As we reported last month, PSA is launching an achievement program inside its Set Registry. The company released details on Tuesday afternoon, one that also includes a contest on social media where sports cards and other prizes are being given away on a daily basis from now until Christmas.
The online program will challenge existing PSA Set Registry members and newcomers to earn points and rewards for their efforts, adding a “game” element into the program known for allowing collectors to showcase their efforts to complete graded sets of all types of trading cards.
“We want to challenge our Set Registry members, but also add some fun to the pursuit,” said PSA Set Registry Director BJ Searls.
The company says the focus is centered around “the four C’s”: completion, competition, collection and community. Actions related to each of those categories will result in the accumulation of medals and points:
- Completion – adding inventory and completing sets;
- Competition – outranking your opponents;
- Collection – the use of Set Registry website or application features; and
- Community – the act of connecting with fellow collectors on the Registry.
The medals and points will add up over time and be stored digitally on the Set Registry dashboard. Every collectible added to the PSA Set Registry will move a person toward a series of rewards. With every completion within the Set Registry, medal counts and points are boosted.
Before the start of this program, members were only rewarded when they reached the pinnacle of a set via PSA’s annual Set Registry awards. Now, the company says members will be “incentivized for reaching various milestones as they move through the process.”
To start, there will be 28 distinct rewards divided across the previously mentioned four collecting categories. For example, in the completion category, one of the actions is to create a set within the Registry. Once you’ve started a set and added your first item or collectible, you will receive a notification that you have earned the “Starting Line” medal and 20 points. This information will appear on your dashboard as well as on your Achievements page.
PSA President Steve Sloan added: “I’m a big fan of fantasy sports, so when we devised the outline for this program, we tried to incorporate components of that into our model. Hopefully our members will recognize that.”
For existing PSA Set Registry members, previous collecting activity will be grandfathered into one’s personal dashboard, so online recognition starts immediately. Eventually, PSA plans to add a public leaderboard so that collectors can see how their achievements stack up against fellow Set Registry members. However, adding the feature is optional. PSA plans on adding tangible rewards to the program sometime in the future.
In the meantime, there are prizes available via a social media contest with a “12 Days of Collecting” promotion that started Tuesday and ends Dec. 22, whereby one action designated for that day will earn one collector a reward. To enter, collectors need to share a screenshot of the designated “digital medal” they earned that day on social media (@PSACard). For instance, by adding the first item to their inventory, a collector will earn not only a “One Giant Leap” medal but also the chance be put in the running for a 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout #US175 card (graded PSA Gem Mint 10, valued at $500), which will be awarded the following day.
The promotion will follow similar suit every day with both sports and non-sports cards being awarded ranging in value from $85 to $1,300.
The forums at PSAcard.com will also tout the contest daily. For specifics, visit the PSA Blog.
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