@ozenigma Write the service level if its a quick turnaround time (5, 7, 10 days). If not then donāt write it. If you write ā50-dayā on the outside, PSA takes their sweet time putting it into their system.
@milhouse In my experience, yes. Cause they donāt know what service level the cards inside are under, they need to open it up reasonably quickly. And once they open it up, its in the system and the turnaround time starts. Its basically just about decreasing the time that your package sits unopened at PSA.
My own personal preference is to only send in Pack-Fresh Mint cards for Grading. I hardly ever send in anything that I didnāt pull myself. Unless I inspect the hell out of it first and I think it will grade a Mint 9/Gem-Mint 10. Itās not worth the money to grade cards that arenāt Mint. Because if you ever decide to sell them and they arenāt atleast PSA-8ās, then you will likely lose money on them. As for the actual grading, I only send using the Bulk Rates or the Voucher for signing up for the Collectors CLub. I like paying $7-$8 a card after shipping/insurance rather than more. If PSAās Monthly Special isnāt very good, then I hold off for that month. Iāve sent in 15 Submissions so far. One every month for the last 6 months aswell, as I also submit cards for other people. Unless a card has a very high sentimental value to you (if it isnāt Mint), then donāt grade it. The longer you submit, the better you get at figuring out what grades cards will get. With my own cards I typically hit 50-80% on PSA-10ās myself. Some of the cards make no sense to me why they grade Mint 9ās though. Typically, talking about Pack-Fresh Japanese Exās/FAās. Also, I grade both English + Japanese Pokemon cards aswell as recently started grading English Yugioh cards. Hope I helped!
This is purely anecdotal. I have had the exact opposite experience. I write the time on the box, and they enter it within a week of receiving my order and turn it around in 1-2 weeks. There is no exact science/truth to marking or not marking an order.
I only posted to emphasize that there is no objective correlation. I donāt mean to diminish your personal experience. If you want to not mark it, that is definitely your choice. But in regards to general advice, as much as we would like to have a little shortcut/benefit, myself included, there is no quantifiable correlation.
Put the lowest turn around time on the outside of every box. If they open it, theyāll log it. And if they donāt check your orderās paid turn around time, thatās on them.
What if you mark, received on the box like⦠a date 2 months prior⦠and when PSA receives the box, it says that PSA received the box 2 months ago⦠and it mindF**ks them⦠and they are like. āoh boy, looks like we have to escalate this oneā