Dear Swoleoman3000 
Your card is fine brah! 
it was just a bit of Kentucky Fry on the CASE! #sometimescardsneedsnackstoo 
. Never fear we had the ancient Lord of the Graders to watch over us 
he said it was spicy recipe so we all good fam! (YES!!)
Loved you since day one 
,
PSA 
My son said maybe the grader just got too excited looking at that great card and, well…
Not sure what my son meant?
I just had a Yugioh card come back with that same type of smudge but on the back of the card that was 100% not there when sent. The card graded a PSA 10. Quite conflicted on what to do from here, either keep it slabbed, send it back, or crack it and try to clean it. I really wonder how it got there. Hope everything goes well for you and they are able to clean it.
5/14/19 UPDATE READ FIRST
Following up from where we last left off, it all left a funny taste in my mouth. The vaugness of the entire process didn’t sit well with me. So I decided to email again simply asking two things. Firstly, how did the crap get there, did it get on the card, and if so did it come off easy and clean?
The repsonse:
Hey Jeremy,
A card gets graded as raw and unholdered, so whenever the grader saw it, there was no debris on it. The debris must have gotten in the case during the sealing process, it could have been from anything! Unfortunately it just looks like after it was sealed, we didn’t catch it on the way out.
Thankfully, since the debris was against the holder itself, and not the card, we were able to just give it a new holder 
We cracked it out, they swiped over the card once with a microfiber cloth, and it was good to go into its new holder!
And it does look like it made it out today, here is your tracking number for reference: *** via USPS.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Now, this repsonse still didn’t sit well with me either. Seeing the card graded the first time, I knew whatever it was, it was on the actual surface of the card. None the less, I waited patiently for the card.
The card is now back in my posession.
And as you can expect from PSA, it wasn’t handled properly or honestly. THE CARD STILL HAS RESIDUE ON IT.
Reminder for all of you. This rep told me, as per my last post, this “Debris” was on the inside of the case, and that the card was fine. Not to mention this “hEaD GRaDer” looked over it TWICE, and gave it the green light to be encased and sent back. It’s apparent and upsetting, because at this point it’s clear PSA downplayed the issue and lied about it, I’m guessing in hopes to cover their asses from having to pay anything. I’m not even sure how to proceed with this, except to demand my grading fees back and try to get my Declared Value for the card.
The biggest bummer in all this, is that this is a card I truly and purely wanted for myself. Don’t care about the money or trying to make a quick buck, I just wanted the card back the way I originally sent it in for my own collection and personal enjoyment.
Quick Recap of PSA’s Major Fault’s
a $1500 card, sent on express, wasn’t taken care of to the best of their ability
Someone dropped some sort of substances on the card, and instead of being honest, let it continue through the system.
PSA downplays the issue and lies about the extent of it in hopes of saving some money.
The "Head Grader’, King Billy, looks over a card “Twice” and approves it to go out, when the card has crap on it.
PSA mishandles a one of a kind card, that cannot be replaced.
When you sent the card back, did you somehow emphasize the main issue being the white residue on the front? I hope they didn’t think the white residue was part of the artwork or something lol
Also, did the residue decrease in size or visibility after they sent it back? Or is it exact same and they didn’t touch it? Looks a lot better than when you got it back the first time
Comparisson Picture
Sucks that you now have bad feelings when you look at this card now. Saying that it was on the case is laughable and to be expected I guess, PSA truly has some of the worst customer service of any large company I know. What will you do now? Follow up with a different rep?
So it looks like they did try to clean up the residue? Just did not do a very thorough job of it
I will probably continue with the same rep, since she was the one personally handling everything since the start.
I just don’t see what happens next. I’m not really down to send it back a third time for “Re-encasing”, where they make a second attempt at covering their tracks with this whole thing. I definitely don’t see them wanting to reimburse me for anything either.
Looking like a loss loss to me.
Might have to send it back a few more times before they get it all…
The one wipe with microfiber cloth story completely contradicts them saying it was on the case only. There’s no way that dried on wiener-gunk is coming off without a hard wipe, picking at it or a slightly damp cloth.
I don’t get how they figure lying about it is going to make the situation any better.
This is the point that you have to be mean and stand up to them. Same goes with any business that dicks you around. I would be requesting 100% refund on all grading and shipping costs along with another re-submission. You either require it to come back clean as it was submitted or they can pay you for the damage done to the card. It’s their fault so make sure they make it right.
this is embarassing to hear. still waiting for a few cards to get back from psa, hopefully without parts of the graders meal/loaded nachos on the card.
It’s hard for me to make out anything with my shit monitor and shit lighting, but I’d assume it is still there if you say it is. I’ve removed residue from cards with a damp microfiber cloth or q tip. Damp with anything from water, saliva and/or windex (for the memes) and never had an issue.
It sucks for that to have to be the case, but tell them you want them to take it back and properly clean it this time around. Or just try and get everything fully refunded (good luck with that) and crack it and clean it yourself just to keep it raw.
It might be worth it to crack, clean it yourself, and maybe resend it
That would be allowing PSA off on their mistake and having paid them ~$100 to do it. (8 day express is $75 + shipping)
You’d also run the risk of the card coming back with a stain designation or some low grade accounting for the blemish assuming it isn’t something he can completely remove without damaging the card.
Hello, Mr. Windex here. Did somebody call for my assistance.
In all seriousness. This really sucks. What sucks the most I think is the fact that there is no adequate retribution being offered. Mistakes happen. So they should take care of it. If they couldn’t remove all the residue it’s as easy as them saying. Sorry. We messed up your card. How would you like to proceed? They should have contingency or insurance for this type of thing just like any other business. There is always the option of cracking, getting a micro fibre cloth, and using whatever liquid you prefer. I probably wouldn’t use spit. And I probably wouldn’t use water. Maybe just a hot breath and a couple of good wipes? Regardless, sorry this is happening to you. This kind of stuff drives me insane. I hope that in the end you get your satisfactory closure.
WTF, it’s a $1500 card - they just give it a casual rub with a microfibre cloth lol?! why do their emails sound so unprofessional with all of the smiley faces and excuses>
At some point, PSA is going to be facing a sizeable lawsuit (potentially class-action lawsuit) for their many breaches of contract including refusal to honor their money-back guarantee, unwillingness to correct their own grading mistakes, retroactively charging customers for service never rendered, and more. I’ve only had positive experiences with PSA in my years (except for a weird string of 8.5’s), but this company is becoming increasingly unstable and unprofessional.
Sorry for your troubles Swolepoke!