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What do you want to see from PSA?
ReggieCleveland
Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭
I was thinking how nice it would be to see a line graph of a particular card's pop report population in PSA 10. To sort of see how and when the pop increased. Will it happen? No. But it made me think what other ideas might be out there that others might wish to see.
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Comments
Thanks,
David (LD_Ferg)
1985 Topps Football (starting in psa 8) - #9 - started 05/21/06
<< <i>Grading queues. Where is my submission in the pecking order? >>
Good call.
<< <i>Grading queues. Where is my submission in the pecking order? >>
That would be ideal if subs were graded FIFO, but that is not the case.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
<< <i>A six pack to help ease the pain of the "wtf" grades. >>
+1
Steve
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
In lieu of that: subgrades. Ideally subs where centering is weighted as much as corners. Heck, I'd even let them charge me a couple bucks to add subs to the flip.
Instagram: mattyc_collection
T222's PSA 1 or better
Shane
<< <i>A report card service that can be had for a nominal fee (free would be nice for cards over a certain grading fee/stated value). This report would break down the key answers to WHY the card was assigned the grade.
In lieu of that: subgrades. Ideally subs where centering is weighted as much as corners. Heck, I'd even let them charge me a couple bucks to add subs to the flip. >>
That would nice! Sign me up.
<< <i>Free shipping both ways for "mechanical errors." >>
+1
<< <i>Free shipping both ways for "mechanical errors." >>
+1
<< <i>I forget what grading company offered this service but they enclosed your cards in slightly thicker card savers and sealed them but gave them a grade. It was a cheap way to grade your lesser cards. I would grade all kinds of stuff if PSA had an option like this. I have vintage stuff that sits in the 3-5 range that won't ever see a current Psa slab because of the price. They could offer this service and I would bet a lot of collectors would send whole vintage sets in just to have PSA on them. >>
BGS has RCR which is cheaper, but I think your referencing Verisleeve which as a small non-major TPG company I actually respect.
<< <i>Drop the price on authenticating autographed cards. >>
This. I'll sub my tough and expensive autos to PSA still, but I'm about to send a big group of lesser autos to SGC. It's basically a 5 for 2 tradeoff.
<< <i>Grading queues. Where is my submission in the pecking order? >>
i totally agree!!!
<< <i>Free shipping both ways for "mechanical errors." >>
What are you talking about here? It has always been free shipping both ways. It is just that you have to get reimbursed in the form of a voucher for shipping your mech errors to them, which IMO is not a problem. You do have to request the reimbursement though. I'm not 100% certain, but I don't believe they send you the voucher unless you ask.
<< <i>
<< <i>Free shipping both ways for "mechanical errors." >>
What are you talking about here? It has always been free shipping both ways. It is just that you have to get reimbursed in the form of a voucher for shipping your mech errors to them, which IMO is not a problem. You do have to request the reimbursement though. I'm not 100% certain, but I don't believe they send you the voucher unless you ask. >>
Okay, I change my request to "Send me the freaking voucher even if I don't ask."
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
<< <i>wrapper grading would be nice! >>
+1
I have a bunch of 1960s non-sports wrappers I'd love to get graded.
Steve
<< <i>
<< <i>A report card service that can be had for a nominal fee (free would be nice for cards over a certain grading fee/stated value). This report would break down the key answers to WHY the card was assigned the grade.
In lieu of that: subgrades. Ideally subs where centering is weighted as much as corners. Heck, I'd even let them charge me a couple bucks to add subs to the flip. >>
That would nice! Sign me up. >>
Yes, please.
IMF
<< <i>
<< <i>
Okay, I change my request to "Send me the freaking voucher even if I don't ask." >>
>>
+1 Haha. Geez. I have to ask for my voucher? Why am I not surprised?
<< <i>Team and player sets from more non-Topps major companies. >>
Absolutely! O Pee Chee, Donruss and Fleer etc. I have hoped for that for a long time.
Jimmy
<< <i>Someone you can actually talk to that will clearly answer your questions as to whether or not they will grade a certain set, certain variations, etc.... And if they don't grade it, they'd be able to give you logical reasons why not. >>
I am going to +1 this wish list item. I put in a lot of work to have some new sets recognized and I think this could be made a little easier. Also, similarly I would just like to understand the "why" - seems like a reasonable request to me. If you could talk to or e-mail the research department and they'd just reply yes/no and explain why not if no.
I'd love for PSA to grade Exhibit cards as they grade baseball but no other sports makes no sense to me.
Looking to BUY n332 1889 SF Hess cards and high grade cards from 19th century especially. "Once you have wrestled everything else in life is easy" Dan Gable
1. Don’t use shipping/insurance as what appears to be a profit center. Perhaps third party insurance policies would be a better product than USPS, FedEx rates?
