I had sent a high value card into PSA to be graded. It came back much, much lower than it should have. It was a brand new card directly from the pack, and received a NM7. After I made a bit of noise, here is the response I was given…
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> Thank you for reaching out to PSA Customer Care for some additional insight. We understand the desire to know the "why" behind a grade. Comparing your card to a picture online can be an instinctive response, but there are a lot of things that you simply can't see via images. Keep in mind that grading is three-dimensional, meaning that images flatten defects. There are many types of defects that, in order to see them, you must be able to move, tilt, and rotate the cards. Along with moving the cards to view them at multiple angles, lighting also plays a huge part in being able to see tiny defects. When reviewing your card, try putting your card in a low, single-light setting in a dark room, since bright lights can often "blow out" imperfections.

You may also find it interesting to learn that grades do not average out. If you have corners that meet the criteria of a 6, but you have a surface that meets the criteria of an 8 - your card would be a 6. It does not average out to a 7. You're welcome to review our grading standards here, but please keep in mind that in the end, the final grade is at the discretion of our experts.

While providing a detailed report regarding the result is not a part of our services, please be assured that your cards are always seen by a minimum of two independent graders and that their results must match before the order can be completed.

We hope that this information is helpful, and should you have any other questions please don't hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for choosing PSA.
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I find the way they do things very unethical. Clearly they grade cards in the dark and make up reasons for low grades without explaining further. I will be using Beckett from here on out. I like that their are sub-grades with Beckett. Even though the cases are a little less appealing than PSA, I believe Beckett does a better job. Lesson learned going with the “standard for grading” PSA…