Converting GAIs to PSAs: Lessons Learned

[swarmee]

PSA will upcharge you if there is a drastic difference between the submission level you selected and the SMR/APR value of the card as graded. If you submit at a $499 service level and the card is now worth $1,000 after grading, they will probably not upgrade your service level and charge you more. If it is now worth $2K or more, they will upgrade your service level so that your shipment is now insured (or self-insured) up to the $2K it's now worth if it gets damaged while in PSA's hands (slabbing/packing process) or damaged/lost in the mail. There was a case when they did not do this and a $3K card (Crosby rookie auto IIRC) was lost in the mail and they only were able to cover $499 in reimbursement.

This really hit the modern basketball crew this year, since the prices in that realm increased exponentially during the six months some of those cards were sitting at PSA in bulk submissions. Some cards were submitted at $99 service level that soon became $3-5K cards once they graded a 10. If PSA didn't upcharge the service level, those owners were praying that the package made it back to them safely. I guess you always have the option to put all your submissions on Shipping Holds, then you can confirm before they mail your package back that it's properly insured for the graded value.

So, as Dirty Harry would say, "Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?!"

You really only used to hear of it happening on stuff like Hall of Fame rookie cards pre-2018. But with their integration of SMR and APR (Auction Priced Realized) into their website and submission pages, they can easily spot cards which were submitted at a much lower level than they ended up grading at.