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First Time PSA Submitter

SpigrimaceSpigrimace Posts: 134
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
I am going to be sending in a bunch of cards that I purchased back in the early 1990's that are from the 50's/60's/70's that are high grade. Although I bought from various dealers, I am nervous of how many will come back trimmed even though I was paying a 10%-20% premium over Beckett back then for "MINT" raw cards.

Another question: no disrespect to PSA but one needs to be distrustful of anyone b4 doing business, what checks and balance is in place to stop PSA from pulling a switch on me? e.g. if I submit a '68 Aaron that's a 9 or 10, what's the possibility of getting back a similarly centered one as say an 8 so they get the better card? I will take scans/photos of fronts and backs prior to sending to PSA, but I guess if anyone could be a reference of their integrity, I'd appreciate it.

Comments

  • Bearsnum34Bearsnum34 Posts: 149
    you have nothing to worry about, I have submitted various High-dollar cards and never had a problem, plus they are a publicly traded company and lawsuits would be a huge deteriant..
  • DrFeverDrFever Posts: 21
    make a high quality scan of your card before it goes out to any grading service.... I learned my lesson when a bunch of my cards were dropped, coming back with corner dings in the same corner of 6 cards. This way, you'll have something to compare the card to if you are still uneasy.

    Cheers
    You get what you pay for
  • EagleEyeKidEagleEyeKid Posts: 4,496 ✭✭
    >>make a high quality scan of your card before it goes out to any grading service.... I learned my lesson when a bunch of my cards were dropped, coming back with corner dings in the same corner of 6 cards.<<

    I agree especially on high dollar cards. I knew an individual who submitted a Joe Namath rookie card without the "butterfly" mark on his hand (printing defect) and they gave him back one that did have the mark.....clearly was not his and still implied that "that's the card you submitted" BS.

    Dinged corners are usually from mechanical error. The corner may have gotten pinched during the encapsulation process.....subtle movements may have caused it. I've had 34 cards come back that way and it was all on the top right hand corner. Peter Ma (operations supervisor at PSA) bought them all back and gave me 34 free submissions which was cool. I'd say I broke even since all the cards were mainly PSA 9 graded, but with the corner dings, it's either a 7 or 8.....was pretty ugly.

    Eagle
  • kobykoby Posts: 1,699 ✭✭
    Many of the high-grade cards that I purchased in the early 1990s turned out to be trimmed. This was before card grading became really popular and some of the old-timers were saying the same thing about PSA. We all remember the Mr. Mint's of the world with the "just say no to grading" ads in the SCD.

    Scan your cards front and back and then send them.
  • SpigrimaceSpigrimace Posts: 134
    Thanks for the advice. Here's a few more questions as the PSA rules seem very inflexible:

    1) REMOVABLE stickers? The stickers PSA sent with the club kit are not easily removable. I have a box full of old dot matrix pin feed stickers that could easily suffice that I plan on using after my free submissions. Are my cards going to be rejected due to non-removable stickers??!!

    2) The free ones with membership I plan on using click-n-ship from USPS that has delivery confirmation and insurance and I will send in a flat rate priority mail envelope with of course "club" written on the outside. I am using 1/4" corrugated cardboard on both sides of each card saver 1 with flimsy mylar insert enclosed card and flat sheets of sheet metal around the package of 6 cards all wrapped with packaging tape. I do not see how they could get bent in shipping and it's one time just for the 6 free submission with the gold membership. Am I being crazy not sending in a box or registered?

    Thanks but it seems like a lot of rules
  • EagleEyeKidEagleEyeKid Posts: 4,496 ✭✭
    >>REMOVABLE stickers<<

    I never quite understood their concept of the stickers for the back of the holder(s). It's like it's telling me that my cards can get misplaced or separated from my batch but can happily join them again because of the numbered stickers. I think PSA is the only company that does this. It's a pain in the butt and just more work. You don't have to use their stickers provided. You can pick up similar labels at your local drug store. Your best bet is "Staples" where I get my stuff. They're white address labels with 80 labels per 25 sheets for a total of 2000. They're 1/2" X 1 3/4" and are the same size as Avery 5167/8167 that's already programmed in my computer so I just type in the submission # - whatever, and it prints out on my printers once I feed it with this paper.

    Your packing method should more than suffice your safety needs. The cardboard padding is always great with rubber bands to secure any movement and pack the rest of the box with peanuts/packing popcorn or whatever. There's never enough protection. Registered is the best method for valuables; however they will take priority mail with delivery confirmation (go with signature confirmation). This is about $4 - $6 difference in shipping and would work the same. I've used both shipping method depending on the amount of cards submitted.

    Eagle
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