Wax wrapper grading (opened gum card wrappers)

hemicuda

Opened wax gum wrappers can sell for thousands of dollars yet there doesn't seem to be any company out there that can offer a grading or more importantly an authentication service. The market place seems to be in a state of flux and prices are dropping rapidly due to the "fakes" becoming so good that even seasoned dealers are unable to detect the counterfeits. Does anyone know any different or can shed some light on this topic? :alert;



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garno PSA

red-bat66 e-Bay

LarkinCollector

I would like for a company to offer this service as well, but don't know of any at this time. It seems like most wrappers would fit in the Super Size card holder, though they might have to develop some new inserts to hold them in securely. I always like to have a wrapper from any set I collect, but have had to keep them in 1-pocket binder sheets so far. I'm pretty sure there have been discussions in the past on the Sports Card & Mem forum and it seemed like there was some level of interest, but not sure how profitable it would be for PSA to jump into that market.

Griffins

What wrapper has sold for thousands?

bishop

While they would not grade highly, I did pay a bit for these ...

Griffins

Ok, should've figured Al would jump in. I can see the GM and 3d wrapper being over $2k, and a DeLong and George C Miller, but can't go much further than that.

hemicuda

A Mars Attacks wrappers sold for over a $1000 in the UK in 2006. Proving authenticity is the key as the market place is awash with fakes. Why is it do you think that PSA and the like do not make the commercial decision to grade opened wrappers? Why? My name is garno and I own possibly the largest collection of PSA graded cards in Britain and Europe. I have a huge collection of wrappers too that I know are genuine as I unwrapped them all from counter display boxes during the 70's to stop bubble gum damage to the cards. I know they are genuine however potential customers do not. Due to the fakes genuine wrapper owners like me are tarnished with the same brush as the fakers and wrapper prices have plummeted by up to 60% over the past 10 years. I wrote to PSA asking if they would authenticate and NOT GRADE (I just couldn't seem to get through to the guy that I only wanted to authenticate and NOT GRADE the wrappers) wrappers as there IS a PSA graded wrapper Cert#14508417 variety: Wrapper. There response is as follows: I discussed this with my Supervisor and we have determined that PSA does not grade wax wrappers. When I pointed out that you had an example of a graded wrapper, she said this was an exception rather than the standard. Quite honestly, I haven’t heard of PSA authenticating any sort of wrapper to a pack. With all this said, if you were to submit this item, it would go through the Unopened Pack Submission form because this is really the closest we get to the service you are asking for.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something I could pull some strings or ask a favor from the authenticator; we don’t grade wax wrappers. You can submit your item and see if they are willing to make the exception but I wouldn’t recommend you to waste your money with this effort.

The only person who can really reiterate this and maybe provide a reason why we made this decision prior would be the Supervisor or Manager. I have scoured through the population report hoping to find some evidence that we have graded another wrapper but so far, no luck. Feel free to look through yourself: http://www.psacard.com/pop/.

Again, I apologize for the delay in responding to you. I was trying to find more information but as of now, there is nothing I can do.

If you have any additional questions, please contact PSA customer service by email at info@psacard.com or call us directly at 800-325-1121.



If anyone out there can shed any more light on this subject then please do.



Best garno PSA

red-bat66 eBay

bishop

Wrappers are just wrappers, but Anthony (Griffins) has packs

Garno-- are you located in Britain ? What all wrappers and cards do you collect ? Do you know someone going to the National. Maybe they could raise the question with PSA there. Depending on what you collect maybe there is a recognized dealer in unopened material, like BBCE that could authenticate your wrappers

LarkinCollector

Originally posted by: hemicuda
Why is it do you think that PSA and the like do not make the commercial decision to grade opened wrappers? Why?

My guess would be fairly low demand and lack of expertise in authenticating (leading to a high risk of a fake slipping through, and liability with their card guarantee). If it required a new slab or insert to be developed, there would be a fairly significant upfront cost to them as well.

hemicuda

Yes all plausible and I have already asked time and again. hey ho

Griffins

PSA was asked to grade packs in 2004, and Joe said no. 2 years later the situation changed and they started grading them. I would think the same requirement applies- there needs to me a market (that seems to be there), a holder that fits (T3 or smaller would fit most every one of them, probably with a mylar sleeve) and they need someone knowledgable to grade them (Steve Hart?). The advantages would be increased submissions, and increased competition thru the registry. I know they aren't fond of authenticating without grading, but standards for that could be applied from packs.
I'd suggest writing Joe directly and including the benefits to both collectors and PSA- every time I've done so he's given it serious consideration and almost always agreed. Including some high dollar sales that can be verified probably wouldn't hurt either.

hemicuda

I tweeted Joe Orlando today: @JoeOrlandoPSA would you tell me the reason why PSA won't authenticate open wax wrappers?

And his response: @garno1959 We still may consider it down the road, but the combination of other priorities and a limited market are two that come to mind:

So there you have it from the horses mouth and unfortunately problem still not solved..............