PSA-A Cautionary Tale!

[conor912]

Originally Posted by MBMiller25

Fair question Conor, it's certainly about the money regarding the value of my cards. When I said it wasn't about the money, that was more in regards to reimbursing me for the card based on what I paid. At that point the money didn't mean anything to me, I wanted the card. That's a beautiful card, and at that point I just wanted that card back.

Fair enough, Matt, but my point was, if you're not looking to sell the card, why even send it in looking for an "upgrade" in the first place? Would you have liked it more if it was a 9? This is the part of the slabby mindset that I'm still trying to understand.

[MattyC]

MBM, horrible story, bro. Feel for you. Not surprised PSA handled it that way. As a collector, I am all about SGC and BGS where possible these days.

I agree with the post above, in that I would never send in or walk in a card, whether for a cracked review or even a cross, unless I was about to sell it. Even then, the risk of damaging it always gets to me.

End of the day, we know what we have as collectors, and we don't need some grader or company or sticker to tell us. Especially when they change their own minds so often. Even when it comes to value, the collective eyes of collectors will always determine the price. We've seen some 2s sell for more than some 3s, etc. All about eye appeal; screw the grades!

[DerekMichael]

Originally Posted by MattyC

MBM, horrible story, bro. Feel for you. Not surprised PSA handled it that way. As a collector, I am all about SGC and BGS where possible these days.

I agree with the post above, in that I would never send in or walk in a card, whether for a cracked review or even a cross, unless I was about to sell it. Even then, the risk of damaging it always gets to me.

End of the day, we know what we have as collectors, and we don't need some grader or company or sticker to tell us. Especially when they change their own minds so often. Even when it comes to value, the collective eyes of collectors will always determine the price. We've seen some 2s sell for more than some 3s, etc. All about eye appeal; screw the grades!

this should be in the card collecting bible

[steve B]

Basing the compensation for a problem on what I paid would get me pretty mad. Mostly because a lot of what I might get graded was bought in the 80's.

The difference in value between the original grade and the grade after the damage would be better, maybe with a bit extra if it's a particularly tough card.

It all makes me glad I never wanted to pay the cover charge to use them.

Steve B

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by MattyC

MBM, horrible story, bro. Feel for you. Not surprised PSA handled it that way. As a collector, I am all about SGC and BGS where possible these days.

I agree with the post above, in that I would never send in or walk in a card, whether for a cracked review or even a cross, unless I was about to sell it. Even then, the risk of damaging it always gets to me.

End of the day, we know what we have as collectors, and we don't need some grader or company or sticker to tell us. Especially when they change their own minds so often. Even when it comes to value, the collective eyes of collectors will always determine the price. We've seen some 2s sell for more than some 3s, etc. All about eye appeal; screw the grades!

Matt- You're glad about SGC and BGS when it comes to collecting....One small question....Resale value??

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

Matt- You're glad about SGC and BGS when it comes to collecting....One small question....Resale value??

There are a lot of other factors to consider when choosing a TPG other than resale value such as integrity, consistency, turnaround times, customer service (how they handle problems), etc.

If resale value was the most important thing, wouldn't we all be driving the same kind of car?

[JasonD08]

Actually from my recent research SGC is outselling PSA it seems on most 1950s and 1960s vintage. Just my 2 cents.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

There are a lot of other factors to consider when choosing a TPG other than resale value such as integrity, consistency, turnaround times, customer service (how they handle problems), etc.

If resale value was the most important thing, wouldn't we all be driving the same kind of car?

No, because most of the cars that have the highest resale value are the most expensive ones! Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc....

[chaddurbin]

lesson learned; don't let other people handle your cards unless it's absolutely necessary. and if i play the crackout game, i'd rather me messing up my own card than someone else.

edit: tbh here this could've happened at sgc or beckett...and they would've probably done the same thing i.e. refund you the difference in market value for the grade.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Handle 10 million cards, something is bound to go wrong. It sucks that it happened to be you, but what more could Joe do than offer to pay you for the card?

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

No, because most of the cars that have the highest resale value are the most expensive ones! Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc....

That's not true at all, Kevin. According to cars.com, the best re-sale value for a mid-size sedan (amongst any class e.g. Mercedes, BMW or Lexus) is a Honda Accord. So, let me rephrase the question.

Given the fact that a Honda Accord has the highest re-sale value of a mid-size sedan, why would someone purchase any other mid-size sedan other than a Honda Accord?

All that doesn't matter though. My point is that there are several other factors to consider when choosing a TPG, other than re-sale value. In fact, I bet you if you were to start a poll asking members what their most important factor is in choosing a TPG, re-sale value would probably be close to the bottom.

