I would like to submit bulk orders to PSA, 100 cards at a time, but the cards that I’m looking to get graded aren’t super valuable. I’m a binder master set collector and I usually only buy graded when it’s the only option and I haven’t purchased my own membership before.
So two questions.
1- The silver membership www.psacard.com/store/p-76-psa-silver-collectors-club-membership.aspx looks like the best deal for me. I don’t need vouchers and that seems to be the main advantage of getting a gold or platinum membership. Would this be a correct understanding?
2- Who determines the value of the card that I’m submitting? And where does that value come from?
If someone has a Youtube video on how to create an account and a submission walk through that is current, let me know. Thanks!
I opted for the silver account, much cheaper than the other two and I just needed access to their quarterly specials. Don’t care for vouchers or submitting at any standard pricing rates. Even if they only offer a Pokemon special once a year, the 60 bucks for a high number of submissions easily offsets submitting at any other level.
A silver membership would be fine for what you want to do. The vouchers have become worthless anyway due to PSA’s added scrutiny.
PSA determines the value based off of their auction prices report data. In general you can safely “value” your card one grade below what you think it will receive without hearing from PSA’s upcharge brigade. Just know that you will get better grades if you pay for the higher service levels (Regular ($50/card) and higher). Sad, but true.
Nothing major has changed with the submission process for a long time, so even older videos will help you with everything you need to know.
hypernova:
You wanna talk about stress? You wanna talk about stress?! OK! I’ve stumbled onto a major company conspiracy, fourth–how 'bout that for stress?
fourthstartcg:
What the hell are you talking about?
hypernova:
This company’s grading process is as rigged as your standard Instagram raffle, fourth, and I’ve got a paper trail to prove it. Check this out. [Goes to a wall covered in PSA submissions and Pre & Post 2020 9/10 Ratios] Take a look at this.
fourthstartcg:
Jesus Christ, hypernova!
hypernova:
That right there is the grading process. Now let’s talk about the grading process. Can we talk about the grading process, please, fourth? I’ve been dying to talk about the grading process with you all day, OK? “Professional Sports Authenticator, PSA,” this name keeps coming up over and over again. Every day PSA’s grades are coming back lower and lower. PSA! PSA! I look in the mail, and this whole box full of pack fresh cards that I sent in 12 months ago came back as PSA 8s! So I say to myself, “I gotta figure what’s going on here! I gotta go up to their office and put a pack fresh card in the their goddamn hands! Otherwise, they’re never going to get it and they’re going to keep sending me back PSA 8s and 9s.” So I go up to PSA’s office and what do I find out, fourth? What do I find out?! There is no grading standards, no consistency. They do not exist, okay? So I decide, “Oh shit, buddy, I gotta dig a little deeper.” There’s no grading standards? You gotta be kidding me! I got boxes full of pack fresh cards and they want to shit on me with only PSA 8s! All right. So I start marchin’ my way down to Carol in PR and I knock on her door and I say, “Carol! Carol! I gotta talk to you about the grading standards.” And when I open the door what do I find? There’s not a single goddamn desk in that office! There…is…no…Carol in PR. fourth, half the employees in this building have been made up. This office is a goddamn ghost town.
fourthstartcg:
OK, hypernova I’m going to have to stop you right there. Not only do all of these people and their grading standards exist, but they’ve been asking you to actually inspect your cards before sending them in on a daily basis. It’s all they’re talking about up there. Jesus Christ, dude, you are never going to get a 10 and they’re going to ban you from sending stuff in.
hypernova:
Well, calm down because here’s one thing that’s not going to happen.
fourthstartcg:
What?
hypernova:
We’re not gonna get banned.
fourthstartcg:
We’re not?
hypernova:
Because we’ve already been banned.
fourthstartcg:
We’ve been banned!
hypernova:
Yeah. About 3 days ago a couple of angry letters from Joe Orlando and his book on baseball bats came in the mail. One for you and one for me. So what did I do? I put the letters in a penny sleeve, a 9x12 toploader, and sent them in to get graded.
fourthstartcg:
If we’ve been banned from PSA, then that means we can’t flip anymore. That means all of this was for nothing! Goddammit, dude, I am having a panic attack. I am actually having a panic attack.
hypernova:
Well, will you settle down and have another cup of coffee?
fourthstartcg:
I am, bro.
hypernova:
All right, well, fine. You know what, Gary? Give this guy a cigarette, he’s freakin’ out. [turns to a man in black trench coat lined with PSA 10 Charizards and hat standing next to him]
fourthstartcg:
Huh? Who?
hypernova:
Gary. He’s the one who tipped me off to PSA.
fourthstartcg:
Gary? Who the hell is Gary?
hypernova:
You don’t see the…[Looks around and Gary’s disappeared] Holy shit! Where the hell did he go? [Yello’s “Oh Yeah” comes on in the background] Day Bow Bow.
fourthstartcg:
You’ve lost your mind! You’ve lost your goddamned mind, hypernova. [Cha. Chika-chika!]
You declare the price of the card when you do the submission. I usually put down what an ungraded card costs. It’s better to be honest as PSA can call you out and upcharge you later if they disagree with your evaluation. That being said, if a card costs a little over their price limit for the particular grading service, they’re probably not going to doing anything…
Lmao good laughs. But I saw you guys discussing this in that big PSA thread… I’d be curious for science, to see if Derium would habe re submitted all his Evolutions Zards at that service level rather than the bulk, if he would have ended up with more 10s. Because his ratio was ridiculous lol… something like 30k+ of cases opened and like a handful of 10s
