Could Barrons' Story Be The Last Straw For PSA?

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Posted By: davidcycleback

"Each photo came with a letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA"

Each photo didn't came with an individual LOA (there were thousands of photos in the lot), the lot came with a single LOA.

I beleive the winning bidder's complaint was not about the authenticity of the signatures but the condition of the photos and signatures. For that lot MastroNet hired PSA/DNA only to provide an authenticity letter for the signatures and not to give a condition grade. The Barrons writer must be ignorant about the hobby if he thinks PSA grades a group lot of cards or photos by by printing out a LOA. If you want a set of 1957 Topps graded by PSA you have to get each and every card into a holder. As baseball card collectors know, authenticity and condition are different things. This difference is perfectly exemplified when two customers each mail in an autographed baseball card to PSA, and one asks for signature authentication plus a 1-10 grade on the holder while the other asks for the 'authentic' label only with no 1-10 grade. Barron's or others blaming PSA/DNA for condition problems in the MastroNet lot is like a home owner blaming the roofer for bad plumbing.