"PSA Guarantee" - What would you do?

[STL1944]

Curious to know the groups opinion on something. I recently discovered that one of my PSA cards of Hugh "Fireman" Casey graded as a PSA 8 is probably trimmed (see photo's below for specifics). I have owned the card for over a year (I bought it already graded) but recently bought a raw version of the same card which made me think that my card is trimmed (on three sides!!!).

My question is, what do I do now? I can:

A) Try to find the seller on eBay and see if I can get a refund
B) See if I can take advantage of PSA's "guarantee"
C) Do nothing

Couple of facts to consider:

1) The 1947 Tip Top Bread cards were exactly that... cards put in with loaves of bread. As such, the condition of them is usually poor. Of the 900 or so cards PSA has graded, 70% of them are PSA 4 or less. In fact, there are only two PSA 8's ever graded (with none higher) - the one below and one other

2) I am trying to build the first ever PSA registry set of the 1947 Tip Tops (at least that I know of)

3) PSA's SMR values the card at $135 which is way low for what I would expect a PSA 8 to be valued. There are simply not a lot of transactions. If I took advantage of the guarantee, I would not be able to replace the card

My gut is to get my other copy graded, keep the PSA 8 but pull it out of the registry to be fair to others.

Thoughts?

[JollyElm]

Were all the 1947 Tip Tops a standard size (the way Topps cards are 2.5" x 3.5") or was there variation?

[riggs336]

How do the other Tip Tops in your collection compare size-wise to the two Casey's?

[oldeboo]

Interesting dilemma. Not being familiar with this issue, I'm not sure if there are variations in size. If they all were relatively the same size that thing looks MAJORLY trimmed. Here are a few of my opinions in general.

A) Try to find the seller on eBay and see if I can get a refund
- I don't think it's exactly fair to a seller that you realized you goofed up and trusted PSA a year, or several years, after the fact.

B) See if I can take advantage of PSA's "guarantee"
- No guarantee they honor their guarantee. I would be thrilled to get SMR value back on a card that was majorly altered if it ends up being an option. Otherwise, this card is worth, what, a couple bucks trimmed? It is common knowledge that PSA numerically grades A LOT of trimmed cards. I wouldn't be shocked if they tell you sorry for your luck.

C) Do nothing
- Wouldn't seem right to keep that in your registry. I would much rather have your ungraded card put in a slab if you're determine to have a registry set. If you only care about the number on the slab instead of what the card looks like, by all means, it makes sense to leave it in the registry set.

[swarmee]

Send it in for the grade guarantee and give them your recommended value. If you purchased it for a certain price, you can tell them that. Definitely looks trimmed; never should have gotten a number. When I first looked at it, I thought it was a 1949 Bond Bread, not Tip Top. ;-)

[swarmee]

Oh, and one of the Blowout guys posted your card over there and said your main problem is that this is a counterfeit/reprint. The cropping of the photo directly over the name is different in the real card (look at the button /ribbon under Dodgers placement).
So you could provide them with that information as well.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by STL1944

I recently discovered that one of my PSA cards of Hugh "Fireman" Casey graded as a PSA 8 is probably trimmed (see photo's below for specifics).

My gut is to get my other copy graded, keep the PSA 8 but pull it out of the registry to be fair to others.

Well, I have a few thoughts -

1 - "probably"? Ok, sure.

2 - Based on what a great job they did grading your "8", you should get a "12" on your raw one, so I would absolutely pay them for their opinion on it.

3 - Since your "8" is really trimmed on three sides, which makes it "really" worth less than the fee they will charge for the next opinion you pay them for, what you SHOULD do, is bust it out of the case and thumbtack it to your wall, as a reminder to be more careful about future purchases. OR. You could try to sell it to the guy who owns the Diamondbacks, my understanding is that he pays well for trimmed cards.

Doug "honesty is my only excuse" Goodman