With PSA Idle until July, collectors are left with a few options

We are always asked, how do I get the best bang for my buck for my cards? This question normally is very straight forward, if you think it will grade a PSA 10, send it in to PSA! After all, as Brian pointed out in his article of getting a BGS 9.5 re-graded at a PSA 10, PSA 10 is king. But as we all know in this hobby right now, that isn’t really feasible as they have suspended all grading until July, with BGS following suit shortly after.  So you are left with a few options to help maximize the value of your cards while we are in this limbo of PSA stuck in neutral, so to speak.

Option 1: Wait for PSA. We know this option isn’t very sexy. Perhaps you are sitting on a Giannis Prizm RC, which in the case of obtaining a PSA 10 takes it to another level value-wise, and you are afraid that maybe the market just won’t be as hot when PSA starts back up. We don’t feel that will necessarily be the case at all, from all accounts this market seems to be here to stay for quite some time.  So if you are experienced in sending in cards, have the time to dedicate to prepping the card, we suggest this option. We are not here to convince you to give us your business if it doesn’t benefit you. But, if you find that you aren’t comfortable doing this, then the next 2 options hopefully will help your decision.

Option 2: Sell the card raw. Perhaps you aren’t quite sure what to look for when you are evaluating the condition of the card, or you are just afraid that the human that is grading the card that particular day is having a bad day, had a fight with their spouse, or are having an adverse reaction to the covid vaccine, and will harshly grade your card for no other particular reason. There is an obvious upside, and a very obvious downside to this. Selling raw still could fetch a decent amount of money. For example, a 2014 Topps Chrome Mookie Betts RC just sold raw on eBay for roughly $750, with PSA 10 selling for $1300. That is indeed a substantial jump. So the downside is you miss out on potential value, but you also have a few advantages selling raw. In the case of this particular Mookie card, the Topps Chrome are very tricky as the material of the card can hide certain flaws that are only exposed if you specifically know what angles to view the card. So the card that sold raw had a very high chance of being a PSA 9 with a flaw that is hard to see just at a glance with the naked eye. In the event that it indeed does grade at a PSA 9, the value of the card drops significantly, to the tune of $800obo. So this option might work for you if you are feeling discouraged about getting a PSA 10, but there is another option where we can help…

Option 3: Send to us: If you are somebody who isn’t impatient to get graded, and are really hoping to get a PSA 10, but do not want to get stuck with a PSA 9, we can help while PSA is shut down. You can send your raw card to us, we will thoroughly evaluate and prepare the card as we have extensive history with cards across the board, even tricky ones like the Topps Chrome cards. We will make our evaluation, and if we feel it is a PSA 10, we can submit the card for you once that PSA is ready, or we can ship it back to you. One benefit of allowing us to ship for you is not only the cost of shipping with insurance twice, but we also carry our own insurance policy, so you would be able to sleep well at night knowing that your card is in good hands should the unthinkable happen. If we feel that it doesn’t quite make the cut as PSA 10, we can sell it for you through our consignment service, giving you the freedom to not have to deal with eBay and maximizing your profit with our stellar reputation as a seller on eBay, getting the best possible price. 

If you have ever submitted anything to PSA, nothing is better than receiving word that you received that top of the class 10 grade. We have all felt that twinge of uncertainty when we package the card, insure it and ship it off, only to hear nothing for weeks, wondering if it will come back at that 10 we were hoping for.  Whichever of the 3 options you are leaning towards, we are here to help with your decision to get the most bang for your buck. Reach out to discuss your options with us.