[queencitysportscards]

Sorry to hear about this situation. I own a business and no matter what the products or services we sell customer service trumps them all. Mistakes happen, but we run through the brick wall to make our clients and customers happy. Its the right thing to do, however, not everyone practices this or follows through. At least PSA made you whole, but understand your frustration as a collector myself about your card. I still consider PSA, SGC and BGS, the best in the business for grading services and they all add value depending on your collecting interests.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

That's not true at all, Kevin. According to cars.com, the best re-sale value for a mid-size sedan (amongst any class e.g. Mercedes, BMW or Lexus) is a Honda Accord. So, let me rephrase the question.

Given the fact that a Honda Accord has the highest re-sale value of a mid-size sedan, why would someone purchase any other mid-size sedan other than a Honda Accord?

All that doesn't matter though. My point is that there are several other factors to consider when choosing a TPG, other than re-sale value. In fact, I bet you if you were to start a poll asking members what their most important factor is in choosing a TPG, re-sale value would probably be close to the bottom.

David- no offense, but I dont get that. No matter how much someone enjoys the hobby, and their relationship with their preferred TPG, they are going to want top dollar for their card when they sell it. Right now I am buying T206 SGC 84's on average for around $350 and less. The comparable PSA 7's are going for close to double that...Are you saying that's not important to most collectors?

[JamesGallo]

I find is amazing that people are dumping on Matt.

Lets see things Joe could have done better.

1- Not lie to Matt that this was the first time they have damaged a card
2- Not comment about how they are just baseball cards
3- not try to dick around with the card. You damaged it call him right away and don't screw around with putting different grades in the system at different times.
4- Not hang up on him. Regardless of if Matt was referring to a lawyer or a hobby friend the correct thing to do would be to try and address it rather then cutting him off. Completely unprofessional in every way shape or form and I think most employers would be very unhappy if someone was treated this way.

I had a situation with SGC recently and it was handled in completely the opposite manner. I got a direct phone call, was able to say my piece and was provided a satisfactory outcome.

The fact of the matter is that to PSA you are a number in the system and that is all. Unless you are really close to Joe you can't get anywhere.

Its a shame this happened at all but the response makes me sick.

James G

[thehoodedcoder]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

That's not true at all, Kevin. According to cars.com, the best re-sale value for a mid-size sedan (amongst any class e.g. Mercedes, BMW or Lexus) is a Honda Accord. So, let me rephrase the question.

Given the fact that a Honda Accord has the highest re-sale value of a mid-size sedan, why would someone purchase any other mid-size sedan other than a Honda Accord?

All that doesn't matter though. My point is that there are several other factors to consider when choosing a TPG, other than re-sale value. In fact, I bet you if you were to start a poll asking members what their most important factor is in choosing a TPG, re-sale value would probably be close to the bottom.

bad analogy. cars degrade with usage. baseball cards don't get used. one is a function or original price and usage of the item, the other one is primarily based on supply and demand.

kevin

[MattyC]

Hey Kevin,

Hope all is good. My feelings on that aspect are kind of buried in my earlier post; but in a bit more detail here-- if I were to sell a given BGS or SGC card in
the current TPG landscape, my first move would be to try and let the card speak for itself, find a buyer of the card over holder, and see if it can fetch my desired price ballpark regardless of its holder. I've found that, depending ENTIRELY on the card, the holder can really be moot. If I couldn't find the right buyer, I would then entertain reviews or crossovers.

There is no doubt that the crystal meth known as the PSA Registry has led so many more cards to land in PSA holders. Granted, many of those cards are not high-value pieces, but rather modern commons. Either way, this popularity is priced in to the PSA brand. When it comes time to sell a card, which I rarely do, if the card could not perform like I hoped after a long while, I'd be okay crossing it. But it would have to languish a while before I subjected it to cracking.

And again, all depends if we are talking about a Frederick Foto Ruth or a 1981 Topps common.

Ultimately I am really not a seller, so operate on the buy/collecting side. As such, I see no reason to pay a higher price because of a premium caused by an online game in which I'm not a participant. Not at all a knock on Registry collectors, to each his own. But as a buyer, one can get an often superior card in a more attractive holder for less than its PSA counterpart. To keep in a collection forever, that's a no-brainer.

I try to find the best example of a card I want in my price range, regardless of holder. If ever I have to sell, then if I can break even or make a few bucks, I'm cool. Even a small loss I find acceptable. The amount I could concievably get by cracking, reviewing, or crossing would have to be really large to justify the risk and cost. But again I'm not a professional seller seeking maximum profit. If I ever had to sell off my cards at this point, I'd probably be in a real bad spot in life and happy to just break even. Would take a major disaster for me to sell my cards-- they provide such tremendous joy and escape from any stress!