Grading: What do you do

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Posted By: Kelly

I am very new at submitting cards for grading. I have several t206 cards that I will be selling and I know that grading is the way to go when selling. I have visited both SGC and PSA websites and see that a card under $500 is one rate and cards over $500 are another rate to have them graded.
Several of the T206 cards book in NM for around $900 and $275 in EX. I think they might grade a 7, but on a bad day who knows maybe a 5.
What have some of you done in this situation when submitting?
Do you just value the card at $499 and hope it comes out worth more, or do you just value it at the max and pay for the better level of service?

Thanks for the input
-Kelly

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Posted By: jay wolt

KELLY The $ value is more for insurance purposes
then actual value. As you stated the cards value
will dramatically increase the higher grade it gets.
So unless you are submitting some of the big guns,
just place the $ value under $500 each...jay

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Posted By: barrysloate

The higher rates you may pay will also determine how quickly you get them back. If you have a deadline it's best to pay a little more. If you are in no rush then just use the lower tier. But I would try to insure the cards for roughly what you think they are worth.

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Posted By: Dave

For the purposes of submitting for the first time, if you think your cards are going to be 6 or 7's when your talking about T206's, then put it in your head they are 3's and 4's and you won't be so dissapointed. I think you have to have a few come back graded before you realize to start with people way overgrade thier own cards.

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Posted By: Andrew

What happens if you value five cards at $499 on the submission form, but $5000 on the USPS Insured package slip and it gets lost? What is the payout amount? Let's say there is no simple reference like SMR to refer to, will the USPS base the amount on what you declared on the box or what was on the form?

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.” - English Proverb

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Posted By: Dave

The amount you value the cards on the grading service form is the amount of insurance you will receive if the cards get lost coming back to you. That has nothing to do with what you insure the cards for getting to the grading service.

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Posted By: Kelly

Just got my first grades back.
Here are the results on a group of t206 and t205's

PSA 7 - 2
PSA 6 - 5
PSA 5 - 3
PSA 4 - 1

I submitted 11 cards. I am pleased with the results. I thought one or two more 6's could have been 7's. I also thought one of my 5's is really strong for the grade.
Positive experience. I will try again. Thanks to all who gave me feedback on how/what to do.

-Kelly

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Posted By: Martin Neal

Congratulations on your submittal. How about some scans? It is always nice to see cards that have survived for over a hundred years in that condition.

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Posted By: Rick McQuillan

Andrew, as far as USPS insurance goes, it doesn't matter what you put on the PSA form, and, up to a point, it doesn't matter what you put on the USPS form. If the cards are lost you will be required to provide receipts showing the amount that you paid for the cards. If you insured the cards for $5000 and you only paid $1000, then you will get $1000 from USPS. SMR doesn't matter, Beckett doesn't matter - the only thing that matters is the amount that you paid for the cards. There is one exception - if you paid $1000 for the cards and only insured them for $500, then you will get the $500.

Rick
Postmaster
Lancaster, WI

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Posted By: leon

Thanks for the wisdom. We have a very eclectic group on the board and you being a Postmaster certainly comes in handy. I guess the $50 I paid for insurance yesterday was the right thing to do (especially since the seller required it)...and he is overnighting the card, otherwise I am sure registered would be cheaper to send but again, would take quite a bit longer to receive....take care

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Posted By: Martin Neal

So if I inherited a Wagner from my grandfather and he paid $75.00 for it in 1953, it would be useless for me to insure it with the post office? A absurd example I know, but it makes me wonder why I have paid pretty high insurance rates to the post office over the years.

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Posted By: Dave

So best bet is to send the cards to PSA registered?

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Posted By: T206Collector

Receipt is, of course, important to proving the value of loss. But when the USPS destroyed Griffith and Huggins T206 cards being delivered to me -- literally torn in half -- I included the print out of a Beckett Vintage price guide to show value and I got my money.

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Posted By: Dave

The whole issue of having to have a receipt is absurd. Many people that send off cards to get graded have had the cards forever and don't have any such receipts. Auto insurance is based on a "book value" for the vehicle, cards should be the same. If some nut sells me a T206 of Walter Johnson in excellent condition for $100 and it gets lost on the way to PSA the money owed should be the $1000 I insure the item for. Not the $100 some nut sold it to me for. I guess it looks like one reason to be using FedEx instead. I'm not aware of FedEx having such policies. And what about when the package is coming back to you from PSA? You put down the amount you want it insured for then. So if a card grades high and is then worth considerable more, such as the $1500 insurance I paid for, I'm still going to just get the $100 I actually bought the card for even though it is now slabbed and lost coming back to me?

