PSA's unwillingness to grade well preserved wax packs.

lightningboy

As was recently discovered by myself and others, PSA has gotten much stricter on which wax packs they will even grade. Apparently if the gum is moving at all, which signifies a well preserved pack, they will no longer be grading these.

My question to the Board is how does this alter your buying/selling of vintage wax packs?

I have been buying unopened wax for about 3 years now. I like to keep at least 1 graded pack from each different set and typically sell the other graded packs on Ebay. I have several boxes that I was planning on pulling out the nicest packs and getting them graded. But now that seems to be an exercise in futility for me. I really haven't figured out if i am going to just start ripping some of this or sitting on it hoping for a new holder/attitude from PSA or simply selling off some of these packs raw.

I am very interested in hearing how others are going to overcome this new obstacle (specifically those who were getting the packs graded to keep or sell)

Thanks, Tom

itzagoner

my personal perspective is i'm glad they did this. i've struggled with the thought of busting into boxes fishing for perfect packs at the expense of diminishing the full, untouched box value. it just never appealed to me enough to have a few in a slab and the balance still in the box. might be an unpopular opinion to some, but now it won't bug me anymore. my boxes are intact and damn glad to be so.

Stingray

Wish they would grade whole boxes!!

grote15

I have submitted and have had graded by PSA well over 200 1970s Topps and OPC wax packs over the years, and was very disappointed to hear about the new policy, especially since it was implemented shortly before my most recent pack submission popped, resulting in 23 of the 24 packs I had sent in to be returned.

But I can understand their reasons for doing so. They were tired of writing out checks to people filing claims for packs damaged by shifting gum in transit, and I have also had my share of issues with that as a submitter, though I never personally filed a claim.

I wish they would grade packs utilizing the GAI holder patent--gum inside packs in those soft plastic holders were much more effectively immobilized, and wrapper tears in transit were almost non-existent. Of course, these days I wouldn't send in a 1988 Topps wax pack to GAI, though I hear that Werner will be returning all packs on Monday.

It doesn't alter my buying habits at all, though. I'll continue to buy packs as they come up for sale, but as fewer will be graded going forward, I may save some money by this new policy too, LOL..

leftofdial

I understand their policy, but I wish they would look harder at coming up with a solution. I'm sure that there were some issues with the GAI-style plastic holder but nowhere near the problems we've all seen and/or heard about with the current PSA pack holder. I can see how it might be somewhat of a pride thing to switch over to a former competitors packaging, even though some of us actually prefer that. A better holder and a waiver?
I also am on the list of collectors that wish they would grade racks and boxes as well.

Having said that, it's their company and there is nothing in the Bill of Rights about the unalienable right for us to have our packs graded

I think that BBCE will be the biggest benefactor of this as some are currently sending him boxes to wrap, and I bet we will soon start sending him racks and perhaps later, packs to authenticate. As much as I like the newer wrapping from a somewhat tamper proof wrapping, I don't dig it from a display perspective. I also think that sooner or later, someone will reuse the wrapping or BBCE stickers/cards if it hasn't happened already. What would stop someone from sending in a fairly inexpensive box, and then reusing that wrapping for some packs? I would also imagine that anyone with a valid sample sticker/card and some adobe skills could replicate them that would be good enough to fool most of us. It takes all kinds, and we've seen some pretty shady characters even on this board.

So right now, there ain't no solution, and I wait to see what, if anything, emerges down the road

bigdcards

<< <i>My question to the Board is how does this alter your buying/selling of vintage wax packs? >>



No, I had a terrible gum tearing experience on my last sub and quit collecting psa graded wax.

Hopefully they either get a better holder or really quit grading. Grading packs 1- 10 and excluding the mint packs that deserve a 9 or 10 is beyond just stupid. It hurts the brand and devalues the genuine 9s and 10s that are out there.