[Rhotchkiss]

How is PSA's guaranty supposed to work (we know it does NOT work)?

Wouldn't they pay you the difference between what you bought it for and what a PSA A is worth? I am not sure they will pay out on the upside or downside the card realized since it was acquired, since the purpose of the guaranty is to make you whole. Lets say the card had gone from $17k down to $8k (like back in 2016), what is PSA supposed to do then -- pay you the difference between $8k and the value of a PSA A?

Also, if PSA will pay out on current value rather than acquisition price, according to VCP there was a PSA 4 that sold on 1/24/21 for $20,500 and a PSA 5 sold for $56,400 on 2/28/21. These are very current and relevant comps. Seems to me that a PSA 4.5 should be worth about the average of these two, which is $38,400. So it sounds like the offers you are getting are market.

EDITED -- I now see an earlier post where apparently the buy-out is at market value.... If that is the case, then nobody with an altered card is ever incentivized to take it to PSA in a down market. I guess it goes to the heart of the propose of the guaranty and if it is PSA standing behind its "opinion" than the pay out should be at FMV, whether that is higher or less than acquisition price.