Does anyone have PSA cards that move inside the case? I’ve collected psa cards since 2012, and unfortunately had this happen with a card that was actually my biggest purchase ever. The card is in an older psa case (the case before the rainbow hologram psa case), so I thought it may be a problem with older psa cases. However, I recently bought a newly graded card that also moves in the case.
Tilting the case ever so slightly (to look at the holo foil) will make the card bang around left/right/up, or down. It’s as if the case is too big for the card? This makes no sense though (because I have other Pokémon cards graded from the same era that are snug/don’t move around in the case at all).
You can HEAR the card hitting the plastic as it moves left and right. It crushes my soul every time I look at the card…I truly never even touch it because I don’t want to potentially damage it (due to PSA’s case quality apparently being messed up). I was thinking to get it put in a new case (since this service is offered), I like I said, I bought a new psa card that has this issue too.
Additionally, the card also has MULTIPLE dust or food crumb particles stuck inside the (case front and center on the card), and another dust particle on the back. If the card banging around in the case wasn’t enough, having not one, but two dust particles (clearly visible) sealed away is unacceptable. I know graders are human and they’re just doing a job, but at the very least, for expensive cards, I feel PSA should offer a service with more attention and care put towards the cards (to avoid crumbs being sealed in the case/cards getting shipped out in flawed cases).
I truly have no clue why this card moves in the psa case if I have cards graded from the same era that are the same size, yet they are snug in the case. Does psa have 2 case sizes (and mine was accidentally put in a case Pokémon cards aren’t placed in?). Pokémon is big enough of a series where I feel PSA should make a case specifically sized for Pokémon cards so stuff like this can’t happen.
Here are are pictures of the dust particles in the case - imgur.com/a/t7dALjU
A small amount of movement in the case is expected and is more so with Japanese cards as they are ever so slightly smaller than English cards. This is a common question that gets brought up from time to time, but you can rest easy. @garyis2000 tested this years ago by putting his card into an industrial paint mixer/shaker and there was no damage. And the newer cases are more precision fit than the ones he tested.
As for the dust, if it bothers you, you can message PSA about having it re-encased and they may do it complementarily. But honestly I barely see what dust you’re referring to.
I had that happen before, I searched it up and I found out that if you press the edges of the case hard enough - it secures the PSA case (maybe due to poor sonic welding), & stops the card from moving. Of course, it worked in my case & I cannot guarantee it will be for yours.
As for the dust particles, only a re-case can solve it. Hope it helps.
Interesting. When you tell me to press the edges do you mean like press the upper and lower corners with force? It truly stinks costumers have to even do this stuff, they should make sure it’s closed properly before sending it back. I can’t risk damaging an expensive card.
@millsfan, it’s pretty common and I’ve heard about what @jkanly mentioned too. If it really bothers you perhaps you can consider sending an inquiry, although some horror stories (recently an E4 member posted receiving a PSA 10 card where part of the border was torn slightly) would deter me from doing so if I were in your position.
My most expensive purchase ever has the same problems as yours - it’s a 1st edition PSA Blastoise (PSA 8). But hey, it’s not gonna move around much in my storage anyway (:
I just applied pressure throughout the entire perimeter of the case & it worked for me. Shouldn’t hurt to give it a try, it’s inside a case & I doubt anything bad would happen.
Bumping - Now have my 3rd psa case that moves up, down, left, and right in the case… when the heck will psa make cases sized for Pokémon cards? Want new opinions on this. Does it happen to anyone else?
Not saying we need a sleeve in the case, but why doesn’t psa make a case perfectly sized for Pokémon?
@millsfan, You probably don’t want that to happen. There’s some manufacturing here involved with making the cases. These are likely plastic injection molded cases with multiple cavities. For non engineers, you shoot beads of plastic into a mold of the shape of the case at high temp, it will melt into the shape. Multi-cavity means plastic in the mold separates into different trees of the cases, so you can make many at a time. Think lego pieces. For each cavity there is a range of size distributions, because no system is perfect and makes the same X/Y dimensions over and over again. Typically though, this manufactured distribution should fit 99.999% of pokemon cards.
If you start to mess with the molds, which can be expensive and costly, there could be occurances of tolerance stack issues (meaning slightly too tight of a case + slightly larger card) which could cause damage. Do you really wanna have that chance of your 1st ed PSA 10 zard getting encapsulated and then damaged? Probably not, albeit the odds are low. XD
YES! That is exactly what happened to me. My first experience with a card moving in the case is a Japanese Charizard Gold Star first edition psa 10. My first big purchase ever and I can’t enjoy it because psa apparently can’t make Pokémon sized perfect fit cases???!!
I just got another card in the mail too that moves in the case! How does this happen to me so often . Really makes me question psas methods. My cards seem more protected in a toploader…
They say to ship them in a sleeve and card saved or toploader to ensure they’re safe in shipment, and then put it in a case that seems less safe than the toploader!
When I spoke on the phone with psa about this, they told me this should NOT HAPPEN. So to everyone who says it’s okay, psa does not think it is okay. I was looking into getting my card put in a new case, but as of now I have two cards that move in the NEW case! So this clearly has been an on going issue for many years whether it’s an old case or New.
