Need some help for my first PSA Submission

wuehler

Hello Guys,

my name is Jan from germany and i have a problem with my first submission to psa.

My last submission was about a middleman service in germany but it takes to long and it´s to expensive and i would like to send the cards myself to psa.

But i have some questions.

which value should i have to declare?

I would like to do everything right, because I don't want any mistakes...

Thank you very much
Regards
Jan

Bosox1976

Hi Jan. Nice cards!

Personally, I’d send them all in at the lowest level and let them upcharge me for anything too valuable - it is a good problem to have when it occurs. Love the Shining Magikarp.

wuehler

Hi Mike,

thank you for the feedback.

I thought i have to write the value of the raw cards in the form.

Although I don't even know how high the grade will be, which will have a big impact on the price.

1951WheatiesPremium

Jan,

You should probably value them as PSA 8 or 9’s. The value is mostly about insuring the package. The Service Level you choose is up to you; last checked the cheapest is $100 per card for non-Collectors Club members and $50 per card for PSA Collectors Club members at the moment.

GOOD LUCK!

threeofsix

Nice cards!

UlyssesExtravaganza

Those really do look to be some incredible cards. The Shining Gyarados is one of my faves. Shining Magikarp incredible too. Tried to get my hands on a Blaine's Charizard recently that did not look as nice as yours. Love the Umbreon. Cant offer an opinion on everything you have there. Dont recognize them all. The thing with Pokemon cards as you might know is the front can be gorgeous but if you see chipping, whitened areas on the reverse of the card on the corners or edges, it can make a card that looks like a 10 from the front a 4 or a 5. So if you haven't already, I'd inspect the backs pretty closely. Maybe post the pics here as well.

Again, you may have already done this and have a good idea of the condition and value of what you hold. But if not I would study completed sales of your cards so you can learn what they sell for in what grades. That can help you assess what makes sense to submit. Had to do this myself recently. I felt maybe I had an 8 or 9 and the 8 sells for 200 and the 9 for 700, so that one I submit. Another one might struggle to get the 8 and an 8 sells for 80, dont want to include that. I have a feeling that some of yours even if they were only PSA 5s might be cards some would consider submitting at a $50 per card fee.

And yeah, probably worth getting a membership to be able to submit at $50 a card vs. $100. You really dont know the value of the card until its graded so what you are putting on the form is the value you want to insure it at. I've heard different schools of thought on how you want to approach this. You should be able to submit anything at $50 a card and if they deem it is worth more than that $999 value they can let you know and charge you for the higher rate. Has not happened to me but hope it does. But maybe if you feel you are holding a 3,000 to 10,000 dollar card, you do just want to submit at the higher price level and set expectations that you feel it deserves a high grade. That would be a judgement call. For now I'm submitting at $50 and hoping I hear something but cant say my way is right.

UlyssesExtravaganza

In addition to inspecting the backs you will want to see if you have any scratches (how bad, how many) in your holos. This is something that can dock your grade pretty heavily as well and isnt always easy to see in a pic.

daltex

Hi Jan,

Are you military? Because if you don't have an APO/FPO address, it will likely have an impact on the price. You'll need to look into German laws re imports and import duties and none of us is capable of advising you. I'm inclined to think that much of the above advice is terrible especially involving overseas shipping. I think you'd want to put realistic values on the cards because of the relatively high possibility of loss. I also don't know if PSA will return a million dollar card to you with a declared value of $499 because that is what you declared on your form even though they had to upcharge you.

The best thing to do, IMO, is to pick a few of the key cards and take scans of them front and back. The experts here (not me) will be happy to give you ballpark estimates of the grade and you can estimate value from there. Then, depending on customs duties and the value you'll recover in the event of loss, you'll decide if you want to declare a value a grade or two lower than the consensus or not.

One thing to look into with your legal friends is if there is a duty on something you export and re-import (if it is exactly the same thing) and how you prove that that is what you did. It may be expensive to do all this, but it pales in comparison to the potential liability for doing this wrong.

Best,
Alex

threeofsix

@UlyssesExtravaganza said:
In addition to inspecting the backs you will want to see if you have any scratches (how bad, how many) in your holos. This is something that can dock your grade pretty heavily as well and isnt always easy to see in a pic.

@UlyssesExtravaganza I agree with all of your advice. The more time you spend learning about what you have will help a lot in terms of setting good expectations prior to sending to PSA. Submitting at $50 a card is a pretty safe bet for most Pokémon cards…and any up charge later on is a bonus!

@UlyssesExtravaganza said:
Those really do look to be some incredible cards. The Shining Gyarados is one of my faves. Shining Magikarp incredible too. Tried to get my hands on a Blaine's Charizard recently that did not look as nice as yours. Love the Umbreon. Cant offer an opinion on everything you have there. Dont recognize them all. The thing with Pokemon cards as you might know is the front can be gorgeous but if you see chipping, whitened areas on the reverse of the card on the corners or edges, it can make a card that looks like a 10 from the front a 4 or a 5. So if you haven't already, I'd inspect the backs pretty closely. Maybe post the pics here as well.

Again, you may have already done this and have a good idea of the condition and value of what you hold. But if not I would study completed sales of your cards so you can learn what they sell for in what grades. That can help you assess what makes sense to submit. Had to do this myself recently. I felt maybe I had an 8 or 9 and the 8 sells for 200 and the 9 for 700, so that one I submit. Another one might struggle to get the 8 and an 8 sells for 80, dont want to include that. I have a feeling that some of yours even if they were only PSA 5s might be cards some would consider submitting at a $50 per card fee.

And yeah, probably worth getting a membership to be able to submit at $50 a card vs. $100. You really dont know the value of the card until its graded so what you are putting on the form is the value you want to insure it at. I've heard different schools of thought on how you want to approach this. You should be able to submit anything at $50 a card and if they deem it is worth more than that $999 value they can let you know and charge you for the higher rate. Has not happened to me but hope it does. But maybe if you feel you are holding a 3,000 to 10,000 dollar card, you do just want to submit at the higher price level and set expectations that you feel it deserves a high grade. That would be a judgement call. For now I'm submitting at $50 and hoping I hear something but cant say my way is right.

This all makes sense to me!