Advice on submitting a card to PSA.
 

Yes...I know.....kinda dumb that a seasoned collector like me would ask such a question. But with the wild price swings that some cards have seen, I am wondering how others would handle this situation.

I got a 1950 Jackie Robinson. On a bad day, it is a PSA 2. On a good day, it is a PSA 3. It absolutely kills me to have to pay $300 to grade a single card. If it gets the '3', that is the price range that they have sold in lately (over $2,500). If it gets the '2', they I could possibly squeeze it in the next tier down ($150 grading fee, valued up to $2,500).

Just curious as to how others would handle the situation.

Send it in on the lower tier and if it gets the "better" grade and they up charge you be happy. At least that is what I would do if selling the card.

The other BIG thing is how long it will take to get back to you if selling. Yes I am a doom and gloomer because these insane prices have to drop like a rock sooner than later.

Agree don’t be left holding the bag...with pending inflation, higher taxes, interest rate hike, and raising gas price...it could be sooner then later.

Agree with this in part
 

Ironic they don't refund you if you submit at the higher tier and it grades lower - things that make you go hmm.

If it matters, DO anticipate a VERY, VERY, VERY long wait to get it back. I have a card I submitted with a $1K grading fee - "supposed" to be overnight turnaround - was expecting about a week. Tracking shows they received it March 5th. As of yesterday they still don't show it as "received"! $150 level, I would expect AT LEAST 2-3 months.

I would definitely send it in at the lower level. The times I have received higher grades than I thought, I have not been up charged.

I would call PSA if you have a $1000 fee submission that has not progressed. They now have daily updates of all their non premium services so you can get an idea of how long it will take.

According to their new through date Walk throughs ($600) are all completed through March 11th, so yours should be way ahead of that.

Best of luck.

And $100% agree to everyone else's answer on the OPs question, pay for lower service if money is what matters most but keep in mind the waiting period is probably over 3 months at this point for express due to the heavy increase right before prices increased. It looks like only 1.5 to 2 weeks for super express per the chart. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0a0b7f5ed3.jpg

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Completely agree, and would add that the stock market under this administration is overdue and primed for a "tumble" as well. More national debt and government bonds cause higher interest rates and lower stock market returns. So if your intent is to sell, don't snooze/lose!

I believe the dates are from when the subs are logged in, they are holding some of the subs for two months before they even log them in.

I have the same dilemma with a couple packs I want to grade to sell one.
I don't really want to grade them, but the price difference is just too big. But the fee is pretty steep, and if prices drop a lot while they're out it could be pretty bad.

Part of me thinks prices will drop once people get back to doing other stuff, another part thinks that what I've seen over the years is that the really good stuff doesn't drop quickly. Someone who can afford 1000+ for a hobby item can usually afford to hold it when the prices soften.

Well Said Mark, spot on.

The dates are when the order is logged in as received I believe (the date that shows up on your my order page).

The orders that take months to get processing are not $1000 fees. They are they value, bulk, quarterly specials.

He did say that his order isn't marked recieved yet so the clock hasn't started but if it arrived 10 days ago it should be marked recieved long before now.

I had an express card order that USPS delivered on the 10th and was marked recieved on the 10th.

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If you mark on the outside the service level, it will get entered quicker for higher service levels.

This is true. It's like paying for "Faster to the Fun" on a well known cruise ship. They are supposed to treat those subs better.

Submit at the lower fee and hope they call to upgrade fee. However, if prices crash by the time you get it back - I'll buy it from you!:)

Yes but according to their chart they are at 40-50 days on the express so it's safe to log yours in but the walk-through they probably wait until they are ready to grade it to log it in.

That doesn’t seem right. I sent in an express in Jan that took 4 days from actual delivery date to be “received” by PSA.

I sent in a regular order ($50/card) that was delivered 3/2 and “received” on 3/4.

As for the OP’s Jackie, pay up. I’m all for paying for the faster service. $150 is a lot, but is it really? I don’t want them to have my card fo months if it’s something I’m looking to move.

Also, my last two orders I didn’t write anything on the package. Just affixed the barcode. Both entered within days from actual delivery.

$150 is the cheaper of the two. $300 is if I value it higher. For one card. Yes, $300 is a lot.

I just had a "Premium" submission processed - was delivered to PSA on 3/15 via USPS Registered Mail - marked as received on 3/16, and shipped back to me on 3/17. The package was clearly marked "Premium 1" on all sides and had the barcode label affixed. So, if you marked your package as instructed by PSA and they didn't log it yet, definitely reach out to them and see where the issue is.

To the OP's question, go with the lower grading tier if return-time is not a factor to you. As others have said, if it happens to grade higher than expected, PSA may just up-charge you.