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Posted By: JK

This might be one key difference between having something insured by the post office and having a collectables insurance policy for your cards. I have a policy on my cards. As long as I ship card in the manner required by the insurance policy, they will pay me the value of the card up to the limits of the policy (provided, of course, that I can establish the value) for any cards lost or damaged in the mail. The policy limit differs depending on the method used to ship the cards (Ex. Regular US Mail, no insurance and no signature required - $200 max; US Mail w/ Insurance or UPS w/signature - $2500; Registered Mail or Fed Ex - more than the value of any single card I own or could ever hope to buy).

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Posted By: Kyle

Is he overnighting the card via USPS Express Mail? If so, I am 99% certain that Express Mail includes $100 in insurance at the flat envelope price of just under $15.00. So you may have been overcharged.

-Kyle-

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Posted By: JK

Im guessing Leon's card was worth well in excess of $100.

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Posted By: Sean

I'm thinking it's more like $5,207.89, and one great looking card.

Nice pick-up Leon!

Sean BH

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Posted By: sagard

Anyone who manages to squeeze a dime from USPS on an insurance claim has done a nearly impossible feat. Usually the answer will be "insufficient packaging". On a lost item they will make you produce receipts, not a sales invoice. Then they make you verify/triple verify with your pissed off customer that they didn't receive the item. Then they make you get that statement from the customer in writing. Then they think about it for a while. Then eventually they will either send you a check of what they have determined your item was worth or reject your claim outright.

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Posted By: E, Daniel

I sent a $750 card, fully insured, priority, with signature confimation required.
The buyer said he never got it, created a chargeback with paypal - which was absolute hell, so I started the claims process.
I had everything fully documented.
I spoke personally to the postmaster at the delivery center where the card was mailed.
I was told after much, much, haranguing, firstly that the postal delivery guy wasn't working the day of the delivery, and that he had no memory of the item or its delivery.
Then, when it was shown he had keyed in the codes for the package and therefore WAS working that day, he said he remembered dellivering it, and couldn't explain why there was no signature on file.
I spoke to the building security where it was supposedly delivered, and they denied having signed for it. I spoke personally to senior management in the office where he worked, and had him ask everyone who worked there if they signed for the item, and none had.
After so many many phonecalls with the postmaster involved (NYC), she admitted that in all likelihood the delivery person had simply entered all the codes for the packages beforehand in his truck, as a way to save time on delivery, and that this happened from time to time.

So I wrote it all up, and waited for USPS to pay the insurance on the item.
Guess what, they denied payment, saying their records showed delivery - AND THAT'S WITHOUT A SIGNATURE AS REQUIRED - on file.

So I explained all this to paypal, and guess what. They found in favour of the guy who said he never recieved the item.

So I got royally f#@$$*.
And i did everything, everything right.
Out a card I adored, out the money, **** out of luck.

So postmaster poster on the board, forgive me if I take anything you recommend with a 30lb sack of salt.


sincerely
daniel enright

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Posted By: Kyle

I misread it as $50 in insurance he paid for... my bad! I can't imagine paying $50 total for insurance!

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Posted By: JimB

So the USPS does not make good on their insurance no matter what. Even if it is sent registered and they cannot show a signature received, they still will not pay out on an insured package. That is ridiculous. I know it would be a major hassle, but I would think they should be taken to small claims court over that one. Maybe the lawyers here can comment.


Other than to scam people out of their money, I don't see why somebody would have to show a recipt or even proof of value. If I pay $50 to insure a $5000 item, it seems to me that they are just betting they will lose the package less than 1% of the time. If I paid my $50, what difference does it make what is or is not inside there? This just seems like a very unethical way to increase their odds.

JimB

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Posted By: JK

Daniel - that sucks and is a good reason not to use the usps. UPS once lost a $750 card that I sent to SGC. The card was brought to a UPS pickup facility but was never scanned into the UPS system. Despite having no real evidence that they were ever in possession of the package (since they never scanned it) UPS still quickly paid the claim without any argument. All I had to provide was a copy of the ebay listing showing my winning bid and a copy of the paypal receipt showing what I paid for the item. Say what you want about UPS, but at least they pay their claims.

Now, as mentioned above, I just have a separate policy that covers me when I ship or have cards shipped to me. Do that and you avoid having to deal with the shipping service at all.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Guys,
I have had 2 claims filed with USPS, one for 500, and one for 4500, and both were paid within 60 days. I would suggest anyone using USPS to use a smaller Post Office where you can get to know the postmaster, as they can become invaluable in situations of loss or damaged packages. I send 99% of my packages through USPS and have had less than 6 problems on well over 1000 transactions. Be well Brian

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Posted By: E, Daniel

Is that the "Collectibles Insurance Agency" that you are referencing, and is it a part of your basic coverage or an add on?

daniel

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Posted By: JK

Hey Daniel - it is collectibles insurance agency and its part of their standard coverage.