KSA Grading Company (Canada)
 

Does anyone on the board have a relationship with this company and possibly contact info for someone higher up in the company?

I recently bought a Parkhurst Gordie Howe RC on e-bay that was graded a KSA 1. Shortly after receiving it, I sent it in to SGC in the KSA holder and asked that they cross it over to an SGC 1 or higher only and, otherwise, keep it in the existing holder and return back to me.

Not surprisingly, the card came back in the mail yesterday in the existing KSA 1 holder. After several e-mails back and forth asking why, I finally was told that the card was trimmed. Assuming, of course, that SGC is correct, the card obviously should have not received a numerical grade, only "Authentic". Unfortunately, I paid a numerical grade price for it and am way under water with it now and would like to make every effort to see if KSA will make good on their mistake. I have already contacted the e-bay seller along with e-bay, giving them the news. Since the purchase was over 90 days old, neither is willing to do anything for me, as expected.

Thank you in advance to anyone that might be able to assist with this situation.

I would assume, depending on the age of the KSA slab, you are likely SOL on getting KSA to do anything.
It will be their opinion against SGC's and I would assume they will disagree wholeheartedly with SGC's assessment?
A few years ago, give or take, the original guy(s) at KSA sold or moved on and a new guy purchased or runs the show now so if it is an older graded slab, he likely won't want anything to do with it?

Have you posted this on Blowout? Likely a better place, maybe, to get more info about your situation than here?
file:///C:/Users/Dale/Documents/Blowout%20Cards%20Forums%20-%20Sports%20Cards,%20Trading%20Cards,%20Non%20Spor ts%20and%20B_S_T.html
Good luck. :)

Thanks for the info. I'm not familiar with KSA's slab changes over the years, here is a pic of the card in question, maybe you can tell from that if it is a more recent or older one?

I'm not familiar with Blowout but will check it out, thanks for that info as well.

It is a nice card but sadly I do not think their is anything you can do regarding it.

There is a reason why KSA is not tracked on VCP...and this is it.

Did Sgc tell you what edges they thought were trimmed? The graders over there are becoming notorious for handing out "A"s on pre-war cards that may have been cut small at the factory.

Keep it that way best grader for hockey cards period

+

They told me corner(s), my guess is top left and possibly bottom right?

If I am unsuccessful in getting KSA to do anything with this, as expected, what are some thoughts regarding whether to cross over to PSA or SGC Authentic or leave in the KSA 1 holder. Which would bring greater value? I also realize that none of the major auction houses will likely run the card in the existing KSA holder so I would probably be on my own selling it and I would fully expect the first question coming from potential buyers is whether or not I have attempted to cross over.

Nevermind

At one point I considered sending cards to KSA...when there were no options for affordable grading with reasonable turn around times. I looked on eBay completed and active listings and saw it was basically one seller offering vintage KSA cards. https://www.ebay.com/usr/irishhosta?...75.m3561.l2559 Almost every card appeared small or had an irregular cut. In many instances cards had horrible centering but got very high grades too. I concluded KSA was the place where problem cards went.

KSA has been around for a long time. in my opinion, and it's just that, KSA has never established itself as a credible and significant competitor in the TPG space, even for hockey cards.

You haven’t been to Canada not true

Judging by the way the card sits in the holder, it looks trimmed at bottom.

I’m Canadian and KSA was notorious for giving grades to trimmed cards especially Gretzky rookies. Supposedly different since they changed ownership but was like that for a long time. It’s common knowledge and I know you know that


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I would ask myself why anyone would have trimmed that card originally. It would have been a 1 before and it is still a 1. I know nothing about hockey cards but I have had issues with SGCs grading recently and my guess, and it is just a guess, is that the card is fine and the 1 grade is accurate.

Ditto what Jay said...

I highly doubt that card is trimmed. I would crack it out of the KSA holder for sure either way though. It's probably worth just as much in an authentic holder as it is in a KSA 1. I'd probably send it in to PSA and make a note on the submission form that you want it holdered even if it's altered. Then, cross your fingers.

It is possible it was innocently trimmed in the 50s and then after being played with the trimming became less noticeable. The card does appear slightly small and the bottom edge appears uneven to my eye. I have seen higher grade 51s with crooked cuts and always assumed trimmed. Could be the photo though on this one.

If it is trimmed it was 100% not trimmed recently.

Never trimmed correct grade

Card does not look trimmed to me. Not sure what the hell SGC is talking about! For those of you who don't know, the 51' Parkies were cut all over the place.

Here is an example below:

https://d1w8cc2yygc27j.cloudfront.ne...8870527521.jpg

Now, compare it to this:

https://i.psacard.com/cardfacts/1951...541.jpg?h=1000

See what I mean?

Unfortunately, some people buy over-sized cards and then trim them down. If you go on Blowout forums, then you'll see some examples posted over there. If you stick with lower-grade examples (with weak corners), then you should be alright.

Thank you to all for all of the advice offered. It seems like the concensus is that the card is most likely accurately graded in the current holder. If I crack it out, maybe PSA grades it a 1, maybe SGC grades it a 1 (although they might remember this scenario, still very fresh right now) and I'm sure they don't get too many of these submissions. If they both grade it Authentic only, I lose out on the numerical grade but in a more reputable holder. Thoughts on which holds more value, especially if it is clear cut, KSA 1 or PSA/SGC Authentic? I realize that PSA Authentic is almost certainly higher resale value than SGC Authentic.