Latest card grading scam

hangman62 · #1 10-06-2010, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertGT

I just wanted to alert the group to something that just happened to me for the first time in 10 years of selling on eBay.

I sold a card, graded PSA 8.5, at a pretty reasonable price of $35 to a buyer in California. A couple of days later he e-mails me saying the card arrived with a crack in the holder. The case was perfect when it left my hands - in fact the card had only been graded a couple of weeks earlier by PSA. I sent it via USPS in a bubble mailer, with it marked "FRAGILE" in several places. But I told him to go ahead and return the card to me anyway for a refund.

So I got the card back today, and what I see is a very large diagonal crack across the front and a smaller diagonal crack in the middle of the reverse. I'm looking at these cracks, and they look like obvious pressure cracks to me -- as if someone put the card in a vise in an effort to break it out and resubmit it to PSA, perhaps hoping to get a 9. The difference between an 8.5 and 9 on this particular card is about $350.

I showed the card to a grading expert of mine, and he agrees this is how such cracks likely occurred - from torquing the vise too tightly. Also, there is no movement of the card inside the holder because the plastic is now pressed up against the card.

Sorry to go on forever, but has anyone ever heard of the USPS/UPS etc. causing cracks such as this in a PSA holder?
I don't want to identify the buyer right now as I have no proof this is what happened, but it seems very, very suspicious.

Thanks,
Rob

Rob,
That seems like quite a leap of faith..saying that because it had cracks in the middle..somone put it in a vise and wanted to resubmit it to PSA for a half a grade higher ??..how about it was accidently smashed by careless UPS handlers

RobertGT · #2 10-06-2010, 09:18 PM

It has possible that I am getting to be so cynical from reading so many negative articles that I'm starting to think everything could be a scam. I certainly hope that wasn't the case, and if others have had similar shoddy handing from the USPS, then perhaps it was simply just that.

That card from Canada is really quite horrible. Sorry that happened!

vintagechris · #3 10-06-2010, 09:25 PM

First, if he emailed you just a couple days after you sent it, he couldn't have resubmitted could he? Maybe I am just reading wrong also.

Secondly, I have received graded cards in bubble mailers with the cases cracked twice. It's best to wrap it in bubble wrap also, or I actually put the card in a small bubble mailer and then put that bubble mailer in a larger bubble mailer and I have never had one damaged.

bbcard1 · #4 10-06-2010, 09:28 PM

Isn't the term card grading scam sort of redundant?

mintacular · #5 10-06-2010, 10:17 PM

You really need to sandwich graded psa/sgc cards between two heavy pieces of cardboard---putting them in a padded mailer only is not enough. Also, marking the mailer "fragile" has little to no effect how that package is handled behind closed doors in the post office.

I received a cracked SGC card that was in a padded mailer before (likely marked fragile)...

ethicsprof · #6 10-06-2010, 11:05 PM

sorry to hear about your situation.
Pat's point is correct about the bubble mailers imho--
i've received a couple of rough ones via this mode and they had some problems. Certainly not as severe as what you've gone through, though.

best,
barry

theseeker · #7 10-07-2010, 02:49 AM

UPS is now no better than the USPO. And good luck getting your money back from them on a collectable. They will put you through the hoops in varifying the value.

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