Hi, I recently bought a psa 9 1st edition blastoise and magneton from a seller. Of all the PSA cards I have ever bought, none of the cards were really that loose in their holder. However, for both of these cards, they are loose. The magneton moves maybe a mm vertically, but there is an audible “thunk” as it is inverted. The blastoise moves almost a cm both vertically and horizontally. So I’m concerned about authenticity and safety of the cards. I think theyre authentic since the seller seems reputable/sells a lot of cards but I’m not really sure how to tell if PSA cards are fake. I’m really concerned about the blastoise since it moves a bunch and could easily damage the edges or scratch the surface. Any advice?
They look authentic to me so I wouldn’t worry about that. As for the card moving around and getting damaged I wouldn’t be too concerned, just store them properly and don’t move them around more than you have to. You will be fine unless you plan on storing them in a paint mixer in use.
It’s actually pretty common. I have some cards that move like that also that I graded myself. It has actually been discussed previously on the forum and has been deemed fine. It wont damage the card as it is. Just don’t swing them around like a monkey would lol
Were they older cards? Seems like the old ones have plastic posts that are much larger than the cards. I did see some threads about it but wasn’t sure if they referred to newer or older cases as the older cases seem to have muchhhhh more space to slide about
This has been discussed before and the general consensus was the movement doesn’t cause any damage. I might be wrong but I think I remember someone putting one of these loose holdered cards in a paint shaker and there was no damage … was that you @garyis2000?
If the card is too loose in the case it might take away some of the eye appeal. For instance have a look at this Chansey that just came up for auction. It is tilted substantially within the case and it looks weird. I guess gravity would tilt it back again though.
Not only is the grading easier now (though comparable to 2003-2005) but there are tons more mistakes being made. They have a higher workload per employee so less time is being put in per sub as well as needing to pacify customers because of huge delays. The less time you look, the more likely damage will be overlooked. Plus, this last 4 years the double check system has been neglected because of backlogs.
For context this is PSA’s process as they describe it:
…
It is laughable (or “cryable”) to think that some of the errors we see today could possibly be missed by two or more professional sets of eyes. Same goes for when grades achieve ridiculous grades like any of the PSA X.5’s. I mean if someone says 8 and someone says 9 then it goes to an 8.5 that becomes more believable but I don’t see that mentioned anywhere.
As a 25 year member, I’ve made several friends who work and have worked in different departments there. Plus, we were neighbors in Los Angeles and attended all the same shows and conventions. I’ve been up on the process since 1998(when we got the cd promos graded) and a member since 1995. I’ve learned and truly believe that PSA does an amazing job given what they had to work with in 2003-2005 and now from 2015-present. Theres just an understandable fall off.
I guess just the fact you mentioned, about two sets of eyes missing such obvious problems, sort of gives it away too;)
It’s already been said but I’ll corroborate the claim that the rattling in the case is relatively normal and won’t cause damage. People have run tests to see if shaking or movement can potentially damage the card And the consensus is that it won’t damage the card. Also I’ve tried violently shaking rattling slabs jus to see what would happen and the card remained undamaged. The sound is worse than it really is lol