Submitting a high profile card to PSA
 

So let’s say you have a high profile card that you want to submit to PSA for grading/authentication but it may or may not have been trimmed (I’m honestly not sure...I’ve gotten different opinions). What is the proper way to submit it to PSA? If it isn’t trimmed they will assign it a grade but if it is then what? Would they slab it authentic? How do I declare my wishes to PSA? What would you guys do? Kind of a novice here so any help is appreciated

Usually it does not get Slabbed and you get a Sticker Flip that says Possibly Trimmed or something along those lines.

I read somewhere if you mark on the form Slab Authentic if it is not gradable and they will Slab it "Authentic" with no grade.

For PSA, I've gotten plenty of cards slabbed Authentic, which were likely trimmed. For PSA, slabbing trimmed cards is up to the grader. Therefore, it can be hit or miss. I usually write a note on my submission asking them to slab any card with Authentic that does not receive a number grade, if possible. From my experience, PSA will typically encapsulate trimmed prewar cards, but postwar cards, they will not slab (unless they are originally hand cut). For example, I once tried to get them to slab an 1969 Topps Lew Alcindor card as Authentic, but they refused because they thought it was trimmed.

That is my concern....I don’t want to pay significant grading fees and have it come back trimmed and not encapsulated

One option would be for you to submit under the cheaper declared value service level of a trimmed card. If the card gets a number grade, PSA may call you and upgrade the service level. Or they may not. But yes, you can write "SLAB IF AUTHENTIC" on your form and they will.

Just do what anyone with an expensive trimmed card would do: send it to BVG.

Dang, is this a thing?

Pure ignorance.

I heard they charge if they slab it "Authentic"

but there is no charge if they Do Not Slab it.

Incorrect; if they determine it is trimmed, they have graded the card and expected that the submitter does not want it slabbed. But they do charge you. They will not charge if it is determined to be factory miscut (i.e. not a rectangle) or MINSIZREQ (not trimmed, but not full size; incorrectly cut short by the factory).

I guess I’m the only one that gets suspicious when I see a high end card in a BVG holder.

Only a sample size of one. However, I once purchased a 1951 Mays BVG and after crossover attempts came back trimmed by both PSA and SGC. Never again. But I am sure PSA and SGC also fail once in a blue moon.

Give to a big player to submit I’ve seen a lot of short cards in holders with number grades.

Beckett
 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/204295...S_0002_NEW.JPG..I am extremely selective to the point of paranoia before submitting cards to any 3rd party grader , and was doubly so back in the day when I submitted to Beckett ; cards which I thought would be absolute locks for the top shelf highly- prized "NM 7" , if not (gasp) a half grade higher , would invariably be returned as 6's and 6.5's......they are very conservative at grading vintage cardboard ; I don't use them as much anymore. I've had untouched one-owner very-well-preserved like-new pack-fresh yada yada etc. cards returned ungraded with notes of "shaved" "pressed" and the like--- Beckett was tough.

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Please don't mess with the assumptions, lol.

I am one who loves paying less for a better product and love those rumors based on sheet cuts not trims. Let the PSA folks pay the PWCC price for a lesser card.

Never had a problem once with a trimmed BVG card. I've reviewed thousands of them and not one raised a suspicion.

Would you rather have a t206 PSA 8(oc) or a BVG 6?? ;)

LOL! Talk about someone illuminating their ignorance about card grading.

Bad experience with BVG
 

So, I am posting this so that others can learn from my mistake. I am not trying to say by posting this that BVG is a bad grading service. I am sure it is possible that similar types of issues are out there with cards in both PSA and SGC holders, but this is just meant to educate everyone and hopefully keep everyone on their toes to look closely at what you are buying even when it's in a holder.

With that disclaimer, here is my story. I purchased a 1967 Topps Seaver rookie in a BVG 7.5 holder on ebay in January of this year. I cracked it out and sent it in to PSA for a couple of reasons. First, I would rather have the card in a PSA holder because the value in the marketplace at the same grade level is higher. Second, I thought it had a very good chance of getting a higher grade than 7.5 because the corners looked razor sharp to me and it was very nicely centered. There were really no other issues that I could see holding it back from an 8, or even possibly an 8.5 or 9.

PSA rejected it as questionable authenticity. I was initially shocked, but then when I looked closer and compared it to other 1967 cards, it was obvious. The easiest way to tell is by looking at the back. The green and white colors are vivid and bright, while the real 1967's have a more muted / faded tone to the colors on the back. The card stock itself and the gloss / finish are actually very similar to a real 1967, but the colors on the back make it clear that it is counterfeit. I ended up sending it to SGC also, just to see how they would grade it, and they also rejected it as not authentic.

Now, this is all really on me because if I had looked closely I could have seen even from the pictures on ebay that it was different than other 1967's. Honestly, at the time, I had not handled any 1967's for a while, and therefore wasn't tuned in enough to spot it. However, I think most of us probably just assume that when the card is in the holder (PSA, SGC, or BVG), it is legit. And I think that 99.9% of the time that is true. I am sharing this just so that everyone remembers that stuff like this can happen.

I have posted pics below.

WOW!! Just, wow!!! I understand mistakes happen and what not, but I would expect one of the big grading companies to be able to tell the difference between a real card and a fake card all the time, every time.

All 3 TPGs have done it, fairly often (considering it should be 0). If it is truly fake they will take care of it.

Even though he cracked it? I know I wouldn't take care of it if I were a TPG in this instance. One of those situations where there's no proof anything is what the member says what it is. I'm not questioning his honesty, but as a TPG there's no way I could just trust him.

Tough? More like paranoid. I had a similar experience with BVG at the AC National a few years ago. I brought them a raw card that I'd gotten from a friend who'd had it for decades and got it from the original owner. BVG said it was soaked, pressed and laser cut, which I thought was insane. I mean, I appreciate a cautious approach but I've been handling these cards for decades and I know what a factory cut looks like. SGC looked it over and said nope, it's fine, and graded it.

Sorry, of course if it is cracked out then all bets off, really, on the liability part (to me). Too many things can go wrong.

Oh, that's right: Bill Mastro isn't available, huh? :rolleyes:


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Wow, I hear about about Trimmed Cards getting Graded All the Time.

But I never thought they would Grade a Fake Card.