Went through my first round of this process for a graded card. I had high hopes, as it is a recognizable card from a major set with no fakes and so it should be pretty hard for them to find a reason to fuck up my deal for me and not deliver my card.
After a three day delay due to the middle man, I got my card. It comes in a box. I was very pleased that they included the other cheap cards I bought from the seller, and placed her kind, handwritten note to me in the box as well instead of throwing it out. I do actually appreciate that they did not mess this part up.
It's packed well, with a bubble mailer holding the other items on top, and then the item they are validating beneath it. It came with the teal insert,
"Authentic without a doubt", expressing that they are "thrilled to deliver the latest addition" to my collection. "Your card has meticulously inspected by a team of experts" is promised, which I believe is a lie. They are to validate the slab is a real slab, not re-inspecting the card within the slab is how this extremely useful program was announced and billed. I'm sure they are experts on SGC slabs. Considering how many fake T227 Johnson's are out there (0, that I have ever seen! Only the baseball's have been counterfeited thus far as far as I am aware), this felt like an incredibly valuable service.
Inside the flip envelope/stand/holder/thing with it's magnetic flap was finally my card, in a clear slab sleeve, lest the slab get damaged, and secured to the blue cardboard for display. I took it out of the display (I'm a rebel like that) and flipped it over. There is a QR code on back and a void if damaged sticker. The sticker is another valuable addition to my security of mind. I just peeled it back, taking 0 care to preserve it, and then slapped it back down closed again, as you can see. It takes literally 0 effort to put any slab or card you want in here and just seal it again, seeming to produce yet another absurdity of this entire waste of time. I mean, it gives me peace of mind! Peeling it up leaves part of the text on the sleeve, but as soon as you close it, it's covered up until someone peels off the "VOID" sticker; they will never know you swapped the item.
Jack is now sitting in my stack of recently acquired slabs for the next time I break out the pliers to crack it out, and throw the slip and shattered slab into the garbage can, so I can enjoy the card I wanted without all of these layers of holders, displays, and authentication of.... something (the slab? The card? Who knows!). If I run out of money, I'll ask whoever has been submitting marquee cards for gift grades to submit it for me for a blatantly bullshit SGC gift grade so I can triple the value.
Taking out that I could personally give a crap what SGC, PSA, CSG, or any random employee of any company in card land thinks of an item I am buying, I fail to see, more than ever, any actual value to this junk. Even if I loved slabbed cards and was buying this for the slip and not the card, this gives me absolutely nothing. The comically terrible "void if damaged" seal that you can re-use on anything is a waste. If I am an investor, this also adds nothing to my investment; the value is in the slip. If I am too dumb to tell my nose from my ass and can't tell a fake from a real, this adds nothing. SGC already did that part (if one believes they are competent), and this card does not have counterfeits anyways. If the slab is fake and they inspected the card not the slab, like the included marketing sheet claims they did, then I'd still get a fake slab. Nobody would gain anything from this service on this deal.
But I got my Johnson. 2 backs down, 1 more to go. Really should have got these back when Johnson was worth considerably less than Baker, Bender and Marquard, not more.
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