2. Obtain, research and find, or develop, a software image recognition system that can tell when an autographed item has been submitted before, and have that indexed to where the previous result is attached to the stored image. Then when the item is resubmitted in the future for authentication, use this system and if the item was deemed non-authentic the first time, deem it non-authentic again unless new knowledge has come to light as to why it is authentic. There simply is NO EXCUSE, when an autographed item can be received by a customer back from Newport Beach in the AM, where it received a questionable authenticity label, and in the PM, have it taken in person to a show where PSA/DNA is at, and have it authenticated immediately as genuine. The flip side of that is also true, an item should not receive a questionable authenticity at a show and then when sent into Newport Beach, come back as authentic. No item should receive questionable authenticity when sent into Newport Beach, and then resent back into Newport Beach a short time later and pass the next time, or the 3rd time, or the 4th time, etc. However, these instances don’t seem to be anomalies, as they happen too often, and they erode the integrity of the brand every time it happens. If an authenticator doesn’t show some reasonable proficiency in a certain field, then they shouldn’t be allowed to authenticate in that field. At the very least, run the images through a software program to prevent those types of embarrassing occurrences.
3. Raise your prices if you have to in order to get better quality control. Up your prices by $1 per card and use those extra funds to invest in your employees and reward those that do the better jobs. ( I assume you have some tracking method to be able to know which employees are making the “flip” errors and which ones are not, which ones erred on authentications and which ones did not, etc.) Give them the incentive to work better and reward your better employees and get rid one of the ones that don’t perform and that damage the brand name repeatedly.
4. Do a better job of customer service. Clients should not have to ASK for vouchers for shipping. When a client brings an error to your attention, the error should be corrected at the company’s expense by paying for shipping both ways, and in addition the client should receive a “free” grading voucher for THEIR inconvenience. If a better job is done on #3 above, less money would be spent on #4.
5. When problems are discovered or brought to your attention, don’t do a “public” burying of your head in the sand, as once again, that erodes the quality of the brand, one chip at a time. Acknowledge the error, apologize for it, and figure out what steps need to take place in order to prevent the same thing from occurring in the future. No one should expect perfection, but everyone should expect accountability. The American public is a forgiving public generally if acknowledgement and accountability occur. Perhaps a section of the site where customers can go and bring these things to your attention publicly, without fear of reprisal or retribution, and have their concerns addressed publicly, so others can look in and see that the problems are being addressed.
6. Cap autograph authentication fees at $100 per signature, and if necessary, raise the cost of the lower priced items by $5 each to make up for it. I know it’s not, although the company line probably says it is, but the same due diligence should go into authenticating a Jim Sundberg autograph as to a Babe Ruth autograph, and to have such a price discrepancy for what should be the same service, especially when there is no true “guarantee” per se, is insulting to the customers. If you do offer a “guarantee” like in #8 below, the disparity in prices is understandable and justified.
7. Quick opinions, as long as the item is not determined to have been a photocopy, laser copy, etc, in other words, if it’s a real signature applied to an item when sent in, should be honored or the quick opinion should have never said “likely authentic” in the first place. A lot of people use this service as a way to screen potential purchases, sometimes high dollar purchases, and if the person issuing the quick opinion can’t tell from the formation of the graph as to whether or not it’s an example of the subjects signature if ultimately not on a photocopy, laser copy, etc, then the quick opinion of “likely authentic” should have never been issued.
8. Autograph items should have a publicized buy back guarantee like on the card side. If it can definitively be proven that an item is not authentic, but it is found in a PSA/DNA slab untampered with (in other words, y’all goofed), then that item should be purchased back by the company at “market value” of what it would have been if authentic. If you are having too many of these occur, than go back to #3. This would give people more confidence in the brand and raise the value of your services and should enable you to charge higher prices as well for your service.
9. Unless you can find a way for autographs not to fade, diminish, etc, once inside your slabs, do away with the autograph grading.
11. Log all orders within 2 days of receiving them, and have guaranteed turnaround times, not “estimated” times. If you need more employees to accomplish this, raise prices.
12. You pretty much have this market cornered and generally do a pretty good job at it. There is so much money to be made in this industry by collectors, providers, speculators, etc., that I believe collectors would be willing to spend even more with y’all if you would make some needed improvements, even if it results in higher prices to us consumers.
So to sum it up succinctly:
1) Improve operating efficiency
2) Offer improved customer service
3) Raise the cost of your services and products if necessary to accommodate 1 and 2
Y’all have a good thing going, don’t mess it up by resting on your laurels. Keep the brand protected for our sake and for y’all's.
Best,
Mike
Wouldn't mind seeing PSA start grading Sports Illustrated's, but if they charge $25 to grade a ticket I can't imagine how much they would charge to grade a magazine.