Hi all. Although I’ve been a raw collector for a loooong time, I’m pretty new to grading. I currently have ~70 cards at PSA split between several shipments via Ludkins. According to my live documents, none have yet been registered by PSA, which is expected given their massive backlog.
Here’s my question/concern: at what point are the premium upcharges that PSA doles out for higher value cards calculated? This seems very pertinent right now, when the market is fluctuating rapidly. Some cards of mine that were delivered to PSA in late August (and are still sitting in their warehouse) are worth significantly more now than when I sent them in to be graded.
If things keep trending upward, is it possible that cards that wouldn’t have earned an upcharge when I sent them would increase in value enough that they warrant an upcharge by the time they get graded? I realize said market trajectory would still be an overall good thing for me, since it means my cards are worth more. That said, it seems sort of janky and unfair if people garner upcharges they otherwise wouldn’t because PSA’s turnaround times are so shitty that the market fluctuates dramatically while the cards sit in a warehouse for months.
It’s possible the whole premise of this question is based around a faulty understanding of how PSA upcharges work; if that’s the case, feel free to put me on blast.
Sorry, must have missed them. Feel free to shoot me some links so I can read through the discussion. That’s kind of what I figured, though (re the premium). Meh.
The PSA upcharge system is literally requiring you to predict the future. And if you don’t guess correctly, or the market changes and you can no longer afford to have your cards graded at the value they’ve achieved, you jeopardize your standing with PSA.
If you are incredulous, that is an incredibly reasonable thing to feel.
But you are not wrong in your estimation of what exactly PSA is asking for/doing.
It’s all part of their scheme man!!! My 1st Ed Blastoise is just sitting there, rising rapidly in value, and they’re just laughing, laughing at me I tell ya!
Similarly to OP, I am about to submit some cards to PSA for the first time and have an upcharge question. At what price points does the card get an upcharge? Are there specific dollar value thresholds where it goes from bulk to premium?
FWIW I submitted at the Economy tier back in May. 3 of the cards were selling around 500 at that time in the grades I expected and I estimated them at 475 each. Fast forward to getting my sub back this week and they are selling at around 1500 each. I did not get up-charged. YMMV.
Was pretty similar for me. I had send in my cards mid-February through Ludkins Collectibles UK. I graded the Extra Battle Day promos and the Alolan Friends promo (and some other cards). When I had send them in for grading, only the Lillie was hovering at around 500-600 USD, and the others were <400. Mid-August I had my cards back in my hands; all three Extra Battle Day promos received a PSA-10, and the Alolan Friends a 9. The Lillie PSA-10 was selling for 3k+ USD at that point, and I didn’t had to pay any upcharge for any card in my submission, which I was pretty happy about.
This has me concerned as I sent out a six card economy submission at the end of june, six shadowless holos. Most were not in the best condition and I am not really expecting any of the cards to get high grades. Will just have to wait and see what happens I guess. They have been in the research phase for several weeks
