PSA president just blew my mind

[bobbyw8469]

Didn't they grade a Nolan Ryan newspaper clipping one time?

[glchen]

Larry, I don't think what PSA's president told you was quite what has been PSA's long standing policy. I've also tried to get a lot of uncatalogued cards graded, and what customer support at PSA has always told me is that if the card is not is not some standard catalog (e.g, Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards), then PSA will not grade it. So the process has always been, first get your card catalogued (which won't be easy anymore since the Standard Catalog is going out of business), then come back to PSA to show that the card is now catalogued, and then they will grade it. This has worked for me before for some W590 cards that I was trying to grade.

Regarding variations, I would think that first the variation has to be known in some catalog like the above, and then you would need to prove the difference in value among the variations like PSA has said. Even then, they may decide not to grade it. It's up to them. This is why I use all three TPG's PSA, SGC and Beckett. The cards that PSA doesn't grade, I sent to SGC (e.g., Real Photo Postcards). The cards that PSA and SGC don't grade, then I send to Beckett (e.g., notepads).

BTW, regarding newspaper clippings, I think all 3 TPG's grade these (e.g., 1927 Rinkeydink stamps)

[sflayank]

You're right
I know it's not their long standing policy
He made that up on the fly
They grade and label dozens of variations that have no extra value and they grade many items not in the bible

[Copa7]

Originally Posted by sflayank

You're right
I know it's not their long standing policy
He made that up on the fly
They grade and label dozens of variations that have no extra value and they grade many items not in the bible

Compacentcy is the road to ruin. To me, PSA is satisfied with their current business and dies not see itself as an innovator or educator in the hobby.

The true work by the Dr. Beckett's and Lemkes and others is what led to discovery and expanding the knowledge.

I was part of a museum archive that proposed sharing its data base , which PSA rejected. A large part of a collection community subsequently rejected PSA.

It's one of the reasons they aren't welcome in Europe and Asia.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by glchen

Larry, I don't think what PSA's president told you was quite what has been PSA's long standing policy. I've also tried to get a lot of uncatalogued cards graded, and what customer support at PSA has always told me is that if the card is not is not some standard catalog (e.g, Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards), then PSA will not grade it. So the process has always been, first get your card catalogued (which won't be easy anymore since the Standard Catalog is going out of business),

Are we sure the Standard Catalog is going out of business? There is a huge difference between Chapter 11 bankruptcy and not staying in business. If F&W is able to re-org in bankruptcy court, then we may see new versions thereof. In other words, has this been announced publicly yet?

Regards
Rich

[drcy]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Are we sure the Standard Catalog is going out of business? There is a huge difference between Chapter 11 bankruptcy and not staying in business. If F&W is able to re-org in bankruptcy court, then we may see new versions thereof. In other words, has this been announced publicly yet?

Regards
Rich

And bankruptcy often involves selling your company, or the working parts, to others.