PSA - Cards moving in the case

[luciobar1980]

Yup, I find this absolutely absurd and have found what I believe to be damage to cards from being within a PSA (and for that matter, SGC) case. Again, absurd. Beckett definitely has the best holders from this standpoint.

Originally Posted by STL1944

I apologize if this has been asked and answered... I just got a big stack of cards back from PSA. The issue that I am seeing is that many of the cards are "off centered" in the case and will move around inside the case. I am worried about damage to the card.

My older PSA flips don't seem to have this problem. Is this something that other folks are seeing? or has this been the case for a while>


Here is an example:

[Peter_Spaeth]

I think it's REAL hard for the cards to get damaged, usually the geometry is such that even though there's lots of room a corner can't really hit the edge. And in any event it would take a lot of force.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I think it's REAL hard for the cards to get damaged, usually the geometry is such that even though there's lots of room a corner can't really hit the edge. And in any event it would take a lot of force.

But a 10 could go to a 9 with a small bump or was it a 9 to a 10...never mind!! I probably would not be overly concerned with an oddball issue going from a 4 to a 3.5 though .

[STL1944]

Interestingly, I just purchased another lot of 1947 Tip Top Bread cards. What is interesting, is PSA does have the right size holder for the size card... they just decided not to use them for my cards.

Below is an example. On the left is an example of the card I just got back. Card cutout in the case is too big for the card, card is in a bag, card slides around.

On the right is an example of the exact same card the I just purchased. Same vintage flip but card is in the right sized case and doesn't slide around.

Disappointing.

[jchcollins]

To me, the oversized holder problem - or the situation when they have the proper holder but don't use it or are out of stock or whatever - is super egregious if the card noticeably sloshes around in there. I have enough problems just with the cards moving somewhat in the proper holders that were designed for them. The consensus on this seems to be that yes, some cards will move somewhat, but generally not enough to cause noticeable damage or pose major problem. People have done tests with dropping cards, and even attaching them to cans of paint shaken in the machine at Home Depot - with varying results. Some claim that yes even though the cards move, they do not get damaged. Others (this seems to be more prevalent among modern cards with chrome and other attributes easier to chip) claim they can see damage.

For me, I think it depends on the extent of how much the card moves inside the holder. If I can turn the slab on it's side or upside down and the card doesn't move (even if it might if you really shook it or whammed it on something) then I tend to leave those in the holder. But for slabs when you can see the card just casually shift inside with very light movement of the holder, say you turn your wrist - to me this is annoying as hell. When I see a vintage card do that, I generally will bust it out of the slab if keeping in my personal collection. My experience has been that 1950's cards generally stay pretty well put in their slabs; I'm guessing this is because they were mostly printed on thicker, higher quality card stock. But for some late 1960's through the 1970's issues - the cards are so thin that they generally slide around all over the place. 1970, '72, and '75 Topps seem particularly bad about this. These I really have a hard time not busting them out. Even if I'm realatively confident that no noticeable damage is going to occur, the thought of it drives me nuts and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

The "sleeve" idea to prevent this I think is a good one, but it always seems to be implemented poorly. The complaints about PSA's use of mylar are a given and have been brought up numerous times before - and whatever BVG uses seems to be generally so shoddy that it's not worth it either. Dust specs, poor quality plastic - and I once even removed a small hunk of wood from the interior of a BVG sleeve that was trapped between it and the surface of the card.

If you are a super aficionado of graded cards, I guess this can cause an issue - but for me - it's hard to get much simpler than the trusty old penny sleeve and toploader. Rarely do the cards slide the same with this method, and when they do, the buffer created by the sleeve with the card makes it so the card itself is not going to be in a position to hit anything hard. Card Savers work well for this fix too, although in general I'm not a fan of how openly flexible they are.

[Goudey77]

I may be in the minority here but I prefer the mylar sleeve inserted within a larger framed PSA case. I see very little risk for the card to hit any hard edges with this method.

As for any tighter framed case that "fits" to the size of the card I do see some tolerance for movement which would worry me more than anything.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Goudey77

As for any tighter framed case that "fits" to the size of the card I do see some tolerance for movement which would worry me more than anything.

Yes, this was my point - even though they "fit" the card, some cards still slide left and right, up and down very easily. I do think that it would be pretty difficult to substantially damage a card like this regardless, but the worry issue and the unsightliness of the cards moving makes the whole thing a downer for me, which is why I ususally bust said cards out and put them in a toploader with a penny sleeve.

SGC I will say does not seem to have this problem. I don't have as many of their slabs as I do PSA's, but the black inserts seem to be way more form fitting than PSA's rail method inside the case.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by STL1944

Interestingly, I just purchased another lot of 1947 Tip Top Bread cards. What is interesting, is PSA does have the right size holder for the size card... they just decided not to use them for my cards.

Below is an example. On the left is an example of the card I just got back. Card cutout in the case is too big for the card, card is in a bag, card slides around.

On the right is an example of the exact same card the I just purchased. Same vintage flip but card is in the right sized case and doesn't slide around.

Disappointing.

Aside from the better slab... that "4" is so much nicer than the "5"

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by perezfan

Aside from the better slab... that "4" is so much nicer than the "5"

Exactly why with mid-grade in particular, you have to buy the card and not the grade. Technical issues that result in a knock from a 5 to a 4, a 6 to a 5, or even a 3 to a 2... sometimes have nothing to do with eye appeal.

[kateighty]

Thanks for bringing this thread back. It demonstrates PSA inconsistency at it's finest. I wonder if they use one of those cool disappearing purple glue sticks?!