Trading Card Surface Sub Grade 0

[TheMoe]

Hi everyone, I recently saw my grades posted online for a small batch of Pokemon cards I sent in and noticed that almost all the cards I sent in had a lower surface subgrade than I expected. The centering, edges, and corners subgrades I received were in line with my expectations but I was surprised by how consistently penalized I was for surface.

Normally when I buy a card or open one from a pack it goes right into a sleeve and top loader and for this small batch I really didn't really notice any scratches but obviously I cant see everything. I was curious if anyone had any insight on what kinds of things penalizes the surface subgrade. I know things like scratches or print lines would but would a stray finger print or anything along those lines also heavily impact the score?

Thanks!

[JohnBurke]

Only thing I can think if there was any possibility of the cards slipping out of the top loader a bit during shipping rather than the top opening being secured with a piece of paper? 
 

I’ve also pulled some cards from blister packs lately that literally had scratches on them right out of the pack upon close inspection. Bad quality control or handling of items in the stores

[Michael Ledon]

card saver 1's and the semi rigid holders from cgc will keep the cards from slipping out. Top loaders aren't really the best for keeping cards in good condition, especially when being shipped out

[TheMoe]

Thank you for the replies! I did not specifically secure the cards but I did use card saver 1's. I am under the same impression as Michael that they are suppose to prevent that, but I feel the extra security can't hurt for next time. I'm thinking somehow I must have gotten some fingerprints or something on the card because I was getting like 9.5's/10's for corners and edges for some cards but the surface was like 8.5's/8's. From grades I've seen other people receive it's quite rare to have the surface be the subgrade that drags down the card.

20 hours ago, JohnBurke said:

Only thing I can think if there was any possibility of the cards slipping out of the top loader a bit during shipping rather than the top opening being secured with a piece of paper? 
 

I’ve also pulled some cards from blister packs lately that literally had scratches on them right out of the pack upon close inspection. Bad quality control or handling of items in the stores

 

13 hours ago, Michael Ledon said:

card saver 1's and the semi rigid holders from cgc will keep the cards from slipping out. Top loaders aren't really the best for keeping cards in good condition, especially when being shipped out