use them more. Sure, their suspicions of tampering may mean a few legit cards don't get graded, but it also helps insure that NO altered cards get their slab. It helps insure their top notch reputation which is everything in this industry.
(06-04-2011, 06:38 AM)_ZENAS_ Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that they are extra careful before grading a card makes me want to use them more. Sure, their suspicions of tampering may mean a few legit cards don't get graded, but it also helps insure that NO altered cards get their slab. It helps insure their top notch reputation which is everything in this industry.
+1 Absolutely correct sir!
I don't do much grading, but the PSA slabs look so ugly to me, the Beckett slabs just look so much better, and it's nice to see the subgrades
The reason your BVG graded card came back with "evidence of trimming" is because BVG sucks and will allow sheet cut cards to be graded. So basically you could cut the card as sharp as you want and they will grade it like it came from the factory like that. I have had the same thing happen to me while trying to crossover them to PSA. I'm not saying that all BVG graded cards are hand cut but i am suspicious of them.
(06-04-2011, 09:20 PM)doublexthebeast Wrote: [ -> ]The reason your BVG graded card came back with "evidence of trimming" is because BVG sucks and will allow sheet cut cards to be graded. So basically you could cut the card as sharp as you want and they will grade it like it came from the factory like that. I have had the same thing happen to me while trying to crossover them to PSA. I'm not saying that all BVG graded cards are hand cut but i am suspicious of them.
Cause PSA has never graded a trimmed card before-roll eyes.
PSA AND Beckett have both made mistakes over the years. To say one is worse than the other based on a couple examples is not doing your homework. For every example of a trimmed, altered, misgraded, or some other scandalous example of a card being in one slab of either company, there is another example going the other way. Both are reputable companies that are not 100%. Do your homework on the card you are sending in or buying and know if it is already slabbed, use the grade as a guide, not the final word.
(06-03-2011, 05:09 PM)charleybrown Wrote: [ -> ]I use PSA and yes they are a tough grade - but better than BCCG if you ask me. I think PSA cards go through 3-4 different graders but I can't be sure. beckett grading is nice cause they tell you how the card scored on centering, surface, corners etc.
I have had the same issues you are having - I sent in a '54 Mantle and it came back with a minimum size requirement - I guess someone tried to trim the edge to make the centering more appealing. THe card itself does not look like it. Also, I bought a '53 Jackie Robinson off ebay that came back with questionable authenticity.
Although that happened, PSA gave me free grading coupons for my next batch.
I use PSA because some I like the slimmer slabs. I think becketts slabs are too bulky/square/ unattractive. Also, I have personally seen more PSA graded cards at shows and shops.
PSA's slabs are a joke; the card slides around in it and maybe at one time the card may have been a PSA 10. But it won't stay a PSA 10 in the long run.
I use BGS/BVG for all of my Grading. I even buy PSA 10's & SGC 98's and cross them over to BGS/BVG's. I've NEVER subbed to PSA; I've Only subbed to Beckett. As an added bonus, Beckett's HQ is located in the single greatest state!! GO COWBOYS!!