PSA grading/pricing question

[whiteymet]

Hey Guys:

I am an old head and really do not do grading. However I find myself in a situation where I may need to get an expensive card authenticated and graded in order to know if I should purchase it or not.

Looking at PSA's site it appears to get a card that may be valued at over $250,000 you have to pay $10,000???? in their premium option category

What if the value of the card would be over $250,000 should it get a top grade but less if it got a 1 or 2 for example?

But my main question is if it came back as not authentic I still have to pay the full $10,000?

Any insight appreciated

[bobbyw8469]

Correct.

[raulus]

Hi Fred:

You get to guess about the grade it will get and then submit at that level. If they disagree because you guessed low then they will upcharge you. And if you guess too high then you get the pleasure of paying too much.

You can always try to guess low, and if it grades nice, then you just get to pay what you might have thought to begin with.

My experience is that they don’t upcharge you unless you’re off a lot. But I’ve also never submitted a card that could be worth $250k+.

[G1911]

For $10,000, I'd buy a first class ticket and fly out to inspect it myself to ensure authenticity and condition.

[swarmee]

I do recall a Net54 poster a few years back who asked PSA if they could submit the card as a reprint for a small amount/low service level, thinking the card was counterfeit. I believe PSA permitted them to do so, and then if the card was real, would upcharge them based on the assessed value after it was graded. So you'll probably want to contact their customer service in advance if you don't want to be on the hook for a used car in case the card is fake.

[whiteymet]

OK guys thanks for the education.

Now, on to grad school.

If you submit a card with a value of say for example $10K and PSA grades it but says the card is worth $25K and upcharges you, from where do they get the $25K valuation? I assume they base it on past sales? What if there are no sales for that card in that grade? Do they document this? ( I assume not)

Has anyone hand delivered a card to PSA? If I am willing to pay for the quickest grading process how soon could I get it back hand delivered at their office? I assume I would have to make arrangements first with them in order to do this?

If anyone has gone through this process I'd appreciated your guidance either here or via PM.

Thanks!

[swarmee]

They base it on previous sales captured in their Auction Prices Realized tool, and possibly based on SMR. If there is none of the same cards in the same grade, they may look at lower grades and then prorate to a higher valuation. It's completely up to them, although a Blowout poster has said that he was able to get them to reconsider when he showed them more recent sales for cards like modern basketball that shot through the roof and then dropped 75% from the peak.

Officially, they don't offer drop-off unless you're taking it to a card show like The National where they are bringing their slabbing machines. However, they did post on Twitter when they let Phil Hughes bring his cards in, but he's a player and internet celebrity, so it's not for the common folk. You may have a better chance if you get an auction house who does plenty of business with PSA to help you broker this sale.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by swarmee

They base it on previous sales captured in their Auction Prices Realized tool, and possibly based on SMR. If there is none of the same cards in the same grade, they may look at lower grades and then prorate to a higher valuation. It's completely up to them, although a Blowout poster has said that he was able to get them to reconsider when he showed them more recent sales for cards like modern basketball that shot through the roof and then dropped 75% from the peak.

Officially, they don't offer drop-off unless you're taking it to a card show like The National where they are bringing their slabbing machines. However, they did post on Twitter when they let Phil Hughes bring his cards in, but he's a player and internet celebrity, so it's not for the common folk. You may have a better chance if you get an auction house who does plenty of business with PSA to help you broker this sale.

I think they let Mike Trout drop off his cards too.