What is the procedure to get PSA to acknowledge a "new" variation?

[brianp-beme]

Hi Fred...here is a somewhat related thread I recently started concerning a possible uncatalogued no number variation in the 1915 Cracker Jack set that you might find helpful.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240865

Brian

[Rich Klein]

At one point, the variation had to be listed at Beckett. On that, I know from what I've created on the COMC data base, that those 1963's exist in both ways and if both are on the site, you can use that as proof.

Rich

[swarmee]

PSA will not recognize all variations of every type of card, and even doesn't care about T205 backs.
There is no guarantee that getting it checklisted will result in PSA marking it out on the flip. They reserve the right to make their own decisions. If you list it as a variation and they choose to not do it, they will probably return it as NO INFO, NO GRADE, NO CHARGE.

However, if they do happen to grade your card properly with the flip denoting the variation, you can then join the registry set you're attempting to have it added to (if you aren't already), then request a new slot for that registry set. Someone from their team will either add it to the set, or they'll poll the members who are doing the set to see if the card should be added.

[drcy]

If a tree falls in the forest and PSA doesn't list it on the label, does it make a sound?

[pherbener]

Originally Posted by drcy

if a tree falls in the forest and psa doesn't list it on the label, does it make a sound?

+1

[jb217676]

It can happen. For the longest times PSA labelled these as "miscut". Now, they are properly labelled and known as the "Black Bottom Print" variations. It took some going back and forth but they came around eventually.

[Harford20]

I have had many variations added to PSA's grading population, as well as many variations turned down. Here is a variation successfully lobbied for and one unsuccessful.

The card is the 1966 Topps Braves team #326. In reviewing our Aaron collection with my father, we noted that this card had a variation with a DOT in between the words "Place" and "National" on the card front, and a variation that did not have a DOT. This was not listed in the SCD or Beckett as a variation.

Step 1. Contacted PSA Customer Service with scans of both cards (front and back). At that time, only one was PSA graded and no variation had been listed with PSA.
Step 2. The Customer Service rep took the email scans to the "Research Staff" for review.
Step 3. This was deemed NOT a variant by the staff as one card had not been evaluated by PSA for authenticity.
Step 4. My dad and I sent in the variant for grading as "Card 326 Braves Team" and received a PSA 7 grade to go along with the PSA 8 of the other variation we had.
Step 5. We re-contacted PSA Customer Service, now with scans of both PSA graded cards, and these were again taken to the "Research Staff"
Step 6. PSA contacted us saying that these cards would be considered a variation, but now both cards had to be sent back to PSA as Mechanical Errors for a new "flip" listing
Step 7. Entry onto the Aaron Master Set registry was relatively easy after the variation listed by PSA.
Total time for completion of step 1-6 was approx. 9 months.

Now for the rest of the story......
1966 Venezuela Topps #326 Braves Team
This card has the exact same variation as the 1966 Topps #326 Braves Team card did.
The above steps were again done AFTER grading both the DOT and NO DOT Venezuela Topps variation. When the researchers received the scans of both variations, the decision was "PSA does not recognize this variation at this time". This Venezuela variation question has been asked of PSA now on three separate occasions, each with high-quality scans sent to PSA, the rationale of the variation documented in the 1966 Topps set, but this variation remains undocumented by PSA.

As this was mainly for the Registry, neither my father or I have tried to get the variation recognized by any other TPG, nor do we have an interest to do so.

I have found that variations that have already been listed in the SCD (and sometimes in the Beckett guide) have had an easier path of "approval", but even this is not perfect.....Even last week, PSA refused to recognize a card stock variation (white vs grey card stock) for a 1970's Topps card that clearly has both card stock types listed in the SCD. I give up.....

It mostly takes persistence and being a pain in *** to PSA to get these variations through.

Dave