I recently tried BGS’s bulk promotion where the cost was very similar to PSA’s. I sent mostly non-holos with a couple of holos. The only fear I had with BGS is with their current problem with some slabs chipping (at least it’s not the card itself).
The time frame was decent but man they are significantly tougher with the grades. Usually my percentages with PSA is about 70% PSA10 but out of the 53 cards I received 2(10s) and 29(9.5s).
If I was just grading for my own collections, I wouldn’t mind so much because it’s still a “gem mint” in my mind. But I’m selling a portion to recoup some money for the grading process and the 9.5 is different from that elusive 10.
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The incident that still blows my mind is how a Shining Charizard with a crease going through the entire shining portion received a 9… how do you miss that? If the card is even slightly moved to the left or the right you can see it very obviously.
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I have an even better one for you. I only graded it because I pulled it as a kid. Definitely wasn’t expecting a 10…huge dent from the binder ring.
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I wouldn’t mind seeing a few of these damaged cards go to a third party like smpratte, for verification and to show in a video.
I agree. Here’s another one. Not a 10 but still…not mint. Crease is in the top right. I wouldn’t be happy if I purchased this. 
Why, though? Any of us can take videos of our damaged cards, and based on previous experience PSA does not take well to videos showing things like this because they are aware it happens and they already have a method for financially compensating customers in these situations. They’d ask for the video to be taken down and it probably wouldn’t really help the issue. Like Gary said, they simply have not transitioned well. Just my opinion and I’ve had three cards damaged recently.
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Is anyone aware of this or similar problems "ever* happening at BGS (even if not to the unfortunate extent we’ve seen recently with PSA)?
Was this all in one submission or different submissions?
Also how many cards were submitted? Just asking to see what the % I should expect when sending the next batch.
Thanks!
Jesus. My condolences about the Venusaur. Sounds like something straight out of a horror movie. Awful, absolutely awful.
I would like to see that too. Scott would get a video like this out to the public better because he has more of the “serious” collectors subscribed to him and interested in what he has to say. PSA might not like him putting a video out to the public this way though.
Damn. I essentially cannot send my cards to PSA anymore, in fear of it getting damaged.
*In the near future
Can he do anything about it though? It isn’t a sub that came back recently. He only started looking at these cards closely because I told him about the crimped Hitmonchan. Even if they would reimburse him I think he only claimed what he paid for the card which was $70. It wouldn’t really do it justice since they just pretty much ruined a card that is damn near irreplaceable.
I think Scott would probably prefer to keep his relationship with PSA amiable. He has wayyy more to lose than to gain by doing this. If you want to see this video made, put the work into compiling clips of all the mistakes yourself and share the video. It will spread, just look at that fake PSA yugioh card video.
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As far as I’m aware there is no time limit on their compensation guarantee. The only issues that would relinquish the rights to a refund would be evidence of tampering, or damage to the case. So even if someone else were to purchase this card, they could also get refunded by PSA as the guarantee should be transferrable.
You can’t expect Scott to do that cause of his relationship with them.
Keep in mind, though extremely sad when they occur, this happens very rarely. To give you an idea, neither me or scott have ever had that happen and we’ve submitted hundreds of orders with thousands of cards.
Just because when it does happen we get threads on it simply makes it look more rampant than it really is.
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I think the real problem is these are even leaving PSA damaged… Obviously looking them over before they leave PSA would require more staff though
Actually, I would prefer that they do NOT try and look over the cards for damage after they’ve been encapsulated. Especially when they do something like what happened to @cinnaminhbun (www.elitefourum.com/t/3-13-cards-submitted-to-psa-ruined/19349/1). His card was already graded, damaged while being encapsulated, PSA noticed the damage, removed the card’s grade and replaced it with a submission grade of N9 (no grade). PSA was then able to contact him about damage to try and negotiate reimbursement based on his declared value rather than the market value of the graded card.
What I find most troubling in all of this PSA damage issue is that damaged cards no longer have the same future value possibilities as the original graded card, but that future value is not part of the possible compensation.
For example, when I brought up my damaged PSA 8 shadowless charizard to PSA’s attention in Nov 2017, the reimbursement calculation went a little like this.
PSA 8 Market Value (Nov '17): $650
PSA 5 Market Value (Nov '17): $150
Reimbursement value: $650 - $150 = $500
But wait a minute, what if we fast forward to November 2018, or November 2027? Do you think the value of a PSA 5 is going to rise at the same rate as a PSA 8 over time? Hell nah. And even their growth rates do stay the same, the 4x greater starting amount (650 vs 150) means the future value of the PSA 8 is going to be much larger than the PSA 5.
Let’s take a look at the price differential between these two cards in 10 years. I’ll assume 10% increase in price per year for the PSA 8 and a 5% increase in price per year for the PSA 5 (which I think would be low for both, especially when you compare year-to-year increases from last year to this year). I’ll be using a standard compound interest formula (A = P(1 + r)^n):
Estimated PSA 8 Market Value (Nov '27): 650(1 + 0.10)^10 = ~$1700
Estimated PSA 5 Market Value (Nov '27): 150(1 + 0.05)^10 = ~$250
2027 Reimbursement Value: $1700 - $250 = $1450
So I missed out on approximately $1000 (minus inflation) by redeeming my financial guarantee in 2017 rather than waiting ten years and redeeming the financial guarantee in 2027. That number might be insanely different depending on the market. Then again, maybe PSA goes out of business or decides to no longer honor any sort of Financial Guarantee. Regardless, my collectible, which was damaged by them now has much less earning/investment potential than it would otherwise. Part of me thinks this should be factored in when they discuss damage reimbursement.
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You can’t expect reimbursement based on potential future value. In this case though I’d guess you’re right about them going up in value.
Very interesting read @hypernova. I gather the assumption is that if you want sell your PSA 5 (once it’s returned) and reinvest your $500 into a new card in Nov-Dec '17 you have the option to do it. There’s arguably a little value lost in your time searching and buying during that process, and maybe value lost due to strong-weak graded cards of the same grade.
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And now everyone knows why I refer to these PSA cases as “plastic prisons.”
You might as well just attach your cards to the spokes of a bicycle wheel. 
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