I know PSA say this, but what PSA say and what is actually happening in the background are two totally different things.
I’ve also sent cards (324 to be precise) spread over 5 orders back in February.
Since then 2/5 have come back. One finished grading on the 16th of March and one around the 25th of March. All are 50 business day orders, and I still am waiting on the 170 odd cards left.
PSA really need to get their shit together and process items in order. Sporadically releasing orders in no discernible order is poor business.
I’m currently sitting at 43/50 days with PSA but know not to call until day 50 =(
BGS is precise and that’s no fun;)
Like Scott implied, I prefer the uncertainty and possibility of getting an earlier result. Having to wait 50 days 100% of the time would not be fun at all.
I wait 2 months every single time, but that makes the results much more exciting, and It also makes me submit lots of cards, because it cost alot of monrae shipping to us from aus and all that stuff, so i try and get my monies worth.
I might do a quik submission for my gold stars this time round, i dont think i can bare 2 months on gold stars again… but will see. Is bgs 2 months everytimer? or is there bulk service quiker like 30 days or some crap.
This is why im waiting to retire, I’m gunna cart my stuff over to vegas and walk the bad boys in with gary before taking a tour of his 198 vaults and going nuts at the casinos.
I personally don’t mind when the orders come back before 50 days. I can understand if you want to plan around a schedule.
I think people don’t mind when the orders return sooner than expected as most people want their cards processed as quickly as possible. Hence, why the orders with the faster turnaround times are more expensive.
If you do want precision, the non-bulk services are completely consistent. I have used every service level and they all return in the time stated.
I struggle to believe that somebody would prefer their cards to actually take longer than they could do to be honest. I think they should enter the cards in the order that they receive them and then if they are faster they are faster if they take the full time they take the full time, nobody can complain at that I feel. I do find it strange when watching return videos on YT and the person making the video has got an order that was sent 2 weeks after another lot which hasn’t come back yet, I wish I knew how they prioritised what orders were finished first.
The reason why some orders take longer than others are the type of cards and/or total cards submitted.
As a whole, pokemon takes longer as there are so many variants and/or sets. Sports cards, especially pre 1990 cards, which are the bulk of their customer base, are very cut and dry. With pokemon, it is easy to process a 50 card order of all base or jungle cards. However, if you are doing 100+ 200+ or a moronic 500+ card order, and each slot a different card, the probability of that order turning around quickly is low.
Of course this is only speaking to the bulk service. If you use a non-bulk service, you get the exact turnaround time regardless.
PSA is a business, and people use this company by choice. All Businesses prioritize on a profit basis. If you sell a card for $700, that card will take priority over a $7 order. It will be treated differently than a $7 order, shipped differently than a $7 order, handled differently, etc… When a customer chooses to use PSA’s cheapest service, you are correctly getting the cheapest service. I completely understand this concept as a customer and fellow business owner, and am 100% content with my choices knowing that reality. If someone wants a guaranteed turnaround time, they offer that and you can pay for those options; it is entirely the customers choice.
However, complaining that the absolute cheapest service does not have the guarantee of a service at least 3 times the price is a flawed argument. It would be comparable to buying a train ticket, and complaining that it is not as efficient as flying.
That all makes sense, but the feel I’m getting from the concerns of others may not relate to efficiency but just the randomness of the process regarding turnaround times of bulk orders. So my question is, do bulk orders each start the grading process in order of receipt by PSA, and just finish at various times, or are orders arbitrarily chosen for grading as long as the order isn’t yet over the 50 day turnaround window?
@garyis2000 would probably know more about that side of things. I know from experience, and speaking with customer service, that card type and quantity effect the turnaround time in a bulk order.
The best way to view the bulk orders is, it will take 50 days at most. It may return sooner than that, but there is no guarantee as you aren’t paying for one.
I am only trying to explain the reality, rationally, regardless of my personal preference/feeling.
PSA has exact turnaround times on all services except bulk. It is unfair to criticize them as a whole when majority of their services have exact turnaround times. This bulk service situation is somewhat of a catch 22, as most people want their orders back as soon as possible, and others want a scheduled turnaround.
I don’t agree or disagree with their bulk standard policy, I only have an understanding as a customer who chooses to use their service. If I want a specific turnaround time, like the order I sent out today, I will select that service and expect that turnaround. It is probably not viable for PSA as a business to prioritize the bulk orders, thus the “random” turnaround times.
Going to jump in again. The concern of randomness isn’t whether it’s done in 20 days or 50 days. It’s more the concern that say one bulk order submitted on Day X takes one month longer to be graded than another order submitted on Day X + 10. I don’t get the feeling that anyone is complaining about the fact that orders may take the full 50 business days. The complaint is that bulk orders don’t seem to be handled in sequential order of when they are received.
I personally would also prefer that bulk orders are handled sequentially. Whether turnaround is within a few weeks or the full 50 business days, I wouldn’t care, as I know there is a hard, definite system in place when it comes to how they process the orders.
Oh no I completely understand, and also understand what @ozenigma is saying as well. It is difficult to explain this without sounding like I disagree.
I always understood that all orders fall in the 50 day window, that is bulk service. I actually had orders form february, march, and april, and received a message one of my orders shipped, and it was the april order! Logically I thought it would be the latter orders, but this is the reality of bulk services.
I guess I am saying I understand the reality of bulk service, while at times frustrating, but know that I am choosing to use that service. I see that last part as the larger point for me, as it is my choice as a consumer.
