Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that PSA is noticeably reducing the quality of their slabs, especially with the release of their newest label?
Old label slabs feel significantly thicker, heavier, and seem to have more solid plastic. With the old slabs you can press down hard between your finger and thumb, pinching inward and the plastic feels totally rigid. With the newer slabs, if I press down with medium pressure I can feel the plastic bend inwards to the extent that my fingers can pinch the encased card. I can tell I’m pinching the card because some of my newer cards came back with a natural curve: I can pinch down from the outside and flatten the card inside the case.
There’s been soooo much talk on e4 about cases it’s astounding. Pretty soon there’s going to be a market for a company to grade cases which contain cards lol.
As far as this new complaint,I don’t even know how to respond. Maybe, don’t do that? Or, they are way less likely to crack or frost in their current incarnation. Or, if you have any concern like that I’d recommend switching over to BGS?
Don’t let the hobby pass you by as you concern yourself with such incidentals.
PS…Did you mention once that your ocd? If so, I’m not making fun of you. It’s just that coming from the sports world, all that mattered was the card. Then later the card and the grade. The first 15 years of non sports graded cards it was the same, Nothing to do with plastic at all. Let’s get back to that:)
I think the answer was implied that whether there is a difference of not, it’s trivial. You should be storing your card well and keeping them protected, so it shouldn’t really matter.
Since nobody wants to answer your question I will. Obviously he is doing this to test the strength of the case… obviously he doesn’t sit around and do this for fun. I don’t know why people have to be so harsh on people on here always. Seems to be the same people always. So to answer your question I feel a slight difference in the cases as well in my opinion. Just make sure not to stack anything heavy on the cases and you should be fine.
So I just checked, without touching the cards like you’re doing(WHY?) and the plastic is indeed more flexible.
I am guessing it is less likely to crack as @garyis2000 stated?
There has to be a reason PSA prefers cards to be shipped in semi rigids rather than top loaders… The same must apply here. I don’t think they’re trying to save $0.01 worth of plastic per case. lol
I’m sure if you want an expert’s opinion it is quite easy to contact PSA directly and you should get an answer in no time. Keep us updated if you do.
I think people are just misinterpreting this question as critique towards PSA, which we had a lot of recently. This is probably why no one is answering the question properly.
Actully, I’m just pretty harsh on anicdotal accounts in general. If you want to test it you’d need a device to test its tensile strength. I’m sorry but your fingers aren’t accurate, nor is everyones now baised opinion.
I also find the answer is worth less then the solution. Your cases aren’t designed against supporting pressure. Don’t put anything on top of them, and stop squeezing your cases…
It wasn’t really a complaint: more of a, ‘have you noticed x and what do you guys think?’. This is a discussion/information forum and I was fishing for thoughts. I like that you pointed out that the intention may have been to make the case semi flexible, increase compressive strength, and lessen the chances of it cracking. I didn’t think of that.
And I would switch to BGS frankly, but because PSA 10s have higher valuations overall than BGS 9.5s it doesn’t leave much of a choice.
Your question was quite legitimate, I just think the instant you mentioned ‘pinching’ your encased cards is when people stopped taking you serious. I know I had a good laugh myself when I first saw this thread pop up.
There really is a lot in our hobby that requires attention. Especially things that affect card safety and condition. To me this was a little over the top and outside the normal discussions we have. There’s something to be said though for a fun thread cause otherwise it can get a little boring:)
I’ve run crazy tests in the past on cases. One was the paint mixer test. That was because I though the cards movement in the case could harm the card. Maybe you should run a digital clamp test. See at what pressure each case gives in or cracks;)
