I’m looking to cross a high value card I own to CGC and have no experience grading a card of this value.
Obvious safest way would be to fly out to FL and have it done in person, but my schedule wouldn’t allow for this until mid Q3. Next idea is to send USPS Registered, but the inherent receiving risk is always there when delivering to a grading company. The idea of making an insurance claim with the USPS scares me also.
Not sure if a middle man is more viable or if there are any better options aside from waiting to travel. Any input would be appreciated!
I would wait to travel for that peace of mind. Unless you have a reason to grade it now other than impatience, I always take the safer option if possible.
USPS Registered Mail is your way to go. USPS Registered Mail or Priority Mail Express are the only services that I use for packages $10,000+. If you want insurance on your collection, I would apply here https://collectinsure.com and schedule your $50,000 card with them.
@frostyalpaca I may end up doing that if CGC isn’t at any close by events.
@pfm I’m so tired of trying to view my beautiful card through a foggy 50mm thick piece of plastic. My thought process with the MM was finding someone reputable and close enough to Sarasota to handle the grading in person. Good point on the rush though lol.
Only time I’ve sent a card close to this value was using USPS Priority Express with maximum insurance, adult signature confirmation etc etc.
It cost a lot to ship it to Beckett, only for USPS to not actually scan it delivered or get a signature despite me paying extra for those things.
After several days of phone tag and calling USPS and Beckett, my package was found at Beckett and logged into their system but it was very stressful and a waste of my time too.
So there’s my experience. I’d go with FedEx if you can
I’ll preface this with: I could never hope to have such a high value card in my collection, so I might not have the most vaild of opinions here.
I think waiting until Q3 and flying down with your card to cgc is the best choice. I’ve personally read too many stories on E4 alone about missing packages to feel comfortable putting a 50k card in the mail. I know that it would probably be totally fine, and it usually is. But what if it’s not?
I’d be sick with worry until the card was back in my hands post-grading. Replacing a card of that magnetude is a huge deal.
My logic is: you’ve waited to grade it, just wait a little longer and go on a vacation with your card!
Maybe you guys will learn something new about eachother and improve your relationship
That plastic flim is to protect the card from moving around.
I rather have high-end cards be in BGS slabs as PSA slabs allow extra room for card inside to move around.
If you shake a PSA slab vigorously enough, the card inside will get damage. (Before people point out and say it’s 20,000 times of shaking, but how many times a slab got shaken in a lifetime? When you bring the slab out, travelling on a vehicle?)
Cannot second this enough. Fedex has screwed me so many times. Claiming packages have been delivered when i have them on camera driving by the house not even stopping, and other bullshittery like that. Use DHL or USPS or UPS instead.
I was going to suggest a CGC event where they offer on-site grading but seems like the only one that they’ll be offering that service this year is in China.
Even with submitting at an event you still have to worry about the return shipping. Like the majority here I suggest waiting it out and submitting at their main campus. You do need to be at the highest tier membership and you will need to schedule an appointment to drop it off.
Thank you for sharing - that definitely seems like a nightmare.
I dont have tons of experience shipping my own things with FedEx but have personally received probably 1500 shipments from FedEx over the past few years, some quite valuable, without any real issue other than a few redeliveries the next day.
After reading this I’ll definitely give USPS another shot next time - I know its not indicative of their services as a whole, just sharing my experience shipping valuable cards. USPS does indeed have established routes that they do every day so redelivery the next day is never an issue like it could be with FedEx.
They did do a good job getting my package there - it got there extremely fast but without the most important scan and a signature that I paid extra for - causing me a ton of stress and wasting hours of my time to confirm it was delivered.
