I do not know how much it is for PSA to grade a card but I am against the grading of base cards and asking a exorbitant price by offering then to the public or collectors .
This is encouraging new collectors to pay for cards that are basically zilch as base cards by selling them as rarer cards no matter what they are they are still base cards with a basic value.
I see this as greed after all you will never be able to purchase a graded base set as no one would be able afford to pay the grading fees for it and the final cost if as a graded set would be a phenominal price.Even though discounts are given. And what is the point of having 1 graded card and the other 70 or so raw
In my opinion (only) Grading companies should refuse to grade these cards and stick to the vintage and higher end cards it was designed for..
Grading is not a new phenomen A company was advertising it on the back cover of NSU years ago but then it was directed at vintage cards

But this will never happen as the Gradng Companies and sellers of these cards are too greedy
This rant was brought on because I have just seen a Graded PSA 8 base card for sale at $US 193.94

To the seller RIP OFF

I hear you piko, but you have to remember that in the beginning there was a pretty good purpose for having cards certified by an outside company that was supposed to be unbiased and employing knowledgeable graders. That those experts were supposed to actually have a consistent method of evaluating cards, both for condition and general authentication. That the system has become corrupted and is not properly used isn't the original intention.

Originally grading was meant for vintage cards of higher value to guarantee that they were of genuine issue and to ensure that they weren't trimmed or repaired to improve the condition. It gave novice card buyers the support of having a slab of approval so to speak, but it wasn't long before it turned into a numbers game and sellers realized that they could use the higher graded cards to get a premium over the "raw" ones. From there it was a quick jump to the newly minted high dollar cards getting submitted for grading just to get in that 9 - 10 range and claim rarity.

I understand that you want to blame the grading services for all the greed, but they are just taking the fees that people give them. Buyers and sellers created the market for graded cards that started mainly with sports cards but now has bleed over to any kind of card. No, there is no reason to grade a base card from a 2018 set. But if that slabbed card sells for more than its average base card price, including the grading fee, then that's the reason. Blame the foolish buyers for following along.

As to your first statement, this will make you even more unhappy. There are all sorts of prices for grading depending on the company used, number of submissions, time for returning, package discounts, etc. There really is no single quote anymore, you have to contact the service. However they have something going based on the secondary market value of the card submitted. It is basically a percentage fee attached to value tiers. So if you are thinking that a card that might be estimated to average out at $2,500 costs a flat $50 to grade, the fee depending on the tier will actually be in the hundreds of dollars. The thinking is that a high graded card will attract more buyers willing to pay a huge premium to the seller above the average and thus pay for the fee and way more. Grading services are essentially getting their cut of the transaction before any transaction occurs. It's kind of brilliant.

On the flip side, newer cards that can't make at least a 9 in a slab are endanger of losing buyers. Grading services are stuck between the extremes of giving out too many high grades with lenient appraisals and taking off too many deductions with stricter appraisals. They want 10s to be rare, but not so rare that submissions go to someone else. It's a delicate balance and a great subject because of all the nuances.

Bottom line, there are cards that benefit from grading. The vast majority don't need it, but tell that to the mob buying Grade 8 base cards.

I've said it before but I hate graded cards and it's one of the worst things to happen to the hobby. Aside from the fact they look ugly in slabs I have watched and read way too many cases of the dodgy and downright dishonest way that grading companies go about things and PSA are one of the most inconsistent at it, yet charge more.
If you look up experiments of people submitting the same card multiple times(with video evidence of their experiments) and getting different grades for the same card, or even sending in fake cards deliberately and the fact it often gets missed that they are fake, you soon lose any confidence in it being something you can trust.
PSA are also ripping off the market because they charge more if the card's value is more. How is that even a thing?! It should be about the card's condition, not how much it might sell on for.
It is the one area where AI might get some consistency into the practice, but I avoid graded cards like the plague. It's yet another pile of garbage that has come out of the US.
In my own experience of buying and selling cards in recent years, I have had no problems with ungraded cards selling, even fairly high-end sports ones. In fact they're more attractive to more buyers because of the fact that they feel they have a chance at them and not some falsely inflated price because it's behind an ugly piece of plastic with a random score stamped on it, which more and more people don't really even trust from what I've read. Is a 10 really a 10? Was a 9.5 harsh or generous? *rolls eyes* But people get sucked into it all and around and around it goes and companies like PSA get richer for it.
But it's here to stay in part of the hobby and even crept into coin collecting too, although at least with that there seems to be a bit more professionalism in the business of grading.

I'd never advise anyone to get cards graded unless you only sell in the US where it seems to be the most obsessed about the practice(amongst the more-money-then-sense crew, anyway), or if you really, really think you'll struggle to keep your high end cards in top condition without a slab around it.
Also, if you are outside the US, you have to consider the risk of international postage and it getting lost or damaged, however much you try to avoid it - as even your 'local' grading company often forwards them to the US. And you can then get customs and importation fees when you get it sent back. Plus you can get charged more than the original grading price you paid if it's discovered your card is worth more than you thought. Total rip off.

I recently bought a lower priced(£50 mark) sports card that was slabbed(Admittedly by an AI company that was very fair with the analysis from the details I was given). It was for sale here in the UK and was cheaper than the ungraded non-slabbed ones for sale... that says something about the difference in different country's markets. Anyway, it's not high value and I carefully broke it out of the slab as I hated it. Going by the market for that card, it seems to be worth at least £30 more now I've taken it out of the slab than it was inside one.

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:
It's yet another pile of garbage that has come out of the US.

I'm with you Hedgy, except for that line.

Come, come, there are just as many con artists and dopes per capita in the UK as there are in the US. And Meghan and Harry have returned to prove it. BIG GRIN, I can't get the emoji to work.

I could give you a list, but we'd be here all night. Tongue in cheek.. grin grin... yeah, why do the emojis not work?

Does anyone really give two figs about the ginger whinger and the jam seller? The less anyone hears about them, the better. Sadly I have heard that she might be on the next series of the Netflix show The Gentleman, which is the only two figs I do give, because I like that show and have no desire to see it messed with. :/
(edited, because I apparently can't even write an emoji the old school way. This site's coding must be a little off, or something - please note my post is all tongue in cheek with a grin)