I ran across this on X. Evidently PSA has come to the conclusion that their autograph sector at the company is in need of an upgrade in order to differentiate what the buyer is getting since there seems to be some confusion. I personally don’t understand the change as it’s pretty easy to read what you’re getting. Though a lot of us that dab in autographs know there have been some things going on BTS due to the fallout of a certain employee and folks having issues getting their stuff authenticated. In addition to stuff being authenticated that had no business doing so.
In the coming months, we’re going to introduce a new blue label for all collectibles PSA encapsulates where the only authentication or grading provided is for the autograph.
Blue = Autograph only authenticated
Red = Item authenticated (with or without autograph)
Full Tweet
I wanted to share some changes that @PSAcard will be making to the labels on encapsulated items that have only been submitted for autograph authentication. We know that while many customers like the uniformity of having all their PSA encapsulated cards & collectibles with the recognizable red label, there are instances where folks might be confused on what they are actually buying.
In the coming months, we’re going to introduce a new blue label for all collectibles PSA encapsulates where the only authentication or grading provided is for the autograph. These labels will feature all the security measures that are currently employed in our red labels today. We’re still finalizing the exact text that will be displayed on these new labels, but an example of what this might look like for an autographed card with a numeric grade and one with an “Authentic only” are below.
Red labels will indicate that the item itself has passed through PSA authentication and grading process. These could also include items that are autographed which would need to be submitted under our “dual service” levels for Cards, Tickets, Original Photos, and Funko Pops.
Blue = Autograph only authenticated
Red = Item authenticated (with or without autograph)
We know customers like having the choice of multiple ways to submit for authentication and encapsulation at different price points. We also care deeply about making sure customers that are buying PSA items know what they are purchasing and continue to trust PSA and the services we provide.
I think this is good news. If I am reading things correctly, these four labels will not change at all.
What would be changing is if a proxy card was signed, where the label would say “Trading Card” or “Cut.” That will help people from being confused on whether the card was authenticated. Sounds good to me.
They used to do blue for sports cards. I have a lot that are real cards so not sure how the new label will distinguish between those older labels. Here is an example:
This is a super good thing! This combats a big problem in the sports card market. What has been happening is, people will buy a cheaper card of a decent player with a “sticker auto”, peel the sticker off, and then place it on a fake “custom” card, usually labeled 1/1, etc. …Then PSA will actually still encase the card, but only grade/authentic the auto. (Because it is a real auto on the sticker.)
This obviously isn’t as big of an issue with Pokémon, but in the examples @pfm posted, it clearly still happens with Pokémon cards too. (Authentic autos on fake cards.) This video talks about some examples with sports cards.
I have all my real card autos authenticated like this…with just “trading card” since I didn’t care to pay double for card + auto dual authentication since these are PC cards. Now everyone will think they are fakes
Trading card would mean that they are fake cards. If the card was legitimate but you don’t have a grade on either the card or the auto, it would still read as a legitimate card like below.
That is very strange. The website does not state that the card is legitimate. You should definitely reach out to PSA to confirm that the auto and card are authentic, and reholder if you plan to sell them.
similar to this one. The 10 is the auto grade, the card has no grade, not even “authentic”. This is why it’s so confusing and the change is good. “Trading card” doesn’t mean a fake card, it means the card itself wasn’t authenticated.
When did PSA change from using “Trading Card” to mean only the auto was authenticated to using “Trading Card” to mean that the card is inauthentic but the auto is authentic? Was it just an option for many years to not authenticate the card?
Yes. It is still an option even today. I have an order at PSA right now for just auto authentication but if I had known this change was coming I might have waited since it def devalues the cards now I think lol but regardless these are not to sell so I don’t care much, at least for foreseeable future