Really wish psa could fix this! I can’t even rotate the case of these three cards I own because the card moves so much. Does this happen with bgs cases? I don’t own any bgs, always bought psa because it is preferred for Pokémon, but this makes me question why psa is the best for Pokémon
BUmping this after reading an excerpt from psa New email
“We are also exploring new inner-sleeve configurations to improve the presentation and minimize movement of the collectible within the PSA holder. The feedback from our community on this topic has made its way into our planning and will be delivered soon.”
Like I mentioned, this definitely has been an issue. In my opinion psa should leave cards inside the slab penny sleeved to protect the card
JK, I have the unlimited trio cased in PSA and really annoyed that my Blastoise is loose, actually the Charizard is in the old PSA case and doesn’t move at all inside. If I’d ever plan to sell it I’d really stress about it’s condition in transport though so I feel you…
I wonder why they don’t check it before sending and reslab if necessary ? maybe they don’t care enough?
Sleeve inside the PSA case is terrible in all ways… it would probably even slow down the encapsulation process… cards don‘t get damaged inside PSA cases even if they rattle.
rest easy. Any case past the 1x cert old days are fine (more in point 2 as to why i mention certs). Since then era things have been much more snug, and its very difficult for a card to move enough to cause damage in such a case. Theres a reason its been the same for so many years, and thats because it works. Personally i like when my cards move a bit and rattle because it can mean they arent curled, but hey, thats just me. And yes, many will refer to Garys test to clarify just how sturdy they are.
SOME psa cases can damage cards. I know, controversial account here but hear me out. Way back in the era of those lovely neo folders (which are now stupid prices graded) where the names for typhlosion, meganium, feraligatr were only the japanese names on the label, psa had a lot of variants in cases. I personally purchased a few cards of this sort to complete the set, and in doing so i came across a few cases that were far too large for what we know today to be the normal holder. The gap between card and case was very large, and large enough to where any rapid movement could easily bang it and dent the card, which exactly happen with one i bought being the damage measured up with the edge of the holder. That was the only ever instance i saw this happen, but i can say those were far too large and could cause issue. Ill attempt to fish around my phone for a photo more tomorrow, but just be aware youd would notice a drastic difference if you were to compare recent cases so try not to let that get to your head. That being said, another thing to note is not all old cases were of that sort, so if buying an old card and it worried you, just give it a look over before buying.
lastly, if it bothers you so much, reholder it. Funny thing is i remember my first psa order i got a card, it moved in the case, and i sent it back to get recased because of the issue and i personally feel stupid now for doing so. I just wasted money when in fact it was perfectly fine, and guess what: the new recasing rattled too.
All and all, just care for your cards, maybe dont hold them while jogging, operating a jackhammer, or throw them in the dryer and they should be a ok without any worrying movements.
I have a few cards that rattle around in the cases. No noticeable damage so far, but one of them (a 4xxx cert) is loose enough to shift every time the slab is rotated, so wouldn’t be surprised if that one took a ding one day.
Interesting to see PSA shifting back to sleeving the cards inside their cases though. I have a 01xxxx cert shadowless Charizard with an old school PSA sleeve inside; it keeps the card snug, but doesn’t look as “clean” as having the inside sleeveless (you can see the ripples of the sleeve near the lower left corner of the card in this pic).
Should probably get it reholdered, but I kind of like the way it’s a sort of time capsule for how Pokémon cards were graded very early on.
Why do folks not like sleeves? They would provide the most protection. I suppose they bother the viewing a bit but I never minded seeing cards in sleeves + cardsaver. The most bothersome thing is how easily dust can make it’s way in and then it’s stuck there. For good if you have PSA case.
ASfor reencapsulating, I was considering to…but then I got two NEW CASE psa cards that also moved in the case. I thought the moving in a case was just a problem with the old cases (the case from before the multicolor psa hologram case), but this proved the new cases also have this issue. I was even weary of sending my card in for re encapsulation from the start though since it’s a very expensive card, I don’t wajt to send it in the mail to re case it, for it to only still move around in a new case.
As for inner sleeve, I’m not a fan of what psa has done (just put a sleeve behind the card). I think that’s a bit weird.
I think what they should do is just make it optional if you want the card in a high quality penny sleeve within the psa case. So if you don’t like sleeves it’s optional. I don’t see sleeves obstructing the view of a card at all; id rather it be safe.
I know Gary put a psa card in a blender and it was okay, but I guess it just bothers me when it moves in the case. I haven’t tilted/rotates/ touched my card and an just awaitijg a better case to be made.
And I only called psa on this subject once, so don’t point fingers at me. I was very surprised to see this announcement, I didn’t know enough people reported this problem, although I have talked with several people that have had their cards move in the case (and dislike this).
I just never understood if sleeves and card savers minimize movement (and are recommended as the safest way when not in a graded case), why then cards move around in a psa case. It just doesn’t seem safe, in my opinion.
I believe beckett has their cards in a penny sleeve inside the case, and although I don’t use cgc, I’ve beej told the cases are sized nicely for Pokémon, so they don’t move? Not 100% on that.
Whatever psa does, hopefully it improves their case or adds options for people.
. Really makes me question psas methods. My cards seem more protected in a toploader…
