Just one day after being allowed to re-open, PSA was again forced to shut down grading and authentication Friday, following a new "stay at home" order that has effectively shuttered all non-essential California businesses. The company posted this on its website: Pursuant to Executive Order N-33-20, issued on March 19, 2020 by the Governor of California, Collectors … [Read more...]
PSA Continues Push to Paperless Submissions
The PSA submission process for trading cards and some other items will go completely paperless after this month. The grading and authentication company says it will no longer accept paper carbon copy submission forms for orders involving cards, tickets, packs or dual service authentication and grading requests as of April 1. Instead, collectors will be required to … [Read more...]
Class Action Suit Filed Over Altered Cards
A Southern California collector has filed a class action lawsuit over the ongoing allegations of altered sports and non-sports cards. Eric Savoy of El Cajon, CA filed the civil case in Orange County Superior Court this week, naming PSA and two major card dealers, PWCC Marketplace and Rick Probstein as defendants. A group of unnamed defendants is also listed in the … [Read more...]
PSA Submission Backlog Due Mostly to Pack Rippers
PSA says its ongoing and ever-growing backlog of orders is primarily due to the number of current era trading cards that are being submitted. During its quarterly earnings report teleconference this week, company officials again addressed the issue of why customers are waiting months for the return of orders that used to be delivered in weeks. In short, it’s because … [Read more...]
Jail for Man Who Accused Landscaper of Card Theft; McDavid Auction; PSA Fee Change; ‘Yesterday’ Owner Dies
Baseball cards are not immune to "Florida man" stories. G. Ronald McCauley, f58, of Ft. Myers, is in jail after law enforcement officers say he and some accomplices strapped another man to a chair, hit him with a baseball bat and axe handle and stabbed him after accusing him of stealing "valuable" baseball cards. McCauley if facing kidnapping, aggravated assault and … [Read more...]
Notes: Griffey Autos on Topps’ Kreindler Art; GBSCC Show; Brady Signing; MLB WS Authenticators; PSA & Pokémon
Topps' latest 150th Anniversary of Baseball cards produced from artwork by Graig Kreindler are out--and there's an option for signed Ken Griffey Jr. cards. A few different parallels are being sold with lower numbered colors costing more. Unsigned cards are also available for $7.99, along with 150th Anniversary cards of Willie Stargell and Juan Soto. As of early … [Read more...]
Revenue, Submissions, Backlog Still Growing at PSA
Collectors Universe, the parent company of PSA and PSA/DNA, reported record revenues for fiscal year 2019 on Wednesday. The company took in $72.5 million in fiscal 2019, which ended June 30. That figure includes a record $5.4 million, or 25% increase in trading card and autograph authentication revenues. Revenue from trading card and autograph submissions in … [Read more...]
Diving into Population Reports of T206 Hall of Famers
Population reports from grading companies can tell us quite a bit about baseball cards. While they are not perfect, they certainly give us an inside look on things like perceived rarity of certain issues compared to others. T206 is arguably the most famous baseball card set of all time. The set's popularity is such that it is even collected to some degree by those that do … [Read more...]
While Helpful, Population Reports Have Limitations
Among the services third party grading companies provide to collectors are the free population reports maintained by each entity. A population report is essentially an accounting of the cards the companies have graded. It allows you to see how many, say, T205 Cy Young cards one of them has graded. Even beyond that, pop reports also detail how many cards in a particular … [Read more...]
PSA “Conducting Own Investigation” Into Altered Cards
PSA has made its first public comments regarding the ongoing revelation of doctored sports cards made in an online hobby forum. A small group of collectors on the Blowout Cards message boards have spent the last few weeks offering before and after pictures of cards that had been purchased online, then altered to improve their appearance before being graded and sold again to … [Read more...]