Stubbornness trumps facts & common sense
A761506
Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭
I have been grading my 1959 Venezuelan set of late, and the Standard Catalog as well as Beckett list the set ending at card 196 (I don't know how this came about originally). The set actually has 198 cards in it, well known information amongst Venezuelan collectors. I own 3 copies of card 197 and a single copy of card 198. The cards are distinctly different than the US cards in that they have no surface gloss on the front and are on a completely different type of card stock. In fact, all US cards from the second series were printed on gray stock, while I have examples of 197 & 198 from the Venezuelan set which are printed on cream stock, which was only used in the Venezuelan set. I sent them scans and everything.
PSA graded these cards as Venezuelan cards when I sent them in. No problems. I went to get the cards added to the registry set and was told they aren't in any of the catalogs and we only use the catalog. The logic I was given: since they aren't in the catalog, they can't possibly exist in our universe. As such, the cards must be US Topps and were mechanical errors, send them back to us, we'll relabel them as US cards (so, in other words, we'll screw them up because a book written by Lemke is the word of god to us, even though they are in the correct holders already)... and we won't even charge you.
Here's the crazy part, they went and changed the way the cards are listed under the cert - changing them all to list them as US Topps cards.
This situation is hopeless. I've dealt with Joe before, he doesn't read the entire e-mail so he only has half an idea of the story and phone communication is next to impossible.
I'll let Lemke know about the cards, he'll add them to the catalog, but the 2012 catalog is already closed, so it won't be corrected until 2013 at the earliest. Guess I'll deal with it then.
Here are the cards - the Davenport I only have in the cream back version, the Semproch I have with both backs, cream and gray. On the gray back Semproch, the card in the PSA holder is Venezuelan, the card next to it is US.
PSA graded these cards as Venezuelan cards when I sent them in. No problems. I went to get the cards added to the registry set and was told they aren't in any of the catalogs and we only use the catalog. The logic I was given: since they aren't in the catalog, they can't possibly exist in our universe. As such, the cards must be US Topps and were mechanical errors, send them back to us, we'll relabel them as US cards (so, in other words, we'll screw them up because a book written by Lemke is the word of god to us, even though they are in the correct holders already)... and we won't even charge you.
Here's the crazy part, they went and changed the way the cards are listed under the cert - changing them all to list them as US Topps cards.
This situation is hopeless. I've dealt with Joe before, he doesn't read the entire e-mail so he only has half an idea of the story and phone communication is next to impossible.
I'll let Lemke know about the cards, he'll add them to the catalog, but the 2012 catalog is already closed, so it won't be corrected until 2013 at the earliest. Guess I'll deal with it then.
Here are the cards - the Davenport I only have in the cream back version, the Semproch I have with both backs, cream and gray. On the gray back Semproch, the card in the PSA holder is Venezuelan, the card next to it is US.
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How is it possible that the top authentication service in the industry doesn't recognize cards that obviously exist? Seems bush league to me.
<< <i>Who's being stubborn? PSA wants cards they grade to be listed in the guides(bibles) the hobby uses as reference. If you have something that should be in the guide then contact the guide to have it added. When the guide confirms it will be added then forward this to PSA and they will grade it for you. This is the process that PSA wants you to follow if you have something you want graded that's not in the guide. This ensures the reference guides that the entire collecting hobby looks at for all the answers are up to date and accurate. >>
The point here is this: PSA ALREADY graded these cards as Venezuelan, a few years ago. But now they have changed the certification match in their database, so they show as regular Topps cards, when the flips CLEARLY indicate they are Venezuelan, and were purposely graded as such by PSA.
Thanks,
<< <i>If you have something that should be in the guide then contact the guide to have it added. >>
Go ahead and give this a shot. Lemke seems to me like and extremely nice guy, but he's totally overworked. He's emailed me in the past when I've contacted him about adding new licensed issues and he's told me, point blank, that it it's a modern card they just don't have the manpower to do it.
<< <i>Go ahead and give this a shot. Lemke seems to me like and extremely nice guy, but he's totally overworked. He's emailed me in the past when I've contacted him about adding new licensed issues and he's told me, point blank, that it it's a modern card they just don't have the manpower to do it. >>
What is the e-mail for Bob Lemke? I do not see it in the catalog.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
A few notes . . .
I am a (very) part-time, contract contributor to the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards. I currently work only on the vintage major league and vintage minor league sections of the book.
At present, the book's publisher has nobody assigned to the modern sections; Joe Clemens, who handled those sections as well as all modern pricing for all sports was let go on Jan. 15.
Because I really care for the reputation of the "big book" that I created and nurtured for so many years, I will sometimes make important changes or additions to the post-1980 sections.
Feel free to e-mail me. If I can help, I will, if I can't, I'll let you know that